Here are the results for the 2026 PRISM Writing Contest. Thanks to all who submitted entries and Congrats to those who placed!

2026 PRISM Writing Contest Award Winners  

ART  

First Place – “won’t you celebrate with me,” Maya James 

Second Place – “Hatching Betta,” McKenzie Kouw 

Honorable Mention – “Dog Shading,” Ava Ruster 

“Nice to Meet You,” Claudia Smith    

FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE ESSAY (The Mary Kilgallen Award)  

First Place – “My old home,” LeShawn Holt Jr. 

Second Place – “More than a Gold Star,” Aple-Gene Matchinski 

Honorable Mention – “It all started with a hoodie,” Ava Ruster 

FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE RESEARCH PAPER  

First Place – “Viewing Id, Superego, and Ego within Popular Short Stories,” Aubrie Patrick 

Second Place – “Princess Diana, Murder or Accident?” Ava Ruster 

JUNIOR/SENIOR ESSAY  

First Place – “When the Game Becomes a Stage: The Media’s Role in the Politicization of Sports,” Jonathen Hart 

Second Place – “The Call,” Claudia Smith 

JUNIOR/SENIOR RESEARCH PAPER  

First Place – “Art and AI: A Battle for the Visual World,” McKenzie Kouw 

Second Place – ““The Yellow Wallpaper” and Jane Eyre: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Madwoman,” Natalie Timmerman 

Honorable Mention – “Sense as Process—Redefining Making-Sense as an Affirmation of Being by Way of Deleuze,” William Garason 

POETRY  

First Place – “A Séance for Lot’s Wife,” Alexandra Norman 

Second Place – “Quietude,” William Garason 

Honorable Mention – “As I Grow Older,” Grace Kolbusz 

   “Someone I had to meet alone,” Jonathen Hart   

   “The Face of Windigo is Man,” McKenzie Kouw 

“my world,” Maddox Epps  

SHORT FICTION   

First Place – “I wish to fly away and yet I’m here,” Grace Kolbusz 

Second Place – “Silver Thread,” Reese Ensing 

Honorable Mention – “The Guy with a Mullet and a Smiley Face Tattoo,” Maddox Epps 

   “The Distance Between Two Trains,” Jonathen Hart 

TECHNICAL, PROFESSIONAL, OR SCRIPT (The Daniel Ding Memorial Award)  

  

First Place – “Echoes of 3:17,” Jonathen Hart