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Creative Writing Program

Creative Writing Prizes

Creative Writing Program and Center for the Literary Arts Prizes

Through private and university sponsorships, the Program in Creative Writing is able to award a number of yearly writing prizes. All awards are judged in open competition by outside writers of national reputation.

  • The Academy of American Poets Prize, $100
  • The McKinney Short Fiction Award, $750
  • The Mahan Poetry Prizes, $300, $200, and $100
  • The Mahan Fiction Prizes, $300, $200, and $100
  • The Creative Writing Nonfiction Prize, $200
  • The Sibyl Pommer Freshmen Poetry Prize, $200
  • The Margaret Leong Children's Poetry Prize, $300, $200, $125

Contest guidelines (in pdf)

Other Contests

The Francis W. Kerr Writing Prize recognizes excellence in undergraduate writing in the genres of drama, fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. Nominations for this award are made by instructors of the undergraduate courses in each genre.

The English Department also offers The Mahan Freshman Essay Prizes ($200 and $100). Guidelines for the essay contest can be obtained from 107B Tate Hall.

2008 Prize Recipients

Mahan Fiction Prize

First: Nathan Oates "Nearby, the Edge of Europe"
Second: Lily Mabura "Finding Anam Ka'alakol: A Jade Sea of Many Fish"
Third: Joanna Luloff, "Galle Road"

Honorable Mentions:
Brian Van Reet, "Blood Grove" and
Patrick Lane, "Buzby"

McKinney Fiction Prize

Sarah ("Katie") Spillman, "Open"
Lania Knight, "Starry Night"

Honorable Mentions:
Nathan Oates, "The Empty House"
Brittany Barr, "Honeysuckle"

CWP Award in Creative Nonfiction

Minh Phuong Hoang Nguyen (untitled)

Honorable Mentions:

Robert Foreman, "Centripetal Force"
Gregory Dunne, "Remembering Cid"

Mahan Poetry Prize
(for the group of poems)

First: Jeff Pethybridge
Second: Julie Buchsbaum
Third: Marc McKee

Honorable Mentions:
Katy Didden and Liz Langemak

Margaret Leong Children's Poetry Prize

First: Katy Didden, "The Dream of Aengus"
Second: Regina Popper, Afterschool"
Third: John Estes, "The Girl Oppressed by Religion and her Beauty"
and "The Girl wiith Tumors in her Brain"

Academy of American Poets Prize

Marc McKee, "How Move the Boulder"

Honorable Mentions:
Sarah Barber, "From Her Lectures: Still Life"
Jessica Garratt, "Mirador"

Francis W. Kerr Writing Prize

Poetry
First: Kathryn Dillard, "The Menace"
Second: Hannah Cortazzo, "Ghazal for Agha Shahid Ali"

Fiction
First: Brittany Barr, "Shell and Yolk"
Second: Daniel Moore, "Ice Storm"

Creative Nonfiction
First: Anne Binder, "Feet"
Second: Abbie Schmid, "The Books that Bind"

Drama
First: Richard Shannon Smith, "The Doctor"
Second: Tearrance Chisholm, "Burning Books"

Other Kerr Award Nominees: Alex Branson, Danielle Doerr, Abigail Dunard, Cole Headrick, Andrew Heiple, Kristen Kuhl, Alexander Luft, Jim Rogers, Jedd Rosche, Scott Ross, Ali Sawani, Jonathan Schaff, Alex Streiff, and Chris Terrell