Submit Your Entry by March 15, 2026!
Get inspired by the theme of our next issue — “America’s 250th Anniversary” — and submit your creative work by March 15, 2026, for a chance to have your creative writing published in USC Dornsife Magazine.
Open to alumni and students of USC Dornsife, the contest is judged by Dana Johnson, chair of English and Florence R. Scott Professor of English; David Ulin, professor of the practice of English and editor of USC Dornsife’s literary magazine Air/Light; and Susan Bell, editor-in-chief of USC Dornsife Magazine.
The recipient of more than 50 awards for excellence, the magazine is distributed to 60,000 alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends of USC Dornsife.
Rules
- The contest is open to USC Dornsife alumni and students (undergraduates and graduates) — except those whose primary source of income is from writing.
- Deadline to submit entries is March 15, 2026.
- You may enter creative writing in any of the following genres: fiction, poetry, memoir or essay.
- All entries must be original, previously unpublished work, in print or online, have not been broadcast or won a prize.
- Your entry must be inspired by the theme of the Spring / Summer 2026 issue of USC Dornsife Magazine — “America’s 250th Anniversary.” (Please feel free to be creative in your interpretation of the theme — you may explore it from any angle.)
- Entries must not exceed 500 words.
Good luck! We look forward to reading your entries.