News release
Washington College, in Chestertown, Maryland, has named six students, including one from Santa Clarita, to its short list for the 2025 Sophie Kerr Prize, which is valued at just over $74,000 this year.
The list of six finalists includes Lucy Verlaque, an English major from Santa Clarita with minors in creative writing; journalism, editing and publishing; and gender studies.
Now in its 58th year, the prize continues to be the nation’s largest literary award for a college student and totals more than the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award combined. The winner will be announced at a ceremony Friday, after the finalists all read from their work. The announcement will be livestreamed on YouTube.
Courtney Rydel, associate professor of English and chair of the English department, announced the graduating seniors vying for this year’s prize. They hail from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California. Their portfolios included examinations of what creates a sense of self and explorations of gender expectations and womanhood and span poetry, prose, essays, short stories, excerpts from novels, and more.
“Everyone who submits a portfolio for the Sophie Kerr Prize shows courage, in allowing others to scrutinize the work they hold so dear,” Rydel said in a news release. “It further takes incredible talent, persistence, and aesthetic insight to produce writing on the level that these finalists have created. We look forward to hearing them share their exciting and original work in the reading in Friday’s prize ceremony.”
A tradition of Washington College’s liberal arts education, the Sophie Kerr Prize is named for an early 20th century writer from the Eastern Shore of Maryland who published more than 20 novels and hundreds of short stories. In her will, Kerr left a bequest to the college with the stipulation that half of its annual proceeds fund a literary prize for a student.
Open to all Washington College students from any major, the prize is awarded each year to the graduating senior who has the best ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor. In the past, it has been awarded for both creative and critical writing alike.
The winner will be announced at Friday night’s award ceremony at 7:30 p.m. EST in Hotchkiss Recital Hall at Washington College’s Gibson Center for the Arts. The ceremony is open to the public and will also be livestreamed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/live/B2-M4yj57x8.
