Other written work to be considered for Hamilton Prize

MIDDLETOWN — Wesleyan University will expand opportunities for incoming students under its Hamilton Prize for Creativity.

The program was established in the 201617 academic year in honor of Wesleyan alumni Lin-Manuel Miranda,’02, writer/creator/ original star of the international hit, “Hamilton: An American Musical,” along with its director Thomas Kail, ’99, according to a press release.

Over the past two years, more than 1,000 students have submitted stories, poetry, songs, plays and screenplays for consideration. A distinguished selection committee of Wesleyan alumni in the arts, headed by honorary chairs Miranda and Kail, reviewed submissions and chose one winner each year to receive a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to attend Wesleyan University, the release said.

“In the first two years running the Hamilton Prize, the committee was mightily impressed by the caliber of submissions, and found it difficult to pick just one winner. The creative works by incoming students displayed such a range of talent, and comparing, say, a short story to a song, posed certain challenges,” Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth said in a prepared statement.

“Therefore, this year we’ve decided to recognize superlative creativity in each category,” Roth added.

Wesleyan received over 400 submissions for the Hamilton Prize this year. Entries will be considered in the categories of prose, poetry/song and screenplay/playwriting.

Honorable mentions will be awarded in each of the other categories, along with $5,000 grants to support the students’ future creative endeavors. All three recipients will also be awarded free admission to the Wesleyan Writers Conference June 12 to 16, the release said.

“Producing creative work is a deeply personal process, and each of us expresses ourselves in a unique way. It’s been a privilege to co-chair the Hamilton Prize Selection Committee and to read the work produced by so many talented young people. I look forward to seeing what members of the Wesleyan Class of 2023 share with us,” Miranda said in the statement.

This year, actors Bradley Whitford ’81 (The West Wing, Transparent, Get Out) and Beanie Feldstein ’15 (Lady Bird, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), and radio personality Angela Yee ’97 (co-host of the nationally syndicated morning radio show, The Breakfast Club) will join the selection committee.

Returning committee members include:

⏩ Bozoma “Boz” Saint John ’97, chief marketing officer at Endeavor, and host and producer of upcoming documentary series “Bozoma: Being Badass” on the Starz network

⏩ Santi “Santigold” White ’97, musician, record producer, visual artist, and humanitarian

⏩ Carter Bays ’97 and Craig Thomas ’97, co-creators, executive producers, and writers of “How I Met Your Mother”

⏩ Amanda Palmer ’98, singer, musician, and writer

⏩ Amy Bloom ’75, author, most recently of “White Houses,” and the Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing at Wesleyan

⏩ Mary Roach ’81, author, most recently of “Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War”

⏩ Alexander Chee ’89, author of novels, including “Edinburgh” and “The Queen of the Night”

Wesleyan University photo This year, Wesleyan University is accepting additional forms of writing for its Hamilton Prize for Creativity. Alumni Lin-Manuel Miranda,’02, left, writer/creator/original star of the international hit, “Hamilton: An American Musical,” and director Thomas Kail, ’99, are honorary members of the selection committee.