Nick Adams Short Story Contest
Each year in the spring, ACM sponsors the Nick Adams Short Story Contest. The contest, named for the young protagonist of many Hemingway stories, was established in 1973 with funds from an anonymous donor to encourage fiction writers at ACM colleges. A first prize of $1,000 is awarded to the author of the winning story.
Any student currently enrolled with good academic standing at an ACM college is eligible to enter the Nick Adams Contest and may submit up to two stories to their English department. The story need not have been written especially for the competition, but it cannot have been previously published off-campus. Each department selects the four best stories to enter in the competition, which is coordinated by the ACM office.
A small committee of faculty drawn from ACM colleges selects the finalists. A prominent writer serves as the contest's final judge each year and selects the winning story from among the finalists.
Nick Adams Contest final judges in past years have included such literary luminaries as Jane Smiley, Saul Bellow, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Anne Tyler, Maya Angelou, Barbara Kingsolver, Jane Hamilton, and Stuart Dybek. See the complete list of final judges.
Nick Adams Contest final judges in recent years
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2012 - Gina Frangello
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2011 - Binnie Kirshenbaum
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2010 - Alex Kotlowitz
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2009 - Audrey Niffenegger
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2008 - Stuart Dybek
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2013 Nick Adams Contest
Carleton's Sarah Olson Named Winner of the 2013 Nick Adams Contest
Sarah Olson
Sarah Olson, a sophomore English major at Carleton College, was named the winner of the 2013 Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Her story "Truth in Lies" was selected to receive the contest’s $1,000 first prize by novelist Peter Geye, who served as the final judge for the competition.
In commenting on “Truth in Lies,” Geye wrote that it is "a story that's as beautifully and as carefully written as the paintings the author describes…. I only wish the story went on for the length of a novel, so I could relish the author's prose for days instead of hours. Bravo!"
In addition to the winning story, Geye awarded honorable mention recognition to Bryan Hulse from St. Olaf College for his story "Hob Carter."
Professors Steven Hayward from Colorado College and Robert Archambeau from Lake Forest College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, considering 37 stories written by students at ACM colleges before deciding on the six finalists from which Geye made his choice.
Read more about the 2013 Nick Adams Contest and the authors, plus links to the winning and honorable mention stories!
More information about the Contest