Congratulations to our 2025 Award Winners!
Brancart Fiction Award:
- 1st Place: Sofia Mosqueda ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature) for “I Was There When You’d Cry”
Richardson Poetry Award:
- 1st Place: Audrey Lin ‘27 (CCS Writing & Literature) for “Beckon” and “The Inaugural Taco Bell of China”
M. Garren Tinney Writing Award
- 1st Place: Nina Jekel (L&S Environmental Studies, Theater) for “2010 Grey Honda Civic, 105k Miles”
Most Excellent Awards
Narrative Prose:
- 1st Place: Margaret Gray ‘26 (CCS Writing & Literature) for “Gemellus’ Soliloquy”
- Runner-Up: Sofia Mosqueda ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature) for “Abattoir”
- Honorable Mentions: Kaia Boyer ‘28 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Couple in Training – Chapter 1”; Tia Trinh ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Dreammaker”; Makenna Arase ‘27 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Pomba Gira is a Girl Who Never Sleeps Afraid”
Poetry:
- 1st Place: Sophie Najm ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature) for “Foreword Excerpts”
- Runner-Up: Yoyo Na Huang ‘27 (CCS Writing and Literature; L&S History of Art and Architecture) for “"Viscosity" / "迁坟 | Casket Lifting" / "Botticelli's She-child" / "Counting Luck"”
- Honorable Mentions: Freddie Baseman ‘28 (CCS Writing & Literature), “but kiss them first”; Margaret Gray ‘26(CCS Writing & Literature), “Jacob Poem”; Ari Linder ‘26 (CCS Writing & Literature), “*flesh meditation”
Essay:
- 1st Place: Evelyn Liu ‘25 (L&S Film and Media Studies, Statistics and Data Science) for "The Rise of the OVA and the Shaping of 1980s Japanese Consumer Culture"
- Runner-Up: Olive Howden ‘25 (L&S Psychology), "Are white South Africans oppressed? Trump thinks so. The executive order targeting South Africa’s new land law, explained."
- Honorable Mentions: Kaia Boyer ‘28 (CCS Writing & Literature), "Character’s Caves: Perception and Connection in Mrs. Dalloway"; Makenna Arase, "Order and Noise in Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49; Perception Through Transformation"; Alicia Kim, “South Korea Caught on Camera: Molka, Illegal Filming, and Digital Sex Crime”
Read more about the 2025 CCS Writing Competitions
CCS Writing Competitions
The College of Creative Studies (CCS) Writing Competitions are open to all UCSB undergraduate students. Administered by the CCS Writing & Literature program, the College seeks to discover and celebrate undergraduate writers in a variety of genres.
The Awards
Brancart Fiction Writing Contest: Established by CCS alumna Christine Lehner in memory of her grandmother Reine Brancart, the Brancart Fiction Award is given each year for an exemplary work of fiction. The fiction piece must be at least one (1) page in length but no more than fifteen (15). One entry per student.
- Winner receives: $600.00
Richardson Poetry Writing Contest: Established by CCS alumnus Jeffrey Hewitt in memory of his grandmother Henrietta Wing Richardson, the Richardson Poetry Prize is given each year for an exemplary work of poetry. Students may submit a poem or group of poems of no more than five (5) pages. One entry per student.
- Winner receives: $400.00
CCS Most Excellent Writing Contest (Narrative Prose, Essay, Poetry): Students may submit a piece of fiction, an essay or a poem (one submission per category). Narrative prose and essay submissions should be 1-10 pages, and poetry submissions should be 1-5 pages. One entry per category per student.
- One First Place Winner per category receives: $35.00
- One Second Place Winner per category receives: $25.00
- Three Honorable Mentions receive: $15.00
M. Garren Tinney Writing Award: Established by Donna Tinney in memory of her son Garren '01 (L&S English) who had an interest in and was passionate about writing. This annual award is supported by the M. Garren Tinney Memorial Fund. Undergraduate students at UCSB may submit a piece of creative nonfiction, including personal essays, memoir, reportage, and more. Submissions should be 1-10 pages. One entry per student.
- Winner receives: $500.00