GCC Creative Writing

Traveler Selections for 2025-2026

March 3, 2026gccazcrwLeave a comment

The Traveler reading staff and judges have reviewed all entries for the past academic year, and they have made their selections. Listed below are the pieces and authors that will be published in the next issue of The Traveler, due out later in Spring. Thank you to everyone who submitted, and to everyone who read and reviewed entries. We are forever grateful for your commitment to creative writing at GCC.

Congratulations to our literary selections!

Creative Nonfiction

1st Place: A Day Like All Days, by Alex Areno
2nd Place: Raw Denim, by Ashley Lowell
3rd Place: The Desert Botanical Garden, by Joselyn Maria Lopez

Poetry

1st Place: Once You Stop This Car, by Adrian Castillo
2nd Place: Crossing the Finish Line, by Rogelio S. Aguayo
3rd Place: Other Men’s Thoughts, by Rogelio S. Aguayo
Honorable Mention: Heavenly Birthday, by Gina Guerin

Fiction

1st Place: The Last Sonatas, by Alex Areno
2nd Place: There’s No Place Like Hell for the Holidays, by Liesl Meador
3rd Place: The Master, the Sword, and the Lord, by Sandal Spiller
Honorable Mention: Teeth Like Thorns, by Ashley Lowell

One-Act Play/Drama

1st Place: 50!, by Walter T. Wimbs Jr.
2nd Place: Winter Blues, by Meg Campbell

Traveler Selections for 2024-2025

March 24, 2025March 24, 2025gccazcrwLeave a comment

The Traveler reading staff and judges have made their selections for Fall 2024 to Spring 2025! Thank you to everyone who submitted their fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, and drama. Please consider submitting again in Fall 2025.

Look for physical copies of the Traveler Arts & Literary Journal later this spring!

Fiction

1st Place: The Assassin, by Bryannah Stevens
2nd Place: Inarticulation, by Ashley Lowell
3rd Place: Richard Price, by Mary Gross
Honorable Mention: A Snark Page for Dead Pets, by Mary Gross

Creative Nonfiction

1st Place: Five Things You Can See, One Thing I Can’t Say, by Ashley Lowell
2nd Place: My Horror Story with a Happy Ending, by Haley Ybarra
3rd Place: A Mirror of a Broken Seashell, by Angel Marie Arguello

Poetry

1st Place: Now We Know, by Ruth Claire Brown
2nd Place: One Time I Rode My Bike at Night, by Ruth Claire Brown
3rd Place: My Wife and I Discuss Death While Eating Popcorn on a Tuesday Night and This is Just What We Do Now, by Ruth Claire Brown
Honorable Mention: I Can’t Do This Anymore, by Adrian Castillo

One-Act Play/Drama

1st Place: Silent War, by Angel Marie Arguello

Traveler Deadline Extended!

December 5, 2024gccazcrwLeave a comment

We’re still accepting Traveler submissions. The new deadline is Friday, December 13th. As you wind down your semester, please consider submitting your creative works of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and plays/screenplays! Submit your work here: https://gccazcrw.com/traveler/submissions/

Saturday Workshop: Word Play

November 15, 2024gccazcrwLeave a comment

This weekend, join us for our final Saturday Workshop of the Fall 2024 semester.

GCC’s NaNoWriMo Events Start Today!

November 5, 2024November 5, 2024gccazcrwLeave a comment

Come to the GCC Library (Main Campus, Room L-138) to participate in the first of our NaNoWriMo events! We start at 3pm.

Traveler & Artists of Promise Open for Submissions!

October 15, 2024gccazcrwLeave a comment

Both GCC’s The Traveler, Arts & Literary Journal, and the Maricopa Community Colleges’ Artists of Promise writing contests are accepting submissions for Fall 2024. The Traveler accepts submissions from Glendale Community College students only, whereas the Artists of Promise accepts submissions from any for-credit student at one of the MCCCD colleges.

The Traveler deadline is December 1st, 2024. Submit your work and read more about the requirements here. We have a special new category for submission this year!
The Artists of Promise deadline is November 8th, 2024. Submit your work and read more about the requirements here.

Saturday Workshop: How to Write Strong Horror Protagonists

October 7, 2024gccazcrwLeave a comment

In the spirit of the spooky season, we have another free writing workshop for you in October. Jayme Cook talks horror protagonists!

Saturday Workshop: Imaginative Worldbuilding

September 23, 2024gccazcrwLeave a comment

We’re starting up our Saturday Workshop Series for Fall 2024! Our first is September 28th, and it focuses on building fictional and imaginative worlds. Come join us at 10am on GCC Main LA-141. These events are free and open to the public!

Traveler Selections!

March 25, 2024gccazcrwLeave a comment

We’ve made our final literary selections for the 2023-2024 issue of Traveler. Thank you to everyone who submitted, everyone who read, and everyone who judged. We are grateful to have such wonderful people involved.

Congratulations to all of our selections for their fabulous work.

Fiction

1st Place: Forty-Two Children, by Patrick McCarthy
2nd Place: The Confusing First Time, by Lucas Price
3rd Place: Hold the Anchovies, Please, by Olin Reams
Honorable Mention: Too Much Exposition!, by Lucas Price

Creative Nonfiction

1st Place: Lively Lifelessness, by Lucas Price
2nd Place: When Home Is Home, by Edward Howard Freese

Poetry

1st Place: Masked, by Patrick McCarthy
2nd Place: Temporary, by Patrick McCarthy
3rd Place: And After All, by Amal Emily Zahroon
Honorable Mention: There Are No Mandatory Minimums Here, by Edward Howard Freese
Honorable Mention: Girls Turn to Monsters, by Amal Emily Zahroon

One-Act Play/Drama

1st Place: Messages of Atonement, by Sarah Dahdal
2nd Place: Chinchilla, by Adrian Castillo
3rd Place: Randall’s Birthday, by Brigham Rhett Larson

Final Call for The Traveler & Artists of Promise

December 8, 2023gccazcrwLeave a comment

As you head into your weekend, don’t forget that today (December 8th) is the deadline for both The Traveler and the Artists of Promise writing competitions! Let us read and publish your short stories, poems, creative essays, and scripts!