The 9th 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 700 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 2023 Fall Fiction Contest are:
- First Place: “I found a genie in a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year” by Tayler Kastros
- Second Place: “Dark Water” by Gabe Converse
- Third Place: “Sleeping Beauty” by R.E. Bunch
- Fourth Place: “Beasts” by Ness Wheeler
- Fifth Place: “Rat-a-tat” by Mackenzie Bodily
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 an upcoming virtual Student Writer Spotlight event. They’ll also receive two books, including “How to Write Short Stories and Get Them Published” by Ashley Lister and “The Best American Short Stories 2023.”
Meet the Winners
The 2023 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
Tayler Kastros has always been inspired by mystery, mysticism and the significance of life’s small moments.
Kastros wrote the 2023 Fall Fiction Contest’s winning piece, “I found a genie in a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year,” in her favorite coffee shop in Saginaw, Michigan, while she was unsure what career direction she wanted to take. She said this story helped her to express her feelings on the complexity of love, loneliness and being in her 20s.
Currently, Kastros is pursuing a degree in business administration and human resource management at SNHU. She hopes to work in talent acquisition and recruitment while also pursuing writing. She has been published in Milk Candy Review, FEED Magazine, Daily Drunk Magazine, The Roadrunner Review, Cease, Cows Magazine and more.
Second Place
Although Gabe Converse has been writing for seven years, he grew serious about it more recently. He’s written six books and some screenplays, and he is now submitting his writing to enhance his portfolio. He said he hopes to find a literary agent to help him publish his most recent manuscript.
“Dark Water” stemmed from an idea Converse had about a couple struggling to move past grief. He heard about SNHU’s Fall Fiction Contest last minute and finished the story shortly before the deadline. Converse is currently in his first year of SNHU’s bachelor’s in creative writing and English program, and this was his first time submitting to the annual contest. “I entered for two reasons: because I love to write and I wanted to push myself to do something out of my comfort zone,” he said.
Besides writing, Converse also enjoys drawing, reading and watching horror movies.
Third Place
R.E. Bunch has been writing as a hobby for a long time, and, in 2015, she decided to turn her passion into a career. After receiving positive feedback from instructor Dr. Lisa Wood in her MFA program, she decided to submit “Sleeping Beauty” to SNHU’s Fall Fiction Contest.
“Sleeping Beauty” was inspired by the feeling of unexpected loss as well as Grimm’s Fairytales. Bunch also took inspiration from the story of George Carl Tanzler and Elena “Helen” Milagro de Hoyos.
Bunch has self-published three books so far: “Phobias,” “The By-Blow Promise Land” and “Next of Kin.” In her free time, she enjoys painting and carving linoleum prints, and she hopes to pursue opportunities that allow her to turn her writing and art into a full-time business.
Fourth Place
Ness Wheeler has been telling stories as long as she can remember. First, it was a method of entertaining her little brothers, and eventually, she decided to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Creative Writing and English. “The Fall Fiction Contest has been my first foray into submitting my work,” she said.
While writing “Beasts,” Wheeler found support in a local writing group and her instructor, Brenda Stephens. She has always been fascinated by the intelligence of crows and their interactions with humans. “Conversations about religion are integral to my writing, so I wanted to explore a dichotomy between the type of religion a society of crows would create versus the religion human societies follow,” she said.
Wheeler lives in rural Virginia with her two cats, Howl and Calcifer. She works as an assistant librarian and an intern at a literary agency. She dreams of publishing a fantasy novel and hopes to work as a literary agent to help other authors achieve their goals, as well as uplift voices that are often underrepresented in the publishing industry.
Fifth Place
While M.W. Bodily has been writing for a few years, she didn’t start sharing her work publicly until recently. She thought that the Fall Fiction Contest would be a great place to start.
When writing “Rat-a-Tat,” Bodily was thinking of childhood fears that can come from a vivid imagination, like ghosts or monsters. “’Rat-a-Tat’ was a science fiction interpretation of my childhood fears,” she said. “Specifically, I wanted to focus on how the fear of imaginary monsters, physical or mental, can hold us back and impact our lives.”
As she’s nearing the end of her BA in Creative Writing and English, Bodily said she would love to expand her career into literature and turn writing into a full-time job. “I’m excited to continue my writing journey and know that I and my classmates have great futures ahead of us,” she said.
Category: