Guidelines for the contests & awards are typically posted during the month of February.

 

Please take note of varying conditions of eligibility. Submit all work using the appropriate forms, linked below.

2024 deadline to submit: Monday, March 18th at 11:59pm

2024 award winners will be announced via email on Thursday, April 4th.

Rules for applying:

  1. Submissions MUST be sent through the appropriate forms, linked below. There are two forms: one for creative writing awards, one for coursework awards.
  2. Prose and essay submissions must use double spacing, 12-point font, and 1-inch margins, and be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format.
  3. Your name or your professor's name MUST NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE ON WORK (with the exception of multimedia submissions where this is not possible).
  4. Label each individual document as the title of the work (for a set of poems, use the title of the first poem).
  5. You may submit to each award that you are eligible for, but you may only submit one entry per award.
  6. You may submit the same work to multiple awards, as long as it meets the eligibility requirements for each.
  7. You will need to fill out one complete form for each entry. 
  8. The work you submit need not have been written for a class, unless indicated in the requirements. Work written for a previous class is still eligible to submit.
  9. You can submit work previously published elsewhere, as long as it is ORIGINAL work. Conversely, even if your work is selected as a winner, you retain all rights and may submit it to publications.

 

 

Awards and Contests for Creative Writing

Winners of the 2024 creative writing awards will be invited to present at the annual creativity showcase, which will take place on Wednesday, April 24th at 6pm in Murray Hall.

Academy of American Poets Enid Dame Memorial Poetry Prize

  • Open to all undergraduates
  • Maximum of 5 poems may be submitted
  • $100 cash prize for best poem(s)

Evelyn Hamilton Awards in Creative Writing

  • Open to all undergraduates
  • Awarded for the best original story, creative non-fiction, or poem(s)
  • Please label works as creative non-fiction, fiction, or poetry                   
  • 8 pages maximum

English Department Annual Literary Fiction Writing Award

  • Open to all undergraduates
  • Awarded to the best short story or excerpt of literary fiction
  • Genre fiction (fantasy, romance, thriller, etc.) will NOT be accepted   
  • 18 pages maximum 

Composing in New Media Prize

  • Open to all undergraduates
  • Awarded to a multimedia composition, documentary film, digital story, graphic narrative, or any work in new media
  • Send submissions electronically

Open Only to Undergraduate Douglass Women in New Brunswick:

Julia Carlie Prize

  • Open only to undergraduate Douglass women
  • Prize awarded for original poetry
  • 8 pages maximum

Edna N. Herzberg Prizes in Creative Writing

  • Open only to undergraduate Douglass women
  • Prize awarded for fiction or poetry
  • Please label works as fiction or poetry
  • 8 pages maximum

Click here for the 2024 creative writing awards submission form.

 

Awards and Contests for Coursework

James Suydam Prize in English Composition

  • Awarded to the best essay on a topic of the writer’s choice of contemporary social, political, or educational significance
  • Minimum length 5 pages
  • 8-10 pages maximum

Irving D. Blum Prize

  • Awarded for the best essay submitted for a regular course assignment
  • Essays may be in original form or revised, but should be retyped and free of instructor’s marks and comments
  • 8-10 pages maximum

English Department Faculty Prize

  • Awarded to an outstanding essay written in coursework
  • Essays will be judged on substance and style
  • 8-10 pages maximum

Jamima Dingus Qualls Prize

  • Awarded to the best undergraduate essay on women writers or feminist issues in English or American Literature
  • 8-10 pages maximum

Open Only to Undergraduate Douglass Women in New Brunswick:

Ernest W. Thomas Memorial Prize for Interpretation of Shakespearean Works

  • Open only to undergraduate Douglass women
  • Awarded to the best paper submitted for a regular course assignment concerning Shakespeare’s works
  • 8 pages maximum

Edna N. Herzberg Prize in Essay

  • Open only to undergraduate Douglass women
  • Awarded to best paper submitted for a regular course assignment concerning American literature
  • 8 pages maximum

Click here for the 2024 coursework awards submission form.

 

The English Department reserves the right not to give a prize or award if no entries are judged to be of sufficiently high quality.

Questions? Contact Savannah Porcelli at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.