10/24/2025
In 2025, twenty-one writers were selected as winners in seven categories of the 66th annual Utah Original Writing Competition, by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums and the Salt Lake Community College Community Writing Center. Winners were selected from 317 entries submitted by Utah-based writers.
A private event celebrating Utah writers and the Original Writing Competition will be held on November 12, 2025, from 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. There will be an awards ceremony and readings by previous competition winners.
2025 UTAH ORIGINAL WRITING COMPETITION WINNERS
Category A: Novel, judged by Meg Elison
First Place: "Recipient," by Anna Bessesen, Murray
Second Place: "To the Right of the Moon," by BJ Eardley, Moab
Honorable Mention: "The Secret Guest Book of the Inn-Between," by Robert Vicens, Salt Lake City
Category B: Creative Nonfiction Book, judged by A. Kendra Greene
First Place: "Reverence Is Resistance: Stories & Spells from a Lake-led Movement," by Savannah Pearson, Salt Lake City
Second Place: "Pretend It Never Happened," by Carolyn Campbell and Karin Krueger, Salt Lake City
Honorable Mention: "History of an IED Hunter," by Melissa Hansen, Woods Cross
Category C: Poetry Collection, judged by Ina Cariño
First Place: "Somewhere Horses," by Jasmine Khaliq, Salt Lake City
Second Place: "We Are Milkweed," by Kim Welliver, Salt Lake City
Honorable Mention: "Hand-drawn Maps from Memory," by Lesley Hart Gunn, Provo
Category D: Children's Book, judged by Claire Taylor
First Place: "The Summer of Grandma's Dolls," by Louise Hurd, North Ogden
Second Place: "One Way or Another," by Sharlee Glenn, Pleasant Grove
Honorable Mention: "Merit & Lu: The Case of the Sticky Wicket," by Libby Ludlow, Park City
Category E: Poetry, judged by Heather Lang-Cassera
First Place: "Trying on New Gods," by Erica Plummer, South Jordan
Second Place: "Brimming," by Katherine January, Bountiful
Honorable Mention: "Dearly Beloved, Orion Caught in a Dead Spruce, Willow, Rural Cemetery, Santa Monica Pier, Biomass 1-4," by Joe Roberts, Salt Lake City
Category F: Short Story, judged by A.C. Wise
First Place: "The Trial," by Abigail Rose-Marie, Spanish Fork
Second Place: "The Fishhusband of Stinking Water," by Christian Loftus, Kaysville
Honorable Mention: "Faith in a .44," by C.K. Turner, Sandy
Category G: Creative Nonfiction Essay, judged by Tyler Orion Glauz-Todrank
First Place: "Skylab and Feather," by Cheyenne Nimes, Salt Lake City
Second Place: "Manners," by Abigail Rose-Marie, Spanish Fork
Honorable Mention: "Children of the Birds," by Chloe Scheve, West Valley City
Note: the accompanying photos are of the 2025 UOWC judges. For their bios, go to https://www.slcc.edu/cwc/utah-original-writing-competition.aspx
Congratulations to each of the winners on their award-winning writing!
