Six Students Vie For Washington College’s $74k Sophie Kerr Prize

Washington College has named six students to its short list for the 2025 Sophie Kerr Prize, which is valued at just over $74,000 this year. Now in its 58^th year, the prize continues to be the nation’s largest literary award for a college student and totals more than the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award combined. The winner will be announced at a ceremony this Friday, May 16, after the finalists all read from their work. The announcement will be livestreamed on YouTube.

Courtney Rydel, associate professor of English and chair of the English department, announced the graduating seniors vying for this year’s prize. They hail from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California. Their portfolios included examinations of what creates a sense of self and explorations of gender expectations and womanhood and span poetry, prose, essays, short stories, excerpts from novels, and more.

The 2025 Sophie Kerr Award finalists are:

 Sky Abruzzo, an English major with minors in Creative Writing and Journalism, Editing and Publishing from Manassas, Virgina.

Riley Dauber, an English major with minors in Creative Writing; Journalism, Editing and Publishing; and Communications and Media Studies from West Reading, Pennsylvania.

Natalie Martinaitis, an English major with minors in Creative Writing and Journalism, Editing and Publishing from Columbia, Maryland. Martinaitis had a novel published in her junior year.

Evan Merk, a Biology and Environmental Science major from Fort Washington, MD.

Brionna Odell, an English major from Baltimore, Maryland.

Lucy Verlaque, an English major with minors in c Creative Writing and Journalism, Editing and Publishing; and Gender Studies from Santa Clarita, California.

“Everyone who submits a portfolio for the Sophie Kerr Prize shows courage, in allowing others to scrutinize the work they hold so dear,” said Rydel. “It further takes incredible talent, persistence, and aesthetic insight to produce writing on the level that these finalists have created. We look forward to hearing them share their exciting and original work in the reading in Friday’s prize ceremony.”

A proud tradition of Washington College’s liberal arts education, the Sophie Kerr Prize is named for an early 20th century writer from the Eastern Shore of Maryland who published more than 20 novels and hundreds of short stories. In her will, Kerr left a generous bequest to the College with the stipulation that half of its annual proceeds fund a literary prize for a student.

Open to all Washington College students from any major, the prize is awarded each year to the graduating senior who has the best ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor. In the past, it has been awarded for both creative and critical writing alike. A full list of Sophie Kerr Prize winners since its inception in 1968 is available online.

Portfolios submitted for consideration encompass the full range of writing that students pursue at Washington College, including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenplays and drama, journalism, editing, scholarly criticism, and research in all disciplines, and even song lyrics. A committee comprising full-time faculty in the English Department and the President review and make the final decision. Winners are chosen for their literary excellence, regardless of genre.

The winner will be announced at Friday night’s award ceremony at 7:30 p.m. EST in Hotchkiss Recital Hall at Washington College’s Gibson Center for the Arts. The ceremony is open to the public and will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

In addition to the life-changing literary award, the support made possible by Sophie Kerr’s gift continues to fund experiences and offerings for Washington College students throughout the academic year. For more than 50 years the endowment has brought many of the nation’s top writers, editors, and scholars to Washington’s campus including Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Pinsky, Edward Albee, Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, James McBride, Eamon Grennan, Charles Simic, and Jane Smiley. Funding scholarships and internships and enabling research in literature, writing, and publishing, round out the impressive impact made possible by the Sophie Kerr legacy.