English & Creative Writing

Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest
For High School Sophomore and Junior Girls

What is the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest?
Now in its forty-fifth year, the contest is sponsored by Hollins University and awards prizes for the best poems submitted by girls who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school.

What are the prizes?
First place (one winner)

• $200 cash prize
• Free tuition for the university's two-week Hollinsummer program where a creative writing class is offered
• Publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ student literary magazine
• Ten copies of Cargoes

Second place (six winners)

• $25 cash prize
• Publication in Cargoes
• Two copies of Cargoes

What are the requirements?

• Students must submit their poem(s) online. Students must have a faculty sponsor.
  
• No more than two poems by any one student may be submitted, and manuscripts cannot be returned.
• Each entry must include the following information:
  o Author's name
  o Author's mailing address
  o Author's phone number and/or e-mail address
  o Year of author's high school graduation
  o Faculty sponsor's name and e-mail address
  o Author's school
  o Address of author's school

What is the deadline for entries?
December 1.

Who chooses the winning poems?
Winners are chosen by students and faculty members in the creative writing program at Hollins.

When are winners notified?
By mid March 2008.

Who was Nancy Thorp?
Nancy Thorp, Hollins class of 1960, was a young poet who showed great promise when she was a student. Following her death in 1962, her family established the Nancy Thorp Contest to encourage the work of young poets.

Want to know more about Hollins’ creative writing program?
Hollins University’s creative writing program is nationally recognized as one of the best in the country. The program has received acclaim in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Southern Living, and Esquire for the work of its graduates and for its distinctive approach to teaching. To learn more, click here. To learn more about Hollins' undergraduate program in English & Creative Writing, click here.

For a list of the more than 1,000 books by Hollins alumnae/i: www.hollins.edu/grad/eng_writing/books/bookfrm.htm

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