Creative Writing Category
The English Department at Western Kentucky University is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 the Creative Writing Category for The Barbara Ann Williford Memorial High School Writing Contest. Students should visit the links on the right to complete an application and submit a piece of creative writing (pdf format) based on the prompt below. The English Department will invite finalists, their teachers, and family to campus for a reception and ceremony on April 18, 2026 where they will be recognized.
The winners will receive cash prizes: 1st place - $200; 2nd place - $125; 3rd place - $75 and Teacher's Choice - $100.
Application and Essays are due March 28, 2026.
The Shape of Joy
Joy can be explosive or quiet, fleeting or hard-won. It can arrive unexpectedly or be something we fight to hold on to. In a world that often feels heavy with distraction, fear, and noise, moments of joy can feel both radical and rare. But they still exist—sometimes in small gestures, sometimes in life-changing events.
Write a piece of creative writing—either a poem or a short story—exploring the theme of joy and how it manifests in human experience. Consider these questions as you write:
- What does joy look or feel like in different lives?
- Can joy exist alongside grief, pain, or struggle?
- Is joy something that finds us, or something we have to choose?
- What happens when a character discovers an unexpected source of joy—or loses it?
Genre Guidelines:
- Poem: Capture a moment, emotion, or image of joy—whether bright and unrestrained or subtle and bittersweet. Use rhythm, metaphor, and sensory detail to make the reader feel the joy you describe.
- Short Story: Create a narrative centered on a character’s pursuit, loss, or rediscovery of joy. Consider how setting, conflict, or relationships might reveal what joy means in your character’s world.
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