University Writing Awards

Daniel T. Mitchell Memorial Essay Contest
(Divisions: Freshman/Sophomore; Junior/Senior)

• Expository or critical essays; topic open. Essays written since January 2025 for
  ANY LMU course are eligible.
• Freshman-Sophomore and Junior-Senior divisions
• One entry per person

Denise L. Scott Memorial Poetry Contest

• Each LMU undergraduate student may enter one poem on any topic, theme, or form.
  Maximum: 3 pages

Poetry Sequence Contest:

• Each LMU undergraduate student may submit a poetry sequence of up to 10 pages united by form, theme, or cyclic throughlines. The poems should display a sense of thematic unity and intentional ordering. The sequence may be part of a larger chapbook or manuscript project.
  Maximum: 10 pages.

Frank Sullivan Memorial Short Story Contest

• Each LMU undergraduate student may enter one story.
  Maximum: 20 pages (double-spaced).

Novel Excerpt Contest

• Each LMU undergraduate student may enter one excerpt of a novel. The excerpt can come from any point in the novel, but should be one unified excerpt (not several different excerpts). You may optionally include a one-page synopsis of the novel as a whole.
  Maximum: 20 pages (double-spaced), including optional synopsis

Creative Nonfiction Contest

• Undergraduate English majors and minors may enter one creative nonfiction essay (including but not limited to memoir, personal essay, cultural commentary/criticism, food/travel/nature writing).
  Maximum: 20 pages (double-spaced).

  Entrants must be declared English majors or minors. An exception may be made for non-majors whose work was written specifically for an ENGL course; you must include the name of the course and the semester you were enrolled on your submission's cover page.

Stage and Screen Writing Contest

Undergraduate English majors and minors may submit one original work for theater, film, or television in any of the following forms: ten-minute plays, one-act plays, full-length plays, short film scripts, teleplays, or feature-length screenplays. Submissions must be wholly original; adaptations or “spec” scripts based on existing materials are not eligible.

Entrants must be declared English majors or minors. An exception may be made for non-majors whose work was written specifically for an ENGL course; you must include the name of the course and the semester you were enrolled on your submission's cover page.

Submission Instructions

1. Manuscripts must be wholly original.
   Previous Writing Award submissions may NOT be resubmitted.
   No AI-generated or AI-assisted work is allowed.

2. Please e-mail your submission as an MS Word file attachment to the Senior Administrative Coordinator for the English Department Maria Jackson at maria.jackson@lmu.edu. Include “University Writing Awards, the Contest Category, and your name in the Subject line of the email.”
   
   Example: “Writing Awards: Essay: Freshman/Sophomore Division, John Smith”
   
   
3. Each submission MUST include two files: 1) a file with an anonymous manuscript (your name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript) 2) a file containing the cover page for your manuscript with the following information in the order below:
   
   your manuscript’s title
   the manuscript’s category and division
   your name
   your LMU Lion e-mail address
   your student ID number
   your mailing address
   your telephone number
   your major
   your college
   your graduation year/class
   
   
4. For the Creative Nonfiction and Stage and Screen Writing categories, if you are not an English major or minor, please also include the name of the English course your piece was written for and semester you were enrolled.
   
   Please remember that the author’s name cannot appear anywhere on the actual manuscript; entries bearing an author’s name will be disqualified.
   
   
5.  For Essay, Short Story, Novel Excerpt, Creative NonFiction, Poetry and Stage and Screen Writing:

Essays short stories, and novel excerpts must be double-spaced; poems may use the spacing appropriate for the work's visual and aesthetic needs; plays and screenplays should be formatted according to standard form.  The title should appear on the first page of the manuscript and the title should appear on every subsequent page. Make sure to number your manuscript pages.

 Submissions are due by 5 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Friday, March 13, 2026

Contest winners will be announced at an event that will also include the unveiling of our student-edited publications on Friday, April 24, at 5:30 PM in the English Village, University Hall, Suite 3800.

Entries will be judged anonymously by LMU faculty and without written comments. In a category or division, if the pool of manuscripts is too small or if manuscripts do not meet contest parameters, the LMU Writing Awards judges and coordinator may choose not to grant an award.