Announcement

The IFC is pleased to announce its second annual fiction and essay writing competitions.

All full-time undergraduate students at University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado College, University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado State University, University of Denver, and the United States Air Force Academy are eligible to participate.

Students may submit entries for both competitions. Please see the instructions below for the respective prompts and details for submission.

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Instructions

Authors are free to write in any genre, style, or form so long as it conforms to the prompt.

Submissions should be made in a Word document. The first page should be a cover page and include the following information:

- Author’s full name

- University and projected graduation year

- Campus e-mail and cell phone number

There should be no explicit identification markers within the body of the essays (e.g. actual names or current university). This will enable an anonymous review.

All text must be double-spaced in 12 point, Times New Roman font. Use hyperlinks instead of footnotes for all citations.

The use of AI at any stage of essay construction is prohibited. Entries that use AI will be immediately disqualified.

Entries should be submitted to IFC@afacademy.af.edu by 7 April 2025 at 0800.

The best work selected by a panel of judges will be awarded a first prize of $1,000. Second place will receive $750. Third place will win $500.

 

Fiction Prompt

Fiction contest entries should answer the following prompt:

In the form of a letter, please write a story not to exceed 5,000 words that is set in any American war: past, present, or future.‍

The top three winners in the fiction competition will be published Icarus: Academy Journal of the Arts, a student run literary journal of USAFA that began in 1965.

 

Essay Prompt

Essay contest entries should answer the following prompt:

Integrated deterrence is a cornerstone of the National Defense Strategy. However, in late 2021 and early 2022, the United States tried and failed to deter Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine. In an essay, no longer than 1,500 words, explain what – if any – actions the United States could have taken, beginning in July 2021, that would have successfully deterred Russia’s invasion.

All essays should be written in a popular style, akin to Foreign Affairs. The top three essays will be published on ifc.usafa.edu