The Creative Nonfiction Standing Group of the Conference on College Composition and Communication is delighted to announce the winner of the 2025 Donald Murray Award for creative nonfiction: "The Michelin Stars We Can’t See: On AI, Ambition, and the Roads We’re Sold" by Jason Tham (Texas Tech).
The judges selected "Our Friend Nirmam" by Sarah Fielding (St. Louis Community College at Wildwood) as an honorable mention. Both essays will be published in WOE 34.1 Spring 2026.
2026 Contest
We invite submissions for the 2026 Donald Murray Prize. This annual award goes to the best work of creative nonfiction on the subject of language, writing, teaching, or the teaching of writing. Submissions from current and former post-secondary teachers of writing, including graduate students are encouraged. This award was first established at CCCC in 2002 in honor of Donald Murray, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, professor, and author of numerous books and influential articles on writing and the teaching of writing.
Entries will be judged by members of the CNF Standing Group, the editors of Writing on the Edge, and a specially selected final judge. The winner will receive publication in the Spring 2027 issue of Writing on the Edge. All entries will be considered for publication in the journal. The winner will be recognized at the CNF SIG meeting during the 2027 CCCC convention.
Submissions Guidelines:
Length Limit: 8,000 words maximum (2500–4500 preferred)
Entry Fee: None
1st Prize: $250 and publication in WOE.
Deadline for Submission: Nov. 15th, 2026
Entries may not have been previously published in any form, electronically or in print, including blog posts. Please submit entries in PDF or Microsoft Word to the WOE online submissions system. Enter "Donald Murray Prize Submission" in the space for abstracts.