Contests announced for IWU student poets and writers

 

  Illinois Wesleyan University students are invited to enter annual competitions for the Academy of American Poets University & College Prize, the Illinois Wesleyan University Department of English Prize for Short Fiction, and the Illinois Wesleyan University Department of English Essay Prize. The prizes, administered by the English department, are open to all currently enrolled students, including majors and minors outside of the English Department.

    Academy of American Poets University & College Poetry Prize

    Founded in 1955, the Academy of American Poets University & College Poetry Prize program has launched the careers of many promising poets, including Sylvia Plath, Tess Gallagher, Mark Strand, and Joy Harjo. The winner from Illinois Wesleyan University receives $100 and a certificate, and is announced in the Academy of American Poets' publications and news releases, with a chance for publication in a future anthology. The final judge for this prize is Ruben Quesada, author of two chapbooks of poetry and translations, Revelations and Exiled from the Throne of Night: Selected Translations of Luis Cernuda, and a collection of poetry, Next Extinct Mammal. He is the founder of Latinx Writers Caucus, an organization concerned with the education, equity, and inclusion of Latinx writers in the literary and publishing community.

    To enter the Academy of American Poets University & College Poetry Prize, students should submit 4-6 poems, single-spaced, with the total length not to exceed 12 pages.

    Entries should be submitted via a single email attatchment to iwuenglish@gmail.com by 4 p.m. on Monday, March 8, 2021

    Illinois Wesleyan University Department of English Prize for  Short Fiction

    The Illinois Wesleyan University Department of English Prize for Short Fiction (formerly the  Clockwatch Review Prize for Short Fiction and the Babbitt’s Prize for Short Fiction) began in 1997 as a way to promote and encourage aspiring fiction writers at IWU. The winner receives $100. The final judge for this prize is Nick White, author of the novel How to Survive a Summer (Blue Rider/Penguin, 2017) and the story collection Sweet and Low. To enter the IWU Department of English Prize for Short Fiction, students should submit up to 18 double-spaced pages of fiction—either a single short story or a segment from a novel that can stand alone. Any style is acceptable, but judges will be looking for literary quality, energy, innovation, interesting plots, memorable characters, dialogue that rings true, fresh language, and a sure voice.

    Entries should be submitted via a single email attatchment to  iwuenglish@gmail.com by 4 p.m. on Monday, March 8, 2021

    Illinois Wesleyan University Department of English Essay Prize

    The Illinois Wesleyan University Department of English Essay Prize (formerly the Kay Nelson Memorial Essay Prize) has been established to promote and encourage practitioners of the art of the personal essay. The winner receives $100. The final judge for this prize will be Ira Sukrungruang, author of the memoirs Southside Buddhist and Talk Thai: The Adventures of Buddhist Boy, the short story collection The Melting Season, and the poetry collection In Thailand It Is Night.

    Entries should be submitted via a single email attatchment to  iwuenglish@gmail.com by 4 p.m. on Monday, March 8, 2021

    President's Club Senior Writing Award

    Graduating seniors compete for a cash award by submitting to the English department a portfolio of the best, most original writing they have done while at Illinois Wesleyan. Included in the portfolio may be any or all of the following: fiction, drama, poetry, journalism, exceptional course papers. Judging is by a committee of English department faculty; the winner is announced by the President during the graduation ceremony.

 

For additional information on any of the above contests, contact Professor Brandi Reissenweber at breissen@iwu.edu or (309) 556-3241