The 10th annual Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Fall Fiction Contest brought writers from across the country together for a chance to win a scholarship to SNHU and publication in The Penmen Review. After receiving more than 750 submissions, a panel of creative writing experts considered several factors during their review, including originality, structure, character arc, language and whether the story was engaging.
Once the judging concluded, the top-scoring stories made it to the voting round, and the public weighed in on their favorites. The winners of the 2024 Fall Fiction Contest are:
- First Place: “Train a Comin’” by N. Ryan Tucker
- Second Place: “Waiting for the Sun to Go Down” by Jesse Teller
- Third Place: “See” by Amy Midgett
- Fourth Place: “The Roller Coaster at the End of the World” by Jenel Alan
- Fifth Place: “The Five Stages of Grieving My Attention Span” by Megan Okonsky
The top three writers received $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 scholarships, respectively, that can be applied to an SNHU undergraduate or graduate degree program.
All five stories earned publication in The Penmen Review, and the writers will have an opportunity to read their work at a Word for Word virtual event on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 (register to attend the event here). They’ll also receive the book “The Best American Short Stories 2024,” edited by Lauren Groff and Heidi Pitlor.
Meet the Winners
The 2024 finalists have different writing backgrounds, educational pursuits and professional goals. All five stories explore unique themes that set them apart and resonated with readers.
First Place
N. Ryan Tucker’s craftsmanship of words started with his mom, who worked as a librarian when he was young. Tucker initially took a different path to writing and worked in the music industry for several years. He found his passion for writing through songwriting and lyrics.
Tucker wrote the 2024 Fall Fiction Contest’s winning piece, “Train a Comin’.” “I received the submission guidelines a few days before the deadline,” he said. “I’d been sitting on ‘Train a Comin’’ for a while, and this felt as good an opportunity as any to put it out there.”
Currently, Tucker is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English and Creative Writing at SNHU. He has previously published short stories, as well as essays on photography.
Second Place
Jesse Teller discovered his love of writing after receiving a creative writing assignment from his fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Olsen. Olsen allowed Teller to stay in his room during recess and encouraged him to continue writing. Teller’s love of writing was nurtured further in high school when his English teacher discovered he was a writer. “She guided my high school career, got me in all the classes that writers would need to take, which I never would’ve taken,” he said. “She created a writer’s group, and I became the leader of it, a rowdy bunch of artists and outcasts.”
Teller wrote the second-place story in the 2024 Fall Fiction Contest, “Waiting for the Sun to Go Down.” He credits his writing process as the inspiration behind his story. “The story itself is like finishing a book, and at the end, when the kid is waiting for the sun to go down so he can listen to the album a second time, that’s what it’s like to wait to start my next book.”
This is Teller’s first year at SNHU, where he is pursuing his bachelor’s in creative writing and literary theory.
Third Place
Amy Midgett was a journalist in the U.S. Coast Guard for 22 years. Now, she gets to enjoy writing fiction and horror.
Midgett wrote the third-place story, “See.” The inspiration came from a flight Midgett was on while traveling from Savannah, Georgia, to Phoenix, Arizona. “An older couple was seated across the aisle from me. She clearly was not well, and he took great pains to make her as comfortable as possible,” she said. “He never stopped touching her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. The tenderness between them struck me, and I knew I wanted to know more about them. Hank and Elizabeth are that couple.”
Midgett is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing at SNHU. She aims to work with an agent and have her stories traditionally published.
Fourth Place
Dr. Jenel Alan not only has a passion for writing but a passion for history as well. She holds a PhD in history and works as a history professor. Currently, she is pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at SNHU.
Alan won fourth place in the 2024 Fall Fiction Contest with “The Roller Coaster at the End of the World.” She crafted this story by looking at different images online. “One brainstorming technique I use is to look at random photos, and create random word lists, and try to connect the dots between them,” she said.
Prior to the Fall Fiction Contest, Alan published “Rell,” a young adult fantasy novel. Her short stories and poems have been published online and in various anthologies.
Fifth Place
Megan Okonsky found her devotion to writing while backpacking. “I have loved writing all my life but really started to take it seriously when I backpacked through the world in my 20s,” she said. “I had a travel blog for a few years, then pivoted to copywriting and ghostwriting.”
Okonsky wrote the fifth-place winning piece, “The Five Stages of Grieving My Attention Span.” “I wanted to write something short, entertaining and a bit sarcastic,” she said. “I spent the past few years working at a job that killed my attention span, so I thought it would be fun to follow the five stages of grief as I mourned my lost ability to focus.”
She hopes to continue writing fiction that readers can connect to emotionally. Her debut novel, “The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace,” is set to be released in August 2025.
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