Entries are now being accepted for the annual McKinney Writing Contest, which is designed to encourage communication skills among Rensselaer students and promote the liberal arts. The McKinney Writing Contest was established in 1941 by Samuel McKinney, Class of 1884, in memory of his wife, Mary Earl McKinney.
Acclaimed short story author Lydia Davis, winner of the 2013 Man Booker International Prize, will speak at Rensselaer on April 16 as part of the McKinney Writing Contest awards ceremony.
“The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is proud to keep alive the tradition of the McKinney Writing Contest at Rensselaer. Both the contest and the talk by Lydia Davis are valuable ways for the Rensselaer community to celebrate literature,” said Mary Simoni, dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.
In addition to the McKinney Fund, the contest receives support from the Vollmer Fries Lecture Fund; School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; Rensselaer Union; Friends of the Folsom Library; Department of Communication and Media; the New York State Writers Institute; and the literary organization Poets & Writers.
The deadline for McKinney Writing Contest submissions is 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. Full rules.