Find, Explore, and Create Spaces of Belonging Through Writing

Each year, students at League board colleges are invited to take part in a literary competition through the League for Innovation in the Community College.

Students initially compete through their local League board college or district, and the winners go on to compete at the international level in four categories:

• Fictional short story
• Poetry
• Personal essay
• One-act play

Eligibility

Entries must be original works written during enrollment in for-credit courses at a participating college.

Maximum Length

• Fiction: 3,500 words
• Poetry: 67 lines
• Essay: 2,500 words
• One-Act Play: 3,500 words, including stage direction/production notes

Prizes

• First Place: $500
• Second Place: $200
• Third Place: $100

***All international-level entries receive a Certificate of Merit and are published in the League's Student Literary Awards anthology.

Submission Process

The competition coordinator at each League board college may submit one entry per category to the international level. Each entry must be from a different student.

• Entries must be PDF files
• All identifying information must be removed from the manuscript (including from the file name of the document)
  • No student name
  • No name of school
  • No email address, etc.
• The title on the manuscript must match the title on the entry form
• The manuscript must have a header in the upper right corner of each page with the following information:
  • Title of story, play, poem, or essay
  • Genre: Short Fiction, One-Act Play, Poetry, or Personal Essay
  • Page number

Deadline for League Competition: Friday, April 14, 2023, 11:59 p.m. EST

Entry Information

Students interested in participating in this competition should reach out to their school's writing contest coordinator or English faculty to learn more.

Submissions will only be accepted from school coordinators, via the Google Form that was emailed to them.