Honorable Mention in the 2024 Nick Adams Short Story Contest
Read the story: The Last 2,500 Miles of Cataract Jack
‘The Last 2,500 Miles of Cataract Jack’… is a kind of road story, though the vehicle in this case is a train, and we seem to be moving away from, rather than towards, something. The story’s careful structure is such that our narrator only gradually reveals the horror that he and Jack, his companion on the train, are fleeing — and the final poignancy of what the narrator himself has also been moving towards.
— Final Judge Sue Miller
More about Luke Bryson:
- Junior at Grinnell College
- Major: English
- Hometown: Pasadena, CA
ACM: What sparked your interest in writing, and how did you get started writing fiction?
Bryson: I don’t have a moment where I realized I wanted to write because it’s just something I’ve always done. I’ve been so fortunate in having family and mentors that have encouraged me every step of the way. Fiction became particularly interesting to me once I realized that I can’t help but come back to writing about certain themes or feelings, and have learned a great deal about myself through that repetition.
ACM: How have you developed your writing while you’ve been at Grinnell?
Bryson: I’ve been able to develop some incredible relationships with professors and students at Grinnell which has taught me that writing doesn’t have to be a lonely practice. The community of writers in Grinnell has revealed a lot of my strengths and many of my weaknesses in fiction. I feel that because of my time in school I’m just know coming to realize what it means to be a writer.
