Calliope 2026

Student Writing Contest

Calliope is now closed for submissions.

The highest quality entries are published in Calliope. In addition, these entries are automatically entered in the Languages, Arts & Social Sciences Division's Best in Publication contest. Important Note: Due to budget constraints, there will not be a print version of this year's issue. The digital issue should be available on this site by the end of April.

Literary works are awarded for: 1st-$100, 2nd-$75 and 3rd-$50, in each literary category. These prizes are provided by the Division of Languages, Arts & Social Sciences.

New Micro Fiction category - All stories of 100 words or less. Non-award category. Submit for the chance to have your work published.

Artwork is awarded for: cover-$150, 1st-$100 2nd-$75 and 3rd-$50. The prizes are provided by the Division of Languages, Arts, and Social Sciences.

Faculty, please contact Jay Udall if you would like a Calliope representative to visit your classes to explain the journal and contest to your students. If you would like additional copies of the journal or student flyers to circulate among your students, please email your request to judall@nvcc.edu.

Written Entries

Click below to submit all written entries including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and micro-fiction.

Submit Written Entries

Artwork Entries

Please click below to submit all works of art including drawing, painting, design, ceramics, sculpture, digital art, and photography.

Submit Artwork Entries

We invite submissions from any student enrolled in an AN class during the 2025—2026 academic year (consisting of the Fall 2025 semester and Spring 2026 semester).

To be considered, all submissions must conform to the following submission guidelines:

Deadlines

All literary and art submissions must be received in the proper format by February 1, 2026.

Written Submissions

Written work in the following categories should be submitted by clicking on the Submit button above:

Poetry
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Micro-Fiction

Format Guidelines

Poetry should be no more than 2 pages in length (a maximum of 40 lines per page including stanza breaks)—individual lines of poetry must not exceed 85 characters across the page.
Fiction and Non-Fiction entries can be up to 1500 words in length.
Micro Fiction entries must be 100 words or less in length.
All literary entries must be submitted as Word documents, single-spaced, in 12 point font (Arial or Times New Roman preferred).
All entries must have a unique title attached to the work. Titles for literary entries will appear on the first page of the work. (The editors may reposition the title in publication.)
A cover page for each submission is required. See below for cover page guidelines.

Artwork Submissions

Works of art including drawing, painting, design, ceramics, sculpture, and photography, should be submitted through this Google Form.

Format Guidelines

All entries must have a unique title attached to the work.
Titles for artwork entries should be placed on an accompanying cover sheet (see below).
Artwork will be accepted in color or black and white.
Please note that artwork should only be submitted electronically. Please submit high quality images of your artwork through this Google form only.

Image Guidelines

Image size: at least 300 dpi
Image format: JPEG
Image name: Last name dot first initial dot 01 (then 02, 03, etc.)

Cover Page Guidelines

Cover page should be a Word document, not a PDF or JPEG.
Name of cover page: Last name dot first initial dot 01 (then 02, 03, etc.) to correspond with the jpeg.
The following information must be included on the cover page:
- Author’s or artist’s complete name
- Contact information
  - Address
  - Home, cell and work phone numbers
  - NVCC email address and a secondary email address
  - NOVA Emplid #
- Title of piece
- Submission category

Important Notice

Selected submissions may appear in the Calliope publication, on the Calliope website, and in additional media as well.

Art

Prize	Student Name	Title
Cover Prize	Anna Kekisi-Kim	"Beautifully Broken"
First Prize	Hannah Vintilescu	"Self Control"
Second Prize	Immy Murphy	"Crossing That Border"
Third Prize	Maxwell Roux	"Sunset"

Fiction

Prize	Student Name	Title
First Prize	Maria Flores Carrasco	"Fractured Chords"
Second Prize	Kelly Force	"Growing Old"
Third Prize	Paul Owen	"A Wolf in the Hold"

Creative Nonfiction

Prize	Student Name	Title
First Prize	Nazif Aziz	"Third Shift"
Second Prize	Bruce Ward	"Threshold"
Third Prize	Mariah Anderson	"Bethel Hill Cemetery vs Linel"

Poetry

Prize	Student Name	Title
First Prize	Bruce Ward	"A Familiar Pang"
Second Prize	Giai Nghi Lam	"A Mind, A Soul"
Third Prize	Shepard Caruso	"The Fastest Way to a Man's Heart is Through His Stomach"

Prize	Student Name	Title
Cover Prize	Victor Albertson	"When Winter Meets the Well"
First Prize	Charlie Howard	"What Do You Want to See?"
Second Prize	Hans Caballero	"Self Portrait"
Third Prize	Stephanie De La Cruz	"I Don't Like Hugs"

Fiction

Prize	Student Name	Title
First Prize	Jeremiah Feindt	"The Smell of Friendship"
Second Prize	Christian-Anthony Galvez	"The Little Flower"
Third Prize	Kathryn Sayers	"It Always Comes Undone"

Creative Nonfiction

Prize	Student Name	Title
First Prize	Jeremiah Feindt	"Cloudy With Chance of Tears"
Second Prize	Nishant Gurung	"Maya-A Collection of Memories"

Poetry

Prize	Student Name	Title
First Prize	Salem Ekstrom	"Emily"
Second Prize	Isabelle Grace Rollins	"A Lamb's Plea"
Third Prize	Bailey Holt	"May Love Always Be Soft"

Artwork

Prize	Student Name	Title
Cover Prize	Etchilia Madrid	"Hintay"
First Prize	Olivia Andres	"Dreamy Days"
Second Prize	Thanh Dan Do	"Portrait of My Friend with the Mustache She's Always Wanted and Her Dead Dog"
Third Prize	Abigail Jensen	"Elements"

Fiction

Prize	Student Name	Title
First Prize	Rebecca Woodford	"The Exchange"
Second Prize	Nawaal Nackerdien	"Raspberries, Lilies, and Heritage Tomatoes"
Third Prize	Angel (Xinyi) Zheng	"The Daughter"