Welcome to the Hopwood Program
The Hopwood Program celebrates and supports the literary community at the University of Michigan. It recognizes literary achievement through the Hopwood Awards, one of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious collegiate writing contests in the world. Through the Hopwood Room and Library, the program fosters a welcoming community where readers and writers find inspiration, explore contemporary literature, and connect with one another. From Arthur Miller and Robert Hayden to Lawrence Kasdan and Jesmyn Ward, generations of Hopwood laureates have had a lasting impact on American literature and culture.
We invite University of Michigan students to enter the contest, join us for the weekly Hopwood Tea, attend a Hopwood event, browse the Hopwood Library catalog, and learn about Hopwood history. Welcome to the Hopwood community.
What is the Hopwood Program?
The Hopwood Program administers the Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Awards along with additional contests and prizes. Since the first Hopwood Awards were presented in 1931, thousands of University of Michigan student writers have received Hopwood Awards. Today, the program awards more than $300,000 annually to winners and finalists. Former Hopwood winners have included Arthur Miller, Robert Hayden, Frank O'Hara, Lawrence Kasdan, Jesmyn Ward, Celeste Ng, and many others.
Avery Hopwood & the Hopwood Awards
Avery Hopwood was a member of the University of Michigan Class of 1905 and one of the most successful American playwrights of the early twentieth century. In his will, he bequeathed one-fifth of his estate to the University of Michigan to establish prizes for student creative writing with the goal of encouraging “the new, the unusual, and the radical.”
Following Avery's death in 1928 and his mother Jule's death the following year, their bequests established the Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Prizes at the University of Michigan. The original prizes recognized student work in dramatic writing, fiction, poetry, and the essay. Awards for the novel, screenplay, and long-form poem were added later, along with numerous additional prizes funded by other donors.
How We Support Writers
The Hopwood Program supports writers through its awards, events, resources, and alumni community.
Hopwood Awards
Today, the Hopwood Awards recognize excellence in fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction, screenwriting, the novel, and text-image composition, providing recognition and financial reward for student writers. Arthur Miller famously chose to attend University of Michigan in part because of the Hopwood Awards. As he later recalled, “The tuition was within reason, if one saved for a couple of years, but the thing that clinched it was the Hopwood Awards. The idea that a University cared that much about writing made it necessary to go there.” In 1936, Miller received a Hopwood Award worth $250, enough to pay his tuition.
Explore the Hopwood Contests & Awards →
Events & Programming
Hopwood events bring readers and writers together throughout the academic year. The weekly Hopwood Tea provides a regular gathering place for students to browse the library, talk about books and writing, and connect with one another. The program also hosts specialty teas, including the Banned Books Tea, Halloween Tea, Book Lovers Tea, and Mad Hatter Tea, as well as submissions forums, readings, workshops, and class visits. The Hopwood Awards Celebration is held each spring to recognize the year's winners and finalists and features the Hopwood Lecture, which brings a renowned writer to campus to offer advice and support to writers just getting started.
Hopwood Room & Library
Established by Professor Roy W. Cowden, Director of the Hopwood Awards from 1933 to 1952, the Hopwood Room is the home of the Hopwood Program. The room houses the Hopwood Library, a continuously updated circulating collection supported by the Miriam Baron Zerman Book Fund. The collection includes books by Hopwood laureates from the 1930s to the present; contemporary fiction, poetry, drama, and literary nonfiction; current literary journals; and books on creative writing craft and the writing life. University of Michigan students, faculty, and staff can check out circulating books for four weeks with an option to renew. We welcome suggestions for additions to the collection.
Visit the Hopwood Library & Room →
Hopwood Alumni
The Hopwood Program stays connected with its alumni after graduation. Each year, the Hopwood newsletter shares news from former Hopwood winners and finalists, including new publications, awards, recognition, and other writing milestones. The Hopwood Library also purchases books by Hopwood alumni for its collection.
View Hopwood Winners & Alumni →
Our Legacy
Interested in how the Hopwood Awards grew from Avery Hopwood's bequest into a nearly century-old literary program, or what happened to the writers who won them? Explore the people, stories, and milestones that have shaped the Hopwood Program over the decades.
Explore Our History →
