2022 Contest Winners

1st Prize: Second-yEar Dental Student Austin Hinkle's The Time Machine
Reviewers' comments on The Time Machine: "With excellent descriptive writing, readers can feel like they are in the time machine with the old man. The journey through time shows that important cosmic events do not have the impact on individuals that relationships do. This shows what is important, reminding us to appreciate our relationships in the moment."

2nd Prize: Third-year Dental Student Megan Wilde's Not a Pep Talk
Reviewers' comments on Not a Pep Talk: "This essay felt real.  The normal ups and downs of a demanding endeavor and someone who has learned how to succeed. We could all stand to be a little goldfish-like at times!"

3rd Prize: REsearch Associate Tamara Busch's Disrupting the Cycle

Reviewers' comment on Disrupting the Cycle: "This stream-of-consciousness essay makes you feel like you are living the happy-go-lucky-life of one of the dogs."

Contest Guidelines

Ranked #2 in the country for writing according the U.S. News and World Report, the University of Iowa is the writing university.

Dentistry faculty, staff and students are no strangers to communicating well—whether with patients or colleagues.

The College of Dentistry Creative Writing Contest is designed to encourage us to reflect on our experiences—whether in dentistry or elsewhere, to express those experiences and ideas in writing, and to enjoy the creative process.

Entries may be of any literary genre (fiction, essay, poetry, drama, memoir).  Submissions will be evaluated and rated by a panel.  Winning submissions will be published on the College of Dentistry website with author approval and a small prize awarded.  The topic is your creative expression, it does not have to do with the College or Dentistry in general.  Be creative!

Submissions should be limited to 1500 words or less.