Contest Results

In her comments on Marsh’s story, final judge Sandra Cisneros wrote:

“This story stayed with me long after I put it down. The protagonist calls herself ‘a passenger in my body,’ and I too felt I was riding weightlessly on subtle currents, noting everything little and large, especially the unnameable. For its power of perception and its ability to capture that shimmering age between childhood and adulthood, I congratulate this writer. I admired how delicately the writer approached the scene of abuse; so much was exquisitely said by not saying. A beautiful and brave voice.”

2021 Winner: “Underwater, I Am Weightless” by Natalie Marsh

Natalie Marsh, who is from Glencoe, IL, is majoring in religion and minoring in French at Carleton College.

2021 Honorable Mention: “Blackberry’s Blues” by Bren Davis

Cisneros commended Davis for their story’s “succinctness, verbal acrobatics, and poetry. A taut, dreamlike, innovative tale told in astonishing language.” Davis, who is pursuing a major in English and a minor in Women and Gender Studies at Ripon College, said, “writing in all forms has always been a space of safety for me, and fiction became very important as I grew older because it gave me the opportunity to express my personal feelings and the feelings of others like me in a way that could be appreciated or empathized with.”

From left: Lily Lauver, Sarah Lohmann, Samantha Stagg, Ben Short

• Thirty-six stories were entered in the 2021 Nick Adams Contest through the English departments on ACM campuses, with each campus allowed to enter up to four stories in the competition. David McGlynn, Professor of English at Lawrence University, and Megan Gannon, Associate Professor of English at Ripon College, served as initial faculty readers, choosing six finalist stories from which Cisneros selected a winner and honorable mention. The finalists were:
  • Honorable Mention: “Blackberry’s Blues” by Bren Davis, Ripon College –  Read “Blackberry’s Blues”
  • “Conservatory (Adj.)” by Lily Lauver, Knox College
  • “Connective Tissue” by Sarah Lohmann, Knox College –  Read “Connective Tissue” 
  • Winner: “Underwater, I Am Weightless” by Natalie Marsh, Carleton College – Read “Underwater, I Am Weightless”
  • “A View from the Shore” by Ben Short, Grinnell College –  Read “A View from the Shore”
  • “I Left My Phone” by Samantha Stagg, Grinnell College –  Read “I Left My Phone”

  Cisneros said the finalists “proved they were all exceptionally good writers, and I hope they will continue their journey on their craft…. Felicidades to all these writers.”

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2021 Final Judge: Sandra Cisneros

Writer Sandra Cisneros served as final judge for the 2021 Nick Adams Short Story Contest.

Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, performer, and artist whose work explores such themes as Chicana identity, cultural hybridity, and social position. Born in Chicago, her time living in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago served as inspiration for her classic, coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street (1984), which has sold more than six million copies.

 

The winning story was chosen from six finalist stories by judge Scott Turow, bestselling author of eleven novels and two works of nonfiction. Turow also gave honorable mention recognition to “Las Hermanas Grimm” by Bea Chihak of Macalaster College.

2020 Winner: “scott disick sucks” by Ruby Elliot Zuckerman

Ruby Elliot Zuckerman, from Los Angeles, CA, is majoring in creative writing and studio art at Macalester College.

2020 Honorable Mention: “Las Hermanas Grimm” by Bea Chihak

Bea Chihak, a senior at Macalester College, finds that “writing and storytelling are deeply rooted in community. They can build and strengthen community. They can nourish love and bring about change.”

2020 Finalists:

Thirty-seven stories were entered in the 2020 Nick Adams Contest through the English departments on ACM campuses, with each campus allowed to enter up to four stories in the competition.

Associate Professor of English Joshua Corey from Lake Forest College and Assistant Professor of English Natanya Pulley from Colorado College served as initial faculty readers, choosing six finalist stories which were sent to Turow for judging. The finalists were:

• “As You Are” by Mica Bahn, Carleton College
• “Stygian Blue” by Astin Campbell, Coe College – Read “Stygian Blue”
• Honorable Mention: “Las Hermanas Grimm” by Bea Chihak, Macalester College
• Winner: “scott disick sucks” by Ruby Elliot Zuckerman, Macalester College
• “These Small and Tedious Longings” by Franziska Hofhansel, Knox College – Read“These Small and Tedious Longings”
• “In the Bed Where I Died” by Olivia Humphreys, Colorado College – Read “In the Bed Where I Died”

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2020 Final Judge: Scott Turow

Author and lawyer Scott Turow served as final judge for the 48th annual Nick Adams Short Story Contest.

Scott Turow is the bestselling author of eleven novels and two works of nonfiction, which have sold more than thirty million copies worldwide.  He has contributed numerous essays and op-ed pieces to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic.

Read more about Scott Turow »

Final judge Audrey Petty, distinguished author of High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing, wrote that Johnson’s story “is a resonant love story in more ways than one.”

Petty also gave honorable mention recognition to Hanna Brown from Beloit College for “Ad Space.”

In selecting this year’s winner, Petty was impressed with all six of the finalist stories in the 2019 contest. “The reading was a pleasure; the choosing–on the other hand–was quite difficult,” she noted. “All of the finalist stories are extremely compelling. The range of style, vision, situation, conflict, and form within the finalist portfolio is formidable and impressive.”

Winner: “Coming of Age in the Modern Midwest” by Catherine Johnson

In her comments on “Coming of Age in the Modern Midwest” Petty wrote:

“The author achieves an electric sense of place. The action of the story–the heart of the story–is the annual summer carnival in a small Illinois town. With tenderness and inquisitiveness, the narrator (and hometown girl) returns again and again to the event and the adventure of this summer gathering.”

Catherine Johnson, from Galesburg, IL, is majoring in political science at Carleton College.

• Read more about Catherine Johnson

Honorable Mention: “Ad Space” by Hanna Brown

Hanna Brown, a senior creative writing major from Elgin, IL, says she has developed her writing while being at Beloit College because she has “helped edit the Beloit Fiction Journal for the past few years.”

Petty wrote, “‘Ad Space’ is a story of considerable power and precision. Bodies matter in this narrative: a day in the life of young Baxter as he works, shoulder-to-shoulder, with the summer crew at Cordova’s, a hamburger joint with an insistently 1950s decor.”

• Read more about Hanna Brown

From left: Nicole Hebel, Beilin Brower, Mira Braneck, and Abigail St. John

Finalists: “The range of style, vision, situation, conflict, and form within the finalist portfolio is formidable and impressive.”

Forty-one stories were entered in the 2019 Nick Adams Contest through the English departments on ACM campuses, with each college allowed to enter up to four stories in the competition.

English professors Lise Kildegaard from Luther College and David Wright from Monmouth College served as initial faculty readers, choosing six finalist stories which were sent to Petty for judging. The finalists were:

• Honorable Mention: “Ad Space” by Hanna Brown, Beloit College
• “Beyond the Mine” by Nicole Hebel, Beloit College –  Read “Beyond the Mine”
•  Winner: “Coming of Age in the Modern Midwest” by Catherine Johnson, Carleton College –  Read “Coming of Age in the Modern Midwest”
• “The Whale in the Basement” by Beilin Brower, Cornell College –  Read “The Whale in the Basement”
•  “Closure” by Mira Braneck, Grinnell College –  Read “Closure”
• “The Bird Woman” by Abigail St. John, St. Olaf College –  Read “The Bird Woman”

Notably, Hanna Brown and Nicole Hebel have previously been finalists in the Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Brown was a finalist three times and awarded an honorable mention twice, in 2017 and 2019. Hebel was a finalist in 2018 and 2019.

Final Judge: Audrey Petty

Author and educator Audrey Petty served as final judge for the 47th annual Nick Adams Short Story Contest.

Her stories have been published in Gumbo: An Anthology of African American Writing, Story Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, among others.  One of Petty’s most recent works, High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing, gathers firsthand accounts of 12 former residents of now-demolished Chicago Housing Authority high-rises.

Links:

• Read more about Audrey Petty
• Audrey Petty’s website

Final judge Will Boast, author of award-winning fiction and the New York Times best-selling memoir Epilogue, called Seymour’s story “a beautifully executed, moving story about a young woman emerging from depression to re-meet the world and all of the possibilities ahead of her.”

Boast also gave honorable mention recognition to Zeena Yasmine Fuleihan from Macalester College for “Za’atar Croissants.”

In selecting the winner, Boast praised all six of the finalist stories in the 2018 contest. “This was a rich, varied, and impressive group of stories, and, in truth, I would’ve been happy choosing any of them for the winner,” he noted. “But, in the end, there was something about “Maddie” that really grabbed and held my attention. It seemed to take me through the most complete character arc, too.”

Winner: “Maddie, the Whole World; Whole World, Maddie” by Claire Seymour

In his comments on “Maddie, the Whole World; Whole World, Maddie” Boast wrote:

“[The story] takes a familiar subject — the summer before college, a disintegrating high school relationship — and reinvigorates it with surprising intensity. The emotional tenor of the story is nicely balanced, with the joy Maddie takes in roaming New York City with her best friend undercut by the manipulative, borderline abusive attentions of her boyfriend, whose sadness we also come to understand. Added to this are quick but finely tuned portraits of the parents, sharp passages of description, and wonderfully heard dialogue.”

Claire Seymour, whose hometown is Brooklyn, NY, is majoring in English at Carleton with a minor in women’s and gender studies. She said that she began writing stories in fifth grade and credits her parents and teachers for supporting her creative writing along the way.

• Read more about Claire Seymour

Honorable Mention: “Za’atar Croissants” by Zeena Yasmine Fuleihan

A life-long writer, Macalester College senior Zeena Yasmine Fuleihan drew on personal interests that have grown out of her family’s history in writing “Za’atar Croissants.”

“Much of Beirut’s fascinating complexity comes to life in this remarkably vivid, concise vignette of a father and teenage daughter cleaning out a disused family apartment,” Will Boast wrote in awarding honorable mention for Fuleihan’s story. “A recent history of violence and death is felt strongly, but so is the energy and invention of the city, as epitomized perhaps in the titular croissants. All of this is achieved in about six pages, and I would happily read another sixty.”

Looking toward graduation, Fuleihan is pursuing jobs in publishing or other literary-related fields, and hopes to go to graduate school for an MFA in a year or two.

• Read more about Zeena Yasmine Fuleihan

From left: Nicole Hebel, Hanna Brown, Bethany Catlin, and Josephine Sloyan

Finalists: “A Rich, Varied, and Impressive Group of Stories”

Forty stories were entered in the 2018 Nick Adams Contest through the English departments on ACM campuses, with each college allowed to enter up to four stories in the competition.

Associate Professor of English Rebecca Entel from Cornell College and Assistant Professor of English Peter Bognanni from Macalester College served as initial faculty readers, choosing six finalist stories which were sent to Boast for judging. The finalists were:

• “S/s” by Hanna Brown, Beloit College
• “American Daughter” by Bethany Catlin, Macalester College –  Read “American Daughter”
• Honorable mention: “Za’atar Croissants” by Zeena Yasmine Fuleihan, Macalester College
• “During the Rain” by Nicole Hebel, Beloit College –  Read “During the Rain”
• Winner: “Maddie, the Whole World; Whole World, Maddie” by Claire Seymour, Carleton College
• “Object Lessons” by Josephine Sloyan, Grinnell College –  Read “Object Lessons”

Hanna Brown, who was awarded honorable mention last year, and Josephine Sloyan have the distinction of being selected as finalists twice in the Nick Adams Contest.

Final Judge: Will Boast

Will Boast, author of award-winning fiction and the New York Times bestselling memoir Epilogue, served as final judge for the 2018 Nick Adams Short Story Contest.

Boast’s debut novel, Dapne (2018) was recently released and he received the 2011 Iowa Short Fiction Award for a short story collection, Power Ballads (2011). His fiction, essays, and reporting have appeared online and in print in The New Republic, Granta, and The New York Times Magazine, among numerous other publications.

• Read more about Will Boast

Rachel Stanley from Ripon College named winner of the 2017 Nick Adams Short Story Contest

“Four Times Jasper Diallo Didn’t Die (and One Time He Lived),” by Ripon College senior Rachel Stanley, was been selected as the winning story in the 45th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. The author, a double major in psychology and a self-designed major in disability justice, will receive the contest’s prize of $1,000.

Her story was chosen from among six finalists for the award by Karen Abbott, author of New York Times bestsellers American Rose and Sin in the Second City and this year’s Nick Adams Contest final judge.

In commenting on Stanley’s work, Abbott wrote: “I was immediately taken with the voice: fresh, surprising, and exquisitely raw, with gorgeous, note-perfect imagery that feels wholly organic to the character. A true accomplishment.”

Honorable mention awarded to Hanna Brown from Beloit

Hanna Brown, a sophomore majoring in creative writing and media studies at Beloit College, received an honorable mention from Abbott for “Suburb Roarers.”

In recognizing Brown’s work, Abbott wrote that the story is “By turns strange, disturbing, and laugh-out-loud funny, with a dash of Shirley Jackson. I’m eager to see what this writer does in the future.”

• More about Hanna Brown
• Read  “Suburb Roarers”

Contest finalists selected by Coe and Grinnell faculty

Forty-three stories were entered in the 2017 Nick Adams Contest. Stories are submitted through the English departments at the ACM colleges.

Assistant Professor of English Dean Bakopoulos from Grinnell College and Assistant Professor of English Audrey Golden from Coe College served as initial readers, winnowing the field to six finalist stories, which were sent to final judge Karen Abbott.

The 2017 finalists were:

• “Borders We Can Keep” by Tamara Nassar, Lawrence University
• “Coming Together Coming Apart” by Josephine Sloyan, Grinnell College
• “Desiderata” by Emilee Martell, St. Olaf College
• “Four Times Jasper Diallo Didn’t Die (and One Time He Lived)” by Rachel Stanley, Ripon College – Winning story
• “Suburb Roarers” by Hanna Brown, Beloit College – Honorable mention
• “When amidst the Stars” by Randy William Santiago, Cornell College

Nelson Ogbuagu from Grinnell College Named Winner of the 2016 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Nelson Ogbuagu, a senior at Grinnell College, has been named the winner of the 44th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest and receives the first prize of $1,000.

Ogbuagu’s story “Playing It Safe” was selected for the award by Chicago author Bill Hillmann, who served as the final judge for the contest this year.

Thirty-two stories written by students at ACM colleges were submitted for the 2016 contest. Diana Beck, Professor and Co-Chair of Educational Studies at Knox College, and Christina Eddington, Instructor of English as a Second Language at Beloit College, served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting six finalists from which Hillmann selected the winner.

In commenting on “Playing It Safe,” Hillmann wrote that it “reads as both an essay and a story, it is political and at the same time it’s just a voice from a very particular time and place. It is a psychological thriller and a coming of age tale of an introspective and sensitive youth. In other words it works on a lot of levels.”

• Read more about Nelson Ogbuagu
• Read his winning story:  Playing It Safe!

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Honorable Mention stories

Hillmann also awarded honorable mentions to three of the finalists:

• Grace Lloyd from Grinnell College for “Crush”
• Kiki Sykes from St. Olaf College for “On Dying and Bereavement”
• Claire Tollefsrud from Coe College for “The Dancing Girl Next Door”

Thirty-two stories written by students at ACM colleges were submitted for the 2016 contest. Diana Beck, Professor and Co-Chair of Educational Studies at Knox College, and Christina Eddington, Instructor of English as a Second Language at Beloit College, served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting six finalists from which Hillmann selected the winner and honorable mentions.

The other two stories selected as finalists by the faculty judges were “In Retrospect, an Impression” by Noah Bunnell from Carleton College and “Wilderness” by Maria Catherino from Cornell College.

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Bill Hillmann Was Final Judge of the 2016 Contest

Bill Hillmann, who selected the prize-winning and honorable mention stories in the 2016 Nick Adams Contest, is the author of two books — a memoir entitled Mozos: A Decade Running with the Bulls of Spain (2015) and a novel, The Old Neighborhood (2014). The Old Neighborhood was named “Best Novel of 2014” by the Chicago Sun-Times, “Best New Book” by Chicago Reader, and received critical acclaim from Booklist and The Week. Read more about Bill Hillmann

Evelyn Coffin from Knox College Named Winner of the 2015 Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Evelyn Coffin, a sophomore at Knox College, received the $1,000 first prize as winner of the 2015 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest.

Her story “Proudly, Unburied” was selected from among 38 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges. Maureen McCoy, an author of four novels and emeritus professor of English and of the graduate program in creative writing at Cornell University, served as the final judge for the contest this year.

Scott Carpenter, Professor of French and Director of Cross Cultural Studies at Carleton College, and Gordon Marino, Professor of Philosophy at St. Olaf College, served as initial faculty readers for the contest, choosing six finalists from which McCoy decided on the winner.

In commenting on Coffin’s story, McCoy wrote:

“‘Proudly, Unburied’ is a powerful story evoking childhood wonder, trauma and, finally, fragile dreams of future. The story seems to proceed unhurriedly, riding on rhythmic language that defines its own music through vivid imagery and character insight. All the writing mastery here is in service to character; character is at the heart of the story, and at the heart here is a young girl of particular experience and vivid observation who is growing into the world.”

• Read the winning story, “Proudly, Unburied”

Coffin said she plans to declare a creative writing major this spring at Knox and spend next winter in Ireland participating in a Dublin Writer’s Program. After graduation in 2017, she is interested in continuing her education in writing and editing work. Noting that she’s always been a listener and an observer as well as a voracious reader, Coffin said she is “particularly drawn to the connections between place, history, and memory,” in her own work and in the work of others.

On April 10, Coffin will be recognized for her contest-winning story during the 7th Annual ACM Student Symposium on Off-Campus Study in Chicago.

McCoy also gave Honorable Mention recognition to Isabel Taylor from Beloit College for her story “Mothers,” writing that:

“‘Mothers’ presents a deeply felt, yet unsentimental portrait of a character, Gina, in present circumstances on which the past bears significantly. Through nimble prose, concise believable dialogue, well-chosen details of the world around and in memories related, we get a fully fleshed-out main character whose middle-aged wisdom, compassion and love are amplified throughout the story with strategically placed details of her youth. Her past bears on the potentially life-changing situation of her teenage son and his girlfriend.”

The four other finalist stories in the 2015 Contest were:

• “Birdy” by Laura Freymiller, Carleton College;
• “Youth” by Maya Furukawa, Beloit College;
• “Orange Starbursts” by Joshua Pitkofsky, Carleton College; and
• “The Transaction” by Rachel Rostad, Macalester College.

Maureen McCoy Served as Final Judge in 2015

Maureen McCoy, an author and emeritus professor of English and creative writing at Cornell University, served as the final judge of the 2015 Nick Adams Contest.

Author of the novels Junebug (2004), Divining Blood (1992), Summertime (1987), and Walking After Midnight (1985), Maureen McCoy also has written short fiction, personal essays, and monologues for actors. Her essay, “Vickie’s Pour House: A Soldier’s Peace,” published in the Antioch Review, was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2009.

McCoy has received many writing and teaching awards during her career, including the Copernicus Society’s James A. Michener Award and the Robert Appel Fellowship for Humanists and Social Scientists, and has been honored with several writing residencies.

Students from Knox and St. Olaf Named Co-Winners of the 2014 Nick Adams Short Story Contest

St. Olaf College senior Zoey Slater and Knox College junior Alex Zimay have been named co-winners of the 42nd annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest.

Author Bonnie Jo Campbell, who served as the final judge for the 2014 contest, selected “The Fawn” by Slater and “Infinite” by Zimay for the award from among 39 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges. The two winners will split the contest’s $1,000 first prize.

In addition, Campbell gave Honorable Mention recognition to Alexander Boyd (Coe College), Kelly Clare (Knox College), and Elise Erickson (St. Olaf College) for their stories.

Professors Timothy Spurgin from Lawrence University and Ann Pleiss Morris from Ripon College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, choosing six finalists to forward to Campbell for her consideration.

Praising the quality of all six finalist stories, Campbell remarked that she “would have been thrilled to receive stories of this quality from any of my MFA students.”

Campbell is the author of two novels, Once Upon a River (2011) and Q Road (2003) and two short story collections, American Salvage (2009) and Women & Other Animals (1999). She was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2011, has been a finalist for both the National Book Award in fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction, and won a Pushcart Prize in 2001 for her short story “The Smallest Man in the World.”

In making her selections, Campbell specifically commented on the two stories she chose as co-winners.

“The Fawn” by Slater “is built of wonderful material, and I found that its images stuck with me,” Campbell wrote. “[Lisa] works for a taxidermist and has taken up the study and practice of taxidermy as a hobby.… [The author] does a great job of describing and making sense of the northern Wisconsin winter, and we are affected by the gruesome and sterile faces and figures of the animals she stuffs and poses.”

In commenting on Zimay’s story, “Infinite,” Campbell noted that “This author draws the … characters beautifully, shows how they find both comfort and conflict in their relationship. This story is philosophically compelling, rich in detail, artfully structured, and edited perfectly.”

Zoey Slater is an English and American Studies major at St. Olaf College, and is also completing a concentration in media studies. After graduation, she will be traveling to Turkey with a St. Olaf archeology research team, and thereafter hopes to start her career in non-profit communications. Slater said she has always loved reading and has been writing off and on since elementary school. She also thanked St. Olaf Writer-in-Residence Ben Percy and his Intermediate Fiction Writing class for pushing her to write her winning story.

A creative writing and political science major at Knox College, Alex Zimay is interested in policy research or the publishing industry after graduation in 2015. She said she has always been passionate about writing and telling stories, and that seeing people enjoy something she has written makes her especially happy. Zimay would like to thank her family, particularly her mother and father who have always encouraged her and challenged her to push herself to do better and go further. “I don’t know where I’d be without my parents and their seemingly endless love and support,” she noted.

The six finalists for the 2014 Nick Adams Contest were:

• “Zoo Stories” by Alexander Boyd, a sophomore at Coe College (Honorable Mention)  Read the story;
• “The Now” by Tess Childress, a senior at Beloit College;
• “What Remains, These” by Kelly Clare, a sophomore at Knox College (Honorable Mention);
• “Our Lady of the Wilderness” by Elise Erickson, a senior at St. Olaf College (Honorable Mention);
• “The Fawn” by Zoey Slater, a senior at St. Olaf College (Co-Winner)  Read the story; and
• “Infinite” by Alex Zimay, a junior at Knox College (Co-Winner).

ACM has sponsored the Nick Adams Short Story Contest since 1973, when funds were given for the contest’s first prize by an anonymous donor. The contest is open to current students enrolled at ACM member institutions. Each year, ACM college faculty serve as initial readers and a prominent writer serves as the final judge. The list of final judges includes Audrey Niffenegger, Sara Paretsky, Larry Heinemann, Bharati Mukherjee, Stuart Dybek, and many more.

Author Bonnie Jo Campbell Served as Final Judge for the 2014 Contest

Bonnie Jo Campbell, who served as the final judge for the 2014 Nick Adams Short Story Contest, is the author of two novels, Once Upon a River (2011) and Q Road (2003), two short story collections, American Salvage (2009) and Women & Other Animals (1999), and a book of poetry, Love Letters to Sons of Bitches (2010).

She was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2011, has been a finalist for both the National Book Award in fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction, and won a Pushcart Prize in 2001 for her short story “The Smallest Man in the World.”

Carleton’s Sarah Olson Named Winner of 2013 Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Sarah Olson, a sophomore at Carleton College, has been named the winner of the 41st annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Her story “Truth in Lies” was selected to receive the contest’s $1,000 first prize by novelist Peter Geye, who served as the final judge for the 2013 competition.

Professors Steven Hayward from Colorado College and Robert Archambeau from Lake Forest College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, considering 37 stories written by students at ACM colleges before deciding on the six finalists from which Geye made his choice.

Geye is the author of two novels, The Lighthouse Road (2012) and Safe from the Sea (2010), and is the former editor of Western Michigan University’s literary journal, Third Coast.

In addition to the winning story, Geye awarded honorable mention recognition to Bryan Hulse from St. Olaf College for his story “Hob Carter.”

In commenting on “Truth in Lies,” Geye wrote that it is:

A story that’s as beautifully and as carefully written as the paintings the author describes. I was often reminded of the short stories of Richard Ford while I read, a feeling I relished. But this story is not just style. While it feigns aloofness, it actually packs plenty of emotional punch…. I only wish the story went on for the length of a novel, so I could relish the author’s prose for days instead of hours. Bravo!

Read the stories!

First Prize: “Truth in Lies” by Sarah Olson

Honorable Mention: “Hob Carter” by Bryan Hulse

Clare Boerigter Named Winner of 2012 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Clare Boerigter, a sophomore at Grinnell College, has been named the winner of the 40th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Boerigter’s story “Gusanos” was selected to receive the $1,000 first prize by Gina Frangello, the Chicago-based novelist, editor, and professor who served as the final judge for the contest this year.

Forty stories were submitted by students from ACM colleges for the 2012 Nick Adams Contest. Professors Sören Steding from Luther College and Craig Watson from Monmouth College served as initial faculty readers, selecting the six finalists from which Frangello made her choice.

In commenting on Boerigter’s story, Frangello wrote that “Gusanos” is:

A story that strongly evokes both beauty and brutality in its landscape, it is at once spiritual and skeptical, sensual but pragmatic…. The (somewhat enigmatic) narrator manages to achieve an intense humanity while also remaining slightly on the periphery of her own story, a “recorder” of events like her own camera’s lens. The story’s ending feels harrowing and earned.

A Spanish major, Boerigter is involved on the Grinnell campus in the Student Environmental Committee, the Meskwaki Native American Ni Ka Na Buddy Program, and The Grinnell Review Writing Committee. Next semester, she will participate in a study abroad program in Costa Rica, where she will volunteer at a remote ecolodge and preserve. With her interest in the environment and writing, Boerigter plans to pursue writing after graduation and said she would love to work for a magazine like Sierra or Outside while still pursuing creative fiction.

In commenting on the award, Boerigter acknowledged her thanks to Assistant Professor of English Dean Bakopoulos for his “encouragement and help during the writing and editing of ‘Gusanos’” and to Neil Weintraub for awarding her an internship in the Kaibab National Forest, where, she wrote, “I was able to experience Hopi Native American traditions, a large inspiration for my piece.”

“Gusanos” is available on the ACM website and will be posted in the online literary collective The Nervous Breakdown. On April 13, Boerigter will be recognized at the ACM Student Symposium on Off-Campus Study in Chicago, along with students who have received ACM awards in 2011-12 for research projects and photography.

Boerigter’s story was one of six stories selected as finalists by the faculty judges. The other stories were:

• “Fishes and Loaves” by Kate Barrett, Knox College;
• “The March Up Swiftcreek Hill” by Tana Goar, Beloit College;
• “Where the Miles Lead” by Andrew Kim, Lawrence University;
• “When the Leaving is Done” by Julia Ohman, Knox College; and
• “Camphor” by Nina Slesinger, Macalester College.

Chicago Writer Gina Frangello Chose the Winning Story in the 2012 Contest

Gina Frangello, novelist, editor, and faculty member at both Columbia College Chicago and Northwestern University, served as the final judge for the 2012 Nick Adams Short Story Contest and chose “Cusanos” as the winning story.

Frangello’s books include A Life in Men (forthcoming in 2013) and My Sister’s Continent (2006). Slut Lullabies, her short story collection, was published in 2010. She guest-edited the anthology Falling Backwards: Stories of Fathers and Daughters (2004), and her short fiction has appeared in many publications, including StoryQuarterly, Swink, Clackamas Literary Review, Prairie Schooner, Fence, MAKE magazine, and the Chicago Reader.

In addition to writing, Frangello has been a longtime editor of the literary magazine Other Voices and is the fiction editor of the online literary collective The Nervous Breakdown and is the Sunday Editor at The Rumpus. She also co-founded Other Voices Books in 2005.

Adam Sirgany Named Winner of the 2011 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Adam Sirgany, a senior at Knox College, has been named the winner of the 39th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Sirgany’s story “Andrew at Eid“ was selected from the 41 stories submitted for the contest by students from ACM colleges. The contest carries with it a First Prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

Binnie Kirshenbaum, novelist and professor and chair of the Writing Program at the Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts, served as the 2011 contest’s final judge. In commenting on “Andrew at Eid,” Kirshenbaum wrote:

The Koranic story of Ishaq and Ibrahim is both the occasion and the subtext for this richly textured tale of filial love and the subsequent loss of innocence. The juxtaposition of generations and cultures within this Egyptian-American family is portrayed with honesty and love. They emerge as multi-dimensional and complicated people. The inevitable but unexpected clash — disturbing and poignant — nonetheless results in wise acceptance of the seasons of life. It is also a very funny story.

Adam Sirgany is a political science major at Knox College in Galesburg, IL. He has always been surrounded by books and the art of storytelling, he said, and currently is working on an honors project that profiles several homeless and formerly homeless individuals and their relationships to art and creativity. After graduating from Knox College in June, he hopes to continue his education and to combine his interests in political science and creative writing.

Sirgany would like to thank his readers, editors, and translators, especially Robin Metz, the Philip Sidney Post Professor of English at Knox College, who was dedicated to making this story work. Sirgany noted, “I just put an idea on paper, and they all worked to give it shape.” He would also like to thank the donor who made the contest possible, the ACM faculty committee, and the final judge.

• Read  “Andrew at Eid“ by Adam Sirgany, 2011 First Prize story

Honorable Mention Awarded to Sam Martone and Julia Ohman

Professors Rebecca Entel and Shannon Reed of Cornell College and Marlon James and Wang Ping of Macalester College were the initial faculty readers for the 2011 Nick Adams Contest, choosing five finalists from which Kirshenbaum selected the First Prize and two Honorable Mention stories – “Luggage Lost” by Sam Martone and “The Zoo” by Julia Ohman, both also from Knox College.

Kirshenbaum noted that “Luggage Lost” is a “wonderfully imagined story. Surprise delights the reader on every page.” The author, Martone, was also a Nick Adams Contest finalist in the 2009 for his story titled “Hangman.”

“The Zoo” by Ohman is a “powerful coming-of-age story further enriched by the engaging narrator’s grappling with his sexual orientation,” Kirschenbaum wrote. “The complex settings are vivid and the characters are sympathetic.”

The two other stories selected as finalists by the faculty judges were “Inheritance” by Rachel Johnson of Luther College and “Let’s Harvest Sister” by Tressa Versteeg of Macalester College.

Binnie Kirshenbaum served as 2011 final judge

Binnie Kirshenbaum, professor of fiction writing at the Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts, is the author of several books and short story collections.

Selected as one of the Best Young American Novelists by Granta Magazine, Kirshenbaum has also won two Critics’ Choice Awards. Her novels Hester Among the Ruins and An Almost Perfect Moment were named a Chicago Tribune Favorite Book of the Year in 2002 and 2005, respectively. She has also contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.

Andrew Watt from St. Olaf College Named Winner of the 2010 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Andrew Watt, a junior at St. Olaf College, has been named the winner of the 38th annual Nick Adams Short Story Contest for his story “Hangmen.” Watt will receive the contest’s first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

The final judge this year, who selected the winning story from among six finalists, was award-winning author and journalist Alex Kotlowitz, whose books include Never a City So Real and There Are No Children Here.

In praising Watt’s story, Kotlowitz commented:

“Hangmen” is a story that feels both of the past and of the future. The prose is spare and vivid, giving the tale a sense of immediacy, urgency, really. It’s a gripping tale. And the writing quiet yet powerful, so much so that it’s as if I had been on that bus as it wound its way up the mountain.

Watt is pursuing a self-designed a major called “Writing for Performance.” Although he has enjoyed reading and writing since childhood, he didn’t develop a serious interest in writing until arriving at St. Olaf. Since then, Watt said, he has been “seduced by the creative possibilities of telling stories…. I enjoy writing immensely and I believe that there is truth in fiction.”

Currently, Watt is collaborating with a friend on a musical and will also begin work on a screenplay next fall. Both works will be part of his “Writing for Performance” portfolio. Although he has no definite plans after graduation in 2011, Watt said he hopes to have a career that involves writing.

In thanking Jenny Dunning, who taught his writing workshop this past fall, Watt noted that “she is a terrific teacher and to her I owe much of my growth as a writer.” Watt also thanked the ACM faculty committee that chose the finalist stories, Alex Kotlowitz, and the anonymous donor who made the Nick Adams Contest possible.

Honorable Mention Awarded to Jennifer Easler

Kotlowitz awarded an Honorable Mention to Jennifer Easler, also a student at St. Olaf College, for her story “Breaks.”

The story, said Kotlowitz, is “a compelling tale, and one that inventively plays with time, moving back and forth from the present to the past.”

He noted his admiration for what Easler achieved in “depicting a single moment which provides an aperture onto the main character’s past. ‘Breaks’ feels both intimate and true.”

Faculty Select Contest Finalists

Professors Ryan Fowler and Amy Singer of Knox College and George Barlow of Grinnell College served as initial faculty readers for the 2010 contest, selecting six finalists from among 43 stories submitted this year.

The finalists for the 2010 Nick Adams Short Story Contest were:

•  “Hangmen” by Andrew Watt, St. Olaf College – Winning Story (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)
•  “Breaks” by Jennifer Easler, St. Olaf College – Honorable Mention (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)
• “A Desperate Situation” by Alissa Fleck, Grinnell College
• “The Death of a Turtle” by Mona Porter, Grinnell College
• “Finding Cinnamon” by Aaron Schmaltz, Luther College
• “where the road does not lead you” by  Rae Wood, Carleton College

Kokoro Lee of Macalester College Named Winner of the 2009 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Kokoro Lee, a senior at Macalester College, has been named the winner of the 37th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Ms. Lee’s story “A Flawed Vivarium” was selected from the 40 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges. The Nick Adams Contest carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, served as the final judge for the contest this year. In commenting on Ms. Lee’s story, Ms. Niffenegger wrote:

“This is an understated, vividly imagined story that combines elements of Southern Gothic and Darwin gone awry. I appreciated the writer’s control and restraint. The protagonist, Maya, is a lovely creation, very serious and sincere, but on the edge of knowledge. This is an unusual coming-of-age story, a beautiful example of science fiction in a realistic setting.”

Kokoro Lee is a double major in Japanese and English with a focus on Creative Writing at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Lee, a native of Portland, Oregon, will be graduating this spring and plans to stay in the Twin Cities. Next year, she hopes to apply her English and Japanese majors to the JET (The Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme, a program funded by the Japanese government that places native English (and other language) teachers throughout Japan. Someday she would like to write and publish novels, short stories, and screenplays.

As a child, Ms. Lee was a voracious reader, which led “into frantic scribblings of my own stories, which mostly featured talking animals, elves and fairies.” In middle school, Ms. Lee was selected as her school’s delegate for a citywide writer’s fest, and since then she has pursued writing in one way or another. Ms. Lee would like to thank Peter Bognanni, visiting instructor in the English Department at Macalester College, whose Crafts of Writing: Fiction class spurred her to write “A Flawed Vivarium.” Ms. Lee said, “without the feedback of Peter and the entire class, the story would never have become what it has.”

Two Stories Awarded Honorable Mention

In addition to Ms. Lee’s winning story, honorable mentions were awarded to “Eleven Kinds of Lonesome” by Taylor Eagan of Coe College and “A Collective Approach” by Adam Soto of Knox College. Both of these stories are available to read (see the links below).

Ms. Niffenegger referred to Ms. Eagan’s story as “an ambitious, clever piece with many moving parts, a real juggling act. The writer has a relaxed, wry voice that made the story very pleasurable.” Ms. Niffenegger was impressed by Mr. Soto’s “empathy for and handling of the characters, and by the writer’s rendering of their complex, intertwined situations.”

Professors Shawn Gillen of Beloit College and Melissa Sodeman of Coe College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting six finalists from which Ms. Niffenegger selected the winning and honorable mention stories.

Finalists for the 2009 Nick Adams Contest:

• Taylor Eagan, Coe College —  “Eleven Kinds of Lonesome”  Honorable Mention (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)
• Kokoro Lee, Macalester College — “A Flawed Vivarium”  Winner
• Sam Martone, Knox College — “Hangman”
• David Rysdahl, St. Olaf College — “Blizzard”
• Adam Soto, Knox College —  “A Collective Approach”  Honorable Mention (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)
• Erik van Mechelen, St. Olaf College — “View from the Tower”

Myra Thompson named winner of 2008 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Myra Thompson, a senior at Knox College, has been named the winner of the 36th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Ms. Thompson’s story “Recollection” was selected from the 44 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges.

Stuart Dybek, acclaimed author of short story collections centered on life in Chicago and Distinguished Writer in Residence at Northwestern University, served as the final judge for the contest this year.

Professors Gregory Hewett of Carleton College and Charles Taliaferro of St. Olaf College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting six finalists from which Mr. Dybek selected the winner and honorable mention.

The Nick Adams Contest carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

In commenting on Ms. Thompson’s story, Mr. Dybek wrote:

“‘Recollection’ is a mature, deeply imagined, convincingly realized story. Its credibility comes not only from the writer’s exemplary sense of detail about life in Russia, but also from an equally exemplary empathetic rendering of the lives of its characters — their psychology, their ethnicity, their class, and their sense of mortality. The allied themes of aging and memory are powerfully conveyed.”

Myra Thompson, a double major in Creative Writing and Russian at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, graduated in Spring 2008 and recently received a Fulbright grant to write short stories this year in Russia, the setting for “Recollection.”

Although she began just over two years ago, Ms. Thompson has always wanted to write fiction, noting “I spent my childhood in the best apprenticeship I can imagine for a writer: reading, observing, and daydreaming.” Ms. Thompson would like to thank her family for giving her “stories and patience,” her professors for giving her “expectations and deadlines,” and God for giving her “language and hope.”

 Text of Myra Thompson’s “Recollection” (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)

Honorable mention awarded to Iris G. Garcia

In addition to Ms. Thompson’s winning story, an honorable mention was awarded to the story “Ten Occasions on Which Idalina Cried” by Iris G. Garcia of Coe College.

Mr. Dybek commented that

“The story’s structure is ingenious. The tight chapters, charmingly anecdotal at first, manage by the story’s conclusion to seem novelistic. This is a classic case of the whole being more than the sum of its parts. The ten ‘occasions’ of the story, convey both a family history and the ethos of growing up Hispanic. The writer’s deep affection for the characters and the culture is compellingly rendered.”

Ms. Garcia was also awarded an honorable mention in the Nick Adams Short Story Contest in 2006.

2008 Finalists

Iris G. Garcia, Coe College — “Ten Occasions on Which Idaline Cried” Honorable mention
Kristin Ginger, Carleton College — “James”
Megan Metzger, Beloit College — “The Pickle-Eater”
Katie Murchison, St. Olaf College — “The Mountain of Enkai”
Vincent Poturica, Carleton College — “bus journals”
Myra Thompson, Knox College —  “Recollection” Winning Story

Callie Bates named winner of the 2007 Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Callie Bates, a sophomore at Lawrence University, has been named the winner of the 35th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Ms. Bates’ story, “The Swans at Roxleigh,” was selected from the 45 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges.

Professors David McGlynn of Lawrence University and Valerie Viers of Ripon College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting six finalists from which the final judge made her choice.

Antonya Nelson, professor and author of both novels and short stories, served as the final judge for the contest this year, which carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

In commenting on Ms. Bates’ story, Ms. Nelson wrote:

This story is a lovely meditation on loss and lostness, and its central achievement, among many, is that it places the reader so thoroughly in another place, another time, with such authority. The story reminds the reader that people have endured suffering, caused suffering, and survived it for as long as time itself. I felt both transported by and utterly invested in this wonderful piece.

Callie Bates is an English major at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. While she has no definite plans for her life after Lawrence, she is considering MFA programs.

Ms. Bates says she has been “making up stories” for as long as she can remember, but didn’t start writing them down until the summer she turned 10 and has been writing ever since. She “would like to thank all of those who critiqued the original version of this story, particularly Professor McGlynn; and of course “the triumvirate”; but my deepest gratitude goes to my parents, who gave me the skills and courage with which to write.”

Ms. Bates intends to travel more extensively in the next few years and hopes to visit the place where “The Swans at Roxleigh” was set.

• Text of  “The Swans at Roxleigh” by Callie Bates. (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)

2007 Finalists

Callie Bates, Lawrence University —  “The Swans at Roxleigh” (Winning story)
Scott Reynhout, Beloit College — “For Me to Feel Less Alone”
Steve Ringman, Lawrence University — “Next Exit”
Kate Schlachter, Knox College — “Outside Johannesburg”
Lindsay Sproul, Beloit College — “A Quantity of Fish Caught”
Sarah Jane Wylder, Knox College — “The Book of Indian Birds”

Sarah Schillaci named winner of the 2006 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Sarah Schillaci, a senior at Carleton College, has been named the winner of the 34th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Ms. Schillaci’s story, “Rolande Quits Her Job,” was selected from the 39 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges.

Professors Lisa Hughes of Colorado College and Dawn Abt-Perkins of Lake Forest College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting six finalists from which the final judge made his choice.

Joe Meno, a professor, novelist, and author of several short stories, served as the final judge for the contest this year, which carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

In commenting on Ms. Schillaci’s story, Mr. Meno wrote:

With its intimate, original narrative voice glowing with human warmth and authenticity, this story does what the best stories do, revealing the truths of one particularly rich relationship. The writing here is conversational and wonderfully real, and through it, we got a glimpse into a decisive moment in the main character’s life as a high school dropout and shoes salesperson. Full of wit and humor, this story rises to the challenge of great storytelling.

Sarah Schillaci is an English major at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. Her senior thesis, “Morality in the Mess, or Why Cormac McCarthy Isn’t Pornography,” analyzed the literary use of the human body in three of McCarthy’s novels.

Ms. Schillaci began writing at the age of three with her mother. Together they wrote “How George Washington Died” — their first and, self-admitted, best work. Ms. Schillaci comments, “I would like to thank my parents who think I’m terrific even when I get fired from jobs, Greg Smith for telling me to work more on this story (even though he hated the original ending), and particularly my high school English teacher Meg Schaefer, who first got me to love reading and writing.” Ms. Schillaci expects to graduate in June and will likely join the workforce — hopefully with a better outcome than Rolande.

• Text of  “Rolande Quits Her Job” by Sarah Schillaci. (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)

In addition to Ms. Schillaci’s winning story, an honorable mention was awarded to two stories this year: “The Language of Terrible Things” by Iris G. Garcia of Coe College, and “Nighthawks” by Keith Gray of Grinnell College. Three other stories were selected as finalists by the faculty judges.

Of all six finalists, Mr. Meno noted, “all of the stories were interesting, well-written, and engaging.”

2006 Finalists

Iris G. Garcia, Coe College — “The Language of Terrible Things” (Honorable Mention)
Keith Gray, Grinnell College — “Nighthawks” (Honorable Mention)
Emilie Hanson, Macalester College — “Nonfiction Transition.”
Sarah Schillaci, Carleton College —  “Rolande Quits Her Job” (Winning Story)
Makendra Silverman, Colorado College — “Man Poses as CPR Dummy for Women’s Training Class”
Shannon Williams, Beloit College — “The Wax Sculptor”

Anne Guidry named winner of the 2005 ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest

Anne Guidry, a sophomore at Carleton College, has been named the winner of the 33rd annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Ms. Guidry’s story, “The Billie Holiday,” was selected from the 40 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges.

Professors Anne Mamary of Monmouth College and Antonia Logue of the University of Chicago served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting nine finalists from which the final judge made her choice.

S.L. Wisenberg, author of numerous short stories and essays, served as the final judge for the contest this year, which carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

In commenting on Ms. Guidry’s story, Ms. Wisenberg wrote:

This story about a Mexican immigrant family portrays in detail the interior life of the young mother of the family, as well as the life of the community. We are privy to her uncertain grasp of English, her confusion about unfamiliar city streets, her success in learning to drive, and the family’s struggle to make the U.S. their home. The story provides the texture of real life with rich details and carefully (but not self-consciously) created scenes. The title is based on the family’s misunderstanding, and the author manages to convey this without making fun of the characters. Mostly, this story is a triumph of subtlety. The story could easily become melodramatic, but instead it lightly touches upon serious issues, ending with real feelings-sorrow, connection, and confusion-that the main character can’t quite understand herself. It is written with surety and wonderful flow.

Anne Guidry is a recently declared English major — with a focus on Comparative Literature, including French and Spanish — at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Currently in her second year, Ms. Guidry has not yet taken a creative writing class at Carleton, although she hopes to do so in the coming year. She attended two summer writing programs while still in high school, The Iowa Young Writers’ Studio and The Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference. Ms. Guidry comments, “I’ve been very lucky to meet and learn from some extremely inspirational writers, including, above all, my mom.”

• Text of  “The Billie Holiday” by Anne Guidry. (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)

In addition to Ms. Guidry’s winning story, an honorable mention was awarded to three stories this year: “Apple Cheeks” by Nina Budabin McQuown of Beloit College, “Seed” by Katherine Standefer of Colorado College, and “Sylva” by Kelly Hebrank of Colorado College.

Of all nine finalists, Ms. Wisenberg noted, “The quality of the stories was amazing. I wouldn’t have thought this was undergraduate work.”

2005 Finalists

The nine finalists and their stories were:

Sarah Adair Frank, University of Chicago — “Tarpaulin”
Anne Guidry, Carleton College —  “The Billie Holiday” (Winning Story)
Kelly Hebrank, Colorado College — “Sylva” (Honorable Mention)
Al Keefe, Knox College — “The Mustelidae”
Adam Krause, Knox College — “Cobblestone”
Nina Budabin McQuown, Beloit College — “Apple Cheeks” (Honorable Mention)
JoAnna Novak, Knox College — “Jane”
Katherine Standefer, Colorado College — “Seed” (Honorable Mention)
Rebecca Thornton, Lake Forest College — “Words”

Mary Parker of Grinnell College Named 2004 Winner for Her Story “Entropy”

Mary Parker, a sophomore at Grinnell College, has been named the winner of the 32nd annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Ms. Parker’s story, “Entropy,” was selected from the 45 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges.

Professors Leslie Hankins of Cornell College and Jim Dawes of Macalester College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting the six finalists from which the final judge made her choice.

Elizabeth Crane, a novelist and author of numerous short stories, served as the final judge for the contest this year, which carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

In commenting on Ms. Parker’s story, Ms. Crane wrote:

I found “Entropy” to be extremely moving in its portrait of a relationship in the face of this crisis, with finely drawn characters and written in a fresh way with the scientific focus — it can be difficult to write in second person successfully, but I feel this author has done a great job. My congratulations to the author.

Mary Parker is an English and French double major at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Currently in her second year, Ms. Parker originally wrote this story during her senior year of high school for a creative writing class at the University of Arkansas.

After she graduates from Grinnell, Ms. Parker plans to go to graduate school and eventually to teach English, possibly abroad. She comments, “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in writing — I composed my first ‘poem’ at the age of two or three and my parents recited it for years afterward.” Ms. Parker would like to thank Erin Shirl, Martha McNair, and her family for their support.

• Text of  “Entropy” by Mary Parker. (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)

2004 Finalists

Peter Likarish, Grinnell College — “Kitsune” (Honorable Mention)
Danika Leslie Sasha Maddocks, Macalester College — “You’re Breaking Up”
Mary Parker, Grinnell College —  “Entropy” (Winning Story)
Maggie Queeney, Knox College — “The Deaf Hear Like This”
Laura Schechter, The College of the University of Chicago — “The Dead Space”
Jennifer Walton-Wetzel, Macalester College — “The Armors”

Ross Kelly of Knox College Named 2003 Winner for His Story “Templeton Appeared Stoic”

Ross Kelly, a senior at Knox College, has been named the winner of the 31st annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest.

Mr. Kelly’s story, “Templeton Appeared Stoic,” was selected from 40 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges. Professors Susan Dobrian of Coe College and Mark Baechtel of Grinnell College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting the six finalists from which the final judge made her choice.

Jean Thompson — novelist, short story author, and professor at the University of Illinois — served as the final judge for the contest this year, which carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

In commenting on Mr. Kelly’s story, Ms. Thompson wrote:

“Templeton Appeared Stoic” is a risky story whose subject matter — the sexual abuse of children — is queasy, even brutal. The story does not veer away from what is difficult, yet neither does it sensationalize. Its emphasis is instead on the psychology of memory and of repression. It shows how family history, both spoken and unspoken, shapes lives. This is one of the few stories I’ve read recently that handles two different point of view successfully. When the different versions of reality, the father’s and the son’s, collide, we see how both men have been wounded. This is a mature and accomplished story. I admire it very much.

Ross Kelly is a Creative Writing major at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He grew up in Kansas, where, in his own words, he was “raised by a herd of bison.” Currently in his senior year, Mr. Kelly recently completed an Honors Project in which he wrote and directed a play entitled “Deserters.” Following graduation, he will join the Teach for America Corps in the Mississippi Delta.

• Text of  “Templeton Appeared Stoic” by Ross Kelly. (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)

2003 Finalists

Sarah Aswell, Grinnell College — “Mrs. Wells Takes a Call” (Honorable Mention)
Benjamin Jacobson, St. Olaf College — “The Young Lutheran’s Guide to Trippin’ Balls”
Ross Kelly, Knox College —  “Templeton Appeared Stoic” (Winning Story)
Liz Mathews, Coe College — “The Way You Made Them Suffer”
Schonali Rebello, Knox College — “Coconuts” (Honorable Mention)
Daniel Sinykin, St. Olaf College — “The Hibernating Outpost”

Benjamin Jacobson of St. Olaf College Named the 2002 Winner for His Story “Faculty Brat”

Benjamin Jacobson, a junior at St. Olaf College, has been named the winner of the 30th annual ACM Nick Adams Short Story Contest. Mr. Jacobson’s story, “Faculty Brat,” was selected from the more than 40 stories submitted by students from ACM colleges. Professors Shawn Gillen of Beloit College and Ross Vander Meulen of Knox College served as initial faculty readers for the contest, selecting the six finalists from which the final judge made his choice.

Stephen Raleigh Byler, author of Searching for Intruders: A Novel in Stories, served as the final judge for the contest this year, which carries with it a first prize of $1,000, made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

Benjamin Jacobson is an English major at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. Currently in his junior year, Mr. Jacobson is considering pursuit of an M.F.A. in creative writing following his 2003 graduation. He grew up in Lake Crystal, MN and first became interested in writing during middle school when, in his own words, he wrote “embarrassingly bad science fiction stories.” Mr. Jacobson’s interest in writing was strengthened through further, and what he calls “more sophisticated,” reading. “Faculty Brat” was written in an independent creative writing course taught by Jim Heynen, and Mr. Jacobson expressed his thanks to Mr. Heynen.

• Text of  “Faculty Brat” by Benjamin Jacobson. (Note: This story is reprinted with permission. Reproduction of this story without the express, written permission of the author is prohibited.)

2002 Finalists

Eileen G’Sell, Knox College — “What You Can’t Have”
David Harrington, Grinnell College — “Cleaning Up”
Benjamin Jacobsen, St. Olaf College —  “Faculty Brat” (Winning Story)
Kirsten Jorgenson, Lake Forest College — “Flashing Red Light” (Honorable Mention)
David Karczynski, Knox College — “Still Lives”
Nico Vreeland, Carleton College — “Day 216”