"Inspired By" Arts Showcase

The "Inspired By" Arts Showcase is one of several student-based competitions open to high school and college students to create a work of visual, literary or musical art that connects with a theme from Saint Louis University's annual Campus Read book. This year’s “Inspired by” Arts competition is co-sponsored by the St. Louis County Libraries. 

Submission Guidelines

This year’s Campus Read features “Interpreter of Maladies" by our 2026 St. Louis Literary Award recipient, Jhumpa Lahiri. To provide opportunities for students to explore their creativity and emphasize connections to our broader, local community, we will, once again, include an arts competition as a part of the Campus Read programming. The "Inspired By" Arts Showcase is open to students in area colleges and universities and is part of the St. Louis Literary Award series of programs.

All contest entrants should note the following: This competition is run by Saint Louis University and Jhumpa Lahiri has no involvement in the submission, review or judging process. Submissions will not be read or seen by Jhumpa Lahiri. Submissions may not contain plagiarized material. Participation in this competition does not grant any license (express or implied) to use any copyrighted material of Jhumpa Lahiri or any other individual. Unauthorized use or distribution of the copyrighted material of others may incur legal action, and neither Saint Louis University nor Jhumpa Lahiri will be liable for any such unauthorized use. In other words, your work needs to be completely your own, because we are celebrating your creativity too. 

Types of Submissions

Submissions should have themes that relate to Jhumpa Lahiri's work.

• Written works: poetry (long or short form), creative writing (fiction or nonfiction), scripts, etc. Submissions should be no longer than 1,000 words.
• Performance: Short films (animated or live action), dance/choreographic displays, original music/lyrics/compositions, etc. Submissions should be no longer than 12 minutes.
• Visual and other nondigital submissions: photographs (digital or print copies), collages, paintings, sculptures, drawings, etc. 

Submissions and Deadlines

Submissions will be accepted from Oct. 20, 2025, to March 20, 2026.

Submit Your Entry

Finalists

The Arts Showcase will select one finalist in each of the three categories (Written, Performance, Visual/Non-Digital); submissions from high school and college students will be judged separately and only against others in the same category (total of three college finalists and three high school finalists). Pieces will be judged on the following criteria:

• Expression of theme
• Quality
• Creativity

Finalists will be notified of their status via email and will be asked to provide a brief autobiography. Final pieces will be displayed on the Pius Library website and upstairs in the gallery space at Pius. An additional location off campus may also be included.

Finalists will also be acknowledged in the St. Louis Literary Award ceremony program.

Awards

Awards are given to the winning submissions in each of the following categories:

We thank you in advance for sharing this opportunity with your students, and we look forward to reviewing submissions!

Past Winning Submissions