Department of English Awards

Previous years' winners: 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | 2018-19 | 2017-18

Welcome and Good Luck!

Every year, the English Department recognizes exceptional students both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Below you will find all of the awards offered and their respective criteria should you wish to participate. Good luck to all participants!

Applications for 2024-25 are now open.

Guidelines:

  • All entrants must be currently enrolled at FSU.
  • Students must complete a university wide General Application and College of Arts & Sciences Application inside the FS4U/academicworks.com portal before applying to a specific English Award.
  • All entries must be submitted in two parts:

    • First, submit your entry electronically through the FS4U scholarship system. To use the system, identify the award you are submitting for on the FS4U scholarship system list; then search for it by name in the FS4U awards system to check your eligibility and other details. For help using the system, check out the information pages on the new site, https://foundation.fsu.edu/fs4u.

    • In addition, please send your entry as an email attachment (Microsoft Word document or a PDF), making sure to include the specific award name you are applying to in the subject line, to english-awards@fsu.edu for consideration by the Awards committee judges.

  • A manuscript may be entered in one contest only; students may enter different contests but may not use the same manuscript in more than one contest. Similarly, a student may not submit more than one manuscript to a single contest.
  • All work submitted must be previously unpublished.
  • Please direct any questions about the process to Associate Professor Christina Parker-Flynn at cparker@fsu.edu.

Deadline to submit is Friday, March 7, at 5 p.m.

Undergraduate

Cody Harris Allen Award

3 awards (one winner and two honorable mentions)

Recipients must be an Undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English who demonstrates academic achievement. Applicants are required to submit one of the following:

  • poetry (up to 10 pp.)
  • short fiction (up to 25 pp.)
  • essay (up to 25 pp.)
  • play (up to 60 pp.)
  • screenplay (up to 60 pp.)

Include a cover page with the title of work, author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Sassaman Award

1 Award

Recipient must be an Undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English who demonstrates academic achievement. Applicants are required to submit one of the following:

  • Creative Writing: Submit a single entry (three or more poems, short story, creative nonfiction, novel chapter, one-act play, or an act from a full-length play) from any upper-level FSU English class in the previous calendar year. Cover page must include the title of work, author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address as well as the name of the professor and the class the paper was written for and the term the class was taken.
  • Critical Writing: Submit a single essay from any upper-level FSU English class in the previous calendar year. Cover page must include the title of work, author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address as well as the name of the professor and the class the paper was written for and the term the class was taken.

Steven D. Schloff Award

3 awards

Recipient must be an Undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English who demonstrates academic achievement.

One entry per person may be submitted for each of the following categories:

  • poetry (up to 10 pp.)
  • short fiction (up to 25 pp.)
  • creative non-fiction (up to 25 pp.)

Include a cover page with the name of the specific competition you wish to enter, listed as "Steven D. Schloff Creative Writing Awards: Poetry Competition," "Steven D. Schloff Creative Writing Awards: Fiction Competition," or "Steven D. Schloff Creative Writing Awards: Creative Non-Fiction Competition." Also list the title of work, author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

George and Ruth Yost Award for Best Personal Essay

1 award

Recipient must be an Undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English who demonstrates academic achievement.

Submit a single personal essay from any upper-level FSU English class in the previous calendar year. Cover page must include the title of work, author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address as well as the name of the professor and the class the paper was written for and the term the class was taken.

John Mackay Shaw Academy of American Poets Award

1 award

Recipient must be an Undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English.

Submit 5 poems of any length. Include a cover page with titles of the poems, the author’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. The author’s name should not appear on any other page of the entry. Cover page must include the title of work, author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address as well as the name of the professor and the class the paper was written for and the term the class was taken.

Robert Adler Endowed Memorial Fellowship in English

1 award

Recipient must be an Undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English.

Submit a single, original 250-300 word personal statement about the value of the study of English. Cover page must include author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Gerald Ensley Emerging Journalist Endowed Fund

1 award

Recipient must be a student in the Department of English within the College of Arts & Sciences. Preference will be given to students focusing in print journalism, history, political science, or another career that utilizes good storytelling. Preference also for students who wish to work at the Tallahassee Democrat or FSView/Florida Flambeau.

Preference also for students with a passion for Tallahassee who intend to stay in the area. Students should exhibit financial need.

Submit either a single sample of published journalism or an original, unpublished 200-300 word essay about the uses of good storytelling in journalism. Cover page must include author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Waters Fund for Excellence in Literature

1 award

Recipient must be an Undergraduate student in the English department within the College of Arts & Sciences with at least a 3.0 GPA.

Submit a single, original 200-300 word essay about your academic interest in studying literature. Cover page must include the title of work, author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Edward H. and Marie C. Kingsbury Achievership Award

1 award

Recipient must be a full-time undergraduate student who completes the best original manuscript on any subject of permanent intellectual value. Submission requirements are as follows:

  • Cover sheet must contain author’s name, and a signed statement attesting that the manuscript is an original work and not co-authored
  • Vita and portfolio of original written work no less than 50 pages and no more than 60 pages
  • Pages should be double-spaced and printed in no less than 12-point font
  • Portfolio may include one long work or several shorter pieces in any genre or combination of genres, from an information essay through imaginative writing (poetry, fiction, or drama) to the fully researched scholarly article, thesis, or report
  • Author’s name must not appear on any pages after the cover sheet. Undergraduate award is promoted in conjunction with the Honors program/Undergraduate Studies.

Graduate

Sassaman Award

Recipient must be a Graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English who demonstrates academic achievement. Applicants are required to submit one of the following:

  • Creative Writing: Submit a single entry (three or more poems, a short story, a work of creative nonfiction, a chapter from a novel, a one-act play, or an act from a full-length play) from any graduate-level English class in the previous calendar year. Cover page must include the title of work, author’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, as well as the name of the professor and the class the paper was written for and the term the class was taken.
  • Critical Writing: Submit a single essay from any graduate-level English class in the previous calendar year. Cover page must include the title of work, author’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, as well as the name of the professor and the class the paper was written for and the term the class was taken.

John Mackay Shaw Academy of American Poets Award

1 award

Recipient must be a Graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English.

Applicants should submit up to 5 poems of any length. Include a cover page with titles of the poems, the author’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. The author’s name should not appear on any other page of the entry.

Adam M. Johnson Endowed Fund for Excellence (creative writing)

Recipient must be a Graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English Creating Writing Program whose narrative work involves or requires off campus research. The off-campus research might include, but is not limited to, research at national libraries, museums and other institutions within the United States and abroad.

Applicants should submit a brief (500 word) description of your project, along with a brief sample (10 pages fiction, 3 pages poetry) of the work itself.

Robert Adler Endowed Memorial Fellowship in English

Recipient must be a Graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences within the Department of English.

Submit a single-spaced c.v., no longer than one page, and a single-spaced, single-page description of your research or creative interests in graduate English study. Cover page must include author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Waters Fund for Excellence in Literature

Recipient must be a Graduate student in the English department within the College of Arts & Sciences with at least a 3.0 GPA.

Submit a single-spaced c.v., no longer than one page, and a single-spaced, single-page description of your research interests in literature. Cover page must include author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Fred L. Standley Award Most Effective Teacher Among Graduate Assistants

Submit a teaching statement/pedagogical philosophy, a list of courses taught at FSU, and an original syllabus. Cover page must include author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Edward H. and Marie C. Kingsbury Fellowship Award

Recipient must be a full-time graduate student who completes the best original manuscript on any subject of permanent intellectual value.

Submission requirements are as follows:

  • Cover sheet must contain author’s name, and a signed statement attesting that the manuscript is an original work and not co-authored;
  • Vita and portfolio of original written work no less than 50 pages and no more than 60 pages;
  • Pages should be double-spaced and printed in no less than 12-point font;
  • Portfolio may include one long work or several shorter pieces in any genre or combination of genres, from an information essay through imaginative writing (poetry, fiction, or drama) to the fully researched scholarly article, thesis, or report;
  • Author’s name must not appear on any pages after the cover sheet.

 

In addition to the above awards, administered by the English Department Awards Committee, the following awards are available.

Administered by the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies; contact Dr. Meegan Kennedy for information. 

  • Mart P. Hill Award for Outstanding English Honors Thesis
  • Fred L. Standley Award for Undergraduate Excellence
  • The John and Susan Ausley Endowment FundUndergraduate Award administered through the College of Arts & Sciences

Students must be nominated by a faculty member. Nomination window opens in March via an email from the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies; deadline will be indicated in that email.

 

Administered by the Director, College Composition Program; contact Dr. Elias Dominguez-Barajas for information. 

  • James McCrimmon Award for Outstanding Student Writing in College Composition
  • Marian Bashinski Award for Excellence in Teaching First-Year Composition
  • Robert O. Lawton Award for Excellence in Teaching First-Year Composition
  • Bryan Hall Award for Excellence in Teaching First-Year Composition

Composition instructors are welcome to submit nominations and personal applications for these teaching awards in accordance with the guidelines circulated via email in mid February. A separate email invitation for the undergraduate composition writing award will be circulated at that time as well. All applications for these awards will be reviewed by the College Composition Committee. The list of winners will be forwarded to the English Department's Awards Committee by late March.

 

Administered by the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies; contact Dr. Mark Winegardner for information. 

  • J. Russell Reaver Award for Outstanding Dissertation in American Literature
  • Bertram and Ruth Davis Award for Outstanding Career as a Graduate Student
  • Bertram and Ruth Davis Award for Outstanding Dissertation in English Literature, Criticism, Linguistics or Rhetoric

Students must be nominated by a faculty member. Nomination window opens in late March via an email from the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies; deadline will be indicated in that email.

 

Check this page regularly for updated information.