The English Department sponsors and administers two annual graduate creative writing competitions:
Short Fiction:
- Hobart L. and Mary Kay Peer Fiction Prize, $1000
- Josephine M. Bresee Memorial Award, $500
Poetry:
- Hobart L. and Mary Kay Peer Poetry Prize, $1000
- Hobart L. and Mary Kay Peer Memorial Award, $500
Contest rules are as follows:
Short Fiction: Submit no more than one unpublished story (7500 words, maximum length).
Poetry: Submit up to 5 unpublished poems in a single document.
Only University of Illinois graduate students enrolled in an English Department program are eligible to compete for the two Poetry awards and the first-place award in Fiction (Hobart L. and Mary Kay Peer Fiction Prize). Any UIUC graduate student may apply for the Josephine M. Bresee Memorial Award in Fiction. To be considered for a prize, submissions must adhere to the following rules:
- All submissions must be sent via email as an attachment to: jdudek4@illinois.edu.
- The subject line of your email message must read as follows: “GRAD POETRY: Last name” or “GRAD FICTION: Last name”
- If you enter in both categories (poetry and fiction), you will need to send separate emails.
- In the body of your email, please include:
- Your name,
- address,
- phone number,
- e-mail address,
- status (graduate student, program)
- UIN
- Your entry is to be contained in one attached .docx file. The name of this file must be the contest category followed by your last name, such as “FICTION JONES.docx” or “POETRY JONES.docx” Your name should not appear within the document itself.
- Please direct any questions to John Dudek, Associate Director of Creative Writing at Jdudek4@illinois.edu
