The Pennsylvania College English Association

PCEA 2010 Student Writing Contest

Graduate and undergraduate students who submit an abstract for a presentation at the PCEA 2010 Conference (or who will be part of a pre-arranged panel) are also invited to compete for the PCEA Best Student Paper Awards. Awards are given in three separate categories:

  • Critical Essay
  • Creative Poetry
  • Creative Prose

These awards carry a small monetary prize. Students who compete must be PCEA members.  Award winners will also be considered for publication in PCEA’s journal, Pennsylvania English.

Contest Submission Information

Submission Process

To enter the competition, students must submit 3 copies of their completed work and a Cover Sheet by regular mail. The student’s name should be removed from the work. Make sure that the title of the work is present on the work itself and on the required Submission Cover Sheet.

Submissions of critical work should be the equivalent of a conference paper, including notes and works cited.  For creative work, submit 10-15 pages of double-spaced prose (either fiction or creative non-fiction) or 4-6 poems.  No mixed genre submissions, please.

PCEA faculty members are asked to encourage students who have written strong critical or creative work to submit to both the PCEA conference and the Best Student Paper Awards competition.

Submission Mailing Address

If you would like to compete for the PCEA Best Student Paper Awards, send three (3) copies of your completed work and a Cover Sheet by regular mail to:

Abigail Aldrich
Lehigh University
Drown Hall—35 Sayre Dr.
Bethlehem, PA 18015

Please be sure to remove your name from all manuscript pages.

Submission Cover Sheet

On a separate, cover sheet, please include:

  • your name
  • the title of the work
  • educational affiliation
  • year in school or graduate student level (master's or doctoral candidate)
  • mailing address
  • phone number
  • email address

Postal Submission is Required for Consideration

You MUST submit by mail 3 copies of your paper and a Cover Sheet to the above address in order to be considered for the student competition. There is no automatic entry into the competition just by being a presenter at the PCEA conference.

Contest Deadline

January 31st, 2010

Papers postmarked after the deadline will not be considered.