Innovate is honored to announce ACC’s 2022-23 winners of the League for Innovation Student Literary Award.

Short Stories

1st Place: “Necromancy” by Seth Maloney
2nd Place: “Valkyrie Squadron: The Box of Anubis” by Seth Maloney
3rd Place: “Yellow Raccoon: Very Mellow” by Seth Maloney

Honorable Mention Short Stories

“Mirror, Mirror” by Joshua Wagner

Poetry

1st Place: “The Next Morning In Fruita” by Shannon Williams
2nd Place: “The Man with the Gun (Inspired by the movie American Son)” by Brandon Clear
3rd Place: “my heart is a jar of worms at my friend hannah’s birthday party, 2009” by Daniel Walton

Honorable Mention

“The Color of Helpless” by Shannon Williams
“Kari” by Zebedee Arshad
“Forgive Him” by Katheryn Pharr

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First place winners in Short Story and Poetry will compete with community college students across the nation for cash prizes. Winners will be published in the League’s Literary Journal. We wish Seth and Shannon luck in the national competition!

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Congratulations to our winners! Thanks to the creative team behind Innovate (especially Ysella Fulton Slavin and Wade Allen) and to our panel of readers. Most of all, thanks to our talented students!

Innovate is honored to announce ACC’s 2021-22 winners of the League for Innovation Student Literary Award.

Short Stories

1st Place: “Black Keys” by Johnathan Norton
2nd Place: “Immortalized” by Linda Yesenia Carrasco
3rd Place: “Time Traveling” by Lily Newell 

Honorable Mention Short Stories

“Death, Hogwarts, and a Moose” by Lily Newell
“The Nightlight” by Brooke Hatch
“The Man With the Curled Fingers” by Kirstin Williams
“The Lost Fortune” by Brady Schieffer

Poetry

1st Place: “Pond Politics” by Emma Lott
2nd Place: “Time of Youth” by Coral Brundige
3rd Place: “The One Lurking in the Dark” by Thomas Schmitt

Honorable Mention

“Pledge” by Genavieve Middaugh
“If Only” by Natilee Strey
“Loneliness” by Bryan Guerrero
“Withering Away” by Hailey Bazyn

Eligibility

• Students must be currently enrolled in for-credit courses at a participating college.
• Entries must be original works written during enrollment at a participating college.
• Each participating college may submit one literary piece by one student in each category to the international competition. Each piece must be written by a different student.

Maximum Length

• Fictional Short Story: 3,500 words
• Poetry: 67 lines

International-Level Prizes

• First Place: $500
• Second Place: $200
• Third Place: $100