1. What is the National Literary Competition (NLC)?

The National Literary Competition is an ASL and Writing competition for deaf and hard of hearing students in the United States and Canada.

2. What is the format of the competition?

Students compete as individuals and there are no teams in this competition. Students develop ASL and/or written submissions in accordance with this year’s theme and then register for the competition and submit their entries for consideration. All ASL entries must be submitted as a YouTube link and all Writing entries must be submitted as a Google Doc link. For convenience, the registration and submission form are combined into one form.


3. What are the categories in the ASL and Writing competitions?

For ASL, we have three categories: ASL Handshapes Stories, Storytelling, and Presentation. For Writing, we also have three categories: Poetry, Creative Writing, and Essay. More information can be found in the downloadable Rules and Guidelines manual.

4. Can I participate in both the ASL and Writing competitions?

YES!

5. Can I submit more than one entry in the ASL and Writing competitions?

You can submit one entry in each ASL and Writing genre of each category. For example, you can submit an entry for ASL Poetry, Storytelling, and an entry in the Creative Writing genre. However, you can only submit up to one entry per category, so for example, you cannot submit two videos for the ASL presentation category.

6. Who can participate in the NLC?

For the ASL category, students in the 2nd through 12th grades can participate. For the Writing category, students in the 6th through 12th grades can participate.

7. Can I register as an individual? Or do I have to register through a school/program?

You can register as an individual with your parents' help OR you can register with the assistance of a teacher/ASL specialist at your school.

8. Do I need to pay any registration fees for the NLC?

No! There are no expenses for participants.

9. What is the timeline for the NLC?

The NLC is split into two parts, middle and high school students submit their entries in the Fall, while elementary school students submit their entries in the Spring. For the exact dates, check out the timeline in the NLC Resources Center.

10. Where can I find more information about the rules and procedures on the rules and guidelines for the NLC?

Check out our Rules and Guidelines manual by clicking the button below:

Rules and Guidelines

11. Who do I contact for more information?

You can e-mail us at youthprograms@gallaudet.edu.