Three students have received awards in the 1978 Dana Reed Prize competition for excellence in undergraduate writing at Harvard.

Joseph W. Dalton '79, arts editor of The Crimson, won first prize for an article entitled "Elvis Presley (1935-1977)," which appeared in the September 29, 1977 issue of The Crimson's "What Is to Be Done?" arts supplement.

Honorable mentions went to Mare D. Granetz '78 for "The Restaurant," published in the November 1977 issue of The Harvard Advocate, and David L. Owen '78 for his parody. "Three Poets," from the December 1977 issue of The Harvard Lampoon.

The Dana Reed Prize was established in memory of Dana Reed '43, who was reported missing after a 1944 bombing raid over the Adriatic Seas. A native of Cambridge who attended Belmont public schools, he had been executive editor of The Harvard Crimson, editor-in-chief of the 1943 Class Album, and undergraduate editor of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin.

Judges for this year's competition were historian-author James Thomas Flexnor, poet Nikki Giovanni and author Gary Wills. The judges made their selection from more than 40 entries.