Department of English Prizes 2025

The following is a list of the prize competitions sponsored each spring by the Department of English. A list of these competitions is also posted on the bulletin board outside the English department office in Sanders Classroom 130.

Please see the different procedures for submitting poetry, essays, and reading projects. Winners will be announced at Commencement, Sunday, May 25, 2025.

Poetry Prizes

Students should observe the following procedures for all announced poetry prizes. Submit a paper copy of your poems to the English Department, Sanders Classroom by 3 p.m. on Friday, May 2^nd, 2025.

1. Your name should appear on every page of the submission.
2. Please write the name of the prizes for which you wish to be considered at the top of each submission.
3. Submit a brief bio paragraph that includes your major, future plans, and a fun fact (or two) about you, as well as your summer address.

Academy of American Poets Prize

Open to members of all classes. Students should submit a copy of a poem or group of poems to the English Department office in Sanders Classroom.

The Beatice Daw Brown Prize

This prize will be awarded to a member of the senior class who has demonstrated excellence in the composition of poetry. Writers should submit a poem or group of poems to the English Department office in Sanders Classroom.

The Deanne Beach Stoneham Prize for Poetry

Open to members of all classes. This prize is awarded for the most original poem or group of poems submitted. Submissions should consist of no fewer than seventy lines. Writers should submit a poem or group of poems to the English Department office, Sanders Classroom.

Sister Arts Poetry Prize

Open to members of all classes. This prize is awarded for the best poem informed by a work of art in the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. The artist’s name and title of the work of art should appear on the same page as the poem. Submit your poem or poems to the English Department office, Sanders Classroom 130. If you have questions, please contact the English Department or call  (845) 437-5950

Prose Prizes

The Helen Kate Furness Prize

Open to members of all classes. This prize is awarded for the best essay on a Shakespearean or Renaissance subject (including Milton). Senior projects are not eligible. Submit a PDF or a docx to Jean Kane by Friday, May 2^nd, 2025. Your name should appear on every page of the submission.  Please include a brief bio about yourself and your summer address.

The Elizabeth Dana Reading Prize

This prize is awarded to the student who undertakes and completes the best independent reading program over the summer vacation. If you are interested in competing for the Dana Prize, submit a copy of your proposal, a brief bio about yourself and your reading list to the English Department Office by 3:00 p.m., Friday, May 16, 2025. Include your name, class, College box number, and summer address. Send it as an email attachment (PDF or docx) to Justine Caputo. Students who do not submit such a proposal in the Spring cannot be considered for the prize in the Fall.

If you have questions, please contact the English Department or call  (845) 437-5950.