League for Innovation Student Literary Contest

Seattle Colleges Districtwide Annual Contest Accepting Submissions Through March 17, 2024  
 

Green Filtered Image of a rowboat on a lake with mist-shrouded trees in the background with text: TIDES, CURRENTS, & WATERWAYS. Explore new ways of telling stories. Sail beyond the boundaries. Plumb the depths of what it means to be human. Win up to $500. Deadline for submission: March 17, 2024. Poetry, short story, essay, dramatic scene, spoken word, creative nonfiction. Hosted by Seattle Colleges and the League for Innovation in the Community CollegeEach year, the League for Innovation in the Community College invites students from member colleges to participate in the annual Student Literary Competition. This contest enables students to compete with their peers across the United States and Canada and showcases the best works being created by the diverse voices in today's community colleges.

The local competition takes place within Seattle Colleges, including North Seattle College, Seattle Central College, and South Seattle College. Local-level first place winners and honorable mentions receive a cash prize ($100 for first place, $50 for honorable mention) and merit certificate suitable for framing.

First place winners from the local district level in the four categories of Short Story, Dramatic Scene, Personal Essay, and Poetry then go on to compete at the international level, this year also hosted by Seattle Colleges. International level prizes include a merit certificate, publication in a high-gloss literary anthology, and $500 for first place, $250 for second, and $100 for third. The categories of Creative Nonfiction and Spoken Word are part of the local competition only.

graphic designed by Harry Cole, Seattle Central Creative Academy student


Eligibility

To qualify, an entry must be from a student who took at least one credit-based class at Seattle Colleges in the 2023-2024 academic year. The entry must be original but does not have to be from a class assignment. Multiple entries may be submitted, but they must be submitted individually accompanied by an entry form.  
 

Six Literary Categories for Local Competition

The categories are Fiction, One-Act Play, Poetry, and Personal Essay. Entries should be submitted as a Word document along with a completed entry form. The maximum number of words or lines for entries are listed for each category. All entries are final. Copyrights revert back to author.

Submissions to these four categories can advance to the international competition:

  • Short Story: up to 3,500 words
  • Dramatic Scene: up to 3,500 words, including stage direction/production notes
  • Personal Essay: up to 2,500 words
  • Poetry: up to 67 lines

Two additional categories are open for submission by students attending Seattle Colleges (North Seattle College, Seattle Central College, South Seattle College). These categories are part of the local district competition and are not a part of the international competition:

  • Creative Nonfiction: up to 3,500 words
  • Spoken Word: a performance up to 3 minutes long - submitted as a video file or a link to an uploaded video. Include also a Microsoft Word document of the poem's text

Contest Entry Information

To enter the contest, you must submit each entry individually with a completed entry form by the deadline of Sunday, March 17, 2024, to the judge at your college. 

Submission Deadline:   
Sunday, March 17, 2024


Good luck. Seattle has received at least one first place nationally for ten of the last eleven years. Let’s keep the literary train rolling.

Seattle Colleges is a member of the League for Innovation in the Community College, in recognition of its record of innovation and leadership. Membership provides an opportunity for students to compete with their peers locally and across the continent in annual Literary and Arts competitions.


Recent Award Recipients

Student Literary Contest

Local award winners receive a certificate suitable for framing and a cash prize ($100 for first place, $50 for honorable mention). Entries awarded first-place at the local level are forwarded on to the international contest, hosted this year by Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Awards at the international level are $500, $250, and $100, plus publication in an anthology booklet.

In the past 14 years, Seattle Colleges has fielded 13 first-place awards at the international level. These achievements are significant considering the level of competition.

Congratulations to this year’s Student Literary Contest awardees. First place awards move on to the international competition.

Fiction

  • First Place: “Graveyard House” by Egan Norton, North Seattle College 
  • Honorable Mention: “Sitting Pretty” by Dylan Nicole Hansen, North Seattle College 
  • Honorable Mention: “The Lovers” by Amira Levine, Seattle Central College

Essay

  • First Place: “Girls Only” by Eryn Sallee, Seattle Central College 
  • Honorable Mention: “The Last Time I Spoke to My Father” by Kareena Lauer, North Seattle College 
  • Honorable Mention: “Prosaic” by Kaleb Trunnell, Seattle Central College 
  • Honorable Mention: “Release: 2013 (2023)” by Callaghan Crook, Seattle Central College

One-Act Play

No Award

Poetry

  • First Place: “sour plums with salt” by Elahe Zare, South Seattle College 
  • Honorable Mention: “Museum” by Zoe Bricker, North Seattle College 
  • Honorable Mention: “Dish Pit” by Josephine Chevalier, Seattle Central College

The faculty judges – Matthew Hitchman, South Seattle College; Gregory November, North Seattle College; and Jeb Wyman, Seattle Central College – want to thank everyone who submitted entries.

2022-23 League for Innovation Student Art Competition and Student Literary Contest Awards


International Contest Awards

  • Poetry First Place: “sour plums with salt” by Elahe Zare, South Seattle College
  • Personal Essay Second Place: “Girls Only” by Eryn Sallee, Seattle Central College

Fiction

  • First Place: “Motherhood” by Sarah Wheeler, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention: “Flows Like Water” by Odin Kushnick, North Seattle College

One-Act Play

  • First Place: “Death’s Door” by Mulch Morwell, Seattle Central College

Personal Essay

  • First Place: “Playing Possession” by Jules Vanselow, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention: “A Lesson in Humility” by Hannah Hill, South Seattle College

Poetry

  • First Place: “Golden Flesh” by Clarissa Perez, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention: “Come Back By” by Amanda Guzman, South Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention: “Working in the Endless Disaster” by Maya Pearson, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention: “Drawn by the Sky” by Salina Tedesse, North Seattle College

2021-22 League for Innovation Student Literary Contest and Student Art Competition Award Winners

Seattle Colleges Students Earn Awards at International Art and Literary Contests


International Contest Awards

  • Fiction First Place: “Motherhood” by Sarah Wheeler, Seattle Central College
  • Poetry First Place: “Golden Flesh” by Clarissa Perez, Seattle Central College

Fiction 

  • First Place – “Coconut Chat” by Sheldon Etibek, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “King of the Fruit Festival” by Allegra Keys, South Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention – “The Truths That Aren’t Forgiven” by Grace Kenny, Seattle Central College

One-Act Play

  • First Place – “Sun” by Natalie Shih, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “Infra Agua” by Natalie McCoy, North Seattle College

Personal Essay

  • First Place – “I’m Growing It Out” by Emil Krystad, North Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention – “Ripping the Band Aid” by Nicole Sawyer, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “Regret” by Chloe Lashua, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “Unstable: Reflections of a Bipolar Girl” by Claire Bedsworth, North Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention – “Up in Smoke” by Isiah Tolson, Seattle Central College

Poetry

  • First Place – “Love in the Dark” by Allegra Keys, South Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention – “Fear” by Parker Redeker, South Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention – “A Tic” by Reid Lauzon, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “Dear Mother” by Zoe Bricker, North Seattle College

2020-2021 District Winners

Fiction

  • First Place – “Chlorine” by Thet (Alex) Hnin Su, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “Arcanum” by Colin J. Lamb, South Seattle College 

Personal Essay

  • First Place – “The Wall” by Kathleen Welch, North Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention – “On Building Ships” by John Jacobson, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “Homeless in Seattle” by Susan Ordonio, South Seattle College

Poetry

  • First Place – “'41 Cadillac” by Tanner Boutwell, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “The Limp” by Morgan Wigmore, Seattle Central College
  • Honorable Mention – “Love Poem For An Aquarius” by Lori Bellamy, North Seattle College
  • Honorable Mention – “Love Stories from Franklin St” by Caleb Luce, South Seattle College

2019-2020 Student Literary Award Competition National Winners Anthology


International Contest Awards

  • Poetry First Place:  “'41 Cadillac” by Tanner Boutwell, Seattle Central College