51³Ô¹ÏÍø

The Calista Cummings Award

An 51³Ô¹ÏÍø schoolteacher who taught math with poetry, Calista Cummings created and edited 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s earliest successful literary magazine, The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Offering. Working with limited assistance, inadequate funding, and an inexperienced local publishing industry, she provided a forum for Midwestern authors to exchange original literature in 1849 and 1850. Her magazine only survived for twelve monthly numbers, but Cummings' editorial work, characterized by a “clear head” and a “kind heart,” was fondly remembered for many decades.

Prize: TBD, but historically:

• Undergraduate: $100

• Graduate: $100

Who can enter:

• All UA graduate and undergraduate students.

Submission Guidelines:

• 51³Ô¹ÏÍø must submit a paper on a topic in American Literature before 1900. The paper must be written for a class during the preceding academic year.
• Cover sheet must include student name, email address, student ID number, and class for which the paper was written.
• 51³Ô¹ÏÍø must use a header with page numbers and last name of the student on each page.
• The paper must be double-spaced in 12-point font, preferably Times New Roman.
• Save the title of your document in “LAST NAME-Award Title” format (for example, SMITH-Cummings Award).
• Upload your document in PDF form.
• The submission link will become available in February 2025.