Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Each year, ACM sponsors the Nick Adams Short Story Contest. The contest, named for the young hero of many Hemingway stories, was established in 1973 with funds from an anonymous donor to encourage young writers.

Any student at an ACM college is eligible to compete for the cash prize that is awarded to the winner. Students submit stories to their English department, and each department selects the four best to send to ACM. A small committee of faculty drawn from ACM colleges selects the finalists, and the winner is chosen by the contest's final judge.

Final judges in past years have included Jane Smiley, Saul Bellow, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Anne Tyler, Maya Angelou, Barbara Kingsolver, Jane Hamilton, and Charles Baxter.