Las Animas County Creative Writing Contest Open to K-12 Students

Trinidad State College and local partners are accepting submissions for the Las Animas County Creative Writing Contest through March 16, 2026, with every entry earning a spot in a published book and top finishers taking home cash prizes.

The contest is open to all students in grades K through 12 who attend a Las Animas County school, and homeschoolers residing in the county are explicitly welcome. Fiction, poetry, and creative essays are all accepted, with no restrictions on theme. Students compete in five grade-based groups: kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12, with first, second, and third place winners recognized in each.

Beyond the cash prizes awarded across those placements, the contest offers six $500 scholarships reserved specifically for seniors who plan to attend Trinidad State College after graduation.

Every submission, not just the winners, will be compiled into a book, and award recipients will be recognized at a ceremony held on the Trinidad State College campus. The college, founded in 1925 and a semifinalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, has hosted the contest dating back to at least 2020, when award recipients were last publicly listed on its website.

Submissions are accepted through an online form at Trinidad State College's website, which supports a wide range of file formats including Word documents, PDFs, plain text files, and common image and media formats. The submission form asks for a teacher, parent, or guardian as a contact person.

All work must be submitted no later than March 16, 2026. Students and families with questions can reach the program at lasanimas.creativewriting@gmail.com.