Skip to main content

Annual Writing Competition

The English Department holds a competition each year for prizes in writing. The prizes are cash awards ranging from $50 to $500. We encourage students from every department and school within Northwestern to compete according to the guidelines below. The submission deadline is 11:59 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Any original work is eligible, whether or not it has been written for a class. All comments by teachers on course papers should be removed. A fully legible scan of the entry copy is acceptable as long as it is in pdf format; handwritten work is not acceptable. Please note the following:

  1. Except in special categories noted below, any original work is eligible, whether or not it was written for a class.
  2. Students may submit only one work in each of the following categories: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction essay, critical essay, research essay, ENG 300 paper. Submit the work in the appropriate category below.
  3. The suggested length for critical essays is 5-20 pages; the maximum length for fiction and creative nonfiction is 20 pages; the maximum length for a poetry manuscript is 10 pages or 3 poems.
  4. Students do not need to submit work for a specific prize; we will consider it for all appropriate prizes.

Work will be judged anonymously. 

Within the Literature Awards, there are prizes to be awarded for best research paper, best critical essay on literature before 1830, best critical essay in American literature, best essay in the psychological or psychoanalytic interpretation of a literary text, and best essay in literary criticism and theory. Students do not need to submit work for a specific prize; the selection committee will consider submissions for all appropriate prizes.

Creative Writing Awards Eligibility

Category Eligibility Submission Link
FICTION Any WCAS undergraduate submit here
POETRY Any University Undergraduate submit here
CREATIVE NONFICTION Any University undergraduate Submit here
AUDIO/VISUAL Any University undergraduate submit here
 

Literature Awards Eligibility

Category Eligibility Submission Link
CRITICAL ESSAY AND/OR RESEARCH ESSAY Any WCAS undergraduate submit here
ENGLISH 300 PAPER Any undergraduate student who took English 300 in Fall 2023, Winter 2024, or Spring 2024 submit here
ENGLISH FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR PAPER Any Northwestern first-year undergraduate student submit here
_____________________________

In addition to the prizes listed above, the Department will annually present the following awards to students who have demonstrated continued excellence in their work in the English Department. Students should not apply directly for these prizes. 

Edwin L. Shuman Awards:

The Shuman Junior-year Award in Creative Writing  

The Shuman Senior Award in Creative Writing 

The Shuman Award for Best Honors Thesis in Creative Writing

The Shuman Award for Distinguished Achievement by a Junior Literature Major

The Shuman Award for Distinguished Achievement by a Senior Literature Major

The Shuman Award for Best Honors Thesis in Literature