Applications for 2026 are now open through July 15th, 2026. Please fill out our Global Application for Awards. Submissions should be no more than ten pages in total and should be unpublished at the time of submission. You must be a SAMLA member.
Each year, SAMLA is pleased to award outstanding creative work written by graduate students. The award alternates yearly between Prose and Poetry. The 2026 edition honors Prose, and the prize includes a $250 honorarium and publication of the winning work in the South Atlantic Review.
If you are a professor seeking to nominate the work of your student, please inform the student that they must fill out the Awards Application themselves should they be interested. We no longer accept applications submitted on behalf of someone else.
Submitting an application implies attendance at the annual conference, where the winner will be announced at our awards ceremony.
SAMLA 97 Award Winner
Li Zhuang
Florida State University
Graduate Student Creative Writing Award Committee
Michele Shaul (2025)
Queens University of Charlotte
Jessi Morton (2026)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Laura Valeri (2027)
Georgia Southern University
Heike Scharm (2028)
University of South Florida
JC Reilly (2029)
Georgia Institute of Technology
If you are interested in committee service, please contact the SAMLA office via email.
