LCC LAND Creative Writing Contest 2026 winners announced

By Emmett Roman and Nicole Wadkins
Staff Reporters

The LAND Creative Writing Contest happens at Lansing Community College every year. The contest highlights student’s original creative works in the categories of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.

First place winners received $100, second place winners received $75 and third place winners received $25. Then, first and second place winners in each category were entered into the statewide LAND contest.  

 

The winners for the fiction category are:

First: Helle Service, “A Drop Away”

Second: Thomas Lamphere, “Gehinom Mar”

Third: Ailee Hill, “The Psychopomp”

The first-place fiction story, “A Drop Away” by Helle Service, is notable for its vivid sensory details and the layered conflicts. The story opens with details about how the hands of Rita, the main character, were stained “red from the saffron powder”, and how the golden vial in her hand “caught the evening light, matching the sunset outside.” Scents take the forefront of the story, as Rita is working to create the perfect scent combination for her perfume. Descriptive imagery of the “spicy cinnamon, brown sugar, cedarwood” are common comforting scents while Rita’s workshop had this “faint sour smell of experiments gone wrong.” This makes the reader feel immersed in the story by picturing the workshop clearly.

At the same time, there is conflict between Rita and Charlie, though neither of the characters is an obvious villain. The author crafted the story with nuance and created a morally gray narrative. The argument between the two stems from Charlie’s fear for Rita’s heath and obtaining a better future for both of them. In contrast, Rita is obsessed with crafting scents for her perfume and is worried about the formulas being stolen or replicated. This makes the readers understand and sympathize with both sides. 

The argument between the two characters ends with a cliffhanger—”one drop trembled at the rim”—leaving the reader wondering if Rita would pour out the perfume, which she has been working on for four months, instead of handing it over to a company—sacrificing a better life that she and Charlie could have had. 

Service is a pre-optometry student at LCC who plans to attend Ferris State University for optometry. She stated that she wrote this piece for fun and was inspired by the story of artist Margaret Keane and her husband. Her submission to the LAND Creative Writing Contest was something she did for fun, as writing has always been a strength of hers. “While writing isn’t part of my long-term career path, this experience has been a really meaningful way to close out my time at LCC and reflect the well-rounded education I’ve received here,” she said in an email. “I saw it as an opportunity to really go for it and enjoy the creative side of my education one last time.” Review by Nicole Wadkins.

 

The winner for the poetry category are:

First: Christopher Couthen, “The Editor on my Shoulder”

Second: Onelicia Gelista, “A Necklace too Tight”

Third: Hope Tury, “Crimson Greetings”

The first-place winning poem, “The Editor on my Shoulder” by Christopher Couthen, captures the experience of overthinking and self-doubt. The poem turns those thoughts into a harsh, outspoken editor who constantly criticizes the main character.

The poem is full of imagery, stating “My throat is a desert,” and “My chest is an echo chamber,” which immerses the reader in the main character’s anxiety. Couthen showcases immense vulnerability in the poem. He writes of his fear to be understood by others and yet “still found lacking.”

In an email, Couthen shared that he has dealt with social anxiety and wrote the poem as a way to express those struggles. “I’m actually very impressed that this won a prize,” he said. Couthen is a digital media and design student in his third semester at LCC. Through his poem, he gives a voice to the critic that many people live with. Review by Nicole Wadkins.

 

The winners for the nonfiction category are:

First: Katherine Morgan, “Waiting Rooms”

Second: Monika Bilic, “Letter to Jean-Michel"

Third: Maria Vallier, “DeLeonce”

The first-place essay, “Waiting Rooms” by Katherine Morgan, is told from the perspective of a sibling sending their brother to the psychiatric ward. It encapsulates the feeling that family members go through when trying to get their loved ones help.

I was immediately intrigued by what the essay could be about just from the title.
“Waiting Rooms” is an intriguing word choice for a title, and it definitely drew my attention. I wondered if the piece would be about literal waiting rooms or the concept of waiting, or both. The interesting play on words definitely represents this piece well. Not only was she waiting in a waiting room, but she is also waiting for her brother.

The story gripped me from the very beginning. As someone who has struggled with mental health their entire life, I found myself relating to the main character’s brother so much as he attempted to keep his loved one’s calm and stop them from worrying about him.

The piece utilized incredible descriptive language, which connected me directly to the narrator and her feelings—what it is like to see your brother going to a hospital, knowing that it’s the best for him but not wanting to let go.

The primary strength of the piece was its exploration of how to grieve someone that is still alive. The author is dealing with her favorite person in the world (her brother) going to the mental hospital after being her rock. She doesn’t know if she’ll see her brother again, and she has to acknowledge that the tales he told her about where he was going were just a way to comfort her young mind. She has to relearn what her life was knowing that those stories were lies, and that the truth is much scarier.

Though the piece felt a bit rushed toward the end, it offers a unique, deep and interesting take on mental health from the perspective of a loved one, a viewpoint that is not explored all too often. Review by Emmett Roman.