Prizes and Awards

The Maxwell P. Wilkinson Scholarship in English, established in 1988 by Mary Vail Wilkinson of Stamford, CT, in memory of her father, a member of the class of 1928, is awarded annually, without consideration of financial need, to a major who is a resident of a Southern state, and who shows "love of the written, read, and spoken English word." Candidates are nominated by the department.
The Catherine Houston Campbell Scholarship in English Literature, established by Leslie Lyle Campbell, M.A., 1887, in memory of his wife, is awarded annually on the recommendation of the department.
The Elizabeth B. Garrett Scholarship in English, founded on a bequest made by Mrs. Elizabeth B. White in 1918, is awarded annually on the recommendation of the department.

The George A. Mahan Awards for Creative Writing were established under the will of George A. Mahan of Hannibal, Missouri, who died in 1936. Prizes are offered to the first-year student, sophomore, junior, and senior submitting the best prose works in their respective classes. One prize is offered to the undergraduate who submits the best verse. Rules governing the Mahan Award competition can be found here.
The Academy of American Poets Prize, established through the Academy by an anonymous donor, is given each year by the department.

Entries for both awards must be submitted to the department by the announced date during the spring term.

The Jean Amory Wornom Award for Distinguished Critical Writing, established in 1980 in memory of the mother of two majors in the department with distinguished academic records at Washington and Lee, is given annually to the student judged by the department to have submitted the best piece of discursive or critical writing-essay, term paper, or thesis-in an English course during the spring term of the preceding academic year or the fall and winter terms of the year in which the award is made.
The Sidney M. B. Coulling Prize in English was established in 1986 by William C. Porth of Garden City, New York, and is given annually to a first-year student or sophomore judged by the department as having written the best essay on a literary topic in a lower-division English course, excepting English 299.
The Dabney Stuart Prize for Distinguished Critical Writing was established in 1999 by the department and is funded by a gift from an anonymous donor. This prize will be given annually to a student in English 299 (seminar for Prospective Majors) for the best piece of critical writing.
The Writing 100 Prize was established in 2012 by the Writing Program with funding from the Office of the Dean of the College. It honors the best paper written in the year's sections of WRIT 100.

Nominations for these awards must be made by the faculty.