Awards, Contests, and Scholarships

This prestigious national competition is open to all full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Poems can be published, unpublished, or under consideration elsewhere. Submissions: November 1 to January 15

This contest honors the memory of Ann Doty, an outstanding English major who was killed in an automobile accident at the end of her senior year. Ann Doty had an exceptional writing talent in fiction and is representative of the many students who strive to become good writers. The contest awards $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $150 for third place. The contest is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, with a separate division for each. Submissions: November 1 to January 15

Professor Jim Barnes, Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing and English, has made a generous contribution to the BYU English Department to establish the Carolyn Barnes Poetry Award as a memorial to his late and beloved wife, Carolyn. Submissions: November 1 to January 15

The theme of the contest is “The Restored Gospel and Applied Christianity." Essays should be between 2,000-5,000 words. Examples of past contest winners can be found here. Besides having their essays published, winners in the undergraduate and graduate division will receive $1,200 (first prize), $1,000 (second), and $700 (third). Submissions: By 5:00 pm on February 26 (extended deadline).

The Hart-Larson Contest is named after Professors Edward L. Hart and Clinton F. Larson. Both professors wrote poetry and taught the writing of poetry. The contest awards $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $150 for third place. The contest is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, with a separate division for each. Submissions: November 1 to January 15

Professor Elsie C. Carroll was a distinguished member of the English Department for three decades and had a great interest in good student writing. Her family, to honor her memory and to encourage writing, has set up an endowment to help fund this contest. The contest awards $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $150 for third place. The contest is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, with a separate division for each. Submissions: November 1 to January 15

Wayne E. Mayhew of Berkeley, California, established a trust fund to provide annual awards in creative writing and fine arts at Brigham Young University in honor of his wife, Vera Hinckley Mayhew, a former BYU student. Contests are open to full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Submissions: January 3 to January 28 at 5:00pm

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” —Ephesians 2:19

Paul writes about people who had once been treated as strangers and aliens but found a place in the household of God as fellow-citizens with the saints. The path from life as strangers and aliens to fellow-citizens does not always run smoothly, however, and Paul himself used this language to name a reality only partly achieved, if devoutly to be wished. We invite works of creative nonfiction written from the perspective of life “on the road,” essays that explore the experience of living in the spaces between being strangers and becoming fellow-citizens. What does belonging look like in light of your particular journey, with its blend of experiences both alienating and affirming?

Family members of Alberta Huish Christensen have made generous contributions to the BYU English Department to aid promising undergraduate majors in English. Recipients are chosen based on eligibility, academic merit, and financial need. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00pm

A graduate of the BYU English Department BA and MA programs has made a generous contribution to provide a $1,000 scholarship for a single parent, with one or more children at home, who is committed to completing an education. Priority consideration will be given to graduate students, although undergraduate English majors may apply. Financial need and academic standing will be considered in the selection process. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00pm

The family of the late Clinton F. Larson, a fine poet and beloved professor in the English Department, has endowed a scholarship for a graduate student in the MFA in Creative Writing program. The Larson family wishes to continue Professor Larson’s memory by assisting promising students of creative writing whose work, like his, begins in faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and strives always for excellence. This award is given to the top-ranked incoming creative writing MFA student. No application is necessary.

The Earl and Bybee families, because of their long association with the BYU English Department, have made generous contributions to the department for awards of excellence to be given to undergraduate English majors who show academic merit and who have not previously received awards or scholarships. Recipients are chosen based on eligibility, academic merit, and financial need. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00pm

The Edwin M. & Dessie W. Thomas family, because of their long association with the BYU English Department, has made generous contributions to the department for awards of excellence to those English majors who are in their last year of undergraduate studies and have not received major (such as Presidential, Heritage or National Merit) scholarships or awards. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00pm

The LaVerna Clark family has made generous contributions to the English Department to provide scholarships for qualifying creative writing students at BYU. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00pm

LaVerna S. Clark has generously endowed a scholarship of up to full tuition for freshman creative writing students at BYU. The scholarship is based on need, as well as creative writing talent. Application Deadline: April 1 5:00pm

The Mae Blanch family, because of its long association with the BYU English Department, has made a generous contribution to provide an award of excellence for an undergraduate English major who shows academic merit and demonstrates financial need. Preference is given to English Education majors or to students who can otherwise demonstrate a strong commitment to becoming teachers of English. Recipients are chosen based on eligibility, academic merit, and financial need. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00pm

In honor of the late Orea B. Tanner, for many years a popular, dedicated teacher in the BYU English Department, her friends and family have made generous contributions to the department for a scholarship to be given to a promising undergraduate English major. Recipients are chosen based on eligibility, academic merit, and financial need. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00pm

The Richard Payne Spencer family has made a generous contribution to the department for a scholarship to be given to an undergraduate English major, with preference going to students from North Carolina. Application Deadline: February 15 5:00 pm