2020 English Literary Awards

by Suzanne Raitt | September 2, 2020

Each year, students from all majors submit their best work for our annual Student Literary Awards. They are judged first by a panel of creative writing faculty members, and then the top choices in each genre category are ranked by esteemed outside judges. In April, during the final weeks of classes, winners are invited to read from their work before their peers and the gathered faculty, though in 2020, under pandemic, we created a video highlighting their work instead. First, second, and third prize winners are awarded a cash prize.

Here are this year's winners:

Concord Traveling Scholarship:

Recipient: Zheng (Alex) Yu

The Goronwy Owen Prize in Poetry (Group of Poems)

First: Jessie Urgo, Then, After Abuela Dies, A Partial List, After, Death

Second: Aida Campos, Finding Light in the Alleyways; El Salvador

Third: Kathy Jiang, hunger, loose and wide

The Glenwood Clark Prize in Fiction

First: Rayna Yu, "Tentacles"

Second: Kayla Payne, "Mr. Smith"

Third: Abby Comey, "Coffeeshop Fellowship"

The Academy of American Poets Prize (Single Poem)

First: Shane Moran, "Matoaka"

Second: Jessie Urgo, "Then"

Third: Aida Campos, "The Sun Sets on Chinchontepec"

The Tiberius Gracchus Jones Prize for Nonfiction

First: Catherine Green, "More Idols than Realities"

Second: Quinn Arnone, "McDonald's Kills People"

Third: Marriya Schwarz, "Materials"

The Howard Scammon Prize for Drama

First: Devon Bortz, TWAMP, "Pilot"

Second: Jeffrey O'Brien, Leaves

Third: Marriya Schwarz, Baddies, "Pilot"

Outside Judges

Belle Boggs, Almitra Corey, Rachel Monroe, Christine Stroud, Mathias Svalina