DAVIS COUNTY -- For anyone who's ever had a hankering' to write, now is the time. The League of Utah Writers, Davis County area, is hosting a writing competition open to the general public. "There is an incredible amount of writing talent in Davis County," said Adam Olson, president of the Bountiful Chapter of the League of Utah Writers. "Both the Bountiful and Layton chapters (of LUW) have had their own writing competitions in the past. This is the first time we've combined and the first time it's been opened to the public."

Awards will be offered in each category are $25 for first place, $15 for second and $10 for third.

It may not be mere prize money on the line in this contest. Some good-natured competition may also come into play for bragging rights on which end of the county comes away with the most awards.

"If I were a gambling man, I'd bet the prize money and notoriety go north, not south," teased Walter Eddy, president of Wasatch Writers, the northern Davis County chapter of the League of Utah Writers. "Sincerely, we hope to elicit writing that will elevate and illuminate us in some valuable way."

A fee of $2 per entry for adults and $1 per entry for youth is required with a limit of two entries per person per category. Youth are defined as individuals in 9-12 grades.

Categories for adults include:

-Personal Essay (1,000 words, with a judging bonus for essays on the arts in Davis County)

-Short Story (3,000 words)

-Rhyming Poetry (42 lines)

-Non-rhyming Poetry (42 lines)

Categories for youth 9-12 grades are:

-Prose (1,500 words)

-Poetry (42 lines)

"Prose can be short stories, essays, basically anything that is not poetry," said Olson.

The competition opened Feb. 1 and has an entry deadline of Friday, March 11.

Entries can be mailed to: Davis County Writers, 315 N. 400 East, Bountiful, UT 84010. Entries must be postmarked by Friday, March 11, 2005.

An awards night will be held Tuesday, May 18.

The competition is sponsored by the Bountiful and Wasatch (Layton) chapters of the League of Utah Writers, the Bountiful Chapter of the Utah State Poetry Society, and the Davis County Clipper.

For more information, go to www.bountifulluw.8k.com.