High School – Eudora Welty Awards

Each spring the Center for the Study of Southern Culture gives the Eudora Welty Award for Creative Writing to two Mississippi high school students for short stories or poetry written during the previous year. First place carries an award of $500, and second place an award of $250.

Schools may submit one entry in each category. Faculty from the University of Mississippi judge the entries and select the winners. The awards are presented during the University’s Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference in July. Winners are notified at least a month prior to the conference.

Each entry should be accompanied by the entry form and postmarked by May 17, 2024.

Students must be Mississippi residents and the entries should be completed by their high schools. Short stories should not exceed 3,000 words and poetry should not exceed 100 lines.

Submissions

ONLINE

Fill out the online submission form below or download a submission form and email the completed form to Rebecca Lauck Cleary – rebeccac@go.olemiss.edu.

Your Name *

Your Email *

Student's Name *

Student's Email *

Street Address *

Town *

Zip *

Student Phone

Type of Entry *

Title *

School Name *

School Address *

Town *

Zip*

School Email *

School District*

School Principal or other contact person*

Mail

Download and fill out the submission form and send it to:

Eudora Welty Awards for Creative Writing
Center for the Study of Southern Culture
University of Mississippi
P.O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677

The 2022 winners are:

1st place: Eliot Nix from Mississippi School of the Arts in Brookhaven in for the short story “Icing on Top.”
2nd Place: Joshua Clark from the Mississippi School of the Arts in Brookhaven for the short story “Jeremiah.”
Honorable Mentions: Erin Erter for the poem “Overgrowth.”

The 2022 winners are:

1st place: Trinity Scalia, Jackson Prep High School in Jackson, Short Story “Thomas”
2nd Place: Allie Sanford, New Hope High School in Columbus, Poem “Love is a Dog Named Senorita”
Honorable Mentions:Summer Mason Lee of Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg for the short story “Memorabilia”; Lesly Sauceda of Byhalia High School for the short story “My Fear Grows for You,” and Pigah Vasighi of St. Andrews Episcopal School in Jackson for the poem “Red, Yellow, Blue”

The 2021 winners are:

1st place: Ryley Fallon, Mississippi School for Math and Science in Columbus,
Short Story “Five Miles ’til Kentucky”
2nd Place: Abby Strain, Mississippi School for Math and Science in Columbus,
Poem “Home(less)”

No awards given in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The 2019 winners are:
1st Place: Helen Peng, Mississippi School for Math and Science in Columbus
2nd Place: Chloe Russell, Mississippi School for the Arts in Brookhaven

Click link on right to see a list of previous winners.