The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, created by Avery Hopwood.

According to Avery Hopwood's will, one-fifth of his estate was given to the university's regents to support writing creative works. Avery Hopwood was a well-known American playwright and a 1905 graduate of the University of Michigan. The first awards were given in 1931, and today, the Hopwood Program gives about $120,000 in prizes each year to aspiring writers at the University of Michigan. According to Nicholas Delbanco, a professor of English at the University of Michigan and a former director of the Hopwood Awards Program, "This is the oldest and best-known series of writing prizes in the country, and it is a very good indicator of future success."

Contests and prizes

Awards are given in these types of writing: drama/screenplay, essay, novel, short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. These awards are divided into two groups, graduate or undergraduate, except for the novel and drama/screenplay, which are in the same group. Prize money for this contest changes, but it is usually between $1000 and $6000.

The Summer Hopwood Contest ended in 2017, but copies of winning works from that contest are still kept in the Hopwood Room. When it was active, the contest was only open to students who were taking writing classes during spring and summer terms. Awards were given in the categories of drama or screenplay, nonfiction, short fiction, and poetry. Novels were not allowed to enter the Summer Hopwood Contest.

This contest is only open to students who are freshmen or sophomores and are taking writing classes. Awards are given in the categories of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.

Hopwood Program

The Hopwood Program manages the Hopwood Award and several other writing awards. It is located in the Hopwood Room at the University of Michigan and helps meet the needs and interests of Hopwood contestants. The room was created by Professor Roy W. Cowden, who directed the Hopwood Awards from 1933 to 1952. He gave generously from his personal library, which has expanded over time with the addition of many books about modern literature. The Hopwood Room stores winning entries from past contests. It also includes a lending library with books from the 20th century, a collection of magazines that are not checked out, reference books about how to publish writing, information about graduate and summer writing programs, and a collection of screenplays donated by former Hopwood winner Lawrence Kasdan.