The Utah State University has once again shone the spotlight on its pool of creatively gifted students with the announcement of the 2025 winners of its annual Creative Writing and Art Contest. Celebrating its 32nd year, an array of storytellers and artists from all disciplines took part, competing in categories from fiction and poetry to painting and photography. The expert panel of judges from both the USU and Cache Valley Arts Circle carefully reviewed the entries blind, ensuring an unbiased selection of excellence.

According to USU Today, fiction winner Eva Nelson shared insights into her piece titled "Breathe," a story woven from personal experience and the tribulations of two teenagers navigating their beliefs in a deeply religious setting. "This story is very special to me," Nelson remarked. Focused on exploring complex relationships and self-discovery, Nelson's tale resonates with authenticity and insight.

Nonfiction accolades were snagged by Chloe Scheve for "Moonchild," a reflective essay that muses on individual relationships with the lunar body. Scheve's contemplative work was influenced by an encounter with author Christopher Cokinos and his book reading last semester. "I wanted to explore what it meant to worship the moon rather than a God," Scheve said, as per USU Today, "and how changing a hurtful narrative can offer you salvation."

The poetry category heralded Brook Haight as its celebrated front-runner with their works "Your Nature," "Fill Me," and "Cycles." Delving into the unnamed emotions that dwell within, Haight aimed to "put a shape to those strange feelings that don't have words," as obtained by USU Today. It's an attempt that invite the reader into an intimate landscape of pain to be colored and understood in their own way.