60th Annual Writing Contest
The Department of Humanities is accepting submissions for its 60th annual writing contest. All Spring 2025 full-time Illinois Tech undergraduate students (students who are currently taking at least 12-credit hours) are invited to submit original pieces of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, one-act plays, freshman essays, and philosophy.
Winners will be announced on or after Wednesday, March 26, 2025 on the Lewis College of Science and Letters website. An in-person awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 10, 2025, from 12:45–1:45 p.m. For more information, contact humanities@iit.edu.
ALL SUBMISSIONS DUE BY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5 at 11:59 P.M. CST | humanities@iit.edu
Ways To Submit Your Entries:
In-person: Download the entry form below, and bring your completed form and writing piece to 3301 S. Dearborn Street, Siegel Hall, Suite 218 and leave it in the dropbox (right outside of the suite)
Email: You can download and submit the entry form below and your writing piece via email: humanities@iit.edu
Note: You must have your @hawk.iit.edu email linked to your device to access the digital entry form.
Categories
- Edwin H. Lewis Prize for Fiction
- Edwin H. Lewis Prize for Nonfiction
- Henry and Myrna Knepler Freshman Essay Prize
- Mollie Cohen Prize for Poetry
- Warren Schmaus Prize for Philosophy Writing
Prizes
| Prizes* | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin H. Lewis Prize for Fiction | $350 | $250 | $150 |
| Edwin H. Lewis Prize for Nonfiction | $350 | $250 | $150 |
| Henry and Myrna Knepler Freshman Essay Prize | $350 | $250 | $150 |
| Mollie Cohen Prize for Poetry | $350 | $250 | $150 |
| Warren Schmaus Prize for Philosophy Writing** | $150 | N/A | N/A |
**Prizes will be awarded in the form of PNC Bank Visa Gift Cards, which can be used anywhere Visa cards are accepted.
*For the Warren Schmaus Prizes for Philosophy Writing, the Prize is $150 and there is only one winner.
Edwin H. Lewis Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction
The prizes for fiction and nonfiction are named for Edwin H. Lewis, an English Professor at Lewis Institute, one of the forerunners of Illinois Tech, from 1895 until 1936. Among other classes, Lewis taught Shakespeare, and apparently looked somewhat like him, too. It is said that students would come to campus just for his lectures, often without even being enrolled.
Mollie S. Cohen Prize for Poetry
The poetry prize was established in 1965 by Illinois Tech English professor Mollie S. Cohen as she was retiring. Cohen was a native Â鶹APPan and attended Lewis Institute before doing graduate work at the University of Â鶹APP and at Sorbonne in Paris. During her time as a professor at Illinois Tech, she worked closely with women students and international students.
Henry and Myrna Knepler Freshman Essay Prize
The prize for freshman essays honors the late Henry and Myrna Knepler, both former professors of English at Illinois Tech. Henry Knepler served as chair of the Department of Humanities for 16 years. Myrna Knepler was an alumna of Illinois Tech who received her doctorate in linguistics. The prize is funded by an endowment made by the Kneplers, both of whom were very committed to English as a Second Language instruction and to writing instruction.
The Warren Schmaus Prize for Philosophy Writing
The prize for best undergraduate paper in philosophy honors Warren Schmaus, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, who taught at Illinois Tech for 42 years. The prize is funded by an endowment made by Terry Straus, daughter of Fay Sawyier, a long time philosophy professor at Illinois Tech.