Sigma Tau Delta values creative and scholarly contributions that represent diversity of abilities, races, and identities, and we present special awards for the best among these submissions. Sigma Tau Delta also awards Alumni papers, and Sigma Kappa Delta (our sister organization at two-year schools) also rewards excellent submissions by their members. We recognized excellence by awarding over $12,000 for the best convention submissions at the 2024 Awards Luncheon.
Given for the best presentations by active student members at the Sigma Tau Delta Centennial Convention, these awards were established in 1991 by Isabel Sparks, the fifth President of Sigma Tau Delta. Awards are given to both creative and critical papers across all submission categories. Awards are always given for creative and critical papers about the 2024 Common Reader Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007 – 2020.
Original Fiction: Kelly Taylor
First Place ($500)
Kelly Taylor
Chapman University, CA
“The Butterflies”
Second Place ($300)
Isabella Melendez
Chapman University, CA
“A Collection of Longing”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Carolina Atkins
Palm Beach Atlantic University, FL
“Dominion”
Katherine Bechter
Liberty University, VA
“Entertaining the Dead”
Creative Nonfiction: (left to right) Elisa Vigil, Erin O’Donnell, & Faith Montagnino
First Place ($500)
Melinda Mullet
Whitworth University, WA
“The Day After Easter”
Second Place ($300)
Faith Montagnino
The University of Scranton, PA
“The Metaphor and Remembrance: September 11, 2001”
Third Place ($200)
Erin O’Donnell
Northern Michigan University, MI
“Demeter & Daughter”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Elisa Vigil
Whitworth University, WA
“WE WERE HERE”
Emiliann Williams
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC
“I Tell Myself Stories”
Original Poetry: Emily Rowland
First Place ($500)
Sara Rabinowitz
Marist College, NY
“Change of Mind and Other Transformations”
Second Place ($300)
Basil Payne
Utah State University, Logan, UT
“Queerness in Nature”
Third Place ($200)
Grace Miller
Palm Beach Atlantic University, FL
“Adolescence”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Brooke Millard
Marist College, NY
“Harmony of Life”
Sa’Nya Polo
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC
“From Dead to Worse”
Emily Rowland
Union University, TN
“I Will Slowly Turn to Face the Sun”
Critical Essays: British Literature: (left to right) Isaiah Russell & Sarah Lognion
First Place ($500)
Sarah Lognion
McNeese State University, LA
“Parallels Between Travel Narratives and Much Ado about Nothing”
Second Place ($300)
Kris Carpenter
Utah State University, Logan, UT
“The Justice of Giving in Shakespeare’s King Lear”
Third Place ($200)
Isaiah Russell
Fort Hays State University, KS
“Mobility as Modernity in Dracula”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Grace Malinowski
Palm Beach Atlantic University, FL
“Femininity and Gender in James Joyce’s Ulysses”
Critical Essays: Non-British Literature: (left to right) Ashley Perry, Alexandria Card, Claire Kim, Erika Girard, & Hallie Wielfaert
First Place ($500)
Ashley Perry
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, FL
“This Barbie is a Liberal Feminist”
Second Place ($300)
Hallie Wielfaert
Lee University, TN
“Hell in Structure, Function, and Realization”
Third Place ($200)
Sarah Pouliot
Palm Beach Atlantic University, FL
“An Ethical Poetical Critique of The Jungle Book”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Alexandria Card
The College of New Jersey, NJ
“Analyzing Gender Construction through Demon Slayer”
Claire Kim
The College of New Jersey, NJ
“The Concept of Time in How You Stop the Time War”
Erika Girard
Southern New Hampshire University – Online, NH
“Becoming Offred: Names in Handmaid’s Tale”
Common Reader: (left to right) Eunice Tan, Autumn Koors-Foltz, Bethany Belkowski, & Elijah Wilhelm
First Place ($500)
Bethany Belkowski
The University of Scranton, PA
“Power and Vulnerability in Phillips’ ‘Electric'”
Second Place ($300)
Eunice Tan
Union University, TN
“Ah-Gong Pancake”
Third Place ($200)
Elijah Wilhelm
Park University, MO
“Watch a Silence, Mirror of ‘Sing a Darkness'”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Autumn Koors-Foltz
University of Maine at Farmington, ME
“the river’s door”
Each year, these awards recognize critical essays and creative works by active students and alumni writing on the convention theme; this year’s theme is In Flux. The monetary prizes are given in honor of Judson Q. Owen, the first National Secretary of Sigma Tau Delta.
Convention Theme: (left to right) Avery Sutherland, Kathryn Jorgensen, & Danielle Parisi
First Place ($500)
Danielle Parisi
University of Evansville, IN
“Letterpress from the Perspective of a Writer”
Second Place ($300)
Kathryn Jorgensen
The College of New Jersey, NJ
“The Legacy of Monstrous Women”
Third Place ($200)
Avery Sutherland
Elon University, NC
“Covid-19 Poetry and Social Crisis”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Rica Lelina
The University of Texas at Dallas, TX
“Viking Bark”
This award is given yearly to honor excellence in convention presentations for “Critical Work on Poetry or a Poet.” Beth DeMeo was an active member of Sigma Tau Delta, having served as a Chapter Advisor, Eastern Regent, and President of Sigma Tau Delta. Over her many dedicated years of service, Beth planned and hosted several annual conventions. Additionally, she continued to serve on committees and always participated in judging convention submissions. In particular, Beth enjoyed being part of the small group who ranked the student submissions that were eligible for convention awards, especially in poetry. Beth was both a lover of poetry and an accomplished poet herself. It is fitting to celebrate her life and her commitment to our group by presenting this annual convention award in her memory.
Beth DeMeo Poetry Award: (left to right) Gideon Hatt, Maggie Machado, & Jaxon Tueller
First Place ($500)
Mia Donaldson
SUNY, College at Geneseo, NY
“Devoted Mundanity and Queer Genre in Dickinson’s Late Letter-Poems”
Second Place ($300)
Gideon Hatt
Cottey College, MO
“Sandra Cisneros’ ‘Down There’ as Menstrual Activism”
Third Place ($200)
Jaxon Tueller
Utah Tech University, UT
“Navajo Language: Rebirth in Poetry”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Maggie Machado
The College of New Jersey, NJ
“Matelda: A Feminist Deconstruction”
Sigma Tau Deltans Kevin Stemmler and Larry Dennis are sponsoring the Stemmler/Dennis LGBT& Awards to be given annually for outstanding convention work representing or celebrating the LGBT community and its literary contributions. The award acknowledges the variety of voices that have too often been ignored in scholarship and in creative work. In addition to providing representation for our Society’s membership, the award compensates for the historical lack of LGBT recognition, specifically in academic settings.
Stemmler/Dennis LGBT& Awards—Creative: (left to right) Kevin Stemmler, Isabella Hardin, Dimitri Bartels-Bray, Jamison Conforto, Elias Kerr, Kaitlynn Sass, & Larry Dennis
First Place ($500)
Dimitri Bartels-Bray
The University of Scranton, PA
“Climbing”
Second Place ($300)
Isabella Hardin
University of Kentucky, KY
“Mulatto Magic”
Third Place ($200)
Kaitlynn Sass
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA
“The Day I Turned Invisible”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Jamison Conforto
Southern Utah University, UT
“Antelope Boy: Gender and Human Identity”
Elias Kerr
University of Scranton, PA
“trans [re]incarnation—[re]living this body’s birth”
Cara Bond
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, MD
“Black Tie: A Ten-Minute Play”
Stemmler/Dennis LGBT& Awards—Critical: (left to right) Emily Ambery, Larry Dennis, Megan Finan, Amy Webb, Kevin Stemmler, & Matthew Chinique
First Place ($500)
Matthew Chinique
The College of New Jersey, NJ
“Fun Home: Fluency in Gender Performance”
Second Place ($300)
Emily Ambery
Duquesne University, PA
“Left Hand of Darkness: Language Failing Androgeny”
Third Place ($200)
Shannon Ervay
SUNY, College at Geneseo, NY
“Queering Gender in the 19th Century”
Honorable Mention ($100)
Megan Finan
The College of New Jersey
“Transgender Protagonists in Middle-Grade Novels”
Taylor Beam
Shepherd University, WV
“Aristotle & Dante: Cheesy Queer Romance of Today”
Amy Webb
Luther College, IA
“Stone Fruit: Inner Wildness and Queer Identity”
Chapter Displays: Utah State University, Logan chapter members and Convention Award winners—(left to right) Basil Payne (Original Poetry, 2nd place) & Kris Carpenter (Critical Essays: British Literature, 2nd place)
First Place ($250)
Uriah Greer
Northeastern State University, OK, Alum
“The Dixie Asian Market”
Second Place ($200)
Ella Wisniewski
University of Notre Dame, IN, Alum
“Wonderstruck”
Chloe Bollin
Cottey College, MO
“Sexuality, Patriarchy, Symbolism in ‘A White Heron'”
Beyond convention submissions, Sigma Tau Delta also gives prizes for “Outstanding Chapter Displays” (posters displayed and judged during Convention).
First Place ($100)
Alpha Upsilon Phi Chapter
University of North Georgia, Gainesville, GA
Second Place ($75)
Alpha Psi Nu Chapter
The University of Texas at Dallas, TX
Rho Tau Chapter
Utah State University, Logan, UT