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Creative Writing Prizes

Creative Writing Prizes for Undergraduates

These prizes are awarded at the annual Creative Writing Awards ceremony each May. Please see the next section for submission details.

  • The Sidney Cox Memorial Prize:

The Sidney Cox Memorial Prize is offered annually for that piece of undergraduate writing which most nearly meets those high standards of originality and integrity which Sidney Cox set for himself and for his students in his teaching and in his book, Indirections for Those Who Want to Write.  Any kind of undergraduate writing in English may be submitted; there is no limit to the amount or variety of the material that any individual may submit; and the award is not limited to students majoring or minoring in English.

  •  Academy of American Poets Prize:

 The Academy of American Poets Prize is offered for the best poem or group of poems.

  • Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:

The Jacobson-Laing Award will be given to an undergraduate for the "best manuscript of original poems."

  • Lockwood Prize:

Competition for the Lockwood Prize is open to undergraduates classified as Junior. Any form of writing except plays may be submitted. A group of short poems may be considered as one manuscript.

  • Grimes Prize:

Competition for the Grimes Prize is open to undergraduates classified as Senior. Any form of writing except plays may be submitted. A group of short poems may be considered as one manuscript.

  • The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:

The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing is given for a work of prose or poetry distinguished by its formal precision, as well as its original, innovative, or iconoclastic approach to its subject matter.

  • The Mecklin Prize:

 The Mecklin Prize is for the best student writing in creative nonfiction or journalism. 

  • The Erskine Caldwell Prize:

The Erskine Caldwell prize is awarded to a student(s) whose written work in the short story is most outstanding.     

  • The Ralston Prize

The Thomas Henry Ralston VI Creative Writing Prize is for the most outstanding student in an introductory creative writing class, in any genre (fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry). Please do not submit to this prize. This prize is selected by creative writing faculty.

Creative Writing Prizes Submission Instructions

SUBMISSION DETAILS

  • The deadline for submissions is Monday, March 27, 2023 at 4 p.m. ET (Eastern Time).
  • You will need to complete this online survey to submit your work for consideration. If you have any questions while completing the survey, please email english.department@dartmouth.edu.
  • Please use a cover sheet to indicate your name, your entry titles, and the prizes for which you would like your work considered.
  • Please save your work as one PDF.
  • Please save your PDF as lastname_firstname_2023.pdf (e.g., Shakespeare_William_2023.pdf)
  • Please uplaod the PDF to the online survey.
  • Fiction and creative nonfiction submissions are limited to one short story, or one nonfiction piece, or one chapter of a book length manuscript not to exceed 20 double-spaced typewritten pages along with a one-page synopsis of the book.
  • This writing contest is open to all Dartmouth undergraduate students.
  • The prize winners will be announced in May 2023, with a reading to take place on Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. in Sanborn Library.

2023 Creative Writing Prizes

The 2023 Creative Writing Prizes judge is JoAnn Wypijewski. JoAnn Wypijewski is a writer and editor based in New York. She has written for numerous magazines, including The Nation, where she was an editor from 1982 to 2000. Her latest book is an essay collection, What We Don't Talk About: Sex and the Mess of Life (Verso, 2020/21). Among the many books she has edited or contributed to, the most recent is Zapatista Stories for Dreaming An-Other World (PM, 2022), the Colectivo Relámpago's English translation of allegorical tales by Subcomandante Marcos, for which she also wrote the foreword. She is on the editorial committee of the New Left Review, has collaborated with photographers and filmmakers in the US and UK, has received a number of honors for her writing, and co-founded, with John Scagliotti, the Kopkind Colony, a summer seminar/retreat project in Vermont for political journalists, activists and documentary filmmakers. From 2015 to 2017 she held the honorary chair of Belle Zeller Visiting Professor at Brooklyn College. She is currently resuming work on a book for Farrar Straus titled Valiant, journeys through America in a time of crack-up.

The Sidney Cox Memorial Prize

  • Grace Boyd, "Don't Moo Over Spilt Milk"
  • Claire Callahan, "Camp Sunny Lake: Chapter One"
  • Migwi Mwangi, "The Tamarind Oracle"
  • Payton Weiner, "you left"

The Academy of American Poets Prize

  • Edgar Morales, "Swim"

The Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry

  • Eliza Dunn, "Homecoming"
  • Gabriel Gilbert, Old Mana, New Suns

The Mecklin Prize

  • Yevheniia Dubrova, "All That Cracking"

Honorable Mention:

  • Jennifer Chen, "Angel Island"
  • Anne Johnakin, "What a Shame She Went Mad"
  • Shaphnah McKenzie, "You Might as Well Be American"
  • Michelle Mulé, "Love, Priscila, and the Death of Childhood"

The Grimes Prize

  • Ava Koros, "Greek Orthodox Lesbians Wear Pants to Church"
  • Migwi Mwangi, "Contra Suture"

Honorable Mention:

  • Amana Hill, "Christmas on Joy Street: Chapter 7"

The Lockwood Prize

  • Laurel Lee Pitts, "Split"
  • Tonia Zakorchemna, "a flatter one i think"

Honorable Mention:

  • Katherine Arrington, "What Women Talk About When Nobody Is Listening"
  • Joseph Fausey, "After the Fire: Chapter 1"

William C. Spengemann Award in Writing

  • Julia Shen, "A series of supermarket produce"
  • Zhuangzhuang Tan, "The Young of the Boys"

Honorable Mention:

  • Clay Socas, "The Space between the Stars"
  • Amina Zoklat, "a mousetrap[ed]"

Erskine Caldwell Prize

  • Laurel Lee Pitts, "Split"

Honorable Mention:

  • Kendall Milender, "What Sometimes Happens to an Orchard"

Ralston Prize

  • Georgia Horgan

2022 Creative Writing Prizes

The 2022 Creative Writing Prizes judge was Chris Abani. Chris Abani's books of fiction include The Secret History of Las Vegas, Song For Night, The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail, Graceland, and Masters of the Board. His poetry collections are Sanctificum, There Are No Names for Red, Feed Me The Sun: Collected Long Poems, Hands Washing Water, Dog Woman, Daphne's Lot, and Kalakuta Republic. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the PEN Beyond the Margins Award, the Hurston Wright Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship, among many honors. His work has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Romanian, Hebrew, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Dutch, Bosnian, and Serbian.

For the Sidney Cox Memorial Prize
Mia Anwar '25, "The Subway"
Claire Callahan '23, "Drop Tower"
Cia Gladden '23, "Tuesday"

The Academy of American Poets Prize
Eliza Dunn '25, "Excavation"

Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry
Migwi Mwangi '23, "Tendered Soils"

The Mecklin Prize
Christopher Cartwright '21, "Twenty-First Century Drugs"
Maeve Fairbanks '22, "Landscape in a Bottle"
Ellen O'Rourke '23, "Horseshoe Crabs and Queer Ecologies"

The Grimes Prize
Willem Gerrish '22, "Patience"
Karen Zheng '22, "burnt tongue"

The Lockwood Prize
Thomas Brown '23, "The New Text"

William C. Spengemann Award in Writing
Abigail Bresler '21, "In the Closet of Expired Medicine"
Emma Ginsberg '23, "Lunch After Death"
Jade Haakonsen '25, "A Fragmented Bellflower"

Erskine Caldwell Prize
Yevheniia Dubrova '24, "A Flat Tire"
Chukwuka Odigbo '25, "A Sexual Assaulter Is Someone You Know"
Jiyoung Park '23, "Our Summer"

    2021 Creative Writing Prize Winners

    Asako Serizawa was the judge of this year's prizes.

    For the Sidney Cox Memorial Prize
    Julia Robitaille '23, The New Abolition

    The Academy of American Poets Prize
    Jordan McDonald '21, "Dementia"

    Honorable Mention:
    James King '21, "Self Portrait as No. 34 Bus from Dublin to County Meath"
    Matthew Nolan '21, "Encyclopedia"

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry
    Tom Bosworth '22, The CVS at the End of the World
    Karen Zheng '22, The Tail of Smoke

    The Mecklin Prize
    Alisya Reza '22, "Deep Cassie Blue"

    Honorable Mention:

    Maria Amador '24, "9 to 5"
    Elizabeth Janowski '21, "Why Aren't They Behaving"
    Eva Legge '22, "The Salamanders at the End of the World"
    Frances Mize '22, "Gatsby Days"
    Laurel Lee Pitts '24, "Elsewhere and Here"

    The Grimes Prize
    Cynthia Lucas '21, "Bonefish"

    The Lockwood Prize
    Mariana Peñaloza Morales '22, "A Week of Presidents"

    William C. Spengemann Award in Writing
    Annika Bowman '21, You Made It

    Honorable Mention:
    Migwi S. Mwangi '23, "I WAIT FOR NO GOD"
    Nate Stockmal '21, Meta//Narrative

    Erskine Caldwell Prize
    Valentina Jaramillo '21, "Love Letter to Beelzebub"

    Honorable Mention:
    Shaphnah McKenzie '23, "A New, Old Home"
    Mia Nelson '22, "The Un-Virgin, Un-Suicides"

    2020 Creative Writing Prize Awards

    Carlos Andrés Gómez was the 2020 creative writing prizes judge. For more information, please visit: https://carloslive.com/.

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize in Creative Writing:
    CC Lucas '21

    Academy of American Poets Prize:
    James King '21

    Honorable Mentions:
    Kira Householder '23
    Mia Nelson '22

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:
    Karen Zheng '22

    Honorable Mention:
    Julia O'Sullivan '20

    Lockwood English Prize:
    CC Lucas '21

    Grimes English Prize:
    Julia O'Sullivan '20

    The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:
    Raena Roman '19

    The Mecklin Prize in Creative Nonfiction:
    Kai Chen '19

    Honorable Mention:
    Maeve Fairbanks '22
    Shaphnah McKenzie '23

    The Erskine Caldwell Memorial Prize:
    Jordan McDonald '21

    Honorable Mention:
    Betty Kim '20

    2019 Creative Writing Prize Awards

    Professor Inara Verzemnieks was the 2019 creative writing prizes judge. For more information about Professor Verzemnieks, please visit: http://inaraverzemnieks.com/.

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize in Creative Writing:
    Rebecca Flowers '19

    Academy of American Poets Prize:
    Julia O'Sullivan '20

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:
    Michael Sun '19

    Lockwood English Prize:
    Sofía Carbonell Realme '20

    Grimes English Prize:
    Saleha Irfan '19
    Yegene Joyce Lee '19

    The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:
    Maanav Jalan '19

    The Mecklin Prize in Creative Nonfiction:
    Kai Chen '19
    Jordan McDonald '21
    Rebecca Flowers '19

    The Erskine Caldwell Memorial Prize:
    Isabelle Blank '19
    Betty Kim '20

    The Thomas Henry Ralston IV English 80 Prize:
    Chibuzo Chiwike '22

    2018 Creative Writing Prize Awards

    Joshua Bennett was the 2018 creative writing prizes judge. For more information about Professor Joshua Bennett, please visit: https://www.drjoshuabennett.com/.

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize for Best Creative Writing Honors Thesis:
    Stephen Banks '18, High Honors Thesis in Fiction
    Liza Wemakor '18, High Honors Thesis in Fiction and Poetry

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize in Creative Writing:
    Hannah Matheson '18

    Academy of American Poets Prize:
    Courtney Niamh McKee '21

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:
    Sarah Lehan '20

    Lockwood English Prize:
    Emma Hobday '19

    Grimes English Prize:
    Hannah Matheson '18

    The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:
    Celeste Jennings '18

    The Mecklin Prize in Creative Nonfiction:
    Ben Szuhaj '19

    The Erskine Caldwell Memorial Prize:
    Emma Sklarin '18

    The Thomas Henry Ralston IV English 80 Prize:
    Kaijing Janice Chen '19
    Hye Young Kim
    Sofía Carbonell Realme '20
    Neelufar Raja '21

    2017 Creative Writing Prize Awards

    Aimee Phan was the 2017 creative writing prizes judge. For more information, please visit: https://us.macmillan.com/author/aimeephan/.

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize for Best Creative Writing Honors Thesis:
    Jennifer Evans '17, High Honors Thesis in Fiction
    Sarah Khatry '17, Honors Thesis in Creative Non-fiction

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize in Creative Writing:
    Abbey Cahill '18
    Andrew Joubert '20, Honorable Mention

    Academy of American Poets Prize:
    Abby Starr '19

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:
    Michael Sun '19

    Lockwood English Prize:
    Ho-chun Herbert Chang '18
    Hannah Matheson '18

    Grimes English Prize:
    John "Mac" Emery '17
    Sarah Khatry '17

    The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:
    Parker Richards '18
    Frederikke Strobech Furst, Honorable Mention

    The Mecklin Prize in Creative Nonfiction:
    Eliza McDonough '18
    Raul Rodriguez '19
    Alexa Sonnenfeld '17

    The Erskine Caldwell Memorial Prize:
    Kylee Sibilia '20
    Elise Wien '17

    The Thomas Henry Ralston IV English 80 Prize:
    Saleha Irfan '19
    Isabel Parks '20
    Jaclyn Verzuh '19

    2016 Creative Writing Prize Awards

    Peter Manseau was the 2016 creative writing prizes judge. For more information, please visit: http://www.petermanseau.com/.

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize:

    Queenie Sukhadia '16
    Gabrielle Pacia '16
    Georgianna Anderson '16

    Academy of American Poets Prize:
    Kelsey Sipple '16

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:
    Margaret Lacey Jones '16

    Lockwood English Prize:
    Treeman Baker '17

    Grimes English Prize:
    Charlotte Gross '16
    Robbie Herbst '16

    The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:
    William Peters '16

    The Mecklin Prize in Creative Nonfiction:
    Max Gibson '16

    The Erskine Caldwell Memorial Prize:
    Cherrie Kandie '18
    James Sachar '16

    The Thomas Henry Ralston IV English 80 Prize:
    Ho Chun Herbert Chang '18

    2015 Creative Writing Prizes Awards

    Meg Kearney was the 2015 creative writing prizes judge. For more information, please visit: http://megkearney.com/.

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize:
    Sara Khatry '17
    Haider Ghiasuddin '15
    Madison Pauly '15
    Kelsey Stimson '15
    Jeremy Whitaker '15

    Academy of American Poets Prize:
    Margaret Lacey Jones '16

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:
    Andrew Lohse '12

    Lockwood English Prize:
    Tailour Garbutt '16

    Grimes English Prize:
    Jenna van de Ruit '15

    The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:
    Joshua D. Koenig '16

    The Mecklin Prize in Creative Nonfiction:
    Kelsey Anne Stimson '15

    The Erskine Caldwell Memorial Prize:
    Robbie Herbst '16

    The Thomas Henry Ralston IV English 80 Prize:
    Kevin M. Patterson '17

     

    2014 Creative Writing Prize Awards

    Emily Raboteau was the 2014 creative writing prizes judge. For more information, please visit: https://www.emilyraboteau.com/.

    Sidney Cox Memorial Prize:

    In Fiction
    Cassandra Hartt '14

    In Poetry
    Mitchell Jacobs '14

    Second Prize
    Kirklun Davis '16

    Academy of American Poets Prize:
    Geanette Foster '14
    Rebecca Rothfeld '14, Honorable Mention

    Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry:
    Mitchell Jacobs '14

    Lockwood English Prize:
    Eva Petzinger '15

    Grimes English Prize:
    Amelia Acosta '14

    The William C. Spengemann Award in Writing:
    Suado Sheikh-Hassan '14
    Autumn White Eyes '14, Honorable Mention

    The Mecklin Prize in Creative Nonfiction:
    Claire Groden '14
    Runners Up
    Max Gibson '16
    Madison Pauly '15

    The Erskine Caldwell Memorial Prize:
    Henry Russell '15

    The Thomas Henry Ralston IV English 80 Prize:
    Georgianna Anderson '16
    Dondei Dean '17