Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers
Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation · Direct application
Eligibility
About this scholarship
The Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers is the only national award of its kind recognizing Black college writers. First-place winners in fiction and poetry each receive a $1,000 cash prize, free tuition to a Hurston/Wright writing workshop, and a seat at the foundation's Legacy Awards ceremony. Past winners include acclaimed novelists Brit Bennett and Tayari Jones.
The competition is open to emerging Black writers enrolled full-time in an undergraduate or graduate program anywhere in the United States. Applicants submit an original fiction manuscript or poetry collection through the foundation's online submission portal.
Submissions for the 2026 College Award closed April 1, 2026; the award is presented annually.