蘑菇短视频

Poetry

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Fiction

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Nonfiction

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Poetry

Judged by

Winner: 鈥淥ff the Side of I-40鈥� by Breanna Stewart

Judge's note: In its ecocritical observation, this poem reveals great attention to things we pass habitually and unremarkably by. The eye of this poem is looking so closely at our mess, we鈥檙e able to make out shapes in a pupil鈥檚 reflection and catch the once alive animals, now ghosts, 鈥渃owering in their / considerable viscera.鈥� There is also some lovely soundwork happening in this poem. 

 

Runner-up: 鈥淣on Sequitur鈥� by Kaylee Ren茅e

Judge's note: This is a poem full of surprises. I am never bored inside this little room. I love the fearless choices the poet makes and the unexpected turns of the lines.

 

Poetry Finalists

鈥淏ear food鈥� by Andrew Baker

鈥淎nthropophagy, Vampirism, or Eat and You Will Be Saved鈥� by Andrew Baker

鈥渢he flowers in the kitchen鈥� by Rachel Barron

鈥淥ink Oink鈥� by Austin Knepper

鈥淐atch and Release鈥� by Willow Lindsay

鈥淐annibal Animal鈥� by Elizabeth Scruggs

Prize in Fiction

Judged by

Winner: 鈥淎nother Dead Deer鈥� by Ari Pohl

Judge's note: This is a dense, beautifully layered, powerful story鈥攍ike a long poem in that it takes a few readings to fully appreciate. I love how Con鈥檚 trip back home to visit his sick mother already feels daunting to him but having to drag his roommate Keenan along has made matters worse.  I love how the disturbing flashbacks with Uncle James are woven into the present with Con and Keenan hunting in the woods and how the rising tension between Con鈥檚 past and his present ultimately delivers us to the story鈥檚 devastating ending.

 

Runner-up: 鈥淲hen Aliens Turn the Ocean Red鈥� by Clare Wehner

Judge's note: An intriguing and moving story told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator, a teenage girl, who turns out to be reliable in her own way.  The story revolves around the narrator鈥檚 sisterly relationship with an older neighbor boy, more of a brother to her. I liked a lot about this story, but I really liked how both characters seemed to be trying on different versions of the truth and how the reader is never quite sure what to trust and yet behind it all is genuine loss.鈥� contest judge, Tommy Hays

 

Fiction Finalists

鈥淭he Man Who Dined with Foxes鈥� by Rachel Barron

鈥淒rywood鈥� by Finley Dunn

鈥淔odder鈥檚 Knife鈥� by Lily Jones

鈥淥ink鈥� by AK Kern

Nonfiction

Judged by

Winner: 鈥淥ctober and Then Some鈥� by Lottie Lannigan

Judge's note: 鈥淥ctober and Then Some,鈥� is a love letter to a place struck by a cataclysm, but before that, organized abandonment. This is a true love letter in that it feels written by someone both exalted and decimated by that love; someone capable of appreciating both scars and loveliness; someone able to encounter the sacred among its quarries, its shipping containers, and its people. 

 

Runner-up: 鈥淪hapeshifters鈥� by Anthony Dilbeck

Judge's note: 鈥淪hapeshifters,鈥� is a lovely portrayal of becoming. We are brought into the quietly powerful moments of a person鈥檚 self-determination. It roars with a whisper because it brings us close enough to speak its truth into our ear. 鈥� contest judge, Jos茅 Ordu帽a

 

Nonfiction Finalists

鈥淪econd Skin鈥� by Avery Luft

鈥淪hame Spiral鈥� by Blake Murdock

鈥淭he Chicken Yard Rulebook鈥� by Deo Shelton

鈥淐ountry Rat in the Cityhouse鈥� by Makayla S Williams

 

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Judged by

1st - "A Freedom Legacy," by Ky Walker

Judge's note: A hauntingly beautiful piece with a near-mythic quality, detailing the intergenerational struggles of a family seeking a place to call home. 

2nd - "We Should Print T-shirts: Reflections on a North Carolina Social Work Advocacy Day," by Maddy Rojas

Judge's note: A candid and stirring firsthand account of the democratic process that highlights its promise while not shying away from its shortcomings. 

3rd - "Asbestos Was Acclaimed as an Excellent Fire Retardant. It Also Causes Cancer," by Remy Cox

Judge's note: A poem about grief and loss that gestures toward hard-won hope and renewal in the aftermath of tragedy.

 

Finalists:

Ashbury Haight, "Woodrat"

Jo Norwood, "Between Us"

Michelle Dyer, "Grief"

Andy Coe, "The Beekeeper"

 

*Zackary Vernon

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