Creative Writing Contests Entry Form

How to Enter

  • Authors' names must not appear anywhere in the submitted files or the filenames.
  • Submit one file for each contest you are entering. Each file must be a PDF or Word document (.pdf, .doc or .docx) following this format:
    • 12 pt font
    • black text
    • single spaced for poetry, double spaced for prose
    • 1" margins
  • Fill out this form only once per year. If you are entering multiple creative writing contests, you should submit all of your materials at the same time.
  • The deadline for 2022-23 will be announced in spring on this page and on the Writing Contests page.

Please note that this form is for creative writing contests only. (The Undergraduate Gaffney Scholarly/Critical Essay contest, for example, uses a different form.) Refer to the links and details for each contest on the Writing Contests page.

Eligibility

  • Contests are open only to currently enrolled UNL students.
  • Graduate contests are open only to UNL English graduate students.
  • Graduate students are eligible to submit to contests they’ve won in previous years.
  • Undergraduate contests are open to UNL students of any major unless specified
  • Undergraduates are not eligible to submit to contests they have already won in previous years.
  • No more than one prize award will be given to any individual in the same year.
  • Students who are UNL employees will have federal and state withholding deductions reflected in their award check.
Rank Required
Graduate Contests
Indicate which contests you wish to enter (check all that apply) Required
Undergraduate Contests
Indicate which contests you wish to enter (check all that apply) Required

Please note that the Wilbur Gaffney Scholarly/Critical Essay Contest requires a different entry form.

The Vreeland Awards - Poetry

Two prizes ($1,000): poetry and prose

Required materials:

  1. A portfolio of representative creative writing in a single genre
    • Poetry portfolios are limited to 20 pages or 20 individual poems
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.
Vreeland Graduate Prose

The Vreeland Awards - Prose

Two prizes ($1,000): poetry and prose

Required materials:

  1. A portfolio of representative creative writing in a single genre
    • Prose portfolios (fiction and/or creative non-fiction) are limited to 50 pages, double-spaced (approximately 12,000 words)
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.

Mari Sandoz/Prairie Schooner Awards for Short Story

Three prizes: First Prize $300, Second Prize $180, Third Prize $120

Required materials:

  • One short story (7,000 words or less).
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.

The Susan Atefat Peckham Fellowship

One prize of $400. Please note that full-time employees or lecturers are not eligible for this fellowship

Required materials:

  • A creative nonfiction piece (limited to 20 pages of prose - approximately 5,000 words)
    OR
  • A maximum of 200 lines of poetry in any combination
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.
Gaffney/Academy of American Poets Award for Poetry

Gaffney/Academy of American Poets Award for Poetry

Three prizes: First Prize $300, Second Prize $180, Third Prize $120. Winner of first prize will be included in the Academy's announcement of winners, which appears in the summer issue of American Poet, the Academy's journal.

Required materials:

  • A maximum of 200 lines of poetry in any combination
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.
Sunita Jain Literary Award

Sunita Jain Literary Award

One Prize of $500

Required materials:

  • A maximum of 200 lines of poetry in any combination
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.

The Vreeland Awards - Poetry

Two prizes ($500 each): one for poetry and one for prose (fiction and/or creative nonfiction).

Required materials:

  1. A portfolio of representative creative writing in a single genre.
    • Poetry portfolios are limited to 20 pages or 20 individual poems.
  2. A brief cover letter that offers insight into your experience with creative writing at UNL.
    • While your portfolio must be either all prose or all poetry, you may speak in your cover letter of your work in multiple genres.
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.
Vreeland Undergraduate Prose

The Vreeland Awards - Prose

Two prizes ($500 each): one for poetry and one for prose (fiction and/or creative nonfiction).

Required materials:

  1. A portfolio of representative creative writing in a single genre.
    • Prose portfolios (fiction and/or creative non-fiction) are limited to 50 pages of text, double-spaced (approximately 12,000 words).
  2. A brief cover letter that offers insight into your experience with creative writing at UNL.
    • While your portfolio must be either all prose or all poetry, you may speak in your cover letter of your work in multiple genres.
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.

Marjorie Stover Awards for Short Story

Two prizes: First Prize $200, Second Prize $100. Each prize is awarded for an outstanding original short story. The competition is open to undergraduate students who have taken creative writing courses in the Department of English.

Required materials:

  • One short story limited to 20 pages (approximately 5,000 words)
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.
Undergraduate Student Awards for Poetry

Undergraduate Student Awards for Poetry

This competition is open to undergraduate students who have taken creative writing courses in the Department of English.

Three prizes:

  1. The Irby F. Wood Prize for Undergraduate Poetry ($500)
  2. The Gaffney Prize for Undergraduate Poetry ($200)
  3. The Gaffney Prize runner up for Undergraduate Poetry ($100)

Required materials:

  • A maximum of 200 lines of poetry in any combination
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.
Wilbur Gaffney Personal/Creative Non-Fiction Essay Contest

Wilbur Gaffney Personal/Creative Non-Fiction Essay Contest

One award: $200. Entries can include personal, expository, or creative non-fiction essays, and should demonstrate originality, clarity, and rhetorical purpose and effectiveness.

Required materials:

  • One essay (5,000 words or less)
Title of story/poem (or first story/poem, if submitting multiple)
File Upload Required
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.