The Student Writing Contest opens at 8:00 a.m. Monday, February 9, 2026 on Google and is open to any current HPHS student. Winning entries will be announced at the Student Awards Breakfast, and winners may be approached by the Tartan for possible publication.
Each submission—with the exception of Visual Storytelling—must:
- Be titled
- Be typed
- Be double-spaced
- Show your student ID # in the upper right corner of each page
Do NOT include your name on any of your submissions. - Be submitted online via Google by Monday, March 23, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
Short Fiction
- Must not exceed 1,500 words
- Must be marked “FICTION” at the top of first page
Poetry
- Must not exceed fifty lines
- Must be marked “POEM” at the top of first page
Narrative Nonfiction
- Must not exceed 1,500 words
- Must be marked “ESSAY” at the top of first page
Screenwriting
- Script between 1-70 pages
Visual Storytelling Category
- Although this category is not limited to only graphic novel submissions, it must encompass both a visual element and storytelling.
- Submissions must be digital because it will be submitted through Google. Although it can be created by hand, it needs to be scanned / photographed in order to do so.
- Submissions must be between 1 and 50 pages.
- Do not include your name on any page(s).
- On your title page, make sure to include your student ID in lieu of your name.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2026 WINNERS!
Poetry:
- 1st: William McMullin “The Bruise”
- 2nd: Cate Young “Questions I Ask to Keep the Conversation Going”
- 3rd (tied): Bethany Morley “The Quiet Thins”
- 3rd (tied): Erin Muse “Care for Me”
- Honorable Mention: Clive Curry “Second Serve”
- Honorable Mention: Nirvan Kandel “Platform at Midnight”
Short Fiction:
- 1st: Ishaana Singh “After the Beep”
- 2nd: Benjamin Abernathy “107 Days”
- 3rd: Jefferson Lee “The House that Waited”
- Honorable Mention: Kennedy Hayes “The Now”
- Honorable Mention” Ava Thropp “Blessed Be”
- Honorable Mention: Will Vineyard “Blue Canary”
- Honorable Mention: Zimo Zhan “Once When Lilac”
Narrative Nonfiction:
- 1st: Sorina Maskara “My Name”
- 2nd: Elaine Engel “Cobblestone Streets”
- 3rd: Emma Miller “A Spark of Change”
- Honorable Mention: Kennedy Hayes “Irony”
- Honorable Mention: Jefferson Lee “The Day My Father Taught Me How to Stay”
Screenwriting:
- 1st: Katie Kipp “Fault Line”
- 2nd: Bethany Morley “The Body Double”
- 3rd: Norah Prewitt and Carter York “Echo”
- Honorable Mention: Sofia Quiroz “Looking Beyond”
- Honorable Mention: Olivia Guo “The Witch Trials”
Visual Storytelling:
- 1st: Bethany Morley “T1D PSA”
- 2nd: Kate Bodwell “Where Has all the Shade Gone”
- 3rd: Shirley Sauber “She was There”
- Honorable Mention: Preston Houghton “Lilium”
- Honorable Mention: Sofia Quiroz “The Person Beyond the Screen”
The HP LitFest thanks the HPHS English faculty, La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas, HP Arts, HPHS PTA, PC-TAG, and HPISD families for their generous support.