For most students, the reward for good work comes in the form of
a good grade, but for some creative writers at the University, the
reward comes in the form of a check for up to $7,000.

The Hopwood Program gives out awards twice a year. The deadline
for submissions to the spring Hopwoods, which tend to have more
applicants and give out larger awards, is Tuesday at noon.

Last week the winners of the fall awards were announced at an
awards ceremony — 22 students, ranging from freshmen to
graduate students, won a total of almost $20,000.

The Hopwood Program distributes on average $120,000 per year to
talented undergraduate and graduate student writers at the
University in an effort to encourage creative and innovative
writing.

Established in the will of Broadway playwright and Michigan alum
Avery Hopwood, the Hopwood Awards began in 1930. Over the years,
the Hopwood Program has expanded to include various fellowships and
awards, some of which take financial need into account.

Once submissions are collected for the categories of essay,
short fiction and poetry, the winners are chosen by judges, many of
whom are well-known writers. Arthur Miller, Sinclair Lewis and
Joyce Carol Oates have all judged Hopwood submissions in the
past.

Michael Byers, a writer who won a Hopwood Award while he was a
graduate student at the University in 1996, said these awards are
unique because they create a link between older readers and younger
writers who would otherwise not have exposure to each other.

“It gives undergraduate and graduate students a way to
test themselves against a real audience. … (The) judgments
are true and honest,” he said.

Although the awards are fiercely competitive and carry
substantial prestige, many winners say that the Hopwoods do not
create animosity within the writing communities on campus.

Irene Hahn, a Rackham student and winner of the Cowden
Fellowship, said that the Fine Arts program at Michigan is unique
because of the camaraderie that develops among students and with
professors. As a result, competition for the Hopwoods does not
create as much tension as one might expect.

“We’re all just happy for whoever wins. … We
know it is an arbitrary decision,” Hahn said.

LSA senior Sarah Rubin, who won an award in poetry this year,
said the existence of the Hopwood Awards has a positive impact on
the writing environment.

“I think it makes the (English) program a little more
competitive, but it makes it a little bit better,” she said.
“People tend to write more towards an audience than just for
themselves.”

Winning an award can also provide needed encouragement to
writers preparing to enter a challenging and often ruthless
field.

“It’s not a profession that people know that they
can become successful in. Winning a Hopwood gives you validation
and recognition,” said LSA freshman Uyen Bui, who won $1,000
in the fiction contest. “For me, it strengthened my desire to
write because something came out of it,” Bui said.