Washington College's Kathryn Manion Named Sophie Kerr Finalist

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Sophie Kerr Finalist, Kathryn Manion

CHESTERTOWN, MD (05/07/2012)(readMedia)-- Washington College is pleased to announce that Kathryn Manion '12, daughter of James and Susan Manion of Clarksville, MD, is one of five finalists for the famous Sophie Kerr Prize, the largest undergraduate literary prize in the nation, this year valued at more than $58,000.

Manion is majoring in English with minors in Creative Writing and Anthropology. Involved with many on-campus publications, Manion has worked as a consultant at the Writing Center and served as head of the Writers' Union for the past two years. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows, and the English and Anthropology honor societies. Her writing portfolio included short stories and an excerpt from her senior thesis on letter-writing in novels. The judging committee described Manion as a mature, focused student whose scholarship and fiction both display an intensity of purpose. "Her fiction shows flashes of brilliance through her ability to create voice keenly appropriate to the story in progress. Both on the page and as a member of this community, Katie has a quiet confidence in her ability to lead, write and edit," they added. This summer, Manion will attend the University of Denver Publishing Institute's prestigious program in writing and editing.

Manion and the other four finalists, all graduating seniors who submitted portfolios of their writing to be judged, will travel to New York City for a special program and reception on May 15. There, in a private club in midtown Manhattan, they will read selections from their portfolios and then hold their breath as internationally renowned novelist Colum McCann announces the winner.

In holding the announcement ceremony in New York, the College acknowledges the importance of the city as the literary capital of the world and the personal journey of Prize benefactor Sophie Kerr. A native of Denton, MD, Kerr moved to New York as a young woman and built a successful 40-year career as a national magazine editor and writer. Her townhouse on East 38th Street became a literary salon for her friends in journalism and the arts. At her death, she bequeathed much of her estate to Washington College, with the stipulation that half its income would be awarded annually to the senior showing "the most ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor."

Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in colonial Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore.