Z.G. Watkins | The Conium Review

Kevin Finucane is the 2017 Innovative Short Fiction Contest winner

Jul 15, 2017

Stephen Graham Jones has finished deliberating, and he selected Kevin Finucane‘s “I Am Me” as this year’s Innovative Short Fiction Contest winner!

Kevin Finucane was awarded a bronze Solas Award by Travelers’ Tales in creative nonfiction in 2009 and was named a finalist for the Faulkner-Wisdom Competition in the novella category for 2010.

This year’s finalists were Andrew Campell, J. L. Montavon, Sarah Scarr, and Stephanie Wang. Honorable mention goes to Emily Grelle, Jen Knox, and Z. G. Watkins. Here’s what Stephen Graham Jones had to say about Kevin Finucane’s winning story:

“Life moves pretty fast in the here and now, and ‘I Am Me’ gets it on the page with enough terror and comedy and longing that we can’t help but see ourselves there. It’s a scary, twisted reflection, but it’s a lot more helpful than the nice easy lies we usually get told.”

—Stephen Graham Jones, contest judge and author of Mongrels

Kevin’s winning story will be published in The Conium Review: Vol. 6, due out later this year from Conium Press. He will also receive $500, five copies of the issue, and a copy of Stephen Graham Jone’s latest book.

Thanks to all who submitted to this year’s contest. We’ll be announcing next year’s judge soon. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about these calls for submissions and news from The Conium Review and Conium Press.

2016 Innovative Short Fiction Contest results

Jul 10, 2016

Kathryn Hill headshot Lindsay Hunter has selected Kathryn Hill as the winner of the 2016 Innovative Short Fiction Contest for her short story, “The Mother.”

Kathryn Hill is an MFA candidate in fiction at Arizona State University where she also teaches and reads prose for Hayden’s Ferry Review. Her fiction has appeared in Passages North, Pamplemousse, and Glassworks Magazine, and is forthcoming in Gigantic Sequins, Fiction Southeast, and Four Chambers Press. She is the recipient of a 2016 Virginia G. Piper Global Fellowship and is currently at work on her first novel.

This year’s finalists are Kate Gies, Ingrid Jendrzejewski, Marc Sheehan, and Z.G. Watkins. With an honorable mention for Tara Kipnees. Here’s what Lindsay had to say about Kathryn Hill’s winning story:

“This story felt as alive, as full of cells, as the child the protagonist agonizes over carrying. It is heartbreaking and harsh, and an important insight into the ever-morphing chemistry of a mother’s brain. We are and aren’t our mothers, metaphorically and chemically, for better or for worse. Motherhood is a choice; it both is and isn’t.”

—Lindsay Hunter, contest judge and author of Ugly Girls

Kathryn’s piece will be published in The Conium Review: Vol. 5, scheduled for November of this year. She will receive a $500 prize, contributor copies of Vol. 5, and a copy of the judge’s latest book. As usual, there were plenty of amazing stories to chose from. Lindsay Hunter and The Conium Review staff thanks all those who submitted. We hope you’ll send more work again soon!

We’ll be announcing the 2017 judge soon. Sign up for our newsletter for this and other upcoming news from The Conium Review and Conium Press.