Baltimore Woman Wins Washington College's Sophie Kerr Prize, Nation's Largest Undergraduate Literary Award
CHESTERTOWN, Md. (WJZ) -- A Washington College student from Baltimore won the nation's largest undergraduate literary award.
Shannon Moran, an English major from Baltimore with minors in music and creative writing, won the 2019 Sophie Kerr Prize worth $63, 912.
Moran, whose poetry and prose "deftly relates issues of gender, trauma, and the body," accepted the award at Washington College Friday evening.
"This dream was built on four years of hard work, dedication to a craft, and a love for it. Thank you for every single person who has helped me become a better writer," Moran said. "May we never stop loving, giving support, and caring for the arts and for those who live within them."
Now in its 52 year, the Sophie Kerr Prize is the nation's largest undergraduate literary award and is conferred annually to the graduating senior whose work shows the most "ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor."
Moran was chosen among six finalists who represented majors across the liberal arts including political science, English, music and Hispanic studies.
