Master of Fine Arts

MFA Prizes in Poetry and Prose

 

Every spring the UMSL MFA program recognizes distinguished student work by awarding the MFA Prize in Poetry and the MFA Prize in Fiction. During the years we offer a MFA Creative Non-fiction Workshop, we also award an MFA Prize in Creative Non-Fiction. Nominations for the prose competition are made by teachers of that year's workshops in fiction and creative non-fiction. The poetry competition is open to all MFA students who have taken a poetry workshop in the preceding year; the call for poetry submissions occurs early in the spring semester. The judging is blind. The judges for these awards are well-regarded and well-published fiction writers, journalists and poets, most of whom reside in other parts of the country. The award results are announced in late March. The winners receive $100 and are honored at the annual English alumni party in the spring.

Recent winners are listed below. 

 

 

 

 

2013 Prize Winners

          Fiction: Lauren Wiser, Sleeping With Insects

  runner-up: Tina Shen, Pandora's Box

  Poetry: Ryan Smith, Your Hunger Sure and Safe

          runner-up: Matthew Freeman, Five Poems of Restoration  

 

 2012 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Ryan Smith, Shadow Taxidermy 
runner-up: Adam Hayward, Blood orange  
Fiction: Lindsay Shadwell, The Guest
Creative Non-fiction: Scott Morgan, Double-Shift
runner-up: Katherine Mitchell, Watermark 

2011 Prize Winners 
 

Poetry: Amanda Wynn won the James Russell Grant Memorial prize in poetry;  Raymond Holmes and Kelli Allen were both runner-up. 
 Fiction: Lindsay Shadwell won the graduate prize in fiction; Anna Eggemeyer was
 the runner-up. 

2010 Prize Winners 
 

Poetry: Joe Betz won the James Russell Grant Memorial prize in poetry; Raymond  Holmes was the runner-up. 
 Fiction: Eric Primm won the graduate prize in fiction.

2009 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Tim Leach won the James Russell Grant poetry award given to an MFA student (the first time this award has been presented). 
Fiction: Julianne Bartlett and Rebecca Brown-Gregory tied for first place. 
Creative Nonfiction: Winner, Leeli Davidson, and Amanda Wynn, runner-up.

2008 Prize Winners 

Poetry: O. Ayes (winner); Andrew Pryor and Capuchina Taylor (runners-up) 
Fiction: Inda Schaenen and Angela Mitchell-Phillips (co-winners) 

2007 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Jaime Wood (winner) 
Fiction: Inda Schaenen (winner)

2006 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Robert Lowes (winner) 
Fiction: Susan LaBrier (winner) 
Essay: Seth Raab (winner)

2005 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Robert Lowes (winner); Nancy Powers (runner-up) 
Fiction: Marie Goyette (winner) 
Essay: Rebecca Pastor (winner)

2004 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Eve Jones (winner); Brian Lindsey (runner-up) 
Fiction: Reggie Poche (winner); Patti Smith Jackson (runner-up) 
Essay: Colleen McKee (winner)

2003 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Colleen McKee (winner) 
Fiction: Trysh Brown (winner) 

2002 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Allison Creighton (winner); John Ryan, Amy Debrecht (runners-up) 
Prose: Jim Mense (winner); Jim Morice (runner-up)

2001 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Amy Branch (winner), Melissa Gurley Bancks (runner-up) 
Prose: Frank Watson

2000 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Matthew Schmeer 
Prose: Angela Hamilton

1999 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Amy Debrecht (winner), Elaine Dempsey (runner-up) 
Prose: Janet Goddard

1998 Prize Winners 

Poetry: Tamara Myers 
Prose: C.B. Adams, Linda Wendling (co-winners)