Songwriters Charles Humphrey III, Darrell Scott and Niall Toner will be among the judges that determine the winners of MerleFest 2014’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Now in its 22nd year, the contest is an opportunity for aspiring writers to have their original songs heard and judged by a panel of music industry professionals, under the direction of this year’s volunteer contest chairperson, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale. There are now three ways to enter the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest:  1) Mail-in applications to P.O. Box 121855, Nashville, TN 37212. To enter by mail, visit  www.merlefest.org/CASCRulesandEntry for a downloadable form and instruction.  2) Entries may also be submitted through Sonicbids:  www.sonicbids.com/chrisaustinsongwritingcontest. 3) And new for 2014, applicants may now submit an online registration directly to the CASC website (http://www.merlefest.org/ChrisAustinSongwritingContest/). The deadline for contest submissions is February 19, 2014.  The first round of the CASC competition takes place in Nashville, Tenn., and is narrowed down to 12 finalists representing four categories: bluegrass, country, general and gospel/inspirational. Finalists are then invited to the final round of the competition, which takes place during MerleFest on the campus of Wilkes Community College.