Student Literary Prizes

Cadigan Prizes for Creative Writing

The Cadigan Prizes for Creative Writing are 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.

2025-26 Judges

Prose judge Nwanne Agwu is from Okposi, Nigeria. He has been longlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and shortlisted for the Isele Nonfiction Prize. His work appears in Bending Genres, The Revolution, Southword Magazine, The Isele Magazine, and elsewhere. Agwu's short story "The Brief, Happy Life of Mario-Goretti" appeared in West Branch 108, Spring/Summer 2025.

Poetry judge Asa Drake is Filipina/white poet in Central Florida. She is the author of Maybe the Body and Beauty Talk, winner of the 2024 Noemi Press Book Award, both forthcoming in 2026. Drake's poem "When Is It Disrespectful to Modify an Image" appeared in West Branch 108, Spring/Summer 2025.

Submitting Your Work

The Submission deadline for the 2025–26 Cadigan Prizes is Dec. 10, 2025. Winners will be 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

2024–25 Winners

Poetry Winners

• First Place: Natasha Rawls
• Second Place: Aki Kuramochi
• Honorable Mention: Tosin Adebayo

Prose Winners

• First Place: Aki Kuramochi
• Second Place: Brooke Corpuz
• Honorable Mention: Miles Dust
• Honorable Mention: Elmire Corpus

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.

2024-25 Smithson Prize Winners

• Georgie Roach
• Aaron Chin

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.