ne of the most enduring traditions in writing at Arizona State University is the awarding of the annual Swarthout Awards, honoring the best in writers at the beginnings of their careers.

The award series is legacy of novelist Glendon Swarthout and his wife, Kathryn, also a writer and who, with her husband, wrote many works for children.
In 1962, Glendon and Kathryn established the Swarthout Writing Prizes at Arizona State University.  Forty years old now, these six prizes in both poetry and fiction (with a current top prize of $2700 in each category), have grown until they now rank among the top five awards financially for undergraduate and graduate writing programs at all the colleges and universities in America.

For much more information on the Swarthouts, including biographies, bibliographies, and reviews, visit the official Swarthout website.