2026 Writing Contests

Each year the SHC English Department conducts four writing competitions.  Winners of the four awards are selected by a committee of faculty readers, and the awards are presented at Honors Convocation. 

THE MERILH AWARD for the best original essay written for an English class.

THE RICHARD LYNCH AWARD FOR CREATIVE WRITING for the best original short story.

THE CATHOLIC POETRY SOCIETY AWARD for excellence in original short poetry.

THE REVEREND ANDREW C. SMITH, S.J. POETRY PRIZE:  Original short poems are solicited for a prize of $100.00 from the Academy of American Poets.

RULES

1.  Only current Spring Hill College students are eligible.

2. All entries must be the original work of the writer submitting them. Submissions that are plagiarized, written by another person, or generated by AI are not allowed.

3. Students may submit up to two entries for each category (essay, fiction, and poetry).

4. Poetry entries will be considered for both awards.

5. Entries must be typed, saved as .doc or .pdf files, and submitted through this site.

6. Entries will be judged anonymously, so your name cannot appear anywhere in the file you upload.  Give your work an original title that we can use to identify it once the judging is complete.

7. All submissions will be considered for publication in SHC's literary journal, The Motley, unless authors indicate otherwise on the submission form. 

8. The deadline for contest submissions is Friday, February 13, 2026, by 5:00 pm.

If you have questions about the contest or encounter technological problems, contact Dr. Stephanie Callan, scallan@shc.edu

Links to Submission Forms

Choose the correct form for the contest you are entering.  You will need to be logged in to your SHC Gmail account to use these forms.  

Poetry Submissions 

Short Story Submissions 

Essay Submissions