Student Literary Prizes

Cadigan Prize for Younger Writers

The Cadigan Prize for Younger Writers is judged each year by recent contributors to West Branch, Bucknell's professional literary journal, and recognizes outstanding works of poetry and prose by Bucknell undergraduates. First and second place prizes, as well as honorable mentions, are awarded in each of two genres: prose, which includes both fiction and creative nonfiction and poetry. The awards are made possible by the generous support of Robb '86 and Joan Daughen Cadigan '86.

2023-24 Judges

This year's judges are Michael Garcia Bertrand, recent guest in the Stadler Center Writers's series whose short fiction appears in Epiphany, Denver Quarterly, Puerto del Sol and elsewhere and Talin Tahajian, assistant editor of Yale Review whose poetry appears in Poetry, Narrative, Kenyon Review, TriQuarterly and elsewhere. Both are recent contributors to West Branch, Bucknell's professional literary journal.

Submitting Your Work

The Submission deadline for the 2023-24 Cadigan Prizes is Dec. 6, 2023. Winners are announced in January on Bucknell's Message Center. Winners will be invited to read their work at the annual student reading in April.

Submit your work

2022–23 Winners

Prose Winners

• First Place: Kyra DeVoe

• Second Place: Aki Kuramochi

Poetry Winners

• First Place: Seb Vidal
• Second Place: Shannon Silverthorne
• Honorable Mention: Ricky Rodriguez

Julia Fonville Smithson Memorial Prize

On May 13, 1977, at the age of 23, Julia Smithson '76 died of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. A Bucknell graduate with a major in English, Julia was married to Lowell W. Fritz '76. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Smithson, Jr., of Knoxville, Tenn. Donations made to a fund to perpetuate her memory have enabled the Department of English to establish the Julia Fonville Smithson Memorial Prize, to be awarded annually to students whose dedication to the sharing and the making of literature carries into the future the spirit of Julia Smithson.

Judges

The winning manuscripts are selected each year by a committee composed of faculty in the Creative Writing Program of the Department of English. The Smithson Prize is administered by the Creative Writing Program.

2023 Smithson Prize Winners

• Joselyn Busato
• Bridgette Simpson

Annual Student Reading

Each year the annual student reading in April gathers the winners of the Cadigan Prizes for Younger Writers and the Julia Fonville Smithson Memorial Prize for a formal reading in Bucknell Hall.