English

Creative Writing Awards

Creative Writing Awards

An image of a Creative Writing icon — A quill scribbling on paper

CREATIVE WRITING

An image of a Creative Writing icon — A quill scribbling on paper

CREATIVE WRITING

BA

MFA 

PhD

Creative Writing Awards for Undergrads

Creative Writing Faculty

Creative Writing Alumni

Course Offerings

Grist Journal

Phoenix Magazine

Creative Writing Reading Series

Undergrad Creative Writing Awards

All entries must be made by 5pm on Friday, March 21, 2025.

The English Department presents Creative Writing Awards in the following four categories:

Bain-Swiggett Poetry Prize

First Prize: $150, Second Prize: $100. This is an endowed prize for traditional forms of poetry. Students may submit up to five poems.

Captain Robert A. Burke Award for Fiction

First Prize: $150, Second Prize: $100. Submit up to twenty pages, double-spaced.

Eleanora Burke Award for Creative Nonfiction

First Prize: $150, Second Prize: $100. Submit up to fifteen pages, double-spaced.

Michael Dennis Award for Poetry

First Prize: $150, Second Prize: $100. This is an endowed prize for non-traditional forms, such as free verse, experimental verse, etc. Students may submit up to five poems.

Rules for Submission
  • to qualify, you must be an enrolled undergraduate at UT;
  • your manuscript must be typed;
  • all prose entries must be double-spaced;
  • your name should not appear on the actual manuscript;
  • prose submissions will require a title for the submitted material;
  • poetry submissions will require a list of first lines for each poem submitted (maximum 5 poems);
  • if you wish to submit to more than one contest, you must submit a separate entry for each.
Submissions

Submit your entry here

  • All entries must be made by 5pm on Friday, March 21, 2025
  • Winners will be announced by May 1, 2025
  • Further information: Prof. Hebert at chebert3@utk.edu

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