Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 writing contests! A list of winners for this and past year’s contests can be found on the blog for Creative Writing at Penn State.
Entries are now being accepted for the 2024-2025 year. Submission deadline is January 27, 2025.
Each year, the English Department awards numerous prizes for student poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. These awards are open to all full‐time Penn State undergraduates (including BA/MA students), regardless of curriculum or campus. Students must be enrolled in the spring semester, 2025. The selection committee will determine the dollar amount of the prize in each category.
Submission Procedures: When submitting, select the genre and category for your submission from the choices below, carefully noting eligibility requirements. You are limited to one entry in each genre (up to 3 poems, one piece of fiction, and/or one piece of nonfiction), and you may not submit the same piece of prose or collection of poems for more than one award.
Awards:
Cranage Award
for Poetry Written in Beginning Writing Courses (ENGL 50 or ENGL 213)
Nichols Award
for Nonfiction Written in Beginning Writing Courses (ENGL 50, ENGL 214, or ENGL 215)
Nichols Award
for Fiction Written in Beginning Writing Courses (ENGL 50 or ENGL 212)
Lehman and Mihelcic Poetry Awards
for all other Poetry
Lehman Award in Nonfiction / Journalism
for all other Nonfiction
Lehman Award in Fiction
for all other Fiction