Steamboat Art Museum, with support from Ski Town Media and Off the Beaten Path Bookstore, invites all writers to participate in the 8th annual literary competition and writers celebration.

Awards and Readings Celebration - Tuesday, August 5, 2025, 5:30PM

*Entries open June 9th & Close on July 15

To participate:

Step 1: Take a leisurely stroll through the Steamboat Art Museum (admission is free).
Be inspired by the current exhibition The Art of Printmaking: Process and Passion

Step 2: Choose a work that sparks your creativity. Write a story or poem - up 500 words. (Please note that this has been modified from past competitions)

Step 3: Submit your work with this application form to Steamboat Art Museum by July 15, 2025 - 5:00pm (Entries open on June 9th, 2025).

Step 4: Tuesday, August 5, 2025, 5:30PM Celebrate your creativity at the Awards and Readings Reception at SAM. Enjoy selected readings by our community's "Celebrity Readers." Awards are presented in three categories: Adult prose; Adult poetry; Youth.

Winners will be selected by an experienced panel of judges in the literary field and past award winners.

Submission requirement:

1. Entries open June 9th

2. Submit writing to writing@steamboatartmuseum.org

3. Single-spaced - Word document, DO NOT SUBMIT IN PDF

4. All entries must be typed

5. 500 word limit

*The document will be reformatted for The Painted Words 2025 Anthology

Awards and Readings Reception: Tuesday, August 5th 5:30PM at Steamboat Art Museum

The Painted Words 2025

By Steamboat Art Museum

The Painted Words 2025

8th Annual Ekphrastic writing competition at SAM