The Rocky Mountain Review online student journal at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT, invites submissions for its first-ever High School Creative Writing Contest! Categories include fiction, poetry, and personal essay. A winner and runner-up will be selected for each category. Any student enrolled in a Montana high school curriculum (including face-to-face, online, hybrid, and homeschool instruction) is eligible to submit one entry. Submissions are free.
Winners in each category receive $50, publication in Issue #7 of The Rocky Mountain Review, and a chance to read their winning work at the issue release party on the Rocky Mountain College campus; runners-up receive publication. Issue #7 will publish in April 2026 online at www.therockymountainreview.org.
Please submit one of the following, on any topic/theme:
- a personal essay of up to 3000 words
- a poem of up to 50 lines
- a short story of up to 3000 words
What delights us: a clear and confident voice; fresh images and strong verbs; writing that pops off the page with fully realized characters, a developed setting, and compelling action.
What we’re not so much fans of: twist endings, poetry with end rhymes, fan fiction, violence for violence’s sake, anything generated by AI.
The nitty gritty: Submissions should include your full name, grade, email address, and the name of your high school, as well as a title for your piece. Any submission lacking this information will not receive consideration. Please double-space prose entries; poems may be single-spaced.
To submit: All entries must be electronic. Send your final submission to your English teacher, who should send all student submissions as a single .docx or PDF attachment to The Rocky Mountain Review at rockymountainstanley@gmail.com. Individual submissions by students will not be accepted. Revisions to submitted pieces will not be accepted. Submissions will be deidentified before judging. Please note: Parent/guardian signature is required for all publication agreements.
The exception: If you are a homeschool student, your parent/guardian may send your submission individually. Parents/guardians: please note that your student attends homeschool (and the town/area you reside in) in the submission.
Deadline for submissions: Friday, December 19, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
Winners and runners-up will be contacted by mid-March 2026 to begin the editing process. Payment is awarded upon publication in Issue #7.
We’re so excited to read the wonderful work you create!
The Rocky Mountain Review 