Information for Contestants

With a few exceptions, Hopwood Graduate and Undergraduate Awards are determined by two preliminary and two final judges in two rounds of judging. While the undergraduate and graduate contests in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have different preliminary judges, the same judge or set of judges serve as final judges for the graduate and undergraduate categories in these contests.

There are usually multiple winners and finalists in each contest. The Theodore Roethke Prize has one or two winners and several finalists. In addition to a monetary prize, winners and finalists in these contests receive comments from the final judges. 

The Hopwood First- and Second-Year Contests have two judges for each contest and one round of judging. Winners receive a monetary prize, but do not receive judge comments. There are no finalists for these contests.

Each of the additional contests has a single judge with the exception of the Kasdan Scholarship in Creative Writing which has a preliminary and a final judge.

Some of these contests have single winners and some have multiple winners. There are no finalists in these contests except for the Cowden contest, which may or may not have finalists according to the judge’s discretion.

Winners receive a monetary prize, but no judge comments.

Prize amounts vary considerably from contest to contest, from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of several thousand dollars for top Hopwood Graduate Award winners. Prize amounts are confidential and are not publicized before or after the announcement of winners and finalists.

The Hopwood Graduate and Undergraduate Awards and the First- and Second-Year Awards are funded by the original Hopwood endowment. Prize amounts may vary from year to year, but are standardized within the contest year across equivalent contests. Award amounts are determined by a formula based on the scores of both final judges.

Except for the Academy of American Poets Prize, prize amounts for additional contests may vary from year to year and are determined by the monetary balance of the individual endowments supporting each prize, as well as the judges' rankings and recommendations.

Prize amounts for add-on prizes are determined by the monetary balance of the individual endowments supporting each prize, as well as the rankings of the final judges for the relevant Hopwood contests. 

The Hopwood Program will submit a request to process award payments within two weeks following the Hopwood Awards Ceremony. It can take the University two to three months to process payments. The University may email winners and finalists for information. It is important for winners and finalists to respond promptly to University emails to avoid payment delays.

If payment has not been received by July 5, winners and finalists may email hopwoodprogram@umich.edu and ask the Hopwood staff to follow up on the payment status. The Hopwood Program will only answer inquiries about award payments initiated by awardees themselves.

Like all prizes, Hopwood Award contest prizes may be subject to income tax based on the recipient's relationship with the University.

Cash gifts, prizes, and awards to employees that are paid for by University funds constitute gross wages subject to federal and state income and FICA taxation. Awards for winners and finalists who are or have been employed by the University within the past calendar year will be paid through the University payroll system. Awards processed through payroll will include a payroll tax deduction. Students who receive stipend payments for their work on The Michigan Daily are considered employees.

Award payments for winners and finalists without an employment relationship with the University will be processed through the University's accounts payable (PeoplePay) system as non-employees. For award recipients in this category, taxes will not be withheld at the time of payment. The tax liability will instead be reflected in the recipient's tax filing for the year.

Federal and state taxes will be withheld on all award payments to Non-Resident Aliens (NRAs), regardless of employment status.

Winners receiving prize money of $600 or more in aggregate over the calendar year will receive a Form 1099-MISC. NRAs will receive a Form 1042-S.

Students who are not employed by the University still have an obligation to report their winnings on their tax returns. Failure to do so may result in interest and penalties if audited by the IRS. 

The Hopwood Program Manager offers one in-person and one virtual submission workshop during the fall semester. These informational sessions provide an overview of the submission process and offer contestants an opportunity to ask questions.

Submission workshops will be listed on Happening @Michigan and on the Hopwood website. 

Between October 1 and January 14, contestants can request limited access to the digital manuscripts of the 2026 winners and finalists for up to five contests at a time.

Reviewing manuscripts from previous winners can help contestants gauge the quality of winning manuscripts and review formatting. Because the roster of judges changes from year to year, previous winning manuscripts should be viewed as examples rather than a guarantee of what judges will prefer.

The Hopwood Program Manager will hold virtual office hours on the two days before the January contest deadline for contestants to get answers to last-minute questions about formatting and the submission process.

For more information or to ask questions, contact the Hopwood Program Staff at hopwoodprogram@umich.edu.

The following external resources may also be helpful when preparing submissions in specific genres.

Dramatists' Guild Formatting Guidelines for playwrights. 

WriterDuet offers free and reasonably priced software packages for screenwriters.