Vortex Creative Writing & Art Competition

Announcing SCC's Annual Vortex Creative Writing and Art Competition!

We are currently accepting submissions for SCC’s award-winning, 25th anniversary edition of the Vortex Literary and Art Journal. For rules and submission guidelines, please visit the Vortex Submission Website.

  • Submission Deadlines:
  • Art: Friday, February 28, 2025
  • Writing and Music: Friday, March 7, 2025
  • Native Voices and Visions: Friday, March 7, 2025
  • Vortex Competition Flyer

Every Spring Semester, SCC's creative students can submit their writing, artwork, and music for possible inclusion in our award-winning, student-designed, and produced Vortex Literary and Art Journal. Any student enrolled in a minimum of one credit hour during the academic year is eligible to submit Poetry, Creative Nonfiction (Essay), Short Story, Script (Play or Screenplay), Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Photography, Graphic Design, or Music Composition. All selected winners will receive a stipend, publication credit, copies of the 2025 Vortex Literary and Art Journal, and an invitation to attend the 2025 Vortex Celebration and Awards Ceremony on April 24, 2024. For more information, please contact EWLJoffice@scottsdalecc.edu.

Native Voice & Visions Category

Applicants who are registered tribal members are encouraged to submit their artwork and writing to the Native Voices and Visions contest category for special recognition of their artistic and cultural contributions to our community. For additional information, please contact belinda.gutierrez@scottsdalecc.edu.

National League of American PEN Women Award

Every year, the Scottsdale Chapter of the National League of American PEN Women graciously awards one of our First-Place student winners a $500 prize. This vital and vibrant organization holds dear its mission "to encourage, recognize, and promote the production of creative work of professional standard in art, letters, and music." The 2025 NLAPW winner will be selected from the Poetry category.

Congratulations to all of our 2024 Vortex Literary and Art Journal winners!

First Place – “Walrus Stew” by Diana Lucente

Second Place – “Brick by Brick” by Madeline Nelson

Third Place – “The Dumbest Thing I Have Ever Done” by John West

First Place – “Almost Finished” by Xianna Montoya

Second Place – “Does This Scare You” by Natalie Stafford

Third Place - “Bending Backwards with No Escape” by Kathy Dioguardi-Newman

First Place – “Why” by Carole Bultema

Second Place – “Isle of Springs” by Pam Van De Wyngaerde

Third Place – “Ponder” by Sheri Hanchar

First Place – “Native Grain Bliss Loaf” by Jamie Hewson

Second Place – “Self-Portrait Using Type” by Rozin Kiona Herrera

First Place – “Inquisitive” by Tony Ambrose

Second Place – “Captain Jack” by John West

Third Place – “Homage to a Pack Rat” by Richard Rosenberg

Honorable Mention – “Millefiori Pendant” by Gaetano Grieco

First Place – “Watermelon” by Ann Capps

Second Place – “Indulgence” by Gracie Wong

Third Place – “The Hall” by Natalie Stafford

Honorable Mention – “Sunshine #76” by Lori Dortch

Honorable Mention – “I Love You, Too” by Angelina Cascio

First Place – “Copenhagen” by Anne Christina Coppola

Second Place – “Sushi” by Blaise Leone

Third Place – Desert Artichoke” by Kaitlyn Haney

First Place – “The Death of the Swan” by Madison Natoli

Second Place – “Enough is Enough (Enough is Never Enough)” by Birdie Halloway

Third Place – “Sundrop” by Samuel Ramirez

First Place (tie) – “Calaverita a los alumnus de Scottsdale” by Alicia Rosas Paredes

First Place (tie) – “Calaverita a Romeo” by Ashton Romano

Congratulations CCHA Literary Contest Winners

For the second year in a row, SCC’s Vortex Literary and Art Journal took First Place in the Southwestern Region in the Community College Humanities Associations' Best Literary Magazine competition! Nine of our students also received individual awards in the "Best of" categories for the Southwestern Region.

First Place - Carole Butema "Why"

Third Place - Sheri Hanchar "Ponder"

First Place - Diana Lucente "Walrus Stew"

Third Place - Natalie Stafford "The Hall"

First Place - Jonathan Angeles "You Too"

First Place - Birdie Bea Halloway "Enough is Enough (Enough is Never Enough)"

Congratulations MCCCD Artists of Promise Creative Writing Winners!

This year, two of our outstanding creative writing students were selected by the district’s AOP contest judges.

First Place Short Story – “Ofrenda at the Dealership” by Jodie Snyder

Second Place Poetry – “Feels like growing up.” By Gracie Wong