Thanks to a generous gift from alumnus Mr. Frank H. Newell, the English Department awards prizes for outstanding student work in short fiction to currently enrolled undergraduate students. Department faculty nominated stories produced in fall creative writing classes, and winners were selected by award-winning author Jessica Barksdale Inclan, whose most recent book is the story collection Trick of the Porch Light.
First place: “Visitation of the Worm” by Montgomery Remer
Judge’s comments: A disturbing and hopefully metaphorical story about the experience of being viscerally pulled apart with the hopes of reintegration, and yet, will that happen? Well-described from the start, very creepy and slightly Gregor Samsa, and hard to forget, this story takes us through the intense details the main character faces as he waits for the worm.
Second place: “Cut and Crease” by Sophia Valva
Judge’s comments: A story of an artist madman who steals an idea and makes it his own without remorse. The writer puts us directly into this intensely driven POV, so we see the "artistic" process, which is likely realistic but also appalling. Great sinking into this character, and a very creative project that the main character steals and makes his own.
Third place: “Stir Fry” by Catalina Forister
Judge’s comments: Told in the second-person, this story is a recipe for how to keep trying even in the mist of culinary and dating failure. And yet, the main character doesn't stop in the attempt to put it all together. So much effort! Oh, what might have been. Inventive both in idea and the telling, Stir Fry was a good read, our desperate hopes so much pinned on something that just was not going to turn out well at all.
Please be sure to congratulate these students when you see them on campus!
About Frank H. Newell
Mr. Newell graduated from Willamette University in 1949, and subsequently enjoyed a 58-year run in the newspaper and broadcast business. He got his start at Salem’s Capital Journal, where he began in the advertising department. Over the years, he worked his way up through the ranks, and ultimately served as publisher of several news outlets across the nation over his long and successful career. Mr. Newell did not slow down in retirement, however, and at 93, saw his first novel published. He long had a love for fiction writing, with a particular emphasis on short stories, and wanted to foster this interest in future generations of Willamette University students. Mr. Newell passed away in 2022.