Echoes and Images

Echoes & Images, Northeast State’s student literary magazine, invites submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, visual art (painting, drawing, sculpture, prints, mixed media), and digital media (digital art and digital photography). Published in the spring, the magazine features poems, short stories, essays, visual art, and digital media by currently enrolled students. Entry deadline for submissions is at the end of the fall semester.

The deadline for Echoes & Images 36 submissions is December 12, 2025.

Cash Prizes for Each Award Category

• 1 ^st place — $100
• 2 ^nd place — $75
• 3 ^rd place — $50
• Honorable Mention — $25

Details

The competition is open to current students enrolled at Northeast State Community College. All entries must be original and previously unpublished, and contributors must agree that the submitted work may be published by Northeast State in Echoes & Images or other college publications, in print or online. The winning entries may be edited for grammar, punctuation, and other errors prior to publication in the magazine. Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated submissions will be disqualified.

Visual Art and Digital Media winners must agree to include the submitted work in the Spring Exhibition of Echoes & Images 36 to be held in the Wayne G. Basler Library Gallery, Blountville Campus, in April 2026.

Students may enter up to three poems, up to three pieces of visual art, up to three files of digital media, one piece of fiction up to 3,000 words, and one piece of non-fiction up to 3,000 words. Students may enter all five categories. Digital files should be in JPEG format with a maximum file size of 10MB.

Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction & Digital Media Entries

Visual Art Entries

Visual Art Entries must be submitted to the Humanities Division office, H129, on the Blountville Campus. Please submit a Visual Art Entry Form with your artwork.

• Tempi Hale — Managing Editor & Fiction Editor thhale@northeaststate.edu
• Dr. Christal Hensley — Visual Art & Digital Media Editor cmhensley@northeaststate.edu
• Josh Archer — Non-fiction Editor jaarcher@northeaststate.edu
• Anne Darden — Poetry Editor asdarden@northeaststate.edu
• Donna Wilt — Visual Art Editor dmwilt@northeaststate.edu
• Patrick Adkins — Digital Media Editor pdadkins@northeaststate.edu

2025–2026 Contest Results

It was a very difficult decision, since there were so many wonderful pieces of art, photography, and literature, but the judges have made their final selections for the 2025–2026 Echoes & Images Literary and Visual Art Contest. The winners are listed below. First, second, and third place in all categories will be published in the magazine. If space permits, Honorable Mentions and some Finalists will also be published. Congratulations to all!

Fiction

• First Place: Layney Potter — The Ghost of Me
• Second Place: Hannah Morefield — Annabelle
• Third Place: Julia Brooks — Are We Good?
• Honorable Mention: Jennifer Rasnake — Whispers at Elk River Falls

Nonfiction

• First Place: Tanner McReynolds — Big Brother
• Second Place: Wesley Huff — Breathe. Focus. Execute
• Third Place: Sarah Webb — Life After Awkward
• Honorable Mention: Amber Mullins — Bentley’s Journey

Poetry

• First Place: Amelia Morton — Everything, Everyone, Everyday, Everywhere
• Second Place: Nathan Smith — Appalachian Backyard
• Third Place: Calvin Lee — A House in Sulfur Springs
• Honorable Mention: Landon Camper — Gum Hill

Poetry Finalists

• Starr Payne — Tears of the River
• Tabitha Saulsbury — Time Machines
• Brogen Campbell — The Porcelain Painter
• Susanna Saulsbury — My Town
• Teesha Jackson — Coffee Shop
• Felix Elementia — Invisible Pain
• Nancy Penn — Before Him
• Michaela Shirey — The Edge of the World
• Victoria Matlock — Crisis
• Julia Brooks — Me, a Mom?
• Amelia Morton — I Promise

Visual Art

• First Place: Tara Stroub — Despite the Peas, I Still Am a Princess
  Mixed media on canvas
• Second Place: Ren Allen — Artist’s Studio
  Graphite and ink on Bristol paper
• Third Place: Abigail Hollenbeck — Mice Shopping and Mice Baking, Diptych
  Watercolor on matte board
• Honorable Mention: Breann Johnson — Protecting My Piece
  Mixed media on watercolor paper

Visual Art Finalists

• Daniel Rutherford — Tungsten and Gold
  Collage on decorative paper
• Oz Michael — Traveler
  Polymer clay, cotton, wire, fabric, and acrylic paint
• Riley Stewart — The Hug
  Plaster

Digital Media

• First Place: Hannah Pierce — Marigold
  Digital Painting
• Second Place: Alexcia Coffey — Courage in Cleats
  Digital Photography
• Third Place: Gable Napora — Hotdog Vignette
  Digital Photography
• Honorable Mention: Alexcia Coffey — Appalachian Daughter
  Digital Photography

Digital Media Finalists

• Sophia Mahaley — The Nameless Hero
  Digital Painting
• Abigail Hollenbeck — Brachiosauruses
  Digital Painting
• Alexcia Coffey — Two Lives, One Reflection
  Digital Photography