By Leslie Collins
Elm Staff Writer
The Sophie Kerr Prize is an award presented to one skilled and driven senior at Washington College every year. Valued at $65,770 in 2016, it is the nation’s largest literary prize awarded solely to undergraduate students.
“The committee, following the instructions in Sophie Kerr’s will awards the prize to the student who has the best ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor,” said Dr. Kathryn Moncrief, chair of the English department.“We have so many talented writers at WC that it is always challenging to select a winner,” she said. “By naming finalists we are able to recognize the achievements and potential of more students.”
The process of choosing the winner involves every member of the full-time English Department and the WC president.
Once all of the senior submissions have been sent in electronically, the committee goes to work reading every piece and narrowing the broad group of submissions down to a narrow pool.
“Before meeting as a group to vote on the winner and finalists, each member submits a ranked list of approximately six to10 names to the chair of the English Department,” said Dr. Moncrief.
From there, the committee takes a democratic approach to choosing the winner. Members of the committee tally lists, cast votes, and have discussions about each of the submissions before determining a winner and a group of finalists.
Dr. Moncrief made it clear that the Sophie Kerr prize is for any senior regardless of major, genre, or writing style. Also, the award is not a creative writing prize. Critical or analytical writing is considered as well.
The most important criteria needed to win are that it must be your strongest writing and every submission must have a literary focus. 
As long as literary focus is involved, a submission can contain a wide variety of genres. Dr. Moncrief said, “This may include critical essays, creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, journalism, stage plays, screenplays, blogging, graphic novels, or other hybrid forms.”
One person who knows what it takes to be a Sohpie Kerr winner is Emma L. Sovich. Sovich, a current English professor, received the esteemed award back in 2008. Back then, she was an English major with minors in creative writing and studio art.
When asked what the hardest part of putting the portfolio together was, Sovich said, “Selecting nonfiction and academic work to support my poetry was perhaps the most difficult. I wanted to show that I had some breadth as well as depth, but still have everything in my portfolio feel as if it came from the same place in me.”
Sovich knew that, should she win the prize, she would go to graduate school after working for several years. Even with this plan in mind, she was unsure of her submissions, saying she was, “worried that none of it was good enough.”
Sovich gave some advice for future applicants, saying, “Help each other. Wish the best for each other. Apply. Remember you’re being judged on your potential, and there can only be one winner. Winning or not doesn’t guarantee you success or failure after the fact. It’s a beginning, and what you do after this ordeal is more important than anything you’ve already done.”