Awards & Writing Contests

Spring is the time for the Department of Literature’s annual Stewart Prize in Poetry ($300 prize) and Milton Saier Award in Fiction ($1,000 prize) writing competitions, open to all UCSD undergraduates.

You may submit up to 5 poems for the Stewart Prize and one piece of fiction (15 pages max) for the Saier Award. More detailed information is included on the entry forms, which are available on the individual award pages below.

Our Literature Department Undergraduate Honors Program awards two writing awards to students in the program each year: the Burckhardt Honors Award in Literary/Cultural Criticism (awarded to the top analytical honors thesis project) and the Sherley Williams Memorial Award in Literary Arts (awarded to the top creative writing honors thesis project).

The winners of all four awards will be announced at the Spring Celebration of the Arts. We hope to see you there.

Winners: 2022

Burckhardt Honors Award in Literary/Cultural Criticism
Winner: Anna Lim

Dr. Milton H. Saier, Sr. Memorial Award in Fiction
Winner: Montanna Harling

Stewart Prize in Poetry
Winner: Juliana Scheding

Sherley Williams Memorial Award in Literary Arts
Winner: Amaya Guzman