ANN ARBOR, Mich—Promising writers at the University of Michigan were publicly recognized and financially rewarded for their literary efforts through more than $150,000 worth of awards presented at the Hopwood Awards Ceremony this spring.

The prestigious awards are funded from the proceeds of an endowment willed to the University by Avery Hopwood, a prominent American dramatist of the early 20th century and member of the U-M Class of 1905. This year, the awards totaled $119,500, with another $31,600 given in related honors. Nearly $2 million has been awarded since the program’s inception.

The Hopwood Awards are judged in two phases. A local screening committee comprising writers from the University and the surrounding community recommends manuscripts to be forwarded to national judges, who evaluate the writings and assign points to each work. The point totals indicate the level of financial reward to be given to a specific piece of writing. The winners, listed by their hometowns, are:

MICHIGAN

ANN ARBOR—Rachel Nelson, a class of 2004 MFA student in the Creative Writing Program, was awarded $2,000 in the Hopwood drama category; Josh Izenberg, a College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) class of 2003 student, won $1,000 through The Leonard and Eileen Newman Writing Prizes and $3,000 in the dramatic writing category; $4000 went to John Bishop, a class of 2003 MFA student in the creative writing program; Jeremiah Chamberlin, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program, won $5,000 in the Hopwood novel category; David Morse, a class of 2003 MFA student in the Creative Writing Program, won $5,000 for the graduate essay program; $2000 was awarded to Karen E. Outen, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program, in the graduate short fiction category; $2,000 to Mary Ann Davis, a class of 2003 MFA student in the creative writing program, in the graduate poetry category; $3,000 to Donovan Hohn, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program, in the graduate poetry category; $4,000 to David Ruderman, a class of 2007 English Ph.D. student, in the graduate poetry category who also won $750 through The Helen S. and John Wagner Prize.; $2,000 to John M. Cox, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program from The Meander Family Award, $1,000 to Laura E. Krughoff, a class of 2003 MFA student in the creative writing program, through The Leonard and Eileen Newman Writing Prizes in the fiction category.

BEVERLY HILLS—Robyn Anspach, an LSA class of 2003 student from Beverly Hills, won $3,000 in the undergraduate essay category. Anspach also won $3,500 in the undergraduate poetry category.

BLOOMFIELD—$3,000 to Carrie Strand, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program in the graduate poetry category.

CHARLEVOIX—Tyler Lieberman, an LSA class of 2004 student from Charlevoix, $7,000 in the screenplay category as well as $1,200 from The Naomi Saferstein Literary Award.

CHELSEA—Megan S. Newell, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program, won $2,000 from The Meander Family Award.

CHESTERFIELD—$5,500 to Cole Redlawsk, an LSA class of 2003 student as winner of the Kasdan Scholarship in creative writing; $5,500 to Cole Redlawsk, an LSA class of 2003 student, as winner of the Kasdan Scholarship in creative writing.

CLARKSTON—$3,500 to Tom Wisniewski, a School of Music and LSA class of 2005 student from Clarkston, in the undergraduate poetry category.

DAGGETT—Morgan Kuntze, an LSA class of 2004 student from Daggett, won $5,000 for the undergraduate essay category.

DEXTER—Sarah Elizabeth Worden, an LSA class of 2003 student from Dexter, $1,500 in the undergraduate short fiction category; $2,500 to Travis Holland, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program from Dexter, in the graduate short fiction category.

MIDDLEVILLE—Laura Wells Dodd, an Art and Design class of 2003 student, won $4,000 in the undergraduate essay category.

PLYMOUTH—David Turner, an LSA
ROYAL OAK—$2,300 to Kerry Russell, an LSA class of 2003 student through The Dennis McIntyre Prize For Distinction in undergraduate playwriting.

STERLING HEIGHTS—$5,000 to Amanda Frost, an LSA class of 2004 student, in the undergraduate poetry category. She also won $2,000 from The Paul and Sonia Handleman Poetry Award.

TROY—$2000 to Laura Deneau, an LSA class of 2003 student, in the undergraduate poetry category.

WEST BLOOMFIELD—Victor Friedman, an LSA class of 2003 student from West Bloomfield, was awarded $2,000 in the screenplay category.OUT OF STATE

CALIFORNIA—$3500 to Alissa Tsukakoshi, an LSA class of summer 2003 student from Hayward, Calif. and $5,000 to Rachel B. J. Richardson, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program from Berkeley, from The Theodore Roethke Prize for the long poem or poetic sequence.

COLORADO—$2,500 to Yunny Chen, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program from Aurora, Colo., through The Chamberlain Award for creative writing.

CONNECTICUT—Joshua Gross, an LSA class of 2003 student from Trumbull, won $3,500 in the undergraduate short fiction category. He also won $1,700 through The Robert F. Haugh Prize

ILLINOIS—$6,000 to Mitchell Kiven, an LSA class of 2003 student from Glencoe, was awarded in the drama category; Steven Dabrowski, an LSA class of 2004 student from Park Ridge, $3,500 in undergraduate short fiction as well as $2,000 through Hopwood’s Arthur Miller Award; $2,300 to Kalena Dickerson, a School of Music and LSA class of 2003 student from Park Forest, through The Dennis McIntyre Prize For Distinction in undergraduate playwriting.

MASSACHUSETTS—Sara Houghteling, a class of 2003 MFA student in the creative writing program from Brookline, was awarded $3,500 in the Hopwood drama category.

OHIO—$1,500 to Michelle Mounts, a class of 2003 MFA student in the creative writing program from Westerville, in the Graduate Short Fiction category.

PENNSYLVANIA—Elizabeth Kostova, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program from Philadelphia, won $7,000 in the Hopwood novel category. She also won $600 through The Geoffrey James Gosling Prize.

WASHINGTON—Marianna McDevitt Green, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program from Bainbridge Island, $5,000 in the graduate essay category.,FOREIGN

BRITISH COLUMBIA—$3,000 to Suzanne Hancock, a class of 2004 MFA student in the creative writing program from Qualicum, in the graduate poetry category.

THAILAND—$7,000 to Rattawut Lapcharoensap, a class of 2003 MFA student in the creative writing program from Bangkok, in the graduate short fiction category as well as another $750 through The Andrea Beauchamp Prize.

Hopwood Program