Novel Novice Twilight and Defining Twilight are teaming up this week to bring you College Week.

All week-long, we’ll explore topics relevant to the college-bound. We’ll explore colleges mentioned in the Twilight universe, share Carlisle-like advice for the college-bound, provide exclusive test-taking tips from Defining Twilight author Brian Leaf, and more!

And to kick things off, we have a new contest — featuring some really cool prizes, courtesy of Brian Leaf & Defining Twilight!

Prizes:

First Prize: Rob Pattinson autographed photo
Second Prize:  Limited Edition Defining Twilight t-shirt
Third Prize: Signed copy of Defining Twilight

How to enter:

For the contest – pretend you are Bella Swan and write a college application-style essay in response to one of the prompts below (please choose only one):

 1. First experiences can be defining. Cite a first experience that you have had and explain its impact on you.

2. Explore an event that changed your life. What was the event and how did it change you as a person?

3. How will a college education allow you to contribute to society?

4. Select a creative work: a novel, a film, a poem, a musical piece, a painting or other work of art that has influenced the way you view the world and the way you view yourself. Discuss the work and its effect on you.

5. Explain how your experiences as a teenager significantly differ from those of your friends. Include comparisons.

6. What is the best advice you ever received? Why? And did you follow it?

Other rules & guidelines:

• Please respond to only ONE essay prompt.
• Essays should be between 500-1500 words in length.
• Proper grammar & spelling are required.
• Remember — pretend you are Bella writing this essay. Do not write it as yourself.
• Sorry, but prizes can only be sent to mailing addresses within the U.S.

For tips on writing a college application essay, check out this helpful guide from the College Board.

Deadline & Where to send it:

E-mail all submissions to twilightcollege@gmail.com

All entries are due by midnight (PST) on Sunday, July 26th.

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Wondering what Defining Twilight is all about? Check out our video-trailer for the book:

* See everything from Novel Novice Twilight & Defining Twilight *

And in case you were wondering — yes, the prompts are all real prompts from college applications. Not only is this a fun contest — but it’s good practice at writing a college application essay!

One of the winners of Novel Novice Twilight’s vampire baseball ticket giveaway took some fantastic photos from the event. Here are some of Jeanine’s awesome photos:

See all of our Vampire Baseball Reports.

* The UK’s The Guardian has an article about how Twilight has changed the real-life town of Forks, Washington.

* WSAZ has an interview with Peter Facinelli about a charity appearance he made at a West Virginia mall.

* Summit Entertainment Exec Eric Feig has joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that selects the Academy Award nominees & winners.

* Ashley Greene will appear on the MTV show “It’s On with Alexa Chung” this Thursday.

* TwilightersItalia has a new interview with Kellan Lutz:

* With the release of Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince this week, the Wall Street Journal once again compares HP and Twilight.

Okay NNTers … give us your take on today’s headlines in the comments. And tell us — are you planning to see Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince this week? What are your HP viewing plans?

We are excited to announce the winners of our May-June 2009 Fan Fiction Challenge! For this challenge, we asked writers to tell a story about characters in the Twilight universe celebrating some kind of first anniversary or birthday. We invited you to be creative, and you did not disappoint! All of our winners get the following banner to post with their stories:

1. Last Visit Home by Hoosier Mama
     “Last Visit Home” tells the story of Edward returning to Chicago in 1919, exactly one year after his transformation. Transitioning smoothly between Edward’s and Carlisle’s POV, this story lends us insight into Edward’s struggle with his new existence, and Carlisle’s longing for a family. It’s beautifully written and absolutely a delight to read.

2. Something to Add to the Legends by NT Lupin
     This story is framed around Renesmee’s first birthday, but is actually an engaging look at how the wolf pack changes following the events of Breaking Dawn. It also lends some insight into how the wolves interract with the Cullens in the year after BD.

3. The Years That Were Erased by best with breadsticks
     This is a lovely, poetic look at Billy Black marking the one-year anniversary of his wife’s death. Sad and moving, it offers an often forgotten glimpse into Billy’s past. It’s especially poignant knowing what lies ahead for the Black family.

Honorable Mention: You’re Not Good For Me by free-your-mind-dreamer
      This story shares a little of what Bella experiences during those blank pages from New Moon. It marks the one-month anniversary of Edward’s departure, and shows how Bella struggles to make it through the day with the heartbreak of having lost her one true love.

Honorable Mention: A Transitional Year by Lady Saffir
      A short, but sweet glimpse into the mind of Jasper Hale, one year after first meeting Alice. It’s a sweet look at their early relationship, and shows us how Jasper has struggled with his new lifestyle as a “vegetarian” vampire.

Honorable Mention: A Single Day of Forever by Addicted to Edward
     This is just pure, romantic smoochiness. It shows some nice family interraction between the Cullens, and has some lovely smarmy Bella-Edward moments with a glimpse into their lives after Breaking Dawn.

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Our July-August 2009 Fan Fiction Challenge is going on now. And this time, we have some awesome prizes sponsored by Brian Leaf & his new book, Defining Twilight. Click here to learn about our new fan fiction challenge — and how you can win an autographed photo of the Twilight cast, along with other cool prizes!

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See past challenge winners here.

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Tell us your thoughts on these great stories in the comments!

Hey guys … I scrounged up a few new photos from Vampire Baseball. Check ‘em out below:

Alex Meraz (Paul in New Moon).

Luca Facinelli (Peter’s daughter), Catherine Grimme (young Bella) and Ayana Berkshire (Cora, the cafe waitress) mingle before the game.

Peter Facinelli’s team takes the field.

Rachelle LeFevre (Victoria) hangs out in the dugout between innings.

Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) chats with fans before the game.

See all of NNT’s Vampire Baseball Reports.

For one last report on Vampire Baseball from Portland, Oregon — here is a video featuring some highlights from the baseball game — and our final batch of photos from the event, showing media coverage of the event. Enjoy!

A Fox 12 photojournalist interviews fans before the game. (Fox 12 is the station where I work — this is one of my coworkers!)

Jenny Garth (Peter Facinelli’s wife) snaps photos of the game, with her daughters nearby. (And yes, one of Peter’s daughters is wearing a “Carlisle” t-shirt. Adorable!)

The TwilightLive podcasters interview Sean McGrath and Gavin Bristol (the Port Angeles frat boys in Twilight) before the baseball game.

Local media outlets (including Fox 12!) interview Edi Gathegi (Laurent) and Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) before the game.

Michael Welch (Mike Newton) talks to reporters before the game.

A crew from Reelz Channel interviews fans before the game. (But what I want to know is … why is the reporter holding out a stick mic to the interview subject, when she has an audio operator with a boom mic?!)

You can also check out Reelz Channel’s coverage here.

See all of our Vampire Baseball Reports!

Have you enjoyed NNT’s Vampire Baseball Reports? Tell us your favorites in the comments!

It’s time for another Team Switzerland Day here at Novel Novice Twilight. It’s been a busy week for us here, as we’ve been putting together our Vampire Baseball Reports and preparing for an exciting event we’re doing in partnership with Defining Twilight that kicks off on Monday. But we managed to put together a couple new Twilight Saga: New Moon desktop wallpapers for you. As always, click to view full-size, then right-click to save:

And check out this Team Switzerland pride from the Vampire Baseball game at PGE Park in Portland, Oregon:

How do you show your Team Switz pride? Tell us in the comments, or e-mail us at sara.novelnovice@comcast.net

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The Team Switzerland Project

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Vampire Baseball Reports

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Novel Novice Twilight & Defining Twilight

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In today’s Team Twilighter segment, Sanne discusses a variety of Twilight topics including: her Robert Pattinson’s sims character, nasty rumors, and Twilight musicians. Enjoy below:

* Reuters has a new interview with Catherine Hardwicke about life after Twilight.

* Organizers have now released the official schedule for ComicCon 2009.

* Speaking of ComicCon … Tonner has announced it will be selling a limited-edition Edward doll exclusively at ComicCon.

* Stephenie Meyer and The Twilight Saga are still topping the USA Today best-sellers list.

* Sacha Baren Cohen’s latest flick hits theaters today … and in a promotional interview with MTV, his alter-ego Bruno talks about Rob Pattinson (and that infamous encounter with Eminem at the MTV Movie Awards).

* Plus, check out our latest Vampire Baseball Reports and tune in later for Team Switzerland Day!

Give us your thoughts on all of today’s headlines in the comments!