Washington University Libraries announce winners of 25th annual essay competition

Winners have been named for the 25th annual Neureuther Student Book Collection Essay Competition sponsored by Washington University Libraries.

WUSTL undergrads and graduate students entered their essays into one of two categories, competing for prizes of $1,000 for first place and $500 for second place in each category. Judging was conducted by a panel of volunteers drawn from the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis and the St. Louis community.

This year, Anne Jensen-Urstad (PhD candidate in biology in Arts & Sciences) won first place in the graduate category for her essay “Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used To Be: the Collected Works of Haruki Murakami.” Second place went to Ervin Malakaj (PhD candidate in German in Arts & Sciences) for “The Book-Filled Crate.”

In the undergraduate student category, Arts & Sciences senior German and European studies major Karina Louise Stridh won first place for “Life as a Joke: In Defense of the Comedic Narrative.” Arts & Sciences senior biochemistry major Alexandra Barger won second place for “Notes from the Post-Apocalypse.”

To read the winning essays online, visit library.wustl.edu/collections/winners.html.

The Neureuther Book Collection Essay Competition is made possible by an endowment from Carl Neureuther, a 1940 graduate of Washington University who sought to encourage WUSTL students to read for pleasure throughout their lives.