Writing Awards
The University of Michigan-Dearborn Writing Awards promote and recognize excellence in writing among undergraduates.
Awards will be made in the following categories:
- Poetry
- Bill Linn Fiction Prize
- Researched Writing
- Creative Non-fiction
- Writing Through Image and Sound
- Writing in the Public Sphere
- First-Year Writing
- Honors Writing
- Scientific/Technical Writing
$7,500 in total awards. Awards are made possible by the Office of the Provost and the UM-Dearborn Annual Fund.
The Bill Linn Fiction Prize is funded by the family of Professor Bill Linn as a tribute to his love of literature and teaching. The family hopes award recipients treasure their gift of writing and use it to enrich the lives of others.
Submission due date is Friday, May 12 at 5 pm.
Rules subject to update
Eligibility
If you’re an undergraduate enrolled at the University of Michigan—Dearborn for at least six hours during the Summer 2022, Fall 2022, or Winter 2023 semesters, you’re eligible to enter the Writing Contest.
You may submit work in up to three categories but only one entry per category. You may not submit the same entry in multiple categories. Winning a first-place award in a category makes you ineligible to enter that category in subsequent years.
All entries must be your original work; for collaboratively-created projects, include the names of all authors/creators and detail the contributions of each individual on the entry form.
Entries may not have been previously published (except in student publications).
Final submission deadline is Friday, May 12, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. Winners will be posted by June 16, 2023.
Awards will be reviewed and approved by the University of Michigan-Dearborn. In the case of debts owed to the University, awards will be applied to outstanding balances.
Award winners in the Bill Linn Fiction Category agree to have their work shared privately with the Bill Linn family.
Categories
Poetry: May be of any length. Up to 3 poems as a single entry
Bill Linn Fiction Prize: Up to 30 double-spaced pages; one story per entrant
Creative Non-fiction: Up to 30 double-spaced pages; one essay per entrant
Honors Writing: Writing completed for any Honors course, including COMP 110 & 220
First-year Writing: Writing completed in COMP 105, 106, 227, 270 & 280
Researched Writing: e.g., the critical essay or other researched writing making use of secondary and/or primary sources; up to 25 double-spaced pages
Writing Through Image and Sound: E.g., Web-based writing, digital films with scripts, music and scores, projects that incorporate both text, sound, and/or visual elements
Writing in the Public Sphere: Writing completed in Academic Service Learning courses, service learning or community-based writing projects, projects related to advocacy or activism, writing about current events
Scientific / Technical Writing: Writing completed in COMP 270, researched projects and/or investigative reports in engineering and natural sciences
Manuscript Format
To ensure objectivity, you must invent a Pen Name. A pen name is a fictitious name that is not your legal name. Your legal name can only appear on the entry form. Neither the judges nor the administrators of the contest will know your identity until the winners have been determined. Type your pen name only on every page of your manuscript.
Each written manuscript must be typed, double-spaced, and uploaded using the online submission system. Label your file with the title only (or titles, for poetry) of your manuscript, ex. Tom's Left Foot.doc.
For multiple media projects that include sound/pictures and/or video that exceed data uploading restrictions, submit a link to your work online via Word document and follow the regular submission process.
Submit your work using our online Submission Form.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 UM-Dearborn Writing Awards
Special thanks to our UM-Dearborn judging panel and external judges:
Wessam Elmeligi (Arab Studies/LCA), Dara Hill (Education, Health, and Human Services), Thom Foy (Writing/LCA), Jon Haller (External- Writing Through Image & Sound), Kathrine La Commare (Biological Sciences), (Reb Livingston (External- Poetry, Fiction), Kyhl Lydndgaard (External- Creative Non-Fiction), Anna Muller (History, Social Sciences), Margaret Murray (Communication/LCA), PF Potvin (Writing/LCA), Kristi Stewart (Writing/LCA).
Researched Writing
- Victoria Johnson: “Examining the Effect of Recreational Marijuana Legalization on Opioid Use in the United States”
- Cody McCain: “Spanktown: The Quaker Yearly Meeting that Never Existed”
- Gerard Flores: “Hybridized Tastes of the Philippines”
Honorable Mention:
- Bridget Lawson: “Marriage to a Deceased Wife’s Sister in Charles Kingsley’s The Water-Babies”
- Amber Buchin: “Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa: The Effectiveness of Current Intervention Methods”
Science/Technical Writing
- Elizabeth O’Hotzke: “Eyes Don’t Lie: How the Presence of the Eye Region Impacts Corruptibility Judgments”
- Nora Dallal: “Radish Seed Germination and the Effects of Salinity”
- Sydney Kelley: “Health & Place Case Study: The Three Mile Island Accident”
Honorable Mention:
- Liz Keller: “Gray Wolf History and Conservation in North America”
- Tejas Athavale: “A Novel Proposal for the Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme”
Writing in the Public Sphere
- Caleb Godin: “Zoonotic Transmissions of the Nipah Virus: Protecting Human Health through Conservation”
- Jacob Johnson: “To Secure or to Sanction: The Effects of Dress Codes on Students in Chippewa Valley High Schools”
- Amber Ploch: “Death by Text”
Honorable Mention:
- Richard Tharrett: Jumping to Conclusions
First-Year Writing
- Cody Lovelace: “Olympic Abuse, Brussels Sprouts and the Reclamation of Tegan and Sara”
- Jesus Orozco: “The Line Between Assimilation and Acculturation”
- Jim Wang: “Frances Ha and the French New Wave: Noah Baumbach as the Neo-Auteur”
Honorable Mention:
- Samia Abdullah: “Cracking the Mental Health Stigma Code”
- Pamela Monserrat Velazquez Castillo: “Age Discrimination in the Workplace”
Honors
- Richard Tharrett: “Brutalist Tower Blocks: What Would Gropius Think? “
- Amber Ploch: “Morally Justified War- Is it Possible?”
- Erin Choate: “Bloomfield and Pontiac: How School Districts and Socioeconomic Inequality Influence Student Resources and Educational Outcomes”
Writing Through Image & Sound
- Richard Tharrett: “Second Chance”
- Mirvat Chammout: “We Never Said Goodbye”
- Samuel Tikkanen: “Lost”
Bill Linn Fiction Prize
- Nate Kendall Lawrence: “You Promised”
- Skyler Anderson: “Umbra & Luci”
- Fallon McCue: “The Snapshot of a Life”
Honorable Mention:
- Ava Abramowicz: “Heating Up”
- Whitney Washington: “Periwinkle”
Poetry
- April Marvin: “Lower Cases”
- Jacob Johnson: “Thirteen Things to Do While Looking at the Moon”
- William Lianos: “I woke up and drank a cup after 20 years alive”
Honorable Mention:
- Paige Finlay: “iPad Kids”
- Tony Soderberg: “Linked”
Creative Non-Fiction
- Erik Arney: “Looking For My Face in an Odd Mirror”
- Sahir Esperant: “Knocking Down the Language Barriers in My Family”
- Elizabeth O'Hotzke: “Just Give Me a Minute: A Critical Analysis of a Medical Encounter”
Honorable Mention:
- Penny Kane: “Everything Changed in a Minute”
- Zainab Alkhayat: “Through My Eyes”
The 2022 University of Michigan-Dearborn Writing Awards Celebration
The Writing Awards Celebration will be held online via Zoom on Tuesday, October 25, 2022. Reception 4:30, Awards and Readings 5:00-6:30 pm.
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