Any student enrolled in an NWF State College course for credit at the time of submission is eligible to enter.
 

This category includes short stories, novel excerpts, creative non-fiction, autobiography, and academic essays.
 

A student may submit up to 7 entries total in writing categories, including the LaRoche Poetry Contest and the Hunt Fiction Contest. All submissions must be in Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Text (.rtf) format. Please single-space your work and use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Each document must contain only one piece. (Save each piece in a separate file and submit separately.)  Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the document. Submitting through this site will enable the editors to locate your name with your work after pieces have been read. Please do not submit here any stories entered in the Vickie G. Hunt Memorial Prose Contest; stories entered in the contest are automatically considered for publication in Blackwater Review.

The work must be 100% originally created by the student from concept to finished product and cannot incorporate any component elements originally created by others, including, but not limited to any form of AI-generated components or elements, or any other type of original creation by another, including work believed to be in the “public domain.”

Any student enrolled in an NWF State College course for credit at the time of submission is eligible to enter.

A student may submit up to 7 entries total in writing categories, including the LaRoche Poetry Contest and the Hunt Fiction Contest. All submissions must be in Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Text (.rtf) format. Please single-space your work and use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Each document must contain only one piece. (Save each piece in a separate file and submit separately.)  Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the document. Submitting through this site will enable the editors to locate your name with your work after pieces have been read. Please do not submit here any poems entered in the James and Christian LaRoche Memorial Poetry Contest; poems entered in the contest are automatically considered for publication in Blackwater Review.

The work must be 100% originally created by the student from concept to finished product and cannot incorporate any component elements originally created by others, including, but not limited to any form of AI-generated components or elements, or any other type of original creation by another, including work believed to be in the “public domain.”

Any student enrolled in a Northwest Florida State College course for credit at the time of submission is eligible to enter. By making any submission through the digital submission portal, you agree to abide by the terms stated in this notice as well as all other law and College policy that relates to your submission.

Visual art submissions to Blackwater Review may take any form, including photography, painting, drawing, mixed media, digital imaging or illustration, ceramics, or sculpture. This form refers to my visual art submissions as submissions, artworks, or pieces through the form.

Students may submit up to five pieces total in the visual art category. Each submission must contain only one piece. (Save each piece in a separate file and submit separately.) Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the attachment. Submitting through this site will enable the editors to locate your name with your work after the pieces have been judged.

The work must be 100% originally created by the student from concept to finished product and cannot incorporate any component elements originally created by others, including, but not limited to, stock photography, illustration, imagery, any form of AI-generated components or elements, or any other type of original creation by another, including imagery that is licensed or believed to be in the “public domain.”

If any piece submitted contains imagery of a recognizable person, the person in the image must sign the model release, and you must upload the signed model release along with the submission for your submission to be considered for publication. The person or persons depicted in the artwork must sign the release form. Model releases for models that are under the age of 18 must be signed by a parent or legal guardian of the person depicted in the work. The form is a PDF file that has fields that may be completed, and you may sign digitally. Adobe Acrobat viewer is required. Submissions that contain a recognizable human image without a properly completed Model Release Form will not be considered. Upload the completed release form here with your submission.

Download the model release form here: NWFSC Model Release Form_1.11.23.pdf

Important Considerations for Submissions:
Digital Images such as digital photographs, composites, or illustrations created in Adobe Photoshop should be submitted in their original digital form at high/full resolution (300ppi, approximately 8.5” x 11” or larger). Acceptable formats for digital images include Photoshop (with layers flattened), TIFF, or JPEG.

Illustrations made in a vector-based drawing program such as Adobe Illustrator may be submitted as original Adobe Illustrator files (.ai), Adobe PDF files with Illustrator editing capabilities intact (.pdf), or as exported Photoshop, TIFF, or JPEG files. If exporting to Photoshop, TIFF, or JPEG, it is crucial that this is done at high resolution (at least 300ppi, 8.5” x 11” approximate size).

Artwork created in natural media (sculpture, ceramics, drawing, painting, etc.) should be carefully photographed, and the resulting photograph should be uploaded as a JPEG file in its correct orientation (right side up). Critically important: Natural media pieces (paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramic pieces, etc.) chosen for publication must be delivered to the Visual Art building on the Niceville campus to be professionally photographed for inclusion in the magazine. If your piece is chosen, you will be informed of the timeframe and location for photographing. Failure to deliver a chosen piece by the deadline will result in it not being included in the magazine.

BY MAKING A SUBMISSION, I AM AFFIRMATIVELY, VOLUNTARILY AGREEING TO THE FOLLOWING:
1. If I am under 18 years of age, my parent or legal guardian agrees to these terms on my behalf by making a submission.
2. I retain ownership of my artwork(s) and all rights not granted through making this submission.
3. Free of charge and for any time now or in the future, I grant Northwest Florida State College, of which Blackwater Review is a publication, permission to use my artwork(s) as recorded on film, videotape, or other medium, and to identify me by name, if deemed appropriate by the College, in any and all forms, manner, and media, including, but not limited to, publication of the Blackwater Review, holding the Arnie Hart Juried Student Exhibition, display, illustration, advertising, promotion, electronic transmission, or for any other College purposes.
4. I agree that Northwest Florida State College owns any display, illustration, advertising, promotion, or electronic transmission that it chooses to create to advertise, promote, host, or otherwise distribute or hold the Blackwater Review or the Arnie Hart Juried Student Exhibition, which may include images or recordings of my artwork(s).
5. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), I grant Northwest Florida State College, through its authorized employees, permission to disclose information from my education records while publishing the Blackwater Review magazine, hosting Blackwater Review events, creating or distributing Blackwater Review promotional materials, or performing the same activities related to the Arnie Hart Juried Student Exhibition. I consent to the disclosure of any personally identifiable information from my education records for the listed purposes as determined appropriate by Northwest Florida State College. This authorization will remain in effect for the academic year in which I make my submission and all subsequent academic years following my submission in which the College chooses to pursue the listed purposes.
6. The College reserves the right not to consider or to reject any submission or any part of any submission, at any time, that the College believes I did not submit in accordance with the guidelines provided.
7. The College reserves the right to not consider or to reject any submission or any part of any submission, at any time, that the College believes, in its discretion, is not a work 100% originally created by me.
8. The College reserves the right to not consider or to reject any submission or any part of any submission, at any time, that the College believes, in its discretion, includes imagery of a recognizable person(s) for which the College believes it has not received the proper or complete Model Release Form.
9. I am responsible for delivery of pieces on time to the location provided by NWFSC.
10. I am responsible for delivering pieces in a form that is safe and robust for NWFSC staff or agents to handle.
11. I agree that NWFSC staff or agents may handle, photograph, or record the pieces.
12. I accept that there is risk inherent in submitting, delivering, photographing, and all other parts of the submission process.
13. I accept that, while unlikely, my pieces may be harmed, damaged, or destroyed.
14. I agree that Northwest Florida State College has advised me to personally insure my artwork(s) in whatever manner I choose and that the College is not responsible for choices I make related to insuring my artwork(s).
15. I agree that Northwest Florida State College, its trustees, officers, employees, agents, volunteers, and representatives do not bear any responsibility for harm, damage, or destruction, related to or occurring during the process of delivering the pieces and all subsequent steps in the submission and photography process.
16. I agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Northwest Florida State College, its trustees, officers, employees, agents, volunteers, and representatives against any and all liability, claim, or damage of any kind whatsoever whenever raised now or in the future that relates to the delivery, submission, photography, or any other interaction with my pieces. I further agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Northwest Florida State College, its trustees, officers, employees, agents, volunteers, and representatives against any and all liability, claim, or damage of any kind whatsoever whenever raised that relates to the subject of my pieces.



 

This category any student enrolled in an NWF State College course for credit at the time of submission is eligible to enter.
 

This category is for hybrid projects or any work that does not fit into the poetry, fiction/non-fiction, or visual art categories. Graphic novel excerpts, illustrated stories, hybrid prose/poetry works, songs etc. would fall into this category.

A student may submit up to 7 entries total in writing categories, including the LaRoche Poetry Contest and the Hunt Prose Contest. All submissions must be in Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Text (.rtf) format. Please single-space your work and use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Each document must contain only one piece. (Save each piece in a separate file and submit separately.) Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the document. Submitting through this site will enable the editors to locate your name with your work after pieces have been read.

The James and Christian LaRoche Memorial Poetry Contest is open to all NWFSC undergraduates who are enrolled in NWFSC courses during the current academic year, which includes Fall 2024 through Spring 2025.

Contestants may submit two poems to the contest. Work must be original. Entries will also be considered for publication in Blackwater Review.

First prize is $100. Second prize is $50.

The LaRoche Poetry Contest's winning poems will be published in the 2025 issue of Blackwater Review in April.

All submissions must be in Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Text (.rtf) format. Please single-space your work and use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Each document must contain only one piece. (Save each piece in a separate file and submit separately.) Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the document. Submitting through this site will enable the editors to locate your name with your work after pieces have been read.

The work must be 100% originally created by the student from concept to finished product and cannot incorporate any component elements originally created by others, including, but not limited to any form of AI-generated components or elements, or any other type of original creation by another, including work believed to be in the “public domain.”

The Dr. Vickie G. Hunt Memorial Prose Contest is open to all NWFSC undergraduates who are enrolled in NWFSC courses during the current academic year, which includes Fall 2024 through Spring 2023.

Contestants may submit two pieces to the contest. Work must be original. Entries will also be considered for publication in Blackwater Review.

First prize is $100. Second prize is $50.
 

The Hunt Contest's winning pieces will be published in the 2025 issue of Blackwater Review in April.

All submissions must be in Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Text (.rtf) format. Please single-space your work and use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Each document must contain only one piece. (Save each piece in a separate file and submit separately.) Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the document. Submitting through this site will enable the editors to locate your name with your work after thepieces have been read.

The work must be 100% originally created by the student from concept to finished product and cannot incorporate any component elements originally created by others, including, but not limited to any form of AI-generated components or elements, or any other type of original creation by another, including work believed to be in the “public domain.”