GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE CONTEST

Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, prominent American 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 of the University for the encouragement of creative work in writing. According to the terms of the bequest, the Regents are empowered:

"To invest and keep the same invested and to use the income therefrom in perpetuity as prizes to be known as 'The Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Prizes,' to be awarded annually to students in the Department of Rhetoric of The University of Michigan who perform the best creative work in the fields of dramatic writing, fiction, poetry, and the nonfiction. The number and value of the prizes shall be at the discretion of the Faculty or other governing body of the University, but the income shall be distributed annually or semiannually, and shall not be allowed to accumulate from year to year. In this connection it is especially desired that the students competing for the prizes shall not be confined to academic subjects, but shall be allowed the widest possible latitude, and that the new, the unusual, and the radical shall be especially encouraged."

At the time Mr. Hopwood made his will (1922) the Department of Rhetoric and Journalism was a single department. In 1929 Journalism (later Communication) was made a department separate from Rhetoric, and in 1930 the Department of Rhetoric was fused with the Department of English. Consequently, the requirement which restricts contestants to the Department of Rhetoric was changed to include students enrolled in the Department of English Language and Literature and in the Department of Communication. While contestants may be majoring in any school or college of the University, they must be enrolled in the departments of English Language and Literature, Communication, Theatre and Drama, Film and Video, or the Residential College for at least one course in writing.

The Regents, at a meeting held on September 26, 1930, approved regulations which authorized the distribution of prize money as Major and Minor awards. The awards are now designated as Graduate and Undergraduate. The first contest was held during the year 1930-31 and today the Hopwood Program is proud to offer approximately $150,000 in prizes every year to young aspiring writers at the University of Michigan. Only regularly enrolled students in the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Dearborn, or Flint campuses - may enter the competitions. A full statement of the rules governing eligibility is given on the following pages.

1. The awards are classified as Graduate Awards or Undergraduate Awards in the Nonfiction (any form of nonfiction prose, including Creative Nonfiction), Short Fiction, and Poetry divisions. The Novel, Drama, and Screenplay divisions are combined categories in which Undergraduates and Graduate students compete together.
   
   
2. Page limits:
   Novel: 100 page minimum
   Drama: approximately 50-60 pages (one act), 80-100 pages (full length)
   Screenplay: 90-110 pages
   Undergraduate Nonfiction and Short Fiction: 15-50 pages
   Undergraduate Poetry: 10-50 pages
   Graduate Nonfiction and Short Fiction: 15-75 pages
   Graduate Poetry: 10-75 pages
3. Pages should be numbered consecutively.
   

1. The contest is open to all University of Michigan students, whether candidates for a degree or not, who are regularly enrolled in the University. Undergraduates must carry at least six hours of regular University work each term. Graduate students must also be regularly enrolled in the University, must carry at least 3 credits each term.
   
   
2. To be eligible, a student must have been enrolled in one course in writing for 2-3 credits within the past two years or be taking a writing course in the current term. Courses may be taken in the departments of English, Communication, Theatre and Drama, Film and Video Studies, or in the Residential College (for a list of qualifying courses click here). This rule requiring a writing course is unwaivable; a literature course does not qualify a student.
   
   
3. No Graduate student may enter the Hopwood Contest for more than a total of four times or re-enter an area in which he or she has previously won an award, though he or she may compete in other areas.
   
   
4. Students who have been enrolled in the fall term but will not be enrolled in the following term (e.g., December graduates or students who will be spending a term abroad) may compete, provided they have fulfilled the above requirements. Such students must submit their manuscripts not later than December 15 by 4:00 p.m. and should arrange to have their transcripts sent to the Hopwood Room after their fall term grades have been recorded.
   
   
5. Each student must order an unofficial transcript (in 1010 LSA) and bring or mail it to the Hopwood Room (1176 Angell Hall) in sufficient time to meet the contest deadline. Transcripts downloaded from Wolverine Access are acceptable provided the contestant's name is printed clearly at the top of the page. If a student's transcript is not received by the contest deadline, the entry will be disqualified.
   
   
6. No manuscript or part of a manuscript that has received an award in any contest administered by the Hopwood Program may be entered in any subsequent contest. This rule does not apply to contestants in the Cowden, Kasdan, and Miller Scholarship competitions.
   
   
7. No manuscript or part of a manuscript that has been published in a medium other than a college magazine or college newspaper may be entered in any contest. However, work that has been accepted for publication but that has not appeared in print by the time of the contest deadline may be entered.
   
   
8. Only original work may be entered in the contest. Collaborations, translations, and adaptations are not acceptable. Only the written portion of mixed-media manuscripts may be submitted.
   
   
9. Except in the case of novels, only completed works (as opposed to works-in-progress) may be submitted.
   
   
10. No change may be made in a manuscript once it has been submitted. Students are advised to proofread their work very carefully.
    
    
11. The committee reserves the right to retain for its files one copy of each winning manuscript.
    
    
12. Each contestant winning an award will be required to sign the following statement: "In case of the publication of the manuscript submitted by me in the Hopwood Contest, and forming the basis for the award I have received, I agree to indicate in a footnote or otherwise that this manuscript was granted a prize in the Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Contest for [year of award] at The University of Michigan."
    
    
13. The committee does not accept responsibility for the safety of any manuscript presented in the contests.
    
    
14. The rules of the Hopwood Contest are determined by the Hopwood Committee and administered by the Hopwood Assistant Director, whose decision is final.
    
    

1. All manuscripts must be typed or word-processed, double-spaced on one side of the paper only, with a left-hand margin of at least 11/2 inches. Poems, plays, and screenplays need not be double-spaced throughout. White paper of good quality, 81/2 x 11 inches, must be used for submission.
   
   
2. Three copies of each entry shall be submitted, each set bound in its own folder. Each folder should have identical contents. For example, if you are submitting two stories, story A and story B should be included in each folder. Only binders that require punched paper are acceptable. Ring binders and thesis binders will not be accepted. Sample of inexpensive, acceptable binders for manuscripts of varying thickness are on display in the Hopwood Room.
   
   
3. Every copy must have a title page and a front cover label on which shall appear: (1) the title; (2) the pen name; (3) the contest and division entered. For example:
   
   PENGUIN'S FLIGHT
   by
   P.S. Petrekin
   Undergraduate Short Fiction 
   
   
4. A pen name - one entirely different from the contestant's real name is required to insure objectivity in judgment. 
   
   
5. Accompanying the manuscripts shall be an entry form (obtained in the Hopwood Room or download PDF) and a transcript (if not already sent or submitted). A contestant shall use only one pen name and one entry blank, no matter how many divisions he or she enters.
   
   
6. Three-hole punches will be available in the Hopwood Room. On the day of the deadline, the Hopwood Room will be closed. However, completed and assembled (punched and bound) manuscripts will be accepted at the door between 8:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon (contest deadline), but Absolutely No Later. Be advised that the contest deadline will be enforced to the minute. Manuscripts will be accepted at any time during the fall term and up to the contest deadline. Since last-minute problems frequently occur, contestants are urged to turn in their work early. 

Certain writing courses not listed below may also be used as qualifying courses. Check with the Hopwood Assistant Director before the day of the deadline to determine course eligibility.

The University committee in charge of the contests will appoint judges of national reputation-two for each area-to read the manuscripts and make recommendations. When the number of manuscripts in any division of the contest becomes so large that it is impracticable for the national judges to read all entries, a pre-liminary selection will be made by experienced judges in the University and Ann Arbor community. After considering the reports of the national judges, the Hopwood committee will make decisions concerning the awards, for which it is finally responsible. For a listing of former judges, please click here.

The announcement of the 2008-2009 awards will be made before the Hopwood Lecture on Wednesday, April 22 at 3:30 p.m. in the Rackham Amphitheatre. The Hopwood Lecture will follow the announcement of the awards. A five year archive of previous recipients of awards can be seen here.

Questions about this contest should be addressed to the Hopwood Program Assistant Director, 1176 Angell Hall (734) 764-6296.

To download an application, please click here.