Harman-Sponsored Student Writing Contests

Every year, the Harman Program holds several writing contests that are open to the entire student body. Submissions come from Harman students and non-Harman students alike, from all three schools.  The immense creativity that floods in, with every piece belonging to a voice that is entirely unique in tone and experience, never fails to amaze us.

There are two types of contests sponsored by the Harman Program. The first is the semesterly creative writing contest, judged by the current Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence. The kind of submissions desired for each contest varies with the desires of the judge. So far, we’ve had submissions of fiction, non-fiction, memoir, journalism, poetry, screenwriting, songwriting, and graphic storytelling. Most recently, judge Ersi Sotiropoulos had students submit works of fictional memoir.

The second contest, offered every Spring semester, is the Jerome L. Schulman Memorial Poetry Contest, judged by Professor Grace Schulman. Prof. Schulman, who has taught poetry at Baruch for fifty years, is an esteemed writer and in 2016 won the Frost Medal for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in American Poetry, an award given by the Poetry Society of America. Poems of all topics and styles are welcome.

Winners of each contest receive a monetary prize and are given the chance to read their work aloud at a prize-giving ceremony to their peers. The works are later published in Baruch’s literary and arts publication, Encounters Magazine. 

Check out the previous competitions and winners, along with their prize-winning work:

Harman Creative Writing Contest

Jerome L. Schulman Memorial Poetry Contest 

If you have any questions, please reach out to:

harmanassistant@gmail.com