English

In the spring of each year, the English department awards eleven prizes. These prizes are competitive and are awarded to current Bowdoin College students.

All prizes, except the Pray Prize, are awarded during the College's Honors Day program in May, and winners’ names are printed in the commencement program. A call for submissions is posted and e-mailed to all Bowdoin students in late March. 

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Academy of American Poets Prize
(for best poem or group of poems)

2013 Katherine Kinkel '13
2012 Marissa Daisy Alioto '13
2011 Ricardo Zarate, Jr. '13
2010 Eilissa Lemieux Rodman '10
2009 William Jay Oppenheim '09
2008 William Johnstone Cogswell '11
2007 Carl J. Moon '08
2006 Haley Sara Bridger '07 
2005 Daniel M. Varley '05
2004 Grant White '04 and Erin Westaway '05
Honorable Mention: Elaine Johanson '04 and Charlotte Carnevale '06
2003 Andrew Thomas Dunn '03
2002 Kelly Ann Kerney '02
2001 Carlo Mosoni '01

Forbes Rickard Poetry Prize
(for the best poem written by an undergraduate)

2013 Parker Towle '15
2012 Stephanie Lane '15
2011 Tu Anh Thi Dinh '11
2010 Alexander Finley Williams '10
2009 Shared equally: William Jay Oppenheim '09 and Alexander Finley Williams '10
Honorable Mention: Jenna Eisman Breiter '10
2008 Shared equally: Elissa LeMieux Rodman '10 and Edward Stevens Gottfried '11
2007 Nikolai von Keller '07 
Honorable Mention: Joy Li-Yueh Lee '07
2006 Charlotte Kathleen Carnevale '06 
2005 Shared equally:  Alexander T. Davis '07 and Jenny S. Bordo '05
2004 Elizabeth Ayn Moe '06
2003 Laura Elisabeth Quinlan '02
2002 Elaine Dorothy Johanson '04
2001 Marina Nielsen Galazidis '01

Nathalie Walker Llewellyn Poetry Prize
(for best work of original poetry by an undergraduate)

2013 Zackary Suhr '14  - Jesse Gildesgame '13 honorable mention
2012 Katherine Kinkel '13
2011 Moriah Jasmine Churchill '11
2010 Anne Elizabeth Rothacker '11 and  Samuel Thomas Howe ’11
2009 Shared equally: Hannah Lee Cyrus '12 and Elissa LeMieux Rodman '10
2008 Shared equally: Gemma Louisa Leghorn '10 and Carl Justin Moon '08
2007 Carl J. Moon '08
2006 Nikolai von Keller '07 
2005 Genevieve A. Creedon '05
2004 Jonathan Perez '04
2003 Elaine Dorothy Johanson '04
2002 Andrew Thomas Dunn '03
2001 Kelly Ann Kerney '02

Poetry Prize
(for best poem on Bowdoin written by an undergraduate)

2013 Monica Das '14 - Zackary Suhr '14 honorable mention
2012 Parker Towle '13
2011 Hannah Lee Cyrus '12
2010 Katherine Bevier Kinkel '13
2009 Lindsay Gayle Heuser '09
2008 No prize awarded
2007 Norah A. Maki '09 
2006 Katharine Margaret Sherman '09
2005 Rebecca S. Sargent '06
2004 Daniel M. Varley '05
2003 Jonathan Andrew Perez '04
2002 Ryan Walsh-Martel '03
2001Seth Milan Barnes '01

Hawthorne Prize
(for best short story written by a sophomore, junior or senior)

2013 Isabel Low '13
2012 Samuel Hanson '11
2011 Leah Kate Weiss '11
2010 Moriah Jasmine Churchill '11
2009 Genna Ruth-Louise Duplisea '09
Honorable Mention:  Moriah Jasmine Churchill '11
2008 Rachel Hermans Goldman '10
2007 Wallace S. McFarlane '09 
2006 Raiff T. Tsapatsaris '07 
2005 Heather M. Johnston '05
2004 Leslie Bridgers '06
2003 Lauren Marie Whaley '03
2002 Jessica Teahan Farmer '02
2001 Kelly Ann Kerney '02

Mary B. Sinkinson Short Story Prize

This prize, established by John Judson Sinkinson of the Class of 1902 in memory of his wife, Mary Burnett Sinkinson, is awarded each year for the best short story written by a member of the junior or senior class.

2013 Chloe Huang '13 - Heidi Harrison '13 honorable mention
2012 Lucia Cowles '12
2011 Samuel Hollingsworth Hanson '11
2010 Rachel Hermans Goldman '10
2009 Rachel Hermans Goldman '10
Honorable Mention:  Daniel Robert Lorberbaum '10
2008 Benjamin Evan Rachlin '08
2007 Raiff T. Tsapatsaris '07 
Honorable Mention: Jared T. Hunt '08 
2006 Raiff T. Tsapatsaris '07 
2005 Brandon S. Kaplan '05
2003 Jay Caspian Kang '02
2002 Kelly Ann Kerney '02
2001 Arthur Dehon Middleton '01

Creative Nonfiction Prize
(for best creative nonfiction work by an undergraduate)

2013 Erica Berry '14
2012 Samuel Hanson '11 and Marissa Daisy Alioto '13
2011 Tu Anh Thi Dinh '11
2010 Shared equally: Will Elliott Bleakley '10 and Gemma Louisa Leghorn '10
2009 Shared equally: Mary Helen Miller '09 and Emily Israel Guerin '09
Honorable Mention:  William Jay Oppenheim '09
2008 Shared equally: Stephen Michael Kolowich '08 and Hannah Marie Larson '10

Pray English Essay Prize
(awarded to the best scholar in English literature and original English composition.  Usually awarded to an honors candidate for the honors essay.

2012 Shared equally: Lucia Cowles '12 for her honors paper: “ADA/M” and Samuel Hanson '11 for his honors paper: “ The Gift: A Collection of Short Stories”
2010 Shared equally: Kristina Melissa Goodwin '10 and Samuel Iden Smith '10
2009 Kristen E. Gunther '09
2008 Shared equally: Amy Ahearn '08 and Zachary John Roberts '08
2007 Shared equally: Katherine H. Kirklin '07 and Jamie E. Knight '07
2004 Nicholas Sharpe Hiebert '03
2003 Jennifer Rita Laraia '03
2002 Kelly Ann Kerney '02
2001 Jared Winston Hickman '99

David Sewall Premium
(to a member of the first-year class for excellence in English composition.  The purpose of this prize is to encourage creative and original writing which may or may not be directly appropriate to the first-year English seminars.)

2013 1st Prize: Jenna Watling '16 - 2nd prize: Andrew Villeneuve '16
2012 Elisabeth Strayer '15
2011 Shared equally: Erica Jane Berry '14 and Emily Rose Powers '14
2010 Linda Esther Kinstler '13
2009 Samuel Ehlers Frizell '12
2008 Shared equally: Sean Nicholas Campos '11 and Alexander Michael Streim '11
2007 Julian Chryssavgis '10
2006 Sophia Ransom Seifert '09
2005 Mallory J. Banks '08
2004 Joy Li-Yueh Lee '07
2003 Charlotte Kathleen Carnevale '06
2002 Claire Melissa Falck '05
2001 Michael John Northrop '04 and Robin Louise Whitney '04

Philip Henry Brown Prize

for excellence in extemporaneous composition (Open to all seniors.)

Ricardo Zarate '13
Christopher Sanville ‘12 and Caleb Pershan ‘12
Benjamin Arthur Messerly '11
Rachel Hermans Goldman '10
Caitlin May Hylan '09
Jared Thomas Hunt '08
Honorable Mention: Travis Andrew Dagenais '08
Raiff T. Tsapatsaris '07
Jacqueline Nicole O'Hare '06
Charlotte Kathleen Carnevale '06
Kristin Marion Pollock '04
Elliot Edson Jacobs '04
Andrew Samuel Keshner '03
Sarah Marie Ramey '03
James Webster Stull '02
Ajay Rao '02
Nathaniel Chase Vinton '01
Kristina Balbo '01

Bertram Louis Smith, Jr. Prize
This prize was established by his father in memory of Bertram Louis Smith Jr. of the Class of 1903 to encourage excellence of work in English literature, and is awarded by the department to a member of the junior class who has completed two years’ work in English literature.

2013 Erica Berry '14
2011 Hannah Lee Cyrus '12
2010 William Johnstone Cogswell '11
2009 Tanya Farber '10
2008 Caitlin May Hylan '09
2007 Amy Ahearn '08
2006 Raiff T. Tsapatsaris '07
2005 Shared equally:  Andrew K. Gachanja '06 and Evan J. Gallagher '06
2004 Melissa Claire Falck '05
2003 Paige Mackenzie Contreras-Gould '04
2002 Jessie Tova Solomon-Greenbaum '04
2001 Sara Stephanie Bodnar '03
2000 Nicholas Sharpe Hiebert '03
Clara Chung-Yee Lee '03
Larisa Reznik '02
Michael Francis Micciche, III '01