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. 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.
2018
Fiction: Liam Cassidy, A Different Kind of Guy
Runner-up: Bryan Halvarsson, leper/cat
Poetry: Sydney Goggins
Runner-up: Andrea Reynolds
2017
Fiction: William Morris
Runner-up: Bridget McDonald and Victoria Walls
Poetry: Bridget McDonald
Runner-up: El Williams