2026 Colorado College CW Awards
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Eligibility: Must be a Colorado College student enrolled in the academic year in which the contest occurs.
Accepting previously unpublished works only (this includes publications in Leviathan).
The deadline is February 15, 2026 by 11:59 pm (mountain).
- All entries must be pdf or .doc/x files, include page numbers and use 1 inch margins.
- Your name should not appear in the document or as the file name.
- Files that include names will be immediately disqualified.
- If you are submitting work to all three contests, you will need to create a separate submission for each genre. The form only allows you to select one genre.
Prizes and Publication
Prizes per genre: 1st place: $400 -- 2nd place: $300 -- 3rd places: $200
Publication: All winning pieces will be considered for publication in Leviathan. We will forward your work to the editors after announcing the winners. They will then contact you regarding edits, proofs, permissions, etc.
2026 Contest Judges Coming Soon!
Requirements by Genre
Poetry:
- Poems may be of any form, versification (including free verse), genre (spoken word, lyric, dramatic, narrative, etc.), and topic.
- Submit one to ten poems (as long as the total number of lines does not exceed five hundred). The awards will be made on the basis of the quality of all the poetry that each person submits.
- We do not accept translations at this time as our judges' language expertise can change from year to year.
Creative Nonfiction:
- Includes personal and memoir-style essays, cnf experiments in form, flash/micro nonfiction, and lyrical essays. This DOES NOT include reportage, news articles, blog posts, journaling, or similar work.
- Please submit one essay (up to 10,000 words) or a collection of three to five flash/micro non-fiction pieces (1,000 word max for each flash/micro nonfiction).
- If submitting flash/micro pieces, clearly title each new work and separate works with a page break.
Fiction:
- Includes one short story (up to 10,000 words) or a collection of three to five flash/micro fiction pieces (1,000 word max for each micro fiction).
- If submitting flash/micro pieces, clearly title each new work and separate works with a page break.
Contest results will be announced in Block 7.
Please contact npulley@coloradocollege.edu with any questions.
Thank you for participating in this year's Creative Writing Contest.
Best of luck,
The English Department at CC