Named for the long-standing Chair of the English Department, the Nancy Comley Prize was established in 2012 to honor the best essay written by a graduate student matriculated in the Queens College English MA, MS Ed, or MAT programs. The prize is sponsored by the English Department Alumni Fund.

All currently matriculated English MA, MS Ed, and MAT students, as well as master’s students who graduated in Fall 2020, are eligible. Submissions should be 10–25 pages in length, typed, double-spaced, in standard 12-point font, with 1-inch margins and page numbers. They must be carefully proofread and formatted according to current MLA style, including a Works Cited page.

The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 26, 2021. All entries must be submitted via email to MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu.

Before submitting your entry, please take careful note of the following instructions:

• Essays must be submitted in DOC, DOCX, or PDF formats.
• The filename for your essay should read “[CUNYfirst ID number]NancyComleyPrize.” If you don’t know your 8-digit CUNYfirst ID number, please look it up before submitting your essay.
• In the body of your email, make sure to include the following information:

1.     Your full name

2.     Your 8-digit CUNYfirst ID number

3.     The title of your essay

§  Make sure that your name does not appear anywhere in your essay, which will be blind-read by the prize judges, who are faculty members serving on the English Department’s MA Committee.

Winners will be contacted by Monday, May 3. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, there will not be an in-person department prizes ceremony. We will announce and honor the award winner virtually.

Questions about the Nancy Comley Prize should be directed to the Directors of Graduate Studies in English at MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu.