CHESTERTOWN — In addition to receiving their diploma on Sunday as a theater and English double major with a creative writing minor, Jaya S. Basu of Bethesda accepted the check as winner of Washington College’s Sophie Kerr Prize.
Basu won out over five other finalists as the graduating senior deemed to have demonstrated the best potential for future achievement in a literary endeavor.
All six finalists stood among the rows of their seated classmates to be recognized during commencement, and then Basu was called to the platform to accept their prize winnings from newly named college President Bryan Matthews.
The nation’s largest literary award for a college student, this year’s prize is valued at $86,702 — more than the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award combined.
In a ceremony Friday night in Hotchkiss Recital Hall in the college’s Gibson Center for the Arts, the finalists read from their portfolios before Basu’s name was called as the prize winner.
In taking the stage to accept their award, Basu thanked everyone who had supported them throughout the years, including the communities they’d been a part of across campus.
“I feel as though I have grown so much in my time here and that’s in no small part because of the people here, including those on stage with me,” said Basu.
“I stand here as one of very few people of color who have won this award at a predominately white institution,” they said, emphasizing the difficulty that challenge posed at times. “All of my experiences have shaped me as a person. I’m proud of myself. Being able to be a part of this community and accept this award is so incredibly shaping and meaningful.”
Basu’s submitted portfolio contained poetry, fiction, nonfiction and playwriting, and explored the forces of attraction that govern the universe and act on all bodies.
“As a writer I pride myself on being very multi-disciplinarian,” Basu, poetry editor of the college’s Collegian publication, said of their submitted works. “I try to get my fingers in as many pies as possible and learn as much as I can. I tried with my portfolio to show how I can blur the lines between genres.”
Sean Meehan, Washington College associate dean for curricular innovations and English department co-chair, said in a statement: “Jaya’s writing combines erudition and urgency with beauty, surprise, ambition and purpose. These aren’t traits that easily cohere for professional writers let alone undergraduates.”
Basu is no stranger to accolades and early success. Their poem “Romance of the Kitchen Sink” recently won the Spencer Undergraduate Poetry Award Sonnet Prize at West Chester University.
Also, their original play “Mahamoha” is the co-recipient of the Nathan Louis Jackson Playwriting Award, second place recipient of the Paul Stephen Lim Playwright Award and one of eight regional nominations for the National Partners of the American Theatre Julie Jenson Playwriting Award, all from American College Theatre Festival.
The prize, now in its 59th year, is named for Caroline County native and Washington College benefactor Sophie Kerr [1880-1965], who published more than 20 novels and hundreds of short stories.
As stipulated by Kerr’s will, the prize check itself is to be awarded as part of the college’s commencement.
The other 2026 finalists are: Jove DiFiore Gleason of Silver Spring, an English major with minors in medieval and early modern studies and creative writing; Seth Horan of Frederick County, an English and communication and media studies double major with a double minor in creative writing and journalism, editing and publishing; Evelyn Lee Lucado of Westminster, an English major with minors in creative writing and journalism, editing and publishing; Logan Monteleone of Upper Township, New Jersey, an English major with a minor in journalism, editing and publishing; and Sheri Swayne of Baltimore, an English major and creative writing minor.
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Since its first year in 1968, the Sophie Kerr Prize has been awarded for both creative and critical writing.
Students within all majors may submit portfolios.
A committee of full-time faculty in the English department and the college president reviews all submissions and makes the final decision.
Winners are chosen for their literary excellence, regardless of genre.
In addition to the life-changing literary award, the support made possible by Sophie Kerr’s gift continues to fund experiences and offerings for Washington College students throughout the academic year.
For more than 50 years the endowment has brought many of the nation’s top writers, editors and scholars to Washington’s campus including Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Pinsky, Edward Albee, Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, James McBride, Eamon Grennan, Charles Simic and Jane Smiley.
Funding scholarships and internships and enabling research in literature, writing and publishing round out the impact made possible by the Sophie Kerr legacy.
Additional reporting by Trish McGee.
