You're invited! Support our student writers and artists (while enjoying free food)!
Join us on Tuesday, April 15th, at 6:00 pm in the UNCW Library's Discovery Hall Event Space (DH1070) for a reading and reception in honor of the contest's winners, honorable mentions, and contributing artists. Copies of this year’s anthology will be available for free as well!
This year's winners and honorable mentions:
First: "Whispers in the Stacks" by Qiuhong Wei
Second: "Let Me Out" by Megan Eesley
Third: "Paper Cranes" by Miriam Schatz
Honorable Mentions:
"Afterimage" by Rhianna Beaupre
"What Lurks in the Depths" by Campbell Haynes
"Will it replace us—or set us free?" by Marius Hoffman
"Busy, Busy" by Charlie Kingree
"Discovery-ARC" by Logan Knowles
"The Consensus" by Thomas Koehler
"Daisies" by Da Ming Lau
"Power" by Adam Pridgen
"Alorah" by Isabela Rezende
"Archaic Practice" by Jonah Rinberg
"A Modern Love Story" by Issy Thompson
"Conscience or (Artificial) Intelligence" by Katelyn Walbourne
Illustrators:
Nex Zuniga
Sofi Bardaxis
Andrea Boctot
Bella Cacciato
Brandon Huebner
Brooklyn Jackson
Connor Robertson
Diamond Wilson
Garrett Canaday
Henry Moore
Logan Beechner
Madelyn Frazier
Oliver Rice
Sarah Rhue
Past FlashLit Anthologies
Get ready to unleash your creativity!
The highly anticipated FlashLIT Writing Contest 2025 starts now! This year's theme is Artificial Intelligence. The writing contest is open to all UNCW students. We invite writers of all genres to craft pieces of 500 words or less within two weeks.
The stakes are high, with cash prizes awarded to the top three winners:
- First Place: $200
- Second Place: $150
- Third Place: $100
Prizes will be applied to winners’ student accounts through the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. Winners and selected honorable mentions will also have their work published in an anthology.
Adding to the excitement, UNCW art students will create original artwork for all entries, making FlashLIT a vibrant collaboration between writers and artists across campus.
Don’t miss this chance to share your story, win prizes, and see your work published alongside stunning visuals.
FlashLIT Contest Rules
If any of these rules or formatting guidelines are not followed, your submission will be automatically disqualified.
- Must be a UNCW student, currently enrolled.
- 500 words or less.
- Must relate to the theme Artificial Intelligence. Must mention UNCW Library.
- Submissions due by Friday, February 7th at 5:00 p.m. EST.
- One entry per student.
Formatting Guidelines
- Double spaced, 12 pt., Times New Roman, 1-inch margins on all sides.
- Use one tab to indicate every paragraph indent.
- Section breaks should be notated by (***).
- Turn off all auto-formatting features (such as automatic paragraph indenting, outlining, bullet points).
- Enter only one space after terminal punctuation. If you used two spaces, search/replace to update your file.
- For dashes, use em-dash character with no space on either side, or use two hyphens, and we’ll search and replace the em-dash during typesetting.
- For any special characters or glyphs, such as trademark symbols, accents, or irregular punctuation, please note them by highlighting them in yellow. If you'd like to include a special character or a glyph but you don't know how to set it, please submit a hard copy of your story with specific instructions for the placement and type of special character to be inserted.
- Files should be saved and submitted as follows: lastname_firstname.docx.
- Submit a .docx version of your submission via the form here.
NOTE: Edits and revisions will NOT be allowed after submissions, nor will the publisher have time to check your work. Take care that your piece is fully edited and perfected before submitting.