Avery Hopwood (May 28, 1882 - July 1, 1928), who was born in Cleveland and graduated from the University of Michigan, was one of the most successful playwrights of the Jazz Age, having four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920.

The Hopwood Awards are named after him. The terms of Hopwood's will left a substantial portion of his estate to his alma mater, the University of Michigan for the establishment of the Avery Hopwood and Jule [his mother] Hopwood Creative Writing Awards. The bequest stipulated: "It is especially desired that students competing for prizes shall be allowed the widest possible latitude, and that the new, the unusual, and the radical shall be especially encouraged." Famous Hopwood award winners include Robert Hayden, Marge Piercy, Arthur Miller, Betty Smith, Lawrence Kasdan, John Ciardi, Mary Gaitskill, Nancy Willard, and Frank O’Hara.

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