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Carson McCullers Literary Awards - Columbus State University

Department of English

The Carson McCullers Literary Awards

Carson McCullers Literary Award Winners

Prizes: The Carson McCullers Literary Awards offer prizes for Georgia and Alabama high school students in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, expository essay, playwriting and screenwriting: with $300 for first place in each of those categories, $200 for second place, $100 for third place.

Prizes are awarded to CSU students, including the Sara Ayres Jordan Awards in fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction, as well as prizes in expository essay, playwriting and screenwriting, with $300 first place, $200 second place, $100 third place.


Submission Deadline: Friday, January 19, 2024
Limit one entry in each category per student

Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians Website


2023 CMLA Award Winners

CMLA Anthology 2023 (PDF)

Brick Road Greear Prize for Poetry:

1st Place: Sujana Vangala, “Coin Flip,” Northview HS
2nd Place: Mark Harris, “The Choir,” Heritage HS
3rd Place: Oluwatumilara Owolabi, “Oh Mama,” Mount Pisgah Christian

Dr. Joseph Francavilla Prize for Fiction:

1st Place: Ivie Kirby, “Adoring and Ignoring,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
2nd Place: Sujana Vangala, “Your Mother Was a Girl Once,“ Northview HS
3rd Place: Eva J. Hammonds, “Mirum: The Volcano,” Columbus HS

Dr. Jim Owen Prize for Creative Nonfiction:

1st Place: Benjamin Badgett, “Brothers,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
2nd Place: Peyton McRae, “This Is My Neighborhood,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: Alexandra Boyd, “Journey Paved With Imagination,” Heritage HS

Susan Schley Gristina Prize for Expository Essay:

1st Place: Gene Yoon, “The Ann Arbor Black English Case Revisited,” Columbus HS
2nd Place: Princess (Ainani) Graham, “Interracial Relationships in 19th-20th Century South,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: Mark Harris, “The increased Need for LGBTQ Support in Schools,” Heritage HS

High School Prize for Screenwriting:

1st Place: Mickie Cerda, “The origins of Jimmy,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
2nd Place: Kadyn Moore, “Bigger Than The Whole Sky,” Heritage HS
3rd Place: Lily Choy “The Future is a Terrible Place,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

Andrew Ruhs Prize for Playwriting:

1st Place: Kadyn Moore, “Hesperia,” Heritage HS
2nd Place: Mariella (Mickie) Cerda, “Untitled Ghost Monologue,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: Ella Jervis “Sock Puppet Slasher,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry:

1st Place: Ana Dinis Perez, “Upside Down”
2nd Place: Jonathan Stringfellow, “In Love”
3rd Place: Youbin Park, “the Beauty [and] the Beast”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction:

1st Place: Dallas Curry, “Yearly Traditions”
2nd Place: Theo Pound, “The Obelisk Without a Story At the Bottom of the Crimson Manor”
3rd Place: Youbin Park, “Honeyl”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction:

1st Place: Melanie Miller, “Might as Well”
2nd Place: Youbin Park, “Coffee Pot”
3rd Place: Les Anderson, “Control”

Dr. Daniel William Ross Prize for Expository Essay:

1st Place: Melanie Miller, “Ophelia: A Secret Feminist”
2nd Place: Cynthia Short, “The Black Girl As A Vehicle for Poetry”
3rd place: Theo Pound, “The Good, The Bad, and The Storytellers”

Anbessita Productions, Inc., Prize for Screenwriting:

1st Place: Dallas Curry, “Ammonia”
2nd Place: Les Anderson, “Fall from Grace”
3rd Place: Alexis Barron, “Coffee House”

Dr. Barbara J. Hunt Prize for Playwriting:

1st Place: Dallas Curry, “The Infinite Coffee Theorem”
2nd Place: Les Anderson, “Jackpot”
3rd Place: Theo Pound, “The Death of Jerry Farber, or the Jerry Farber Story”

2022 CMLA Award Winners

CMLA Anthology 2022 (PDF)

HS Poetry Winners:

1st Place: “The Teenage Fallacy,” by Sujana Vangala, Northview HS
2nd Place: “Pretty People,” by Kadyn Moore, Heritage HS
3rd Place: “ebony sun,” by Kyra Richardson, Alabama School of Fine Arts

HS Fiction Winners:

1st Place: "My Soundtrack,” by Madison Hoar, Alabama School of Fine Arts
2nd Place: “The Unexplored 95%,” by Izzy Cox, Alabama School of Fine Arts
3rd Place: “The Words of the Devil” by Ella Jervis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

HS Nonfiction Winners:

1st Place: "Satsuma," by Joseph Barns, LAMP High School
2nd Place: "Memory Bread," by Sarah Phillis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: "Mitosis," by Izzy Cox, Alabama School of Fine Arts

HS Playwriting Winners:

1st Place: "A Play in Progress," by Jocelyn Peebles, Harris County High School
2nd Place: "Gay Polyamorous Cowboys," by Ella Jervis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: "Lorelei," by Sarah Phillis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

HS Screenwriting Winners:

1st Place: “Emily,” by Dylan Black, Harrison HS
2nd Place: “Seen,” by Elizabeth Webb, Heritage HS
3rd Place: “Look Away,” by Khayla Truitt, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

HS Expository Essay Winners:

1st Place: "Thoughts on Healthcare," by Izzy Cox, Alabama School of Fine Arts
2nd Place: "The Crucible: How Fear Perpetuates Suffering in a Community," by Emma Delaney, Heritage High School
3rd Place: "Gone but NEVER Forgotten," by Samuel Mansi, Heritage High School

CSU Poetry Winners: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize

1st Place: "Neville to Percival," by Bailey Parker
2nd Place: "And You Fall in Love With Them Both," by Sidney DuCleroir
3rd Place: "Fear," by Youbin Park

CSU Fiction Winners: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize

1st Place: "Out By the Tracks," by Zagreus Rivers
2nd Place: "Sir Lancelot and the Red Villa of Cortenova," by Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson
3rd Place: "Purple Prose and Other Clichés," by Bailey Parker

CSU Nonfiction Winners: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize

1st Place: "Snapshots of a Silent Composer," by Ana Dinis Perez
2nd Place: "Freedom From Speech," by Youbin Park
3rd Place: "Death of a Small Town and the Memories They Hold," by Kailey Katzfey

CSU Screenwriting Winners:

1st Place: "A Father's Story," by Dallas Curry
2nd Place: "The Games We Play," by Latisha Spikes-Brown
3rd place: "Room for Two," by Donni "Les" Anderson

CSU Playwriting Winners:

1st Place: "Dad's Not Dead," by Maja Nearing
2nd Place: "The Call," by Kiera King
3rd Place: "My Sin To Hide," by Christina Ricks

CSU Expository Essay Winners:

1st Place: "Text without Context:” Jessard Deal’s Literary Allusions in Louis Owens’ The Sharpest Sight, by Maja Nearing
2nd Place: "Binaries, Identity, Community, and Bridging the Gap," by Melanie Miller
3rd Place: "Gawain Reborn," by Sidney Ducleroir

2021 CMLA Award Winners

High School Poetry: Brick Road Greear Prize for Poetry

First Place: Gabrielle DeWeese, “Taurean Fathoms,” Alan C. Pope High School
Second Place: Rebekah E. Smith, “I am a Columbus Author,” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts
Third Place: Sydney Womack, “Aesthete,” Columbus High School


High School Fiction: Dr. Joseph Francavilla Prize for Fiction

First Place: Macy Cardwell, “The Song We Were,” Homeschool
Second Place: Charlotte Young, “The Invaders,” Columbus High School
Third Place: Jasmine Drawdy, “697 Miles,” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts


High School Creative Nonfiction: Melissa Pritchard Schley and Dr. Philip Schley Prize

First Place: Andrew Song, "Long Way Home," Heritage High School
Second Place: Macy Cardwell, "I Talk to My Mother's Best Friend," Homeschool
Third Place: Emily Woody, “The Reality of Negativity," Heritage High School


High School Expository Essay: Susan Schley Gristina Prize for Expository Essay

First Place: Andrew Song, “Treasures of Sierra Madre: A Critique of Laissez-Faire,” Heritage High School
Second Place: Bobby Livingston, “How Should Thomas Jefferson be Commemorated in the 21st Century?”Columbus High School
Third Place: Khayla Truitt, “AAVE vs ‘Internet Slang’: Muzzling Black Voices,” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts


High School Screenwriting:

First Place: Brynn Dean, "Becoming the Department Head," Heritage High School
Second Place: Beth Webb, "The Rose," Heritage High School
Third Place: Ivie Kirby, "Bats!" Rainey McCullers School of the Arts


High School Playwriting:

First Place: Andrew Song “Blackjack,” Heritage High School
Second Place: Sarah Phillis, “Squirrels...” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts

CSU Poetry: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry

First Place: Sidney Ducleroir, “Secrete/Secret”
Second Place: Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson, “From Lavinia to Creusa”
Third Place: Adrienne Baxter-McNeil, “Chocolate”


CSU Fiction: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction

First Place: Gavin Moss, "Northern Lights"
Second Place: Jeffrey J Maynard, "Peripheral"
Third Place: Kiara Herron, "Shallow"


CSU Creative Nonfiction: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction

First Place: Vivian Duncan, “Oxford Pre-Pandemic”
Second Place: Hayley Maine, “I Don't Cry at Funerals”
Third Place: Anayia Cook, “The (re) Creation of Joe”


CSU Expository Essay: Naartjie Multimedia Prize in Expository Essay

First Place: Anayia Cook, “Gandalf the White in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings”
Second Place: Cynthia Short, “Exposed: Media and Opinion”
Third Place: Kayla Pipkins, “Her Philosophy”


CSU Screenwriting:

First Place: Dallas Curry, “Projects”
Second Place: Donni "Les" Anderson, “Little Victories”
Third Place: Jeffery J Maynard, “Sunken Ship”


CSU Playwriting: Dr. Barbara Hunt Prize in Playwriting

First Place: Theodore Pound, “Elmer and Paul
Second Place: Katherine Lovern, “Phoenix”
Third Place: Dallas Curry, “Tone Deaf”

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