Every November is National Novel Writing Month. Each year, the NaNoWriMo nonprofit organization hosts an international novel-writing challenge to promote creative writing. Once again, the UT Libraries and the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center joined in the fun by hosting our own short story contest.

Students dropped by our five-hour “write-in” on the evening of November 13. Tutors from the Writing Center were on hand to provide guidance and support, and we revealed our three writing prompts:

Prompt #1: Your polite new neighbors who just moved in next door have suspiciously pointed ears and speak a language that you can’t find on Google Translate.

Prompt #2: You’ve been raised all your life to fulfill a prophecy, only for the seer to realize they were mistaken — you have no great destiny after all. What do you do now?

Prompt #3: Your main character has been stranded on a desert island for months. Alone… or so they thought. One morning, they wake up to a message written in the sand.

Students then had one week to complete and submit their short stories. 

We’re pleased to announce the winners:

1st place: “Devil Apartment Complex” by Eric Yang
2nd place: “The Mourning Dove” by Anonymous
3rd place: [untitled] by Amanda Hubbard

Honorable mention:

“Eleven” A.M. by Laura Dixson
“Enough” by Alexis Kessens
“Blood and Thunder: A Rhapsody of Destiny” by LL

Congratulations to each of our writers. Click on the links, below, to read their stories.

“Who the Hell Cares About Destiny” by Carrie Cheng
“The Prophecy Untold” by Aschyr Conley
“The Deeds of the Great Hero” by Holland D’Amico
“Sailing Away” by Madeline DelHomme
“Cycle of a Fantasy” by Liam Feragola
“Finishing in 1st Place” by Carly Henry
“The Glass Horizon” by Henry Humble
“A Midnight Cry” by G. Johnson
“Memories, A Curse” by Bethany Parker
[untitled] by Irina Perfilova
“When the Light Fades” by Destanye Puckett
[untitled] by Calixte Walls
“Burden of the Chosen” by Davis Welch