The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation’s 2018 Award for College Writers goes to a student at the University of Texas at Austin, for fiction, and a student at Emory University, for poetry. Each wins a $1,000 cash prize, sponsored by Amistad Press, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.
Desiree Evans, a Master of Fine Arts student from South Louisiana, wins the fiction prize for her story “Belly.” Christell Victoria Roach, a senior English major from Miami, Fla., wins the poetry prize for a collection titled “Mango Season.” Honorable mentions also were awarded to Mia Hoover, a senior at Stanford University, for fiction, and Ebony E. Chinn, a Master of Fine Arts student at the University of Alabama, for poetry. Each will receive a $250 cash prize.
The fiction competition was judged by David Anthony Durham, author of seven novels and winner of the 1992 college award. In selecting Evans’ story, Durham said, “From the first lines of ‘Belly’ I knew I was in the hands of a brilliant storyteller. I was impressed by the confidence of the author’s voice, the vivid evocation of place, the careful rendering of complex relationships, and the backdrop of a community struggling against unrelenting forces steadily eroding the land and history and culture they so cherish. … Clearly, this story heralds a writer of tremendous talent and promise.”
The poetry competition was judged by Nate Marshall, author of “Wild Hundreds” and winner of the 2014 college award for poetry. In selecting Roach’s poetry, Marshall said, “These poems showed a commitment and facility with image that is admirable. These are poems that unfold themselves in a slow, surprising way that rewards a reader’s patient eye. I admire the way this poet is able to transmit the emotion of a moment on the page without telling us how to feel in some way that is overbearing or hackneyed. These poems are about mangoes but about so much more. They, like the mango, are a gift to the reader for what they reveal underneath their skins.”
The award, which debuted in 1991 and is the longest-running program of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, encourages college creative writers with support early in their writing careers. Almost 60 students from 50 colleges and universities submitted their work for the 2018 competition. The judges, who have sole discretion in making the selections, are sent entries without information that would identify the authors or their schools. Deborah Heard, the foundation’s executive director, noted that the number of submissions increases each year, saying: “We’re seeing a wonderful breath of talent from some amazing writers and we appreciate that their professors are encouraging them to submit their work.”
This is the fifth year that the award has been sponsored by Amistad and HarperCollins Publishers. Tracy Sherrod, editorial director of Amistad, said “It is a great pleasure for Amistad/HarperCollins to continue supporting the H/W College Award. Having the opportunity to encourage the work of college students in the areas of fiction and poetry is truly an honor.”
Former Hurston/Wright college writers who have found publishing success include Tayari Jones, Brit Bennett, Natalie Baszile, Mitchell S. Jackson and Ravi Howard.
The college winners will be honored at the Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Friday October 19, 2018. The evening features the announcement of the winners of the juried awards for debut fiction, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as presentation of awards for career achievement. More than 200 literary stars and representatives of the publishing industry, media, politics, arts, and academia attend the annual ceremony. Visit www.hurstonwright.org for event details.
