The Creative Writing Program awards a number of prizes annually to University of Pennsylvania students. These contests are open to all currently enrolled students of any school at the university.
Guidelines for submitted work:
- Students may submit no more than ONE entry per category.
- Students may enter more than one category.
- All contests are subject to the University Code of Academic Integrity.
- Submitted work must be unpublished at time of submission.
- Submitted work must have been created while you were a student at Penn.
- Coauthored submissions are welcome.
Details on how to submit your work will be posted here in early 2025.
The College Alumni Society Poetry Prize
First place: $500; second place: $300; third place: $200
Awarded to the best poetry by an undergraduate student. Submit up to 5 pages total of one or more poems.
The Peregrine Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets
First place only: $100
Awarded to the best poetry by a graduate student. Submit up to 5 pages total of one or more poems.
The Phi Kappa Sigma Fiction Prize
First place: $400; second place: $200; third place: $100
Awarded to the best original short story by an undergraduate. Submit one story of any length, up to 5,000 words total.
The Judy Lee Award for Dramatic Writing
First place: $400; second place: $200; third place: $100
Awarded to a graduate or undergraduate student for the best script of any length. Submit one piece of any length, labeled by genre (stage, screen, television, radio, etc.).
The Lilian and Benjamin Levy Award
First place: $400; second place: $200; third place: $100
Awarded to the best review by an undergraduate of a current play, film, music release, book, or performance. Submit one piece of any length, up to 5,000 words total.
The Gibson Peacock Prize for Creative Nonfiction
First place: $400; second place: $200; third place: $100
Awarded to the best creative nonfiction piece—memoir or essay—by an undergraduate student. Submit one piece of any length, up to 5,000 words total.
The Parker Prize for Journalistic Writing
First place: $400; second place: $200; third place: $100
Awarded to the best news article, exposé, investigative work, or reported essay by an undergraduate. Submit one piece of any length, up to 5,000 words total.