| Department of English

Justine Murison on Norton Library Podcast

Illinois English professor and department head Justine Murison appeared on the Norton Library Podcast's two-episode series on Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" to discuss Hawthorne's life...

Read more about Justine Murison on Norton Library Podcast

Illinois English alumna Connie Frank earns LAS Humanitarian Award

2026-02-24

View of Foellinger Auditorium from the Quad

English alumna Connie Frank has been named the 2026 College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Humanitarian Award winner. The College of LAS will recognize Frank and the other six award recipients during this year's alumni awards celebration in April. This year's honorees are researchers,...

Susan Koshy to lead Illinois faculty team awarded Mellon Foundation's Sawyer Seminar grant

2026-02-24

A multi-disciplinary team of faculty researchers from the University of Illinois has been awarded a Sawyer Seminar grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to study the challenges to democracy and academic freedom confronting US universities now. This is the first time in the 30-year...

Awards & Scholarships Details

Read more about Awards & Scholarships Details

The Department of English offers merit scholarships totaling more than $100,000 in an annual competition in the spring.

David Wright Faladé inducted into Texas Institute of Letters

2026-02-19

Illinois English professor and author David Wright Faladé was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters. The honor society, whose members include MacArthur Fellows and Pulitzer Prize winners, was founded in 1936 to...

Four members of the Department of English honored with LAS Teaching, Advising Awards

2026-02-18

Four members of the Department of English have been selected by the College of LAS as the recipients of this year’s teaching and advising awards. Instructors Barry Hudek, Cassidy Short, and Corey Van Landingham, and academic advisor Anna Ivy were among 19 professors, graduate students,...

Creative Writing Awards & Competitions

Read more about Creative Writing Awards & Competitions

The Creative Writing program organizes numerous annual contests to recognize and support outstanding literary work from students of all majors.

How to apply for merit scholarships

Read more about How to apply for merit scholarships

Numerous scholarships recognize and reward outstanding achievements by English department students, including English majors, Creative Writing majors, and Teaching of English students. Learn how to apply for merit scholarships.

Illinois English professor explores his lost family history in new poetry collection

2026-01-30

A photo of Angel Garcia next to the cover of his new poetry collection titled "Indifferent Cities"

Poet Ángel García examines his disrupted family lineage in his new collection of poetry, seeking answers about where he came from and trying to fill the many gaps in his family’s story.“...

At 250 years after Jane Austen’s birth, why do her novels remain so popular?

2025-12-19

This week marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth — she was born Dec. 16, 1775 — and fans of her novels have been celebrating with tea parties, brunches, and balls. Her novels — including “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma” — enjoy immense popularity. They are the...

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