Prize Competitions

• Application Instructions
• Application Instructions for both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
• Submissions will be accepted in electronic form only
• Deadline to submit is 5:00 p.m. April 15
• Only one submission is required when applying for multiple prizes

• Submission Requirements
• Manuscript lengths must adhere to the specifications described for each prize below.
• Applicant’s name SHOULD NOT APPEAR anywhere on the manuscript (committee review is anonymous).
• Email the following information along with your manuscript to Vicky Brevetti in the Department of English (vlb3@cornell.edu):
  • the name of prize(s) to which applicant is applying
  • applicant’s full name
  • applicant’s student status (graduate or undergraduate)
  • applicant’s Cornell net id
  • applicant’s year (example: sophmore, junior, 2nd year grad., etc.)
  • applicant’s expected graduation date
  • applicant’s college
  • applicant’s major
  • title of manuscript

Creative Writing Prizes

• Corson-Browning Poetry Prize*
  (est. 1902 by Cornell Professor Hiram Corson, professor of Anglo-Saxon literature and theorist of Robert Browning) Maximum length of entries: no more than 10 pages of poetry.
• Robert Chasen Memorial Poetry Prize*
  (est. 1980 by Margaret Rosenzweig ’32, in his memory) Maximum length of entries: no more than 10 pages of poetry.
• Dorothy Sugarman Poetry Prize*
  (est. 1978 by Hyman Yudewitz ’28) Maximum length of entries: no more than 5 pages of poetry.
• * The Corson-Browning and the Chasen Prizes are open to undergraduate and graduate students, and will be awarded to the top two entries. The Sugarman Prize is awarded to the next best entry by an undergraduate.
• Arthur Lynn Andrews Award for Fiction
  (est. 1965 by the late Harriet Cousens Andrews, in his memory) Open to undergraduate and graduate students. Awarded to the top entry from each group. Maximum length of entries: Not to exceed 10,000 words.
• The George Harmon Coxe Award in Creative Writing
  (est. 1951 by Mr. and Mrs. George H. Coxe in memory of their son who was a student at Cornell University) Awarded in odd years for the best entry in creative writing by a sophomore, junior, or senior. MAXIMUM LENGTH OF ENTRIES: Poetry submissions: no more than 10 pages of poetry. Fiction submissions: a story, group of stories, or a selection from a larger work, not to exceed 10,000 words.

Essay Prizes

• The Guilford Essay Prize
  (est. 1988 in memory of J. P. Guilford ’21) The Guilford Essay Prize is open to graduate students only. Two prizes will be awarded. The Guilford Essay Prize is given to the doctoral student in any field whose thesis is judged to display the highest excellence in English prose. The copy submitted for this prize need not conform to Graduate School filing standards, but may instead follow the normal standards for term papers (e.g., it could have normal margins and be on both sides of the paper).
• The Moses Coit Tyler Essay Prize
  (est. 1936 by William Austen in his honor) The Moses Coit Tyler Prize Awarded for the best essay by a graduate or undergraduate student in the field of American history, literature, or folklore. Maximum length of entries: none.
• The Barnes Shakespeare Essay Prize
  (est. 1887 by Mrs. Alfred Smith Barnes in memory of Alfred Smith Barnes, founder of Barnes Hall) Awarded each year for the best essay on Shakespeare written by an undergraduate. Previous winners are not eligible and students may submit no more than one essay in any year. Maximum length of entries: not to exceed 8,000 words.
• The George Harmon Coxe Award in American Literature (not available in 2013)
  (est. 1951 by Mr. and Mrs. George H. Coxe in memory of their son who was a student at Cornell University) Awarded in even years for the best entry in American literature by a sophomore, junior, or senior. Two prizes will be awarded. Maximum length of entries: none.