Illustration by David Owens
The winners of the 2017 short story and essay contests are an impressive group. Both of the adult winners are in their 20s, and the high school short story winner was the 2016 essay contest winner. This year, 100 adults and 41 high school students entered the short story contest, and 116 adults and 47 high school students entered the essay contest. The writers who placed in the contests, which were sponsored by Bethesda Magazine and the Bethesda Urban Partnership, were awarded cash prizes ranging from $50 to $500 at the Bethesda Literary Festival in April.
Short Story
Adult Short Story
- First Place, Sara Franklin-Gillette, “The Quarry”
- Second Place, Dini Duran Karasik, “Elsa & Segundo”
- Third Place, Marisa Fein, “China”
- Honorable Mention, Pallavi Chandra, “One Icy Morning”
- Honorable Mention, Amaly Gillig, “The Tenuous Spaces”
High School Short Story
- First Place, Jack Kiyonaga, “Gray Worlds”
- Second Place, Cindy Song, “Broken String”
- Third Place, Ben Friedman, “When a Man Loves”
- Honorable Mention, Dana Gurland, “The Hopeful Planet”
- Honorable Mention, Lee Schwartz, “Excerpts from a Journal—An Adolescent’s First Loss”
- Honorable Mention, Edith Stone, “Thorns”
Essay
Adult Essay
- First Place, Stella Donovan, “Now Play”
- Second Place, Robbie Maakestad, “What to Do When Trapped in a Tiny Turkish Hotel Elevator While Studying Abroad”
- Third Place, Elliot Wilner, “Mourning FDR”
- Honorable Mention, Sarah Bigham, “The Right Fit”
- Honorable Mention, Tanya Edwards, “The Bracelet”
- Honorable Mention, Jessica North Macie, “Hometown Turtle”
High School Essay
- First Place, Nina Gautam, “Where Are You From?”
- Second Place, Kathleen Cho, “A Wordless Way”
- Third Place, Jordan DeVeaux, “Invisible Crown”
- Honorable Mention, Hannah Ashe, “The Voice From Arthès”
- Honorable Mention, Sophia Azimi, “Traveling the World in One Place”
- Honorable Mention, Katherine Byrnes, “Illegitimacy”
