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2024 Northern Focus Photography Project Accepting Submissions April 1 – May 31, 2024

Northern Focus is a project conceived by the Fargo Public Library for up-and-coming, regional photographers with the aim to provide a free space, for artist and viewer alike, to showcase artwork and share local perspectives. This spring, the library is hosting the fifth annual Northern Focus photography project. We are asking photographers from the region to send us their best work to grace our downtown Main Library location in a photo exhibit.

Photographs selected as honorable mentions will specially featured, and the winning photo will become the front cover art for the Northern Narratives 2024 publication. We are accepting online submissions from April 1 through May 31, 2024 via our Wufoo link. The program is open to adults and teens (13 years and older).

See all of the Northern Focus 2024 Rules, Guidelines, and Information here. Contact Nicole at 701.476.5974 for further information.

• There is no fee to enter the Northern Focus photography project. Entries can be of any photographic medium (color, digital, manipulated, etc.).
• All photos must be taken regionally (within ND/MN) and convey a sense of the people, places, and/or happenings that make up our great and diverse community, and convey a sense of the people, places, and/or happenings that make up and represent our diverse community and region.
• Submitted photos must be suitable for community viewing as determined by the library.
• All accepted photo entries will be included in a photography exhibit at the downtown Main Library later this year. In addition, one photo will be chosen as the cover art for the library's 2024 Northern Narratives publication.

The Northern Focus photography project is supported by the Friends of the Fargo Public Library.


writing in notebook

2024 Northern Narratives Writing Project Accepting Submissions February 1 – March 31

The Fargo Public Library is seeking submissions for our eighth annual Northern Narratives, a writing project that aims to inspire local and regional writers and serve as a community heirloom. Selected submissions will be included in the library's North Dakota Collection. We are accepting submissions online at our Wufoo link from Feb.1 through March 31, 2024 in three categories: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The program is open to adults and teens 13 years or older and there is no fee to submit your work.

2024 Submission Categories:
Fiction: 1,000 – 6,000 words
Nonfiction: 1,000 – 6,000 words
Poetry: 1,000 words or less per poem

• Prose standards can be found here.
• Poetry standards can be found here.

All submissions must be original, unpublished, proofread, and edited works. All rules, guidelines, information and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are available here. The selection committee reserves the right to withhold publication at their discretion.

Chosen selections shall be subject to “first rights” copyright. Any future publication, unrelated to the Fargo Public Library, shall require appropriate attribution.

For any questions, please email NorthernNarratives@fargolibrary.org or call Andy at 701.241.1412.

This project is supported by the Friends of the Fargo Public Library.


Northern Narratives 2023 cover art

Library's "Northern Narratives 2023" Book Available

Northern Narratives 2023 is the library’s seventh publication of poems, essays, and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled Yellowjacket on a Grape Leaf) for this book was by photographer Jeffrey Westgard and submitted as part of the Northern Focus 2023 photography project.

Northern Narratives image 2022

Library's "Northern Narratives 2022" Book Available

Northern Narratives 2022 is the library’s sixth publication of poems, essays, and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled Milky Way and Meteor) for this book was by photographer Gordon Court and submitted as part of the Northern Focus 2022 photography project.

Northern Narratives Jr. 2022 edition

Library's "Northern Narratives Jr. 2022" Magazine Available

Northern Narratives Jr. is the library's kids-only, literary magazine. This anthology ​is available to be read online and features over 50 entries of poems, nonfiction essays, short stories, drawings, photographs, and comics written and created by school-age children from the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo community in the spring of 2022. Categories had first and second place winners, and some categories also had honorable mentions, as judged by the Fargo Public Library Children's Services Staff. Winners works are indicated by an asterisk.*

Please note: Transcription of each piece is taken directly from the original work, so any creative spelling, grammar, or formatting is considered intentional by the artist.

Northern Narratives 2021 book cover

Library's "Northern Narratives 2021" Book Available

Northern Narratives 2021 is the library’s fifth publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled The Wild Mist) for this book was by photographer Brittani Hovland and submitted as part of the Northern Focus 2021 photography project.

Northern Narratives Jr. cover

Library's "Northern Narratives Jr. 2021" Magazine

Northern Narratives Jr. is the library's first ever, kids-only, literary magazine. It is available to be read online and features poems, nonfiction essays, short stories, drawings, photographs, and comics written and created by school-age children from the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo community in the spring of 2021. Each category had first and second place winners as judged by the Fargo Public Library Children's Services Staff. Winning works are indicated by an asterisk.*

Please note: Transcription of each piece was taken directly from the original work, so any creative spelling, grammar, or formatting is considered intentional by the artist.

Northern Narratives 2020 book cover

Library's "Northern Narratives 2020" Book Available

Northern Narratives 2020 is the library’s fourth publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled Home in the Middle of Nowhere) for this book was by photographer Hannah Borsheim submitted as part of the inaugural Northern Focus photography project.

Northern Narratives 2019 book cover

Library's "Northern Narratives 2019" Book Available

Northern Narratives 2019 is the library’s third publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online.

Northern Narratives 2018

Library's "Northern Narratives 2018" Book Available

Northern Narratives 2018 is the library’s third publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online.

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