Apply by 5/15/2025

Scholarship Winner will be announced on 5/26/2024

The Joe Lauer Creative Writing Scholarship Contest is open to all graduating seniors in Horry County, SC. The winner of the 2025 Joe Lauer Creative Writing Scholarship will be awarded a one-time payment of $500.00. This scholarship will be awarded in the form of a check delivered to the winner’s high school by 5/30/2025. The winning entry will also be posted on the author’s personal websites and Facebook pages. All entries must be received by 5/15/2025 to be eligible for the 2025 Joe Lauer Creative Writing Scholarship.  Send all entries to joelauerscholarship@yahoo.com. Entries must include the applicant’s name and high school. Please send the essay in the body of the email, as attachments will not be opened. The winner will be asked to provide a picture and 1-3 sentence bio for a social media post (not required).

Prompt: Using the science fiction novel Dormant Diversion as an example, write a unique scene showing a person or object transforming into an entirely new or different person or object. Entries must be 300-600 words. Entries will be judged based on the scene’s flow and the transformation’s power and believability.

In the dimly lit laboratory, Dr. Evelyn Sinclair hovered over the intricate machinery, her eyes flickering with anticipation. She adjusted her goggles and gloves, her heart pounding with excitement as she prepared to unveil her latest invention: the Transmutative Chamber.

Beside her stood her trusted assistant, Samuel, his eyes wide with curiosity and apprehension. "Are you sure this will work, Doctor?" he asked, his voice tinged with doubt.

Dr. Sinclair smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, Samuel. This will revolutionize the world as we know it."

With a flick of a switch, the chamber hummed to life, its metal walls pulsating with energy. Dr. Sinclair stepped forward, holding a small vial containing a shimmering blue liquid. She carefully poured its contents into the chamber's reservoir, watching as the liquid dispersed and filled the air with a faint glow.

"Prepare yourself, Samuel," she said, her voice trembling with excitement. "You're about to witness history in the making."

As the chamber hummed louder, a brilliant light filled the room, blinding them both. Samuel shielded his eyes as he felt a wave of energy wash over him, his body tingling with anticipation. Suddenly, the light faded, and he blinked, his vision slowly returning.

To his astonishment, he found himself standing in front of a mirror, but the reflection staring back at him was not his own. It was Dr. Sinclair, her features unmistakable yet somehow transformed. Her eyes sparkled with newfound vitality, her hair shimmering with an otherworldly glow.

Samuel stumbled backward, his mind reeling with disbelief. "Dr. Sinclair? Is that you?"

The woman in the mirror smiled, her voice echoing with a strange resonance. "Yes, Samuel. It's me. Or rather, it's who I was always meant to be."

Dr. Sinclair's form had undergone a remarkable change. Her once average height had elongated, her figure now exuding an ethereal grace. Her skin shimmered with a luminescent glow, as if infused with the light of a thousand stars. Her eyes, once a deep brown, now gleamed with an otherworldly radiance, reflecting the mysteries of the cosmos themselves. And atop her head, where once there had been hair, now sprouted a crown of delicate, crystalline structures, each one pulsating with a soft, iridescent light.

Samuel's heart raced as he struggled to comprehend the impossible. "But how? What happened?"

Dr. Sinclair stepped forward, her hand reaching out to touch the glass. "The Transmutation Chamber has unlocked the true potential of my being," she explained. "I am no longer bound by the limitations of this mortal form. I am reborn, transformed into something greater."

As Samuel watched in awe, Dr. Sinclair's form began to shimmer and shift, her body morphing into a swirling mass of energy before coalescing once more into a new shape entirely. In an instant, she stood before him once again, this time as a majestic phoenix, her wings outstretched in a display of breathtaking beauty.

Samuel fell to his knees, overcome with wonder and awe. "You're magnificent," he whispered, his voice filled with reverence.

The phoenix regarded him with eyes that held the wisdom of ages. "And so are you, Samuel. Together, we shall usher in a new era of possibility, where anything is possible and nothing is beyond our grasp."

As they stood together in the glow of the Transmutative Chamber, Samuel knew that their journey was only just beginning. With Dr. Sinclair at his side, he was ready to embrace the endless possibilities of their newfound power.

    As you approach a small Mediterranean town, you notice a group of villagers gathered in the town square, murmuring excitedly amongst themselves. As you draw closer, you see that they are all watching a large, ornate vase that has been placed on a pedestal in the center of the square. The vase is a beautiful shade of blue, with intricate etchings and designs covering its entire surface. It looks ancient, but incredibly well-preserved, as if it had been carefully maintained for centuries. The villagers are all staring at it with looks of awe and reverence, as if they are in the presence of something very special. As you get closer, a woman steps forward from the crowd and begins to speak. She is an elderly woman, with deeply lined skin and a head full of silver hair. Her voice is clear and strong, carrying over the excited chatter of the villagers.

“Friends, today is a special day,” she begins. “For today, we witness the transformation of this vase into something truly remarkable.”

She gestures towards the vase, and as you watch in wonder, you see that it begins to glow with a soft blue light. The light grows brighter and brighter, until it is almost too intense to look at. And then, with a sudden burst of energy, the vase shatters into a million pieces, sending fragments of porcelain flying in every direction. The crowd gasps, but before anyone can react, something new begins to emerge from the center of the shattered vase. At first, it looks like a mist, a faint outline of something taking shape in the midst of the broken porcelain. But as the mist begins to solidify, you see that it is taking the shape of a person. The figure is a man, tall and broad-shouldered, with sun-kissed skin and hair that glows like gold in the sun. He is dressed in a simple linen tunic and sandals, and as he steps forward from the remnants of the vase, he smiles broadly at the astonished crowd.

“My friends,” he says, his voice deep and rich. “I am Hermes, messenger of the gods.”

The villagers all stare at him in shock and disbelief, but Hermes only laughs, delighted by their reaction.

“You do not believe me?” he says, his eyes twinkling. “Then watch.” And with that, he raises his hand, and a bolt of lightning shoots from his fingertips, striking a nearby tree and setting it ablaze.

The villagers gasp in fear and amazement, and even you can feel the power and energy radiating off of Hermes. For the next few minutes, Hermes performs all manner of incredible feats, from soaring into the air on a pair of winged sandals to transforming a wooden stick into a snake. The crowd is enraptured, and even you feel a thrill of wonder and awe at the sight of such power. And then, just as suddenly as he appeared, Hermes begins to fade away, his form dissolving into mist once again. But before he is completely gone, he turns back to the villagers and gives them one last message.

“Remember, my friends,” he says, his voice echoing softly. “The gods walk among you, watching over you and guiding you. You are never truly alone.”

And with that, he is gone, leaving only the shattered remains of the vase behind. But even as the villagers begin to disperse, you can feel a sense of wonder and magic lingering in the air, a reminder of the incredible transformation you have just witnessed.