“On behalf of the CLASS Department and the many Creative Writing enthusiasts on our campus, I thank each and every contestant for submitting their creative works,” said department chair Dr. Mary Dezember. “I also thank the professionals who volunteered time from their very hectic schedules to be judges.”

Dezember said students submitted many excellent pieces, and the judges enjoyed reading the students’ work. The judges’ decisions were difficult and they had trouble deciding on only four awards in each category.

“If your work was not selected this year, please know that we value your submissions,” Dezember said. “Please keep writing and resubmit next year.

A Celebration Reading will give the winners an opportunity to deliver their work orally to fellow students and faculty. The Celebration Reading will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, in the Tripp Room of the Skeen Library (Library 212). In addition, all students who entered the contest will receive a Certificate of Creativity.

In addition, an open mic period will follow the readings by the winners. In the remaining time that evening, those who entered the contest can read their submission, if they wish, and also anyone attending can also bring something to read.

Fiction
1st Place: Paula D. Barteau, “Gone in Gray”
2nd Place: Jake Hopkins, “Ten Kilograms”
3rd Place: Niall Norton-Cormier, “Superhero”
Honorable Mention: Camille Bryant, “The King Who Killed His Family”

Poetry
1st Place: Paul Gabrielson, “Cryptobiota”
2nd Place: George K. Egert, “White Man at the Apollo”
3rd Place: Paul Gabrielson, “Desert Amphitheater”
Honorable Mention: Jackson Krauss, “Weight, Love, and Ashes”

Creative Non-Fiction
1st Place: Christopher Luck, “I Believe in Heroes”
2nd Place: Brianna Hendrickson, “An Event That Changed the Way You Looked at Something”
3rd Place: Christopher Luck, “The Technology Behind a Broken Heart”
Honorable Mention: Mengchen (Elaine) Fan, “Slow Down This Speedy World”

By Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico Tech