UIndy’s Etchings Press Calls for 2026 Whirling Prize Entries, Honors Last Year’s Winners as Students Gain Valuable Hands-On and Real-World Publication Experience
Etchings Press, the University of Indianapolis’ student-run publisher, is pleased to announce the opening of a call of submissions for the 2026 Whirling Prize. The Whirling Prize honors the excellence and compelling response to a theme that students at the university select in written work that includes poetry, novels in verse, essays, memoirs, creative nonfiction, nonfiction, short stories, novellas and novels in genre or mixed genres.
For 2026’s Whirling Prize, the 13th edition of the annual competition, Etchings Press calls for entries that focus on mystery—welcoming books of prose and poetry published since January 2024. The deadline for submission is 11:55 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. Entries can be submitted via Etchings Press’ website.
UIndy’s Etching’s Press is recognizing and honoring the most recent winners of the Whirling Prize by launching the seventh season of the Potluck Podcast, featuring interviews with Nathan Newman and Hannah V Warren.
Nathan Newman, writer of “How to Leave the House” (Viking, 2024), was awarded the 2024 Whirling Prize in prose, selected by a panel of student judges. Hannah V Warren’s “Slaughterhouse for Old Wives’ Tales” (Sundress Publications, 2024) was selected as the 2024 Whirling Prize winner in poetry. Both winners received a $500 honorarium, in addition to 10 copies of a commemorative postcard designed and produced by a UIndy student and a featured guest appearance on the UIndy Potluck Podcast.
With a literary competition focus on debut authors, student judges additionally honored five works as finalists, including “Boopable!” by Mary Ann Redmond (Authorhouse, 2024 – Children’s Book), “In Heritance of Drowning” by Dorsia Smith Silva (CavanKerry Press, 2024 – Poetry), “The Dancing Bears: Queer Fables for the End Times” by Rob Costello (Lethe Press, 2024 – Short Story), “Playing Time in Tongues” by Vita Lerman (Querencia Press, LLC, 2023 – Poetry) and “An Art, A Craft, A Mystery” by Laura Secord (Livingston Press, 2022 – Poetry).
For more than a decade, the Whirling Prize has been judged exclusively by University of Indianapolis undergraduate and graduate students in ENGL 479 & 580: Etchings Press as a way to connect students with contemporary literature and teach them literary analysis, judging and communication skills in a high-stakes, real-world experience. The class was moved from the fall semester to the spring this academic year, a scheduling shift that adjusted the award timeline while maintaining its annual cycle. The panel for the 2024 Whirling Prize was composed of Chandler Ferrer ’25 (Creative Writing), Steve Polston ’26 (MA in Public Relations), and Anastasia Wolfe ’26 (Professional Writing in English).
“The Whirling Prize is an excellent opportunity for UIndy students to engage with contemporary literature from around the world,” said Liz Whiteacre, advisor of the 2024 Whirling Prize. “I was impressed by the student judging team’s development of criteria used to identify winners and very thoughtful review of the debut books that represented a variety of genres. This experience helped students apply what they’ve learned about literature in classrooms to the administration of Etching Press’ literary prize, which gives them hands-on experience for fields in the literary arts and a better appreciation of contemporary writing, publishing, and literary citizenship.”
Commemorative postcards celebrating Newman and Warren’s books were designed by UIndy artist Piper Parks ’26 (Creative Writing). Warren and Newman joined the 2026 judges in conversation for episodes 1 and 2 of UIndy’s Potluck Podcast in Season 7, which you can listen to on Spotify or your favorite podcast app.
From Nathan Newman: “I loved talking with the Whirling Prize judging team in December – it was a lovely experience which reminded me why we all read and write. I was very honored to accept the prize.”
From Hannah V Warren: “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to the Whirling Prize team for their ongoing and unwavering support. Slaughterhouse is a deeply personal collection, drawing from both memory and research to emphasize the truly impossible task of growing up in a place that feels hostile toward women, from girlhood to adulthood. Beyond recognition, I’m honored that this bildungsroman poetry collection caught the attention of a student-selected award. Inside and outside academia, I work with young adults to cultivate their poetic voices—and I’m devoted to learning from their experiences as we discuss craft, the state of the world, and our own reckless attempts at proving we’re alive.”
About Nathan Newman
Nathan Newman is a novelist and filmmaker based in London. Their short stories have won awards and been published in literary journals and anthologies. Their debut novel is due to be published by Little Brown in the UK and Viking Penguin in the USA. A television adaptation of How to Leave the House is being developed by Freemantle, with Nathan set to write all the episodes.
“Nathan Newman’s novel “How to Leave the House” follows a day in the life of Natwest who is in pursuit of a wayward package. During his search, a colorful cast of characters are introduced throughout Natwest’s hometown. Each and every character contributes to Natwest’s overall discovery by the end of the novel and helps Newman express powerful ideas about the human condition and self-discovery. The way Newman handles these ideas is also done in a manner that is respectful and meaningful, given the mature content presented, and will get readers emotionally attached to the characters. A balance of laughter and fun, along with addressing real-life issues, is beautifully archived. By the end of the novel, which ends in a unique way where two endings are presented in two very different ways, readers will be left rooting for all the characters. Newman’s mastery of telling these interwoven stories demonstrates his passion and fine skill in storytelling and for exceptional writing. When readers reach the last pages, they won’t want to say goodbye.” – Anastasia Wolfe ’26
About Hannah V Warren
Originally from Mississippi, Hannah V Warren is a poet, translator and scholar living between Birmingham, Alabama, and Gambier, Ohio, where she works at Kenyon College as the Kenyon Review Fellow. Along with authoring the poetry collections “Hurricane Pastoral” (Sundress 2027) and “Slaughterhouse for Old Wives’ Tales” (Sundress 2024), she has received support from Fulbright-Germany, the PEN/Heim Translation Grant, Bread Loaf and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Warren’s writing and research often explore the intersections of gender and perceived monstrosity.
“‘Slaughterhouse for Old Wives’ Tales’ by Hannah V Warren is a collection of poems that are as dark and eerie as they are intriguing and thought provoking. The poems feel closer to incantations at times, turning the book into something of a grimoire. A deep, mourning, humorous piece of work that draws readers in with no false promises of safety or coddling. Reading ‘Slaughterhouse for Old Wives’ Tales’ is like walking through a cave just a few inches too short to stand up straight in, covered in sharp rocks and steep crevices in the dark, but somehow each step is into soft sand, sinking the reader just low enough to walk comfortably and painlessly through the treacherous terrain. One aspect that stands out is Warren’s original use of language. She creates her own lexicon for readers and invites readers to enjoy the strange and new writing style. The themes feel gothic, somber, and unsettling, and the writing is graphic at points, but never feels gratuitous or unearned. The content that may be upsetting for more sensitive readers is necessary, like a feint making a boxer flinch away and unwillingly open themselves up to a finishing blow. The content often takes readers by surprise, leaving them vulnerable to ideas that they otherwise would have had their guard up against, and taking up space in their mind for years to come. It isn’t often that a piece of writing so prone to ruffling feathers is done well enough to get past that, but Warren’s ‘Slaughterhouse for Old Wives’ Tales’ achieves this.” – Chandler Ferrer ’25