Erinda Sheno
Memorial Prizes
2026 Sheno Prize Submission Period is now open. Complete your submission.
Dates to Remember
February 16, 2026: Deadline for Submissions
Week of March 23, 2025: Announcement of winners & celebration!
What Now?
#VoteThatJawn is excited to be part of ArtPhilly: What Now 2026, a city-wide arts festival, uniting Philly's creatives in a dialogue on our past, present, and future. In a moment when young people are reshaping conversations about democracy, identity, civic power, and the future of our city, we ask: What comes now for Philadelphia, for our communities, for our democracy, and for you?
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We seek nonpartisan* essays from high school and college students in the Philadelphia area that explore this question with creativity, depth, and imagination. Your piece might examine voting or civic participation; reflect on immigration, identity, or belonging; document everyday life in Philadelphia; or envision new possibilities for how young people shape change.
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In addition to the Sheno Prize winners, selected submissions may be featured as part of #VoteThatJawn events in the ArtPhilly Festival in the spring and summer of 2026. Submit and add your voice to the mix.
*Nonpartisan content does not address a specific party or candidate but we want to hear about the issues and aspirations that most affect you.
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​Vote That Jawn, ThePhiladelphiaCitizen.org, UPenn Creative Writing, and the Kelly Writers House are pleased to continue the Erinda Sheno Memorial Prizes, to be awarded to high school and college student-writers in Philadelphia. Honoring the legacy and work of Vote That Jawn Youth Leader, writer, and Philadelphian Erinda Sheno, the Sheno Prizes will recognize up-and-coming writers in Philadelphia for extraordinary pieces on voting, democracy, immigration, or Philadelphia life.
Two prizes will be awarded, one to a young writer enrolled in a Philadelphia high school, and one to a college student in the Philadelphia area. The high school division winner will receive a $150 honorarium and publication on the Vote That Jawn website; the college division winner will receive a $250 honorarium and publication on The Philadelphia Citizen’s website. Runners-up will also be able to publish work on Vote That Jawn’s website.
Submission criteria
Erinda’s work was wide-ranging and innovative; successful submissions will embrace this spirit of free-thinking and creativity. For high school writers, submissions should be approximately 600 words. For the collegiate prize, submissions should not exceed 1000 words. We look forward to reading your work!
About Erinda Sheno
The Sheno Prizes honor the life and legacy of Erinda Sheno. The daughter of Albanian-American immigrants, Erinda grew up here in Philadelphia. She attended the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, where she majored in playwriting. Then, at the University of Pennsylvania, she studied English and Creative Writing where she also worked with Vote That Jawn, Kelly Writers’ House Fellow, and the Center for Contemporary Writing.
Like all Philadelphians, Erinda loved the Phillies and the Eagles, but her passion was writing. A talented writer and reporter, Erinda published in ThePhiladelphiaCitizen.org and on VoteThatJawn.com. Erinda worked the local territory: as a Youth Leader for Vote That Jawn, a Kelly Writers’ House Fellow, and a staffer at the Center for Contemporary Writing. Erinda was a brilliant writer committed to promoting justice and equality through her work on democracy and voting in Philadelphia. A first-generation American, Erinda was particularly committed to supporting immigrant communities in Philadelphia and beyond and telling the stories of her own family, who’d immigrated from Albania.
