The scholarships are offered by CU Denver's Department of English and Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities; applicants are evaluated by a committee of Creative Writing faculty. The winning students will each have $1000 for tuition and expenses to attend the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's annual Lit Fest, taking place in Denver, June 12-19, 2026. Winners will also present on their Lit Fest experiences and read some of their creative work at the annual Research & Creative Activities Symposium (RACAS) in the Spring 2027 semester.
Riona Fryer is a Colorado-based undergraduate pursuing BAs in English (Creative Writing) and Philosophy. She works as an associate editor for Copper Nickel and is serving her first term as president of CU Denver's creative writing club. To date, her work has appeared in ACCs Progenitor and The Sentry, and her short story "Amaranthine" has been nominated for the 2026 AWP Intro Journals Award. She hopes you have a nice day!
Gale Khayut is a Creative Writing, Psychology, and Philosophy major at CU Denver. Rather than being scattered, she prefers to frame her pursuits as a well-rounded education of the human condition. She has presented an anthology of short stories at the Research and Creative Activities Symposium (RaCAS) in 2025 , and been a EUReCA! Summer Fellow. She is currently volunteering as a research assistant in Dr. Krista Ranby's lab for a smoking couples cessation study, and reads for Copper Nickel.
Nathan Moreno is a handsome middle-aged student pursuing a degree in creative writing at CU Denver. He is a former DMG machine operator, a USMC veteran, and once published a play in Progenitor. When not writing short stories and poems he enjoys summer road trips, hiking Echo Lake, suffering winter ennui, and playing Euchre. His cat is named Toby.
What is Lighthouse Writers Workshop? "Lighthouse Writers Workshop is the largest literary arts center in the Rocky Mountain West. For more than 20 years, we've provided quality instruction, community events, and artistic support for writers and readers of all levels, ages, and backgrounds."
What is Lit Fest? "Lit Fest is an eight-day celebration of writers and readers, an extravaganza of weeklong and weekend advanced workshops, craft seminars, readings, salons, business panels, agent meetings, and parties."
Riona Fryer Gale Khayut
Nathan Moreno