San Francisco Browning Society Award

The Browning Society Award is given each year to a San Francisco State University creative writing student. All entries must be original, unpublished dramatic monologues. The contest seeks to attract new readers to the works of Robert Browning and, in particular, to invite student writers to show their skill in handling the unique form of the dramatic monologue, for which Browning is best known.

Submissions are usually due in November.  Any SFSU Creative Writing student may submit up to 2 poems of not more than 5 pages each.

Attach a cover letter to your manuscript with your name, address, phone number, and social security number.  The poems will be judged anonymously, so please do not put your name on the poems!  Use a separate cover sheet for each entry.  Submit an original and 2 copies of your work (that's 3 copies total) to: THE POETRY CENTER, HUM 512.

Poets retain full rights to their work, but manuscripts will not be returned.

Winners will be announced in the spring semester, and will be contacted at their home addresses. 

All winners are invited to the March meeting of the Browning Society.  The first place winner is also invited to read at the Student Awards Reading at the Poetry Center in the spring.

SFBS member of the board reading a prize-winning poem.

2013 Award Recipients

The Gita Specker Award -

  Shobha Rao for "Partition, 1947, or The Lost Ribbon"

Myna Brunton Hughes Award-

Diana Rosinus for "The Fire"

Frances Morgan Award -

Jesus Eduardo Tapia for "Literary Pain"

Kay Stewart Award Jack Soffel for "Tara Worth's Dreadful Affray"

Phil Persky Award -

  Russell Horvath for "Mediapocalypse"

Elizabeth Patterson Award -

Dennis Parks congratulates Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez for "Tia Margo's Torturer"

Joan Ohanneson Award -

Madeline Mahrer for "Pet Shop"

The awards were presented on Friday, March 8th, 2013 in San Francisco.

2012 Awards' Recipients

FIRST PLACE $300

SECOND PLACE $200

THIRD PLACE $100

3 HONORABLE MENTIONS $50 each.