Duke University English Department

06/23/2026

Aarthi Vadde, E.

06/17/2026

The 2026 awards honor individuals who consistently demonstrate outstanding service, leadership, initiative, community, collaboration, enthusiasm and inclusion.

06/16/2026

Now in its second cohort, the award honors three members of Trinity's graduating Ph.D. class who demonstrated remarkable outstanding scholarship and academic excellence.

06/10/2026

Sophomore year is when things start to click, and the unknowns become the familiar. Classes feel more purposeful, friendships run deeper, routines develop and campus becomes home. As our four Trinity students return, the series picks back up to follow their next chapter focused on exploring new oppo...

06/08/2026

Professor Jaji will give the Annual Juneteenth Lecture!

06/05/2026

Are you an undergraduate who enjoys creative writing? You could win an award for your talents!

The Rudolph William Rosati Creative Writing Award

The Rosati Creative Writing Prize is awarded each spring in recognition of an outstanding work of creative writing. All Duke first year or sophomore students are eligible to submit work for consideration. Projects may be any genre and take any form (audio/video, digital media, etc.), but must include a substantial creative writing component.

Deadline: June 15th, 2026

Prize: $1500

For more details: https://library.duke.edu/research/awards/rosati

The William Styron Creative Writing Award

The Styron Creative Writing Prize is awarded each spring in recognition of an outstanding work of creative writing. All Duke juniors and seniors are eligible to submit work for consideration. Projects may be any genre and take any form (audio/video, digital media, etc.), but must include a substantial creative writing component.

Deadline: June 15th, 2026

Prize: $1500

For more details: https://library.duke.edu/research/awards/styron

Eligibility for both awards:

You must be a Duke first year or sophomore student (or just finished that year). Duke juniors and seniors may apply for the William Styron Creative Writing Award.
You may submit no more than three different projects in a given year. Each project should be submitted individually with an accompanying application.
Submitted projects must have been written during the current academic year
At this time submissions must be written in English
No minimum length. No more than 50 pages for each submission can be submitted. The total work can be longer, but in that case only submit a carefully selected sample.

Contact Arianne Hartsell-Gundy, Librarian for Literature, at [email protected], if you have questions.

06/03/2026

"Everything & the Universe" was directed by Sarah Scarlett Downing, a former Duke English PhD Duke Student Involvement and Leadership.

Durham is somewhat of a main character in 'Everything & the Universe,' streaming since last year on Amazon Prime. Why has no one heard of it?

06/03/2026

05/29/2026

https://english.duke.edu/news/2026-phd-hooding-ceremony-recap

On May 9, 2025, The Graduate School held two Ph.D. Hooding Ceremonies at Duke Chapel to celebrate its 2025–⁠2026 doctoral graduates. Duke's largest Ph.D. class ever, 466

05/21/2026

Victor Strandberg is retiring at age 91. The English professor reflects on what’s changed—including Blue Devils basketball—and what comes next for him.