Uncategorized | January 05, 2016

After weeks of reading, rereading, and then rereading some more, we’re proud and excited to announce the winners and finalists of our 25th annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize. We received a record number of around 3100 entries this year, and the quality of all the work submitted made our final decisions very difficult. I’d like to thank all the writers who submitted and gave us the chance to read their work.

Here are our winners in all three genres:

FICTION

Winner:

Emma Torzs of Minneapolis, MN, for “The Wall”

Finalists:

Becky Adnot-Haynes of Cincinnati, OH, for “What Are You Afraid Of?”

 Maria Anderson of Laramie, WY, for “Kalispell”

 Cynthia Robinson of Ithaca, NY, for “Maison des Oiseaux”

POETRY

Winner:

Phillip B. Williams of Chicago, IL

Finalists:

 Jackie Craven of Schenectady, NY

 Allison Davis of Provincetown, MA

Corey Van Landingham of Gettysburg, PA

NONFICTION

Winner:

 Genese Grill of Burlington, VT, for “Portals: Cabinets of Curiosity, Reliquaries, and Colonialism”

 Finalists:

 John W. Evans of Mountain View, CA for “The Polish Prince”

Dionne Irving of South Bend, IN, for “Treading Water”

Dan Musgrave of St. Louis, MO for “Worry”

I want to thank my team of contest readers and assistants this year for making the reading, rereading, and selecting process go smoothly. Big thanks to Hannah Cuthbertson, Leanna Petronella, Traci Cox, Jennifer McCauley, Katie McGinnis, Jessica Osborne, Marek Makowski, Evelyn Somers, Dedra Earl, and Christina Bramon for all their help.

We are currently making plans for our Editors’ Prize weekend, our annual spring reading and reception to honor the winners of the contest. The Editors’ Prize issue, featuring our winners, will also be out in spring of 2016.

Please stay tuned for details of our 9^th Annual Miller Audio Contest, which you can check out here: http://www.missourireview.com/audiovisual/submissions/. The deadline is March 15, 2016.