42nd Annual Statewide Creative Writing Contest
42nd Annual Statewide Creative Writing Contest $800 in Cash Prizes! We are pleased to announce the 42nd UAA/Anchorage Daily News Creative Writing Contest. The contest began in 1981, the brainchild of newly arrived UAA English professor Ronald Spatz, who wanted to encourage new writers of all ages. Since 2010, the Alaska Center for the Book has served as the coordinating partner.
After four decades, we can look back on the hundreds of prize-winning Alaska writers honored through the years who went on to achieve a measure of fame. That list that includes such noted Alaska authors as Richard Chiappone, Dan Coyle, Jeff Fair, Ernestine Hayes, Sue Henry, Barbara Hood, Sue Henry, Joan Kane, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Steven Levi, Nancy Lord, Jeremy Pataky, Julia O’Malley, Don Rearden, Cinthia Ritchie, Dana Stabenow, Gordy Vernon, Jonathan Waterman, and Dan Walker. Perhaps even more important than these notable winners are the young students inspired to write — and write well — for the rest of their lives.
All entries must be submitted electronically. Entrants can submit up to three poems, one piece of fiction, and one piece of nonfiction. Teachers can assist students with posting submissions if needed, though permissions and student contact information must be provided. Published authors, librarians, creative writing instructors serve as volunteer judges for the contest.
Winning entries from previous contests can be found online at LitSite Alaska
Many thanks to our founding sponsors, our coordinating partner, and financial support from LitSite Alaska and KeyBank.
The 2024-2025 Statewide Creative Writing Contest closes on Thursday, February 13, 2025.
Winners are eligible for the following cash prizes:
Story
Grade K-2 ... $25
Fiction
Grade 3-5 ... $25
Grade 6-8 ... $25
Grade 9-12 ... $50
Open to the Public ... $50
Nonfiction
Grade 3-5 ... $25
Grade 6-8 ... $25
Grade 9-12 ... $50
Open to the Public ... $50
Poetry
Grade K-2 ... $25
Grade 3-5 ... $25
Grade 6-8 ... $25
Grade 9-12 ... $50
Open to the Public ... $50
Grand Prize: $200 | Editor's Choice: $100
Creative Writing Contest Rules
1) The contest is open to Alaska residents. College students who maintain Alaska residency may enter. All judges, editorial or administrative employees of Anchorage Daily News, faculty or administrative employees of the University of Alaska and board members of the Alaska Center for the Book, and their immediate family are ineligible.
2) Work published previously in any copyrighted newspaper, magazine, book or other medium is ineligible. Writing for school publications may be entered. Entries must be original.
3) Contestants may enter one work of fiction (not to exceed 5,000 words), one work of nonfiction (not to exceed 5,000 words), and up to three poems. A contestant may enter all categories in his or her age group.
4) Each submission requires a separate completed entry form.
5) Entries should be entered through the website at adn.com/creativewritingcontest no later than 5:00 p.m., Thursday, February 13, 2025. Only entries in digital format will be accepted.
6) No submissions will be returned.
7) Panels of Alaska judges, recruited among writers, teachers, librarians, and booksellers, judge entries for each category. (Teachers will not judge their own students’ entries.) A separate panel of judges will select the Grand Prize winner and Editor's Choice winners. Judging and winner notification will be completed no later than May 5, followed by an announcement in Anchorage Daily News.
8) The author retains the copyright to the submitted work, and agrees to publication in Anchorage Daily News, print and online editions, and on the University of Alaska Anchorage’s LitSite Alaska website. Winners may be asked to provide a photo to appear with their entries.
9) The decisions of the judges are final. Submission indicates acceptance of all contest rules.
Questions about the Creative Writing Contest should be e-mailed to creativewritingcontest@adn.com.