Submit for the 2020 Paul Hughes Memorial Writing Award!

Creative Writing Contest for ECU Students

 The Department of English and Languages announces the 2020 Paul Hughes Memorial Writing Award, an annual creative writing competition open to all East Central University students.  Any form of creative writing, including poetry, fiction, drama, teleplay, screenplay, and creative nonfiction, is eligible for consideration.

To submit, take your name off the pages of the files you wish to submit and attach the files to an email. In the body of the email type your name, student ID number, major, and classification (senior, junior, sophomore, freshman, graduate student, or concurrent high school student – all are eligible). You may place all of your works into one file and or into separate files. You must submit them through email to mwalling@ecok.edu by 10: 00 a.m. on Monday, April 13, 2020. This deadline will be strictly enforced.

Students may submit a total of five individual works (3 poems, 1 story, 1 essay) or (1 poem, 1 story, 3 essays). The judges can make awards based upon one work or five works. The quality of the writing more than the amount is of highest concern to the judges. Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place.  Last year, the awards were $300, $200, and $100. 

Format

Submitted manuscripts for the award should be neatly typed in a clear 12-pt. font. Prose should be double-spaced. Poetry should be single-spaced except to separate stanzas. Do not place your name on the creative work(s). In the body of the email that submits your works, place your name, student ID number, major and classification. Individual prose submissions may not exceed 10,000 words. Individual poems may not exceed 150 lines. 

Who was Paul Hughes?

Born in Roff, Paul Hughes attended Ada High School and earned his B.A. with honors from East Central in 1936.  At ECU, Hughes served as president of the senior class, editor of the campus newspaper, and captain of the debate team.  At age 27, Hughes published his first novel, Retreat from Rostov, with Random House.  He went on to publish 15 other books, including Challenge at Changsa (Macmillan), Jeff (John Day), and The Salsbury Story (Univ. of Arizona Press), and numerous short stories in magazines such as Collier's, Seventeen, Woman's Home Companion, Vogue, and Liberty.  After a brief term as night editor of the Ada Evening News, Hughes began a long career with KTAR Radio and Television, becoming one of the most recognizable air personalities in Arizona. In 1971, he gave the ECU commencement address and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.