Murphy Writing of Stockton University

Murphy Writing of Stockton University is proud to offer a creative writing contest for talented NJ high school writers in honor of Paul-Victor Winters.

Prizes

In each category, Flash Fiction and Poetry, there will be a selection of first and second prizes. First prize winners will receive $750, and second prize winners will receive $300. Entering the contest does not guarantee that the entry will receive an award.

Entry Qualifications

• You must be a United States citizen.
• You must be a public or private high school student (grades 9-12) in NJ as of Oct. 1, 2026.

Submission Requirements

No entry fee is required.

Deadline: February 15, 2027 at 11:59pm EST

• All entries must be in 12-point Times New Roman font, with one-inch margins and page numbers.
• All entries must be the writer’s own original, unpublished work.
• All entries must be uploaded as PDF documents.
• Flash Fiction should be double-spaced, and between 400 words and 1500 words.
• Poems should be single-spaced, and no more than 50 lines long.
• No name or other identifying information should appear in the text of the story or poem itself. If a name or address is present on the document, that work will be disqualified.
• No AI or AI assisted pieces will be considered. Judges reserve the right to discern which pieces do and do not meet this guideline.

You may submit only one piece of work in each category.

Winners retain copyrights for their creative work.

Winners will need to have a parent or guardian sign a consent form before Murphy Writing of Stockton University can announce winners.

By submitting to this contest, you agree to allow the judges to read and judge your work. Judges will not know the identities of the authors whose work they are reading. Stories and poems will be judged on the basis of literary merit and originality, according to the discretion and considered assessment of each judge.

How to Apply

CLICK HERE TO Apply.

You must be logged in to a Google account to access the submission form. You will need to create a free account if you don’t already have one.

About Paul-Victor Winters

Our friend Paul-Victor Winters was a poet and secondary educator in southern New Jersey, where his classroom provided a safe haven to many students year after year. He received his MFA from The University of Indiana at Bloomington. Former poet laureate Billy Collins called his chapbook, Muscle & Bone, “a mesmerizing first collection of poems spoken in a voice at once alert and dreamy, nervy and vulnerable, tentative and flighty.”

Paul-Victor died in 2020. We miss him. 

Previous Winners

Congratulations to our winners from previous years: