Hopwood First- & Second-Year Contests

The Hopwood First- and Second-Year Awards include contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. These contests are open only to freshmen and sophomores (undergraduates who have earned less than 54 academic credits).

There are no restrictions on content or style. Judges rank manuscripts according to their own tastes and standards of quality. Judges make their decisions based on the overall quality of the manuscript rather than a single poem, short story, or essay within a manuscript. The roster of judges changes from year to year.

Students who qualify to enter the First- and Second-Year Awards may also enter the Hopwood Undergraduate Awards contests, but not with the same manuscript.

There are minimum and maximum page counts for each contest. The title page and any optional front or back matter (for instance, an optional table of contents for a collection of poetry or optional endnotes for an essay) are not included in the page count. A manuscript will be disqualified if the body of the text fails to meet the minimum page count or exceeds the maximum.

Select a contest below to view its submission requirements and page limits. Also review the Rules & Submission Guidelines for requirements that apply to all Hopwood contests.