The Emily Clark Balch Prizes and the Staige D. Blackford Prize were created to honor the best writing to appear in the pages of VQR each year. Past recipients include John Berryman, Philip Caputo, Pauline W. Chen, Carolyn Forché, Natasha Trethewey, and Kevin Young. The VQR Prize for Photography was created to recognize the best photo portfolio to appear in our pages. Each prize includes a monetary award of $1,000.
Emily Clark Balch Prize for Fiction
Nathaniel Rich, “Blue Rock” (Fall)
Emily Clark Balch Prize for Poetry
Ada Limòn, “After His Ex Died”; “Losing”; “Sacred Objects”; “The Vulture & the Body” (Fall)
Staige D. Blackford Prize for Nonfiction
Emily Eakin, “Lord of the WASPs” (Summer)
and Ben Mauk, “The Useful Village” (Spring)
The VQR Prize for Photography
Christopher Gregory, “Street Fighters” (Summer)