The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by

Avery Hopwood James Avery Hopwood (May 28, 1882 – July 1, 1928) was an American playwright of the Jazz Age. He had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920. Early life Hopwood was born to James and Jule Pendergast Hopwood on May 28, 1882 ...

. Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, a prominent

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

dramatist and member of the class of 1905 of the University of Michigan, one-fifth of Mr. Hopwood's estate was given to the regents for the encouragement of creative work in writing. The first awards were made in 1931, and today, the

Hopwood Program The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood. Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, a prominent American dramatist and member of the class of 1905 of the University of Michigan, ...

offers around $120,000 in prizes every year to aspiring writers at the University of Michigan. According to

Nicholas Delbanco Nicholas Delbanco (born 1942) is an American writer. Life and career Delbanco was born in London, England, the son of German Jewish parents Barbara (née Bernstein) and Kurt Delbanco, a businessman, art dealer, and sculptor. He was educated at H ...

, UM English professor and former director of the Hopwood Awards Program, "This is the oldest and best-known series of writing prizes in the country, and it is a very good indicator of future success."

Contests and prizes

The Graduate and Undergraduate Hopwood Contests

Awards are offered in these genres: drama/screenplay, essay,

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

, and poetry. These awards are classified under two categories, graduate or undergraduate, except the novel and drama/screenplay, which are combined categories. Award amounts for this contest vary, but usually fall in the range of $1000 to $6000.

Summer Hopwood Contest

The Summer Hopwood Contest was discontinued in 2017, but archives of winning Summer Hopwood manuscripts continue to be held in the Hopwood Room. When it ran, the contest was open only to students who took writing courses during spring and summer terms. Awards were given in the categories of drama or screenplay, nonfiction, short fiction, and poetry. Novels were not eligible for the Summer Hopwood Contest.

Hopwood Underclassmen Contest

This contest is open only to freshmen and sophomores who are enrolled in writing courses. Awards are given in the categories of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.

Hopwood Program

The Hopwood Program administers the Hopwood Award, and several other awards in writing. It is located in the Hopwood Room at the University of Michigan and serves the needs and interests of Hopwood contestants. The room was established by Professor Roy W. Cowden, director of the Hopwood Awards from 1933 to 1952, who generously contributed a part of his library, which has grown through the addition of many volumes of contemporary literature. In addition to housing the winning manuscripts from the past years of the contests, the Hopwood Room has a lending library of 20th-century literature, a generous supply of noncirculating current periodicals, some reference books on how to get published, information on graduate and summer writing programs, and a collection of screen plays donated by former Hopwood winner Lawrence Kasdan.

Prizes administered by the Hopwood Program

The Hopwood Program also administers these writing contests:

Notable Hopwood winners

* Max Apple, (BA 1963). Author of: "The Oranging of America" (1976, short stories), "Zip: A Novel of the Left and the Right" (1978, novel), "Three Stories" (1983, short stories), "Free Agents" (1984, novel), "The Propheteers: A Novel" (1987, novel), "Roommates: My Grandfather's Story" (1994, biography, of Apple's grandfather) *Howard R. Belkin, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist in Birmingham, Michigan. Media consultant and personality *

Brett Ellen Block Brett Ellen Block (born 1973 in Summit, New Jersey) is an American novelist and short story writer. Life Block was born and raised in Summit, New Jersey. She received her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, where s ...

, (BFA) award-winning short story author and novelist. * Victoria Chang, (BA 1992) poet and children’s writer. Recipient of 2017

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

. * John Ciardi, (MA 1939) author of: A Browser's Dictionary, A Second Browser's Dictionary, A Third Browser's Dictionary, The Collected Poems of John Ciardi, Good Words to You: An All-New Dictionary and Native's Guide to the Unknown, American Language, How Does a Poem Mean?, His translation of The Inferno, Limericks (with Isaac Asimov),You Read to Me, I'll Read to You, (illustrated by Edward Gorey) * Harold Courlander, (BA 1931) First winner of the award & author of The African, on which much of

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

was later based. *

Christopher Paul Curtis Christopher Paul Curtis (born May 10, 1953)Judy Levin, Allison Stark Draper, ''Christopher Paul Curtis'' (The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005), , p. 84. Excerptsat Google Books. Retrieved 2015-07-25. is an American children's book author. His f ...

(BA 1999) Newbery and Coretta Scott King award-winning author of: The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 (1996, novel), Bud, Not Buddy (1999, novel), Elijah Of Buxton (2006, novel) * Mary Gaitskill, (BA) Bad Behavior (1988),Two Girls, Fat and Thin (1991),Because They Wanted To (1997) (stories),Veronica (2005). *

Peggy Goodin Peggy Louise Goodin (May 18, 1923 – August 23, 1983) was a best-selling American novelist and three-time Hopwood Award winner. Two of her novels were adapted into films. Life and career Peggy Louise Goodin was born to Goldie Leona Shim ...

, (AB 1945) author of ''Clemetine'', ''Take Care of My Little Girl''; novels adapted multiple times to film * Steve Hamilton, (BA 1983), author of "Blood Is the Sky", "North of Nowhere", "A Cold Day in Paradise", "Winter of the Wolf Moon", "The Hunting Wind", "North of Nowhere", and "Ice Run". "A Cold Day In Paradise," won the 1999 Edgar Allan Poe Award, one of the mystery genre's most prestigious awards. *

Cynthia Haven Cynthia L. Haven is an American literary scholar, author, critic, Slavicist, and journalist. Her books includ''Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard'' which the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' named one of the top books of 2018, and Czesław Mi� ...

, author of "Czesław Miłosz: A California Life" (2021) nominated for a Northern California Book Award, and "Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard" (2018). * Robert Hayden, (M.A. 1944). Former Poet Laureate of the United States. * Lawrence Kasdan (MA) three-times Academy Awards-nominated screenwriter and director. * Laura Kasischke (BA 1983, M.F.A. 1987) winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and a

Pushcart prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

. * Jane Kenyon, (BA 1970, MA 1972). New Hampshire's poet laureate. Winner of a

PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry The PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry is given biennially to an American poet whose distinguished and growing body of work to date represents a notable and accomplished presence in American literature. The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by ...

* Elizabeth Kostova, (MFA) Novel-in-Progress

The Historian ''The Historian'' is the 2005 debut novel of American author Elizabeth Kostova. The plot blends the history and folklore of Vlad Țepeș and his fictional equivalent Count Dracula. Kostova's father told her stories about Dracula when she was a c ...

* Arthur Miller (BA 1938) Pulitzer Prize for Drama winning playwright. * Howard Moss, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for ''Selected Poems'' in 1971. *

Davi Napoleon Davi Napoleon, also known as Davida Skurnick and Davida Napoleon (born 1946), is an American theater historian and critic as well as a freelance feature writer. She is a regular contributor to ''Live Design'', a monthly magazine about entertainmen ...

, (BA 1966, MA 1968; known then as Davi Skurnick), theater historian and critic, author of '' Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater.'' *

Celeste Ng Celeste Ng ( ) (born July 30, 1980) is an American writer and novelist. She has released many short stories that have been published in a variety of literary journals. Ng's first novel, '' Everything I Never Told You'', released on June 26, 20 ...

, (MFA) Novelist. Author of Little Fires Everywhere. *

Chigozie Obioma Chigozie Obioma (born 1986) is a Nigerian writer. He is best known for writing the novels ''The Fishermen'' (2015) and ''An Orchestra of Minorities'' (2019), both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in their respective years of public ...

, (MFA) Nigerian writer. Finalist for 2015

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

and The Guardian First Book Award. *

Frank O'Hara Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure i ...

, (M.A. 1951), poet. Leading figure of the New York School. Author of: "A City Winter and Other Poems", "Oranges: 12 pastorals", "Second Avenue", "Odes", "Lunch Poems. Love Poems". * Patrick O'Keeffe, (MFA), winner of the

Chamberlain Award Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

for Creative Writing for "Above the Bar." (administered by the Hopwood Program) and instructor in the University of Michigan's Sweetland Writing Center has won the 2005

Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first p ...

, the richest U.S. prize for short fiction, for "The Hill Road", a collection of four novellas set in a fictional Irish farming village. O'Keeffe's writing has been compared to the Irish short-story and novel writer William Trevor. * Marge Piercy, (BA) Poetry and Fiction (1957); author of seventeen volumes of poems *

Paisley Rekdal Paisley Rekdal is an American poet who is currently serving as Poet Laureate of Utah. She is the author of a book of essays entitled ''The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee: Observations on Not Fitting In,'' the memoir ''Intimate,'' as well as five bo ...

, (MFA) poet and essayist. Poet Laureate of Utah. *

Aida Rivera ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December 1 ...

, (MA 1954) Filipino fictionist and essayist, author of "Now and the Hour" collection of short stories. * Theodore Roethke, (B.A. 1930, M.A. 1932) regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and two

National Book Awards The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

for Poetry. * Betty Smith (B.A.) Author of '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'' *

Danez Smith Danez Smith is an African-American, poet, writer and performer from St. Paul, Minnesota. They are queer, non-binary and HIV-positive. They are the author of the poetry collections '' nsertBoy'' and ''Don't Call Us Dead: Poems'', both of which have ...

(MFA) Poet. Finalist for 2017 National Book Award for Poetry. *

Keith Waldrop Keith Waldrop (born December 11, 1932, in Emporia, Kansas) is an American poet, translator, and academic. He has authored numerous books of poetry and prose and translated the work of Claude Royet-Journoud, Anne-Marie Albiach, and Edmond Jabès ...

(Ph.D. 1964) poet and translator. Winner of a National Book Award for Poetry. * Ronald Wallace * Jesmyn Ward, (MFA 2005), novelist. Two-time winner of National Book Award for Fiction (2011, 2017). * Nancy Willard (B.A. 1958; Ph.D.) author of eleven poetry books. Newbery Medal for "A Visit to William Blakes' Inn," finalist for National Book Award, O'Henry Award, Devins Poetry Award. *Murray Howe (B.S. 1982, M.D. 1986) National bestselling author of Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father. Youngest son of Gordie Howe and Colleen Howe, Mr. and Mrs. Hockey8 ''"Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father by Murray Howe , PenguinRandomHouse.com". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2018-11-05.''

References

External links

Hopwood AwardsUniversity of Michigan
{{Avery Hopwood, state=collapsed University of Michigan 1931 establishments in Michigan American literary awards Awards established in 1931