District Competition

Artists of Promise Literary Selections for 2022-2023

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FICTION

First Place

  • Constantine Cotton
  • Glendale Community College
  • “The Long Walk”

Second Place

  • Kevin Flanagan
  • Phoenix College
  • “Diane Remained”

Third Place

  • Terri Boaz
  • Scottsdale Community College
  • “In the Mirror”

POETRY

First Place

  • Ella Sexton
  • Paradise Valley Community College
  • “Downsizing”

Second Place

  • Persephone Pilibossian
  • Rio Salado College
  • “Border Clash”

Third Place

  • Kira Caspers
  • Scottsdale Community College
  • “the host”

ESSAY

First Place

  • Alex Dodt
  • Mesa Community College
  • “If You are a Writer and Grieving”

Second Place

  • Patrick McCarthy
  • Glendale Community College
  • “First Drink”

Third Place

  • Lillian Titus
  • Glendale Community College
  • “Problems as a Straight Woman Now With Solutions!”

ONE-ACT PLAY/SCREENPLAY

First Place

  • Connor Blaylock
  • Chandler-Gilbert Community College
  • “Fortune”

Second Place

  • Jasper Nicholson
  • Rio Salado College
  • “Flower Garden”

Third Place

  • Kevin Flanagan
  • Phoenix College
  • “The Master Thief”
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Final Day to Submit to Artists of Promise

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Today (11/24) is the deadline for Maricopa’s Artists of Promise writing contest. If you are an active student in any of the Maricopa Community College District’s schools, such as GCC, you are eligible to enter. You can submit one entry in each of the following categories: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and one-act play/drama. If you have questions, or trouble submitting, you can email jeffrey.baker@gccaz.edu

For full submission rules, and to submit your work, head here: Artists of Promise Submissions

The clock is ticking!

Artists of Promise Contest – 2021!

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2021-22 Artists of Promise: Creative Writing Competition

Each year, the Maricopa Community Colleges sponsor a districtwide competition to encourage and recognize student achievement in the following categories:

  • Essay
  • Fiction
  • One Act-Play/Script
  • Poetry

Winning students will receive cash awards, be published in Maricopa’s literary magazine, Passages, and be recognized at the virtual Artists of Promise Event during the Spring of 2022.

Also, the first-place winners in each category will be submitted by the district to then compete at the National Level in the League of Innovation in the Community Colleges Creative Writing Competition.

For competition rules, eligibility requirements, the submission and judging process please go to https://www.maricopa.edu/creative-writing 

Awards

Winners will be notified in early February 2022 by the Maricopa Center for Learning & Innovation (MCLI).

First-place work in each category will be recognized at the Virtual Artists of Promise performance scheduled for Spring 2022.

All awards will be issued via student accounts in SIS shortly after the Artists of Promise gala.

  • $300 for first place
  • $200 for second place
  • $100 for third place

Additionally, First Place winners will be entered in the League for Innovation in the Community College’s National Student Literary Competition and be required to complete League application materials, which will be provided by the MCLI.

Application Close Date: Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Upcoming Writing Events in November

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With numerous competitions, workshops, and readings, November promises to be a busy month for creative writers at GCC and around the valley. Here’s a quick list of important dates and events:

November 4th: GCC is holding a series of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) writing sessions in the library. The first session is November 4th from 4PM to 5:30PM in L-138. Additional sessions will take place on November 12th, November 18th, and November 25th. Full flier here.

November 15th & November 22nd: ASU is offering scholarships for their Desert Nights & Rising Stars conference. While the conference will be held in spring, scholarship applications are due this month! More details here.

November 16th: GCC is hosting its third and final Saturday Workshop for this semester. David Martinez presents “Learning to Bleed on the Page with Style.” The workshop runs from 10AM to 12PM and is free/open to the public.

November 18th: The Maricopa County Community Colleges District is holding a creative writing competition where winners both get published and paid. The new deadline for this competition is Monday, November 18th. Read all about this Artists of Promise competition here.

November 19th: Mesa Community College is hosting Tiffany Midge for their Literary Reading Series. Midge is a bestselling author of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and she will read from her book Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s. The reading begins at 7PM and will be held in the Mesa Community College Art Gallery.

November 20th: GCC is hosting its annual Poetry & Prose Slam. Participants share their original, creative work (poems, very short fiction or prose) to a live audience and a panel of judges. The top three participants earn monetary prizes! This event is free and open to the public.

November 30th: GCC’s Library is holding a Fabulous First Chapter Contest and the deadline lands on the final day of November. This competition is open only to GCC students. Full details can be found here.

Artists of Promise – District Writing Competition

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Each year, the Maricopa Community Colleges hold district-wide arts competitions and celebrations. A writing contest is part of these celebrations, and as writers, you are contractually obligated to submit your creative work to this contest. It’s right there in the fine print, if you look close enough, beneath the bits about imprisonment for tearing mattress labels and how breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Winning this competition not only results in publication in the district’s annual Passages magazine, but also a monetary award. Writers who place first, second, and third receive $300, $200, and $100 dollars respectively. First Place winners will be entered in the  National Student Literary Competition sponsored by the League for Innovation.

Much like GCC’s Traveler competition, the district accepts work from four genres (listed below). To review the guidelines in depth, and to submit your work, follow this link: https://events.maricopa.edu/event/artists-promise-creative-writing.

The deadline is November 18th, 2019! (Updated)

  • Essay: 2,000 words
  • Fiction: 3,000 words
  • One-Act Play/Script: 3,000 words including stage direction and/or production notes
  • Poetry: 67 lines

Writing Competition Deadlines Extended

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They said it would not happen. They said it was not possible. Well, I have no idea who “they” are, and if that’s even their real name, but here’s the deal: Due to popular demand, the deadlines for both GCC’s Traveler Literary Contest and the District’s Creative Writing Competition have been extended!

Remember, too, that you can submit your same creative work to both of these contests without any concern for conflict. If you have any questions, or if you have trouble submitting, please contact Jeff Baker at jeffrey.baker@gccaz.edu.

November Events & Highlights

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With October behind us, it’s time to look at all the great November events and news relevant to CRW at GCC.

Spring classes are open and ready to be filled. We have our usual stalwarts of CRW150, CRW160, and CRW170. Plus, we also have more unique and special offerings like CRW202: Witness Writing and CRW251 – Worldbuilding. Whether you’ve taken courses with us before, or you’re thinking of taking that first step, we have plenty to offer. See our full list of offerings and course descriptions here: Spring 2019 Classes.

Our final Saturday workshop for Fall 2018 lands this weekend on November 3rd. Laura White, in all her clever glory, presents Fight Die Love: The Hardest Scenes to Write.  In this workshop, which is free and open to all, Laura will talk about scene doctoring, making sure you get the most out of your prose, be it short-form fiction, long-form fiction, or creative nonfiction.

Our annual Poetry & Prose Slam falls on Wednesday, November 14th from 7 to 9PM. Come read your work, come win some money, and come have fun at GCC after dark. The competition is open to the public, GCC student and non-student alike. There’s money on the line! Stay tuned for more details and guidelines, coming very soon.

The Magical Library writing competition, put on by the kind and creative folks in GCC’s library, ends on Friday, November 2nd. They’re accepting short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry incorporating the theme of “magical library”–all interpretations welcome, but only GCC students may submit.

The Traveler, GCC’s Arts & Literary Magazine, is still accepting submissions for this year’s issue. The Traveler accepts short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and one-act plays, but only GCC students may enter. The deadline is November 18th! For full guidelines, and to submit online, head here: Submit to the Traveler!

And not to be outdone, the Maricopa Community Colleges are holding an even bigger contest: The District Writing Competition. If you’re a student at any of Maricopa’s community colleges, you’re eligible to enter. Much like The Traveler, you can submit your short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and one-act plays. So, whatever you decide to submit to the Traveler you should also submit to the District Writing Competition! Enter here!

Know of a creative writing or artistic event taking place in November? Let us know and we’ll add it to the calendar.

Artists of Promise

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Please consider attending this wonderful annual event next Wednesday, April 25th at the Herberger Theatre in Phoenix. The event is in celebration of the student winners in a variety of arts competitions held throughout the academic year, including creative writing. The art exhibition and reception begins at 5:30PM and performances begin at 6:30PM. Find out more information at the district’s Artists of Promise website.