Writing Prizes
Writing Prizes
James Kirkwood Literary Prize
The James Kirkwood Literary Prize is named for the late Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning author James Kirkwood, one of the Writers’ Program’s most illustrious students.
Mr. Kirkwood recounted the moment his life turned around when his Writers’ Program instructor, the late Robert Kirsch, prefaced his critique by saying: “This week I suddenly realized why I teach: because once in a blue moon someone turns in something so original, so—I’m going to say it—brilliant, that it makes it all worthwhile. Now, who in this class is named Kirkwood?”
According to Andrew Morse, the award’s founder and benefactor, Mr. Kirkwood quickly abandoned his mediocre Hollywood acting career for a life devoted to writing, which was his “absolute joy.” In Kirkwood’s memory, his friends and admirers established the James Kirkwood Prize to honor new generations of Writers’ Program fiction writers for their literary achievements. The literary award has been recognizing students for over 30 years.
Nominations
Each year, instructors who have taught intermediate and advanced-level courses are invited to nominate their outstanding students who are then asked to submit 10-20 pages for consideration.
The semi-finalists and finalists are determined by selected Writers’ Program instructors, and the winner is determined by Andrew Morse, the prize’s benefactor. The three finalists, who are named in the fall, receive cash prizes ($3,000 First Place, $2,000 Second Place, and $1,000 Third Place) and are honored at a luncheon attended by Mr. Morse, the nominating instructors, judges, and Writers’ Program staff.
2025
First Place
Maggie Mull, Not for Me
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Caroline Leavitt
Second Place
Ashley Foster, P.U.S.H.
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Caroline Leavitt
Third Place
Pepe Hernandez, The Farm
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by: Lou Mathews
~~~
2024
First Place
Casey Clough, First Blood
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by: Merrill Feitell
Second Place
Kerri Brady Long, Interlopers
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by: Ron Darian
Third Place
Joe Incollingo, Solar Plexus
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by Merrill Feitell
~~~
2023
First Place
Nadine Gilmer, Dangerous Things
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by: Paul Mandelbaum
Second Place
Stephan Lee, Must be Nice
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Mark Sarvas
Third Place
Katie Knight, Rules for Video Games
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by: Wendy Oleson
~~~
2022
First Place
Angela Barton, Manatees
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by: Paul Mandelbaum
Second Place
Elisa de Jesus, Bamboo Shoot
Genre: Short Story
Nominated by: Master Class in Novel
Third Place
Chelsea Tokuno-Lynk, Our Cecilia
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Wally Rudolph
The Allegra Johnson Writing Prize
The Allegra Johnson Writing Prize was inaugurated on March 20, 2014 by Roberta J.M. Olson and Alexander B.V. Johnson to honor their daughter, Allegra Johnson (1983–2013), a prolific and talented young writer who was enrolled as an undergraduate at UCLA and was working on a memoir and a novel through the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program when her life was tragically cut short.
Through this award, her parents hope to make a difference in the lives of promising Writers’ Program students by providing both formal recognition of their talent and financial resources to support them as they complete their manuscripts. The award is merit-based.
Nominations
Instructors who have taught intermediate and advanced-level novel, memoir, and book-length creative nonfiction courses are invited to nominate up to two outstanding students who meet eligibility criteria. In order to be considered, nominees submit 25 pages of their work-in-progress, an outline of their work, and a current resume.
The finalists are determined by selected Writers’ Program instructors, and the final recipient is selected by the prize’s benefactors. The recipient, who is named in June of each year, receives a cash prize of $5,000 and is honored at a luncheon hosted by the benefactors. The two runners-up are given vouchers for a complimentary full-length Writers’ Program course.
Nominees for each year’s competition are contacted by the Writers’ Program and an application packet is forwarded. Completed materials are submitted in February for judging.
~~~
To convey a sense of Allegra Johnson’s literary voice, here is one of her poems:
Selfish Beauty
by Allegra Johnson
i can’t leave my orchid
outside my motel room door,
even though I know
it probably aches for direct sunlight,
warmer and more intimate than the light
filtered through dingy screen windows.
somebody would probably break off
the main stalk
of yellow and pink-tinged blossoms,
yawning like rare dragons.
maybe even the stalk of buds,
yet to make their grand entrance,
snapped off they would be dead,
nothing but unfulfilled promise.
there is always someone
who isn’t content to just appreciate
the blooms in their living, growing state,
who has to take
all of the beauty for himself.
2026
Winner
Milo B. Adams, What the Light Allows
Genre: Novel
Nominated by Robert Eversz
Nominees
Jialing Zhang, My Name Is You
Genre: Novel
Nominated by Tempany Deckert
Evan Bunderle, Abigail Hoàng vs The Bonedancers
Genre: Novel
Master Class in Novel Writing
~~~
2025
Winner
Katherine Crownover, Death and Debutantes
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Henry Lien
Nominees
Kevin Pires, Existential Threat
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Brian Sonia-Wallace
Christine Chu, The Coterie
Genre: Novel
Master Class in Novel Writing
~~~
2024
Winner
Mary Knauf, A Good Boy
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Tempany Deckert
Nominees
Sheila Garcia Mazari, Of The Makings and Markings of Heavy Blood
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Wendy Oleson
Gabriela Kruschewsky, The Women Almencar
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Rosebud Ben-Oni
~~~
2023
Winner
Michael Hewitt, Ed's Commandments
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Robert Eversz
Nominees
Verena Leong, Patella Circle
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo
Mahru Elahi, How Fostering Refugee Youth Led Me Home
Genre: Memoir
Nominated by: Rachel Kann
~~~
2022
Winner
Andrea Bitunjac, Fragile Spring
Genre: Memoir
Nominated by: Amber West
Nominees
Nishima Chudasama, This Way Home
Genre: Novel
Nominated by: Henry Lien
Gilly Combe, Tell Me Again
Genre: Memoir
Nominated by: Barbara Abercrombie