Writing Prize Competition 2024 Results

Students will be notified directly regarding prize details. Awards given out on April 11th from 3:30-5:30pm in Tangeman University Center (TUC) 425.

Academy of American Poets Prize: Best single poem.

Winner: Tyler McDonald as Taylor Sunfield

Honorable Mention: Lili Alimohammadi as Esther Tare

Judge: Danielle Deulen

Danielle Cadena Deulen is the author of four books and a chapbook. She served as a Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. She has been the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, an Oregon Literary Fellowship, and a Pushcart Prize. Her poems and essays have appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Poem-a-Day (poets.org), Poetry Daily, Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Copper Nickel, Smartish Pace, The Cincinnati Review, and the Pushcart Prize XLVII: 2023 edition. She is co-creator and host of "Lit from the Basement,” a literary podcast and radio show.Originally from the Northwest, she now makes her home in Atlanta where she teaches for the graduate creative writing program at Georgia State University.
You can hear her read from her work at Vanity Press. 

 

English Composition Prize: Outstanding Essays written for an ENGL1000, 1001, 1002, 1012 or 2089 class. 

1st Place: Rylee Yackin as Robin Mercer

Tie for 2nd Place:  Niththilan Ramanitharan as Nick Ravanna and Isabella Thoroughman as Romania Gold 

Judges: Gary Vaughn, Mary Leech, and Ron Hundemer

 

Hopton Short Story Prize: Best short story of 12 pages or less.

1st Place: Hannah Durham as Strawberry Shortcake

2nd Place: Haley Zaker as Steven Culpepper 

Honorable mention: Audrey Baker as Christina Doyle and Rosalind-Renèe Lindsey as Lira Sond 

Judges: Chris Bachelder, Jenn Glaser, Simone Savannah 

 

Jean Chimsky Poetry Prize: Outstanding group of three to five poems.

Winner: Elizabeth Oh as Sara Lee 

Honorable Mention: Grace Guy as Netania Finke

Judges: Lisa Ampleman, Alecia Beymer, Rebecca Lindenberg

 

Literary Nonfiction Prize: Best submission of 10 pages or less. 

Winner: Jocelyn Palyo as Candid Pulp 

Honorable Mention: Casey Harloe as Garamond Gladys

Judges: Alecia Beymer, Michael Griffith, Cheli Reutter

 

Professional Writing Prize: Excellence in professional writing.

1st Place: Ava Bowers as Barb Kelner

2nd Place: Mia Corcega as Jade

Judges: Teresa Cook, Mariah Kemp, Katie Powell

 

Robinson Essay Prize: Outstanding essay.

1st Place: Isabella Thoroughman as Merida Brave

2nd Place: Rachel Hoermann as Catherine Finley

Tie for 3rd Place: Sadie Penix as Mariah Mia and Lili Alimohammadi as Esther Tare 

Judges: Michael Griffith, Michael Hennessey, Gary Vaughn

 

Screenplay Prize: Best short screenplay of 10 pages or less. 

No award given this year 

 

Shakespeare Prize:  Best essay written on Shakespeare.

1st Place: Kirk Thomas as Mrs. Danvers

Tie for 2nd Place: Sarah Syed as Aphrofightie Flytrap and Karley Cappel as Emilia Shakespeare

Judges: Michele Griegel-McCord,  Joanna Huh, Mary Leech

 

Staples Capstone Prize:  Best capstone project in any English capstone course this academic year.

No award given this year 

 

Academy of American Poets Prize: Best single poem.

Winner: Leila Chatti as Lujain Hafsia

Honorable Mention: Paige Webb as Perry Winkle 

Judge: Danielle Deulen

 

Hatfield/Westheimer Short Story Prize: Best short story of 10 pages or less.

First Prize: Justin Reed as Dusty Drafts 

Second Prize: Charlie Beckerman as R.G. LaMott

Third Prize:  Kate Jayroe as Janet Doe

Judge: Gwen Kirby

Gwen E. Kirby‘s debut collection Shit Cassandra Saw is available from Penguin Books wherever books are sold. She hails from San Diego and is a proud graduate of Carleton College. She has an MFA from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from the University of Cincinnati. Currently, she is the Associate Director of Programs and Finance for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference at the University of the South, where she also teaches creative writing.

 

Jean Chimsky Poetry Prize: Outstanding group of three to five poems.

Tie for First Place: Leila Chatti as Lujain Hafsia and Holli Carrell as Finley Higgins

Judges: Lisa Ampleman, Alecia Beymer, Simone Savannah

 

Literary Nonfiction Prize: Best submission of 10 pages or less. 

1st Place: Leila Chatti as Lujain Hafsia

2nd Place: Tiffany Tucker as Maya Wilkes 

Judges: Lisa Ampleman, Alecia Beymer, and Kristen Iversen

 

Playwriting Prize: Best play.
Winner: Daniel Hunt as Duncan Idaho 

Judges: Michele Griegel-McCord, Leah Rubinsky 

 

Professional Writing Prize: Excellence in professional writing.

No award given this year. 

 

Robin Sheets Critical Essay Prize: Best critical essay. 

1st Place: Lily Davenport as Space Ghost

Three way tie for 2nd Place: Joseph Ozias as Phony Stark, Sarah Haak as Jeanette Winterson, and Katherine Frankel as Gwendolyn De La Porta

Judges: Joanna Huh, Mariah Kemp, Cheli Reutter

 

Shakespeare Prize:  Best essay written on Shakespeare.

Winner: Jay Arns as Glorfindel

Judges: Michele Griegel-McCord, Joanna Huh