Creative Writing Contest

Promoting creativity across the university, the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences' annual Creative Writing Contest honors outstanding examples of prose and poetry, written by Stevens students.

The Creative Writing Contest celebrates the literary talents of Stevens students from all departments and programs. Judged blindly by a former contest winner, the competition honors separate winners in the categories of prose and poetry, who, along with runners-ups, are invited to present their work at an end-of-the-year celebration.

Entries reflect a diverse and exciting array of creative talent among Stevens students who are often pursuing degrees in STEM subjects.

The contest was launched in 2013 by Billy Middleton, a teaching associate professor, and is now managed by Michelle Burke, a teaching assistant professor.

The 2025 Creative Writing Contest

We are now accepting entries for the 2025 HASS Creative Writing Award in Poetry and Prose!

Entrants may submit up to 3 original poems, up to 5 pages total. We are interested in poems of any style, traditional or experimental.

We are also interested in receiving original fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting submissions. Students should submit a single story, essay, or script up to 1,500 words in length.

First prize in each category (poetry and prose) will be a $100 gift certificate. Second prize in each category will be a $50 gift certificate.

You may submit in each category, but only one submission (or, for poetry, one set of submissions) per category.

The contest is judged blindly, so leave your name off the manuscript and include a separate cover sheet with contact information (name, email, title of your work). Only unpublished work will be considered. Do not submit AI-generated work.You must be a student at Stevens Institute of Technology to be eligible. The contest is open to any student from any department.

This year’s contest will be judged by Stevens graduate Sara Deuidicibus:

Sara Deuidicibus is a 2024 Stevens graduate and currently works as a Project Engineer at P&A Consulting Engineers, PLLC, in New York, NY. At Stevens, Sara worked at the WCC and was president of the Poetry Club for three years. Her poetry book Ends on the Positive Ones was self-published in August 2023.

Submit contest entries as a .docx or .pdf file to [email protected].

Deadline for submissions is Friday, March 28.

Past Winners