Day Eight is excited to announce the winner of our 14th annual College Student Arts Journalism Competition, Georgetown University’s Hailey Wharram. Hailey Wharram is currently a senior at Georgetown majoring in English with minors in journalism and film and media studies. She is an Associate Editor at The Georgetowner and also writes for The Georgetown Voice.
Day Eight produces our annual arts journalism competition to help identify and support exceptional college-age arts journalists. Judges for the 2024 competition were Allison Hoffman, executive editor, CNN Politics, and Clare Mulroy, books critic, USAToday (and a former Day Eight arts writing fellow.)
In her citation to the 2024 competition winner Hoffman wrote, “With lyrical and evocative language, writer Hailey Wharram draws readers directly into the world of her subject, the musician Ha Vay, painting a charming portrait of a young woman artist growing into her own powers and exploring the literary underpinnings of Vay’s newest work. In the tradition of the best arts journalism, Wharram makes a convincing case for discovering a new voice — and revisiting older ones that still pack a punch.”
Mulroy wrote, “Hailey Wharram masterfully conveys the emotions of listening to a soon-to-be beloved album for the first time in this poetic feature — her descriptions are lyrical and impressively visual. I found myself quickly encapsulated in Wharram’s journey through both the album tracks and Ha Vay’s artistic career.”
The judges selected Wharram’s article from a strong slate of finalists, including a feature about poet Jane Shore by Ella Mitchell (George Washington University), a feature about Jewish artist Alex Wox by Zoe Bayewitz (University of Maryland), and a review of the new album by TomorrowXTogether by Sagun Shrestha (Georgetown University; a current Day Eight arts writing fellow.) The articles by all four finalists have been published in The Mid-Atlantic Review and a $250 dollar prize was provided to the winner.
Wharram wrote, “I am honored to have my writing recognized by Day Eight. ‘Baby I’m The Wolf’ was one of my favorite albums of 2024, and I feel so grateful to have been able to chat with Ha Vay about how she brought this project to life. I admire her poetic, emotive artistry so much, and I am happy that I was able to help shine a light on her remarkable work.”
The 2024 competition is now complete but Day Eight accepts applications for our paid Arts Writing Fellowship ongoing. The submission period for the 2025 competition will open October 1, 2025. The guidelines for the 2025 competition are available on the Mid-Atlantic Review website here.