Caitlin Elopidat

UP:Great Lakes

    If you've never been to Moonglow and seen the Lycaeum there, it's a trip you should consider making soon. It's a pleasantly quiet little out of the way place in the Northwestern corner of the magical city, and may be well worth taking your time to see it.

    Soon, however, there will be a different reason to go visit the Lycaeum. This is the week of the annual writer's contest, and the Lycaeum is the "unofficial" home of the book fair that's held each year along with the contest. The Lycaeum is most famous for it's libraries, with which it is well stocked. Four large rooms, filled with volumes and volumes of text, flank the area on both the western and eastern walls, and more books are kept in the central rooms in the northern end of this hall of Wisdom. Every year the book fair is held. The librarians will bring out most all of the books they can find, as well as refreshments, and citizens are encouraged to come out and read. But also, they're encouraged to write, by the writer's contest. Anyone at all may enter. All you need to do is find an empty book and write whatever you feel like onto it's pages. Books are asked to be kept under 20 pages, but may have any subject matter.

    The writing is reviewed over the course of a week by the Lycaeum's Librarians, and one week from the opening night of the fair (which lasts all week) the winners of the writing contest are announced. Categories include general fiction, poetry, Heroic saga, and comedy.

    The winning books are then put on display in a large case in the Lycaeum for all of Britannia to view. The winners also recieve a small prize, and usually a small amount of gold with which to fund their education or buy more books for themselves.

    The fair begins next monday, all who wish to have books judged should bring them to the Lycaeum at 8 o'clock. There they will be collected. The following monday will mark the end of the festival and the winners of the contest will be announced.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Tuesday, March 24th 1998