We are excited to announce the winners of the 2021 Creative Writing Contests and the Creative Writing Scholarship awardees. Each year the English Department administers writing contests to recognize fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry by English majors and non-major undergraduates. The department also awards three academic scholarships to undergraduate students who have been nominated by English faculty for work done in one or more creative writing courses. Congratulations to the following students!
Thalia Halloran, ‘22 - “Red Tide”
Family members and friends of former English student Anne Flexner (1945) established the Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Creative Writing to recognize undergraduates for their work in fiction and poetry.
Mina Jang, ’23 – “Twenty”
The Reynolds Price Fiction Award was established in memory of the distinguished novelist, essayist, poet, and public intellectual Reynolds Price, a graduate of Duke and professor in the English Department for over 50 years.
Abby Flyer, ‘21 – “Self-Portrait, 2020”
Irene Qiao, ‘21 – “My Pitaya”
This award was created to encourage creative nonfiction writing and to honor George P. Lucaci, a former Duke student who has been an active supporter of undergraduate creative writing in the English Department for many years.
Rebecca Schneid, ‘23 – “The Long Haul” – 1st Place
Tina Xia, ‘23 – “sinking” – honorable mention
Founded in 1934 in New York City, the Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization advocating for American poets and poetry. Its mission is to support American poets at all stages of their careers and foster contemporary poetry appreciation.
Theo Cai, ‘21 – “Filaments”
Family members and friends of former English student Anne Flexner (1945) established the Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Creative Writing to recognize undergraduates for their work in fiction and poetry.
Lauren Garbett, ‘23 – “Year in Reverse”
The family of Terry Welby Tyler, Jr. established this award in his memory to recognize and encourage outstanding undergraduate poets. Welby, an English major who loved poetry, would have graduated with the class of 1997 had he not passed away in 1996.
Madison Griffin, ‘23
Pippa Lother, ‘23
Created in 1962 by students and friends of Professor William Blackburn (1899-1969), who established the creative writing initiative at Duke, this scholarship recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of creative writing.
Thomas Pratt, ‘22
This scholarship is awarded to a junior or senior pursuing study in creative writing. It was created by the Trustees of The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation in memory and in honor of Francis Pemberton's service to the Biddle Foundation.
Rae Recinos, ‘23
Given annually to a female student who demonstrates a particular promise in creative writing, this scholarship was established to recognize the untiring efforts of Margaret Rose Knight Sanford on behalf of Duke University.
English Department
