Description of Prizes

The 2011-2012 Ilona Karmel Writing Prizes

For complete details refer to Guidelines

Ellen King Prize for Freshman Writing

Writing by freshmen at MIT in any category is eligible; e.g., short story, poetry (must contain at least three poems), essay, and drama.
AWARDS: $300 first prize, $200 second prize, $150 third prize.

Enterprise Poets Prize for Imagining a Future

Essays, short stories or poems, that convincingly imagine a future human enterprise are eligible. The word enterprise is used in the broadest possible sense to cover products, processes, companies, industries, forms of government, social movements, artistic forms - any human endeavor. This prize is open to undergraduate and graduate MIT students. 
AWARDS: $350 first prize, $200 second prize.

Robert A. Boit Writing Prize

Writing by MIT undergraduate students in the categories of essay, poetry and short story is eligible.
AWARDS IN EACH CATEGORY: $300 first prize, $250 second prize, $150 third prize.

S. Klein Prizes

• for Science Writing
  Manuscripts should be intended for non-specialized but educated audiences and show evidence of publishable quality.
• for Technical Writing
  Manuscripts should be intended for an audience of peers and professionals.

Open to MIT undergraduate and graduate students. For both prizes entries should be 10-40 pages long, not including appendices. Co-authored entries are acceptable, if all authors are MIT undergraduate or graduate students at the time of submission.
AWARDS IN EACH CATEGORY: $300 first prize, $200 second prize.

DeWitt Wallace Prize for Science Writing for the Public

Writing of any length addressed to lay audiences on issues and developments in science, medicine, and engineering. Works of any length are eligible. Open to MIT undergraduate students only.
AWARDS: $350 first prize, $200 second prize, $150 third prize.

Boit Manuscript Prize

Works of substantial length by MIT undergraduate students are eligible in the categories of fiction, poetry (minimum length of 200 lines or 10-15 poems), essay, and drama (a play in one act or equivalent). Manuscripts eligible for entry must be less than 50 pages. This prize is awarded for longer works and collections, in any category mentioned above, which give evidence of publishable quality. Both completed manuscripts and those in progress are eligible.
AWARDS IN EACH CATEGORY: $350 first prize, $200 second prize, $150 third prize.

Writing and Humanistic Studies Prize for Engineering Writing

Writing by MIT undergraduate students on any topic of professional interest to engineers, is eligible. Maximum length is 40 pages, not including appendices. Reports and manuals originally written to satisfy course requirements are acceptable, as are self-contained extracts from undergrduate theses. Each submission must be presented in a form which would be suitable for publication as a journal article and must include an abstract. Each entry longer than 20 pages must include a table of contents. Figures and tables must be neatly drawn and properly labeled. Co-authored entries are acceptable, if all authors are MIT undergraduate students at the time of submission.
AWARDS: $250 first prize, $200 second prize, $150 third prize.

Prize for Writing Science Fiction

Writing by MIT undergraduate students in the category of science fiction short story.
AWARDS: $350 first prize; $200 second prize; $150 third prize..

Vera List Prize for Writing on the Visual Arts

Writing by MIT undergraduate students should demonstrate unusual and thoughtful expression on some aspect of contemporary visual art.  Sponsored by the List Visual Arts Center.
AWARDS: $500 first prize, $250 second prize (Sponsored by the List Visual Arts Center)