Hiram College recently hosted an Evening of Hiram Writers, in which talented student writers read their fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Selected winners from the Barbara Thompson Award for Short Fiction, Lindsay-Crane Contest in Creative Nonfiction, and the Vachel Lindsay Poetry Contest shared excerpts from their awarded work.
The following quotes about each winning entry are from the judges’ citations for each piece.
Lindsay-Crane Creative Nonfiction Contest, judged by Emily Maloney
First place: Andrea Goodman for “Missing Girls”
“”Missing Girls” acts as a thoughtful examination of the complicated feelings associated with transracial adoption from the point of view of an adoptee.”
Second place: Makayla Thomas for “Washer and Dryer MUST be Included”
“In “Washer and Dryer MUST be Included,” we are swept into the voice of the narrator and her grandmother and really get a sense of the stakes of her housing hunt.”
Third place: Darian Kanno for “Obaa-chan: Grandmother”
“Though this is a brief piece, we get a sense of the importance of the grandmother in the narrator’s life, and their (at times) complicated relationship.”
Honorable mention: Dylan Baumgardner for “Emma Olive Ryder: Hiram’s First Librarian”
“A thoroughly researched piece about Hiram College’s first female librarian; we get a sense of the history associated with the college and what drew the author to write about her.”
Vachel Lindsay Poetry Contest, judged by Leila Chatti
First Place: Kie Detweiler writes, “a study in absence,” “casualty and calamity,” “degeneration and entropy”
Second Place: Darius Phillips writes, “Mystery Boy. Black Space. Red Hands.”
Third Place: Ian Johnson writes, “The Hitchhiker”
Honorable Mention: Kerry Hamilton writes, “Friends with boys”
Barbara Thompson Award for Short Fiction, judged by Abby Vandiver
First Place: Emma Johnson for “Carousel”
“Imaginative storytelling showcasing life in today’s world.”
Second Place: Lauren Hildum for “Moments in Time”
“An engaging storyline. It shows how easily secrets can be let loose when emotions are involved and how even when intentions are good, there may be after effects.”
Third Place: Darius Phillips for “The Venators”
“Thought-provoking and at times suspenseful. This apocalyptic tale mirrors how a government, in its edicts, wants to determine what is good and bad for its society and how those actions can turn its people against one another.”
Honorable Mention: Xelle Starr for “Bodies in the Hinterlands”
“Descriptive language, social commentary and personal woes make for a relatable and interesting story.”
By Elyse Pitkin
