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NC State Fiction Contest

The annual NC State Fiction Contest is a free literary competition open to all North Carolina residents, including out-of-state and international students who are enrolled in North Carolina universities. It remains one of the largest free-to-enter fiction contests in the South.

2023 Contest Rules

This year’s guest judge is Smriti Ravindra, Fulbright scholar and author of The Woman Who Climbed Trees. Contestants may enter one story in each of the two contest categories:

  • The James Hurst Prize for Fiction ($500): An unpublished short story of no more than 5,000 words. In addition to the winner, several honorable mention awards will be presented.
  • The Shorter Fiction Prize ($250): An unpublished short story of no more than 1,200 words. One honorable mention award will be presented.
  1. The contest is open to all North Carolina residents except:
    1. Tenured/tenure-track professors in the University of North Carolina system; creative-writing instructors teaching at North Carolina State University (but teaching assistants and graduate students are eligible).
    2. Writers with a published book of fiction (if we can buy your book online or from a publisher or bookstore, we consider you published).
    3. Previous winners. Previous finalists must submit stories that have not been previously submitted.
  2. Contestants may enter no more than one story in each of the two contest categories. 
  3. Entries may not have been previously published anywhere, in print or online, including personal blogs or websites.
  4. All entries must be typed and titled.
  5. Contestants should not include their name on their stories so that their work can be judged anonymously. Instead, contestants should include their name, address, telephone number and email address on a separate cover sheet.
  6. No emailed entries are accepted. Please mail entries to: NC State Poetry Contest, Department of English, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8105, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8105.
  7. The postmark deadline is October 14, 2023.

2023 Contest Winners

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Olivia Mackie, “Five Children Dead” (New Hill, NC)
Honorable Mentions
  • Elizabeth Swann, “Lightning Strike” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Simon Palmore, “Blood on the Road” (Durham, NC)
Finalists
  • Luisa Peñaflor, “Nacientes” (Carrboro, NC)
  • Jody Herring, “Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Alex McWalters, “Tensile Strength” (Swannanoa, NC)
  • Robert McGee, “Bold Breathless Love” (Asheville, NC)
  • David Ojo, “Instants of Time” (Durham, NC)
  • Chirodip Naha, “Bhagwan Ji” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jean-Luc Bouchard, “Good Intentions” (Greensboro, NC)

Shorter Fiction Prize

  • Robert McGee, “Why I Never Published My Novel” (Asheville,NC)
Honorable Mention
  • Zachary Jenkins, “Oranges” (Charlotte, NC)
Finalists
  • Nitya Budamagunta, “The Dream Machine” (Morrisville, NC)
  • Cameron Edwards, “Sun” (Fayetteville, NC)
  • Sally Parlier, “A Dumb House” (Raleigh, NC)
  • C.G. Thompson, “The Power of What’s Said” (Greenville, NC)

Past Winners

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Maya Afilalo, “Home Improvement” (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Michael Mount, “Hitchhiker” (Asheville, NC)
  • Clayton Walker, “Exploited to Instinct” (Rolesville, NC)

Finalists

  • Jean-Luc Bouchard, “Fear of Injury” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Holly Brantley, “The Sparrow and the Lily“(Spring Hope, NC)
  • Brenda Greene, “A Sucker for Redheads” (Enfield, NC)
  • Gabriel Holder, “Scarecrows” (Mebane, NC)
  • Rebecca Holder, “Virgil Thompson’s Salvation” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Sally Parlier, “Fortunate” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Dean Marshall Tuck, “Vision Quest” (Bailey, NC)
  • AlTonya Washington, “The Outside Child” (Winston-Salem, NC)

Shorter Fiction Prize

  • Molly Edmonds, “Good Samaritans” (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Susan Wilson, “Dusk” (Clemmons, NC)

Finalists

  • Maya Afilalo, “Northern Moon Semi-Annual Review: Submission Guidelines” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Laura Bayzle, “Lost & Found” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Siew David Hii, “Go On Then” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Evan Hoopfer, “Her Dream” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Ben Kasierski, “Cost of Acceptance” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Isaac Lewis, “Food for Fire” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Robert McGee, “The Jerk” (Asheville, NC)
  • Tuesday Pil, “The Holy Sacraments of Filipino Food” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Amanda Solliday, “Yellow Jackets” (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2022 NC STATE UNDERGRADUATE FICTION PRIZE

  • Tuesday Pil, “The Holy Sacraments of Filipino Food” (Raleigh, NC); sophomore, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Elizabeth Quirk, “The Plague of Wolves” (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Matthew Fiander, “The Black-Barred Heart” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Clayton Walker, “Neck Tattoo” (Rolesville, NC)

Finalists

  • Maya Afilalo, “We Are All Adults Here” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jean-Luc Bouchard, “Turn Your Back to the Sun” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Holly Brantley, “The Purification of Augustine Albemarle” (Spring Hope, NC)
  • Michael Colbert, “Dinner Party Stories” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Elizabeth Coletti, “You Don’t Know Me Yet” (Carrboro, NC)
  • Philip Goldberg, “One Road Out” (Durham, NC)
  • Courtney Justus, “Stained-Glass Windows” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Sarah Newton, “The Stipulations of Flying” (Rocky Point, NC)
  • Howard Pearre, “Byline” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Isabel Walsh, “Screen” (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2021 Shorter Fiction Prize

  • Michael Colbert, “Horror Movie” (Wilmington, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Robert McGee, “Secrets” (Asheville, NC)

Finalists

  • Albert Howard Carter, “All Stretched Out” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Emily Clemente, “Poppy” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Matthew Fiander, “The Storm Rattle” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Ian Holmes, “The Old Hunter” (Morrisville, NC)
  • Sarah Katz, “Heart” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Alexander Lopez, “Christ’s Place” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Vivian Ina Lu, “Elegy” (Fayetteville, NC)
  • Alex Pickens, “Memory” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Michelle Qiu, “Bitter Greens” (Winston-Salem, NC)

Winner of the 2021 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Holly Brantley, “The Purification of Augustine Albemarle” (Spring Hope, NC); senior, English and Psychology

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Allison Darcy, “Feel”  (Butner, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Josh Tvrdy, “Painting the Bull”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Billy Warden, “The Comeback”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Holly Brantley, “Snakes”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jendayi Brooks-Flemister, “Up Falling”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Matthew Fiander, “The Gulley Cart”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Donald Hammond, “Me and Mr. Wissebrodt”  (Pinetown, NC)
  • Jody Herring, “A Thing”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Courtney Justus, “The Station” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Camilla Keil, “Eternal”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Alexander Lopez, “Beefcakes”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Harvey Slade, “Battle Worn”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Susan Wilson, “Welcome” (Clemmons, NC)

Winner of the 2020 Shorter Fiction Prize

  • Clint Alexander, “Soliloquy of the Community Gardener”  (Cullowhee, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Michael Colbert, “Mr. Anderson” (Wilmington, NC)

Finalists

  • Robert McGee, “Stranger” (Asheville, NC)
  • Sara Newton, “Orange Trees” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Alex Pickens, “)” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kayla Rutledge, “The Jury”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Lane Smith, “Beige Blue Jeans”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • C.G. Thompson, “Of Cell Phones and the Zombie Apocalypse”  (Greenville, NC)
  • Clayton Walker, “Baby in the Backseat” (Rolesville, NC)

Winner of the 2020 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Amelia Fee, “Fragaria” (Chapel Hill, NC); senior, College of Design

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Kayla Rutledge, “Chicken”  (Chapel Hill, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Kathryn Barber, “Sorry About Your Bird”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Isaac Hughes Green, “The First Time I Said It”  (Durham, NC)

Finalists

  • Gina Atkins, “The Callaloo Children”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Katherine W. Bailey, “The Summer of the Duck”  (Atlantic Beach, NC)
  • Kathryn Barber, “Sorry About Your Bird”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • James Breeden, “Targets”  (Durham, NC)
  • Allison Darcy, “Zochreini”  (Butner, NC)
  • Matthew Fiander, “The Silence Before”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Isaac Hughes Green, “The First Time I Said It”  (Durham, NC)
  • Courtney Justus, “Flight”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Jack Lynch, “Pre-Seed”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Janet Smith Moore, “Thanksgiving”  (Asheville, NC)
  • Craig Lincoln, “Life At Sea”  (Durham, NC)
  • Emily Morris, “Tilled”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Kayla Rutledge, “Chicken”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Kristin Tajlili, “Hope It Gets Better” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Rachel Ranie Taube, “Small Cogs”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Isabel Walsh, “Other-Side People”  (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2019 Shorter Fiction Prize

  • Andrés Manosalva Castañeda, “Root”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Kayla Rutledge, “The Pool” (Chapel Hill, NC)

Finalists

  • Chris Brincefield, “This is Your Life”  (Statesville, NC)
  • Michael Colbert, “Mary has been quitting her job”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Amelia Conklin, “Last Goodbye”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Allison Darcy, “Dream Eater”  (Butner, NC)
  • Joanna King, “GETAWAY4U, Inc.”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Emily Morris, “Their Voices are in Their Legs”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Rachel Ranie Taube, “A Girl Cawed”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Gail Williamson, “Dumpster Treasures”  (Lexington, NC)


Winner of the 2019 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Jack Lynch, “Pre-Seed”  (Raleigh, NC)

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Holly Hilliard, “Beyond His Reach”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Allison Darcy, “Fidelis”  (Butner, NC)
  • Mary Anna Rice, “The Disappearance of Morimoto Airi”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Erika Grandstaff, “It Could Happen Like This”  (Garner, NC)
  • Sharon Louise Howard, “The Interview” (Boone, NC)
  • Gina Malone, “P. Burlington”  (Waynesville, NC)
  • Emily Morris, “7-Eleven”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Nancy Swanson, “If You’re Laughing, You’ve Never Been to Idaho” (Pisgah Forest, NC)
  • Isabel Walsh, “Invitation  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Angela Wilhite, “La Posada”  (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2018 Shorter Fiction Prize

  • Mary Anna Rice, “Jaybird” (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Emily Morris, “Popsicle Sticks”  (Greensboro, NC)

Finalists

  • Joshua Durham, “At Work With Dad, 1983”  (Charlotte, NC)
  • Molly Edmonds, “All the Guys with Their Dogs at the Lake on a Sunday” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Holly Hilliard, “If Not For Modern Medicine”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Zachary Lunn, “Hurry Up and Wait”  (Raeford, NC)
  • Davis Moore, “The Sweatshirt” (Highlands, NC)
  • Emily Morris, “Popsicle Sticks”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Caitlin Norris, “Child 6”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Mary Anna Rice, “Jaybird” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Arshia Simkin, “Chrysalis”  (Burlington, NC)
  • Susan Wilson, “New Shoes”  (Clemmons, NC)


Winner of the 2018 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Victoria Anne, “Flamingo Milk”; junior, University College

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Taylor Sykes, “Creeper” (Raleigh, NC)

    Honorable Mentions
  • Janet Smith Moore, “Beatitudes” (Asheville, NC)
  • Arshia Simkin, “No More Kissing Talk” (Burlington, NC)

    Finalists
  • Marcus Blyden, “Barbwire Blues” (Davidson, NC)
  • Austin Cunningham, “August” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Molly Edmunds, “Ivette” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Matthew Fiander, “The Starland Box” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Holly Hilliard, “The Remainders” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Amy Sayle, “Taking A Leap” (Carrboro, NC)
  • Susan H. Wilson, “Lunch Hour for the Not Dead Yet” (Clemmons, NC)

    Winner of the 2017 Shorter Fiction Prize
  • Jen Julian, “Attachment” (Supply, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Nick Story, “Opportunity” (Wilmington, NC)

Finalists

  • Threa Almontaser, “Time for A Visit” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Allison Darcy, “The Cannibal’s Wife” (Oxford, NC)
  • Alex Gaines, “Denali” (Durham, NC)
  • Erica Grandstaff, “Bottled” (Garner, NC)
  • Arshia Simkin, “Son of An Owl” (Burlington, NC)

Winner of the 2017 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Austin Cunningham, “August” (Raleigh, NC)

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Zachary Lunn, “Guts”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Molly Sentell Haile, “On the Far Edge of Paradise”  (Summerfeld, NC)
  • Vivian Lu, “Shanghai, 1966”  (Cary, NC)

    Finalists
  • Theresa Dowell Blackinton, “Reunification”  (Durham, NC)
  • Anita Collins, “Upline”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Blair Donahue, “Ten Cent Balloons”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Matthew Fiander, “Everywhere Scarecrows”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Tayler Heuston, “Prudence”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Laura Moretz, “Dancing with Shaky”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Travis Price, “HumanKind”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Mary Anna Rice, “The Difference Between Us”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Marie Seegmiller, “I Flatter Myself”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Julie Steinbacher, “The Pokémon Game”  (Raleigh, NC)

    Winner of the 2016 NC State Prize for Short Fiction
  • Vladimir Ureña, “Gringo School”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Riley Kross, “The Elephant”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalist

  • Genevieve Austin, “The Red Dress”  (Boone, NC)
  • Marcus Blyden, “Red Lipstick”  (Davidson, NC)
  • Cindy Brookshire, “Balloon Baby Jesus”  (Pine Level, NC)
  • Debra Madaris Efird, “Palette of Love”  (Harrisburg, NC)
  • Lauren Fulcher, “Gentlemen with Flowers”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Tayler Heuston, “Process of Illumination”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Vivian Lu, “Untethered”  (Cary, NC)
  • Laura Moretz, “Letter from the Roanoke Valley Detention Center”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Travis Price, “Kansas”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Thomas Wolf, “Fear”  (Chapel Hill, NC)

    Winner of the 2016 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize
  • Mary Anna Rice, “The Difference Between Us”; senior, English

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Leah Hampton, “Fuckface” (Waynesville, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Anita Collins, “The Anderson Kid”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Brian Ownbey, “The Lucky One”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Matthew Fiander, “The Disaster March”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Paul Harvel, “When the Leaves Change” (Pittsboro, NC)
  • H. Martin Hebert, “Casablanca”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • John Lawton, “Floating Holidays” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Craig Lincoln, “Pride of Pele”  (Durham, NC)
  • Laura Moretz, “Bulldog”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Jon Mozes, “Old Goats”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Travis Price, “The Girl in the Coma”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Elizabeth Sinden, “Love Sick”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Emily Sorge, “Half World”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Cadwell Turnbull, “Jump”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Billy Warden, “Night Hitch”  (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2015 NC State Prize for Short Fiction

  • Helena Bell, “Shark Bites: Five Dollars”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Michelle Crouch, “Dad tells a story with a dog in it”  (Durham, NC)

Finalists

  • Threa Almontaser, “Night Reading”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kartika Budhwar, “Showtime” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Grace Dow, “Nine Hundred Feet”  (Monroe, NC)
  • Bryce Emley, “Preservation” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Matthew Fiander, “Trivia” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Tayler Heuston, “Don’t challenge the kids in the polio camp” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Craig Lincoln, “Carbonus Kilroy’s Menagerie of Misfit Machines” (Durham, NC)
  • Calista Moon, “Late Afternoon” (Pittsboro, NC)
  • Jon Mozes, “The Foyer” (Chapel HIll, NC)
  • Elizabeth Oliver, “Blue Like Ours”  (Apex, NC)
  • Gary Phillips, “The Way Love Circles” (Pittsboro, NC)
  • Megan Roberts, “Between the Cedars”  (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2015 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Threa Almontaser, “Night Reading”; senior, English

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Ross Garrison, “Migration”  (Greensboro, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Theresa Blackinton, “Next Time, The Whale”  (Durham, NC)
  • Hannah Jones, “All Women Welcome”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Heather Bell Adams, “Salamander in the Garden” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Mark Cravens, “Miserable Lives and Hell Thereafter” (Apex, NC)
  • Tayler Heuston, “A Sherpa and a Yak” (Raleigh, NC)
  • George Kretchun, “Family Values” (Reidsville, NC)
  • Matthew Maslowski, “The Briefest of Love, on the Daily” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jon Mozes, “New Haven” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Brian Ownbey, “Baitfish” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Julie Steinbacher, “Bright Objects” (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2014 NC State Prize for Short Fiction

  • Cadwell Turnbull, “Ears”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Tayler Heuston, “Isla Vista”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Heather Bell Adams, “Third Shift”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Judith Behar, “Boxed In” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Bryce Emley, “Small Fires”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Carlene Kucharczyk, “All Souls”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Ben Murphy, “Still Life”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kat Reece, “Guilt” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jen Suchanec, “The Meteorologist’s Party” (Raleigh, NC)
  • York Wilson, “To Our Valued Customers”  (Timberlake, NC)

    Winner of the 2014 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize
  • Marcus Blyden, “Sick Bastards”; junior, English

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Lucas Church, “The Dog Upstairs”  (Chapel Hill, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • A. K. Benninghofen, “Belmont Heights Historic District” (Asheville, NC)
  • Brian Ownbey, “Familiar Strangers”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Theresa Blackinton, “Spelunking”  (Durham, NC)
  • Hannah Jones, “The Fat Twin”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Rebecca Lanning, “Severe and Profound”  (Durham, NC)
  • Justin Meckes, “The Cat Burglar”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Jon Mozes, “Lost and Found”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Elizabeth Tarver, “The Sidney Bechet North Carolina Blues”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kasey Thornton, “Captivity”  (Wendell, NC)
  • Drew Wade, “Legal Age”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jonathan Williams, “Winter, Keep Us Warm” (Greensboro, NC)

Winner of the 2012 NC State Prize for Short Fiction

  • Theresa Blackinton, “How to Have A Kid”  (Durham, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Craig Lincoln, “Nothing on Harpo”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Heather Bell Adams, “Green River Gorge”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Paul Dixon, “Jesus, My Protector”  (New Bern, NC)
  • Ellen Adele King, “Trance”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Elizabeth Sinden, “For the Remission of Sins”  (Raliegh, NC)
  • Cadwell Turnbull, “Obeah”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Emily Sorge, “Willa”  (Raleigh, NC)

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Melanie Raskin, “Now You See Her, Now You–” (Chapel Hill, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Ellen Adele King, “Ant Season” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Craig Lincoln, “Rabbit Hill” (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Matthew Fiander, “Liner Notes” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Laurie Lail, “Watching for Elizabeth” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Laura Knight Moretz, “Philo Goes Home” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Emily Palmer, “Face Painting” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Elizabeth Sinden, “Recipe Writer” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Elizabeth Tarver, “Runnergirl” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kasey Thornton, “Blood on My Hands” (Wendell, NC)

Winner of the 2012 NC State Prize for Short Fiction

  • Brian Ownbey, “Happy Now”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Theresa Blackinton, “Unscripted”  (Durham, NC)

Finalists

  • Chase Cline, “They Were In Love”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Ross Howell, “Vision”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Ellen Adele King, “Bodies”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Susan Kirby-Smith, “Misplaced” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Kirsten Lemmons, “Lost Words” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Raymond Morrison, “The Old Woman on the Porch”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Kat Reece, “My Father’s Dream” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kemper Wray, “Local Landscaper Drowns Lover” (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2012 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Chase Cline, “Neighborhood Watch”; senior, English

James Hurst Prize for Fiction

  • Ashlee Crews, “Church Time”  (Durham, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Stacey Cochran, “Eddie and Sunny”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • G.J. Villa, “Lifestyles of the Bored and Aimless”  (Cary, NC)

Finalists

  • Matt Alston, “Some Observations to Consider for your Second Draft” (Raleigh, NC)      
  • Laura Giovanelli, “The Survivors”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Ariel Rudolph Harwick, “Rich All Over”  (Cary, NC)   
  • Rose Lambert-Sluder, “The Bull”  (Chapel Hill, NC)  
  • Mesha Maren, “Confluence”  (Asheville, NC)
  • Lisa Ward Meadows, “Interment”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Cortney Phillips, “Fascinating Woman”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Charles Rucker, “A Flash of Red”  (Hillsborough, NC)
  • J.B. Sparrow, “Passing”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Christine Stark, “Fields of Heather”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Kasey Thornton, “Took Up”  (Wendell, NC)

Winner of the 2011 NC State Prize for Short Fiction

  • Julia Patt, “Boy Come Home”  (Greensboro, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Mesha Maren, “Eminent Domain”  (Asheville, NC)

Finalists

  • Matt Alston, “They Call Him Sugar”  (Raleigh, NC)  
  • Holly Beilin, “The Genetic Mutations of Love”  (Chapel Hill, NC) 
  • Lucas Church, “Donkeys”  (Raleigh, NC) 
  • Sandra Jung Hall, “Appalachian Wal-Mart at Christmas”  (Durham, NC)
  • Corbie Hill, “Cody”  (Pittsboro, NC) 
  • Smriti Jaiswal, “Lord Ram’s Marriage Anniversary”  (Durham, NC)       
  • Meredith Jones, Untitled  (Chapel Hill, NC)   
  • Jacqueline Kantor, “The Mood for Forgetting”  (Chapel Hill, NC) 
  • Tracy Knight, “Far From Home”  (Raleigh, NC)                                             
  • Madeline Raskulinecz, “Red Line to Glenmont, 3:09 a.m.”  (Carrboro, NC) 

Winner of the 2011 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Corbie Hill, “Cody”; junior, English 

NC State Prize for Fiction

  • Emily Howson, “Country Club People”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Shervon Cassim, “Falconry” (Durham, NC)
  • David Flatley, “Gabriel’s Hundred” (Lillington, NC)

Finalists

  • Will Badger, “Boxes”  (Holly Springs, NC)
  • Stacey Sanchez Bigliardi, “The Juggy”  (Garner, NC)
  • Shane Combs, “Cave Boy and the Sun”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Paul Dixon, “The Repairable Nature of Things”  (Winterville, NC)
  • Buddy Harris, “Things Blur Together” (Durham, NC)
  • Marion Hodge, “Amends”  (High Point, NC)
  • Aimee Mepham, “Raving Ones”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Cortney Phillips, “Books on Tape”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Caroline Swicegood, “Stories”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • C.G. Thompson, “Some Call It Magic” (Greenville, NC)

Winner of the 2010 NC State Prize for Short Fiction

  • Aimee Mepham, “Paper Cut”  (Winston-Salem, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Josh Eure, “Hurricane”  (Hertford, NC)

Finalists

  • Theresa Dowell Blackinton, “Flying Into the Dark”  (Durham, NC)
  • Paul Dixon, “Revival”  (Winterville, NC)
  • Laura Giovanelli, “Border Crossing”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Lyn Fairchild Hawks, “3.0”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Smriti Jaiswal, “Connections”  (Durham, NC)
  • Paul Lascara, “I Am Sorry”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Ariel Rudolph, “Little Thing In A Big Place” (Carrboro, NC)
  • Greg Shemkovitz, “The Retired Postal Worker”  (Greensboro, NC)

Winner of the 2010 NC State Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Sherri Thompson, “Round Midnight”; junior, Biochemistry

Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • Katherine Pearl, “Inside of Pappy Pig”  (Durham, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Cory Harris, “Swaddled Disappointment”  (Cary, NC)
  • Anthony Sams, “Ich Bin Ein”  (Wilmington, NC)

Finalists

  • Cathy Adams, “Boxes”  (Asheville, NC)
  • Stacey Sanchez Bigliardi, “What People Remember”  (Garner, NC)
  • Michelle Bliss, “Driving Home”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Jacqui Causey, “Neither Here Nor There”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Jeffrey Evans, “Sure Thing”  (Winterville, NC)
  • Smriti Jaiswal, “Old Iron Trunks”  (Durham, NC)
  • Jennifer Julian, “Stereograms”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Jennifer Morgan, “Iblis”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Mallory Tarses, “Tennis Lesson”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Jessica Thummel, “The Replacement”  (Wilmington, NC)

Winner of the 2009 Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • David Flatley, “Sunday at Dad’s” (Lillington, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Cyra Sherburn, “The Inside” (Wilmington, NC)

Finalists

  • Darlene Cah, “The Jazz in Her Soul”  (Columbus, NC)
  • Jackson Connor, “The Kids in My Neighborhood” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Courtney Han, “Taking Her With Me” (Durham, NC)
  • Cory Harris, “The Christian Magician” (Cary, NC)
  • Smriti Jaiswal, “Over Hair and Hips” (Durham, NC)
  • Cassandra Mannes, “Elena” (Raleigh, NC)
  • S.P. Matchett, “Leaving Home” (Charlotte, NC)
  • Maggie Smith, “Fish” (Clayton, NC)
  • Mallory Tarses, “How Was Your Weekend?” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Amy Willoughby-Burle, “What She Couldn’t Do”  (Candler, NC)

Winner of the 2009 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Cassandra Mannes, “Elena”; junior, English

Brenda L. Smart Prize for Fiction

  • Erica Plouffe Lazure, “The Cold Front” (Greenville, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Robert McGee, “The Last Great Skull Man” (Asheville, NC)
  • Katherine Pearl, “Invisible Force Fields” (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Megan Mayhew Bergman, “Bound to Land” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kevin Casey, “The Welcome Brigade” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Roger Cordes, ”Window One Dollar” (Oriental, NC)
  • Josh Eure, “Only An Engine” (Hertford, NC)
  • Smriti Jaiswal, “The Temple” (Durham, NC)
  • Tommy Jenkins, “Three Plays” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Aimee Mepham, “Cul-de-sac”(Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Daniel Parsons, “Rose (La Diabla)” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Alisonn Rose, “Mira’s Treasure” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Ben Turney, “Back to the Old Ladies” (Durham, NC)

Winner of the 2008 Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • Kevin Casey, “April Wade ” (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Paul Dixon, “What I Got, I Got” (Winterville, NC)

Finalists

  • Jake Burnett, “Zeke Skeen” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Aileen Carson, “Conflict in the Sixties” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Smriti Jaiswal, “Bad Mother” (Durham, NC)
  • Lisa Long, “Amen” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Robert McGee, “There Was An Echo” (Asheville, NC)
  • Jason Orders, “Severance” (Apex, NC)
  • Megan Roberts, “Gestures” (Greenville, NC)
  • Sarah Simpson, “Someone You Don’t Know Who Loves You” (Cary, NC)
  • Diana Spindler-Jones, “Liz Phair’s Voice Change” (Cary, NC)
  • Rachel Wingo, “Us” (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2008 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Joel Mikkelsen, “Mascot”; senior, Philosophy

Brenda L. Smart Prize for Fiction

  • Whit Coppedge, “Paint” (Chapel Hill, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Josh Eure, “Balloon Vine” (Hertford, NC)
  • Megan Roberts, “Corners” (Greenville, NC)

Finalists

  • Robin Follet, “Sarcasm” (Cary, NC)
  • Parfait Gasana, “Equilibrium”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Cathy James, “Mr. Chinese Right” (Weaverville, NC)
  • Molly McCaffrey, “The Other Man” (Laurinburg, NC)
  • Katherine Pearl, “Unscheduled Departures” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Eric Roe, “Notes from Lazarus” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Maureen Sherbondy, “The Final Simcha”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jodi Lynn Villers, “ABC”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Brendan Walsh, “Bruised” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Lisa Ward, “Road Side” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Anne Woodman, “Cherries in the Snow”  (Morrisville, NC)

Winner of the 2007 Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • Jodi Lynn Villers, “Vocabulary Builder ”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Tommy Jenkins, “The Scar ”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Jane Andrews, “Frames” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Whitman Bolles, “Down There”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Whit Coppedge, “Irritated ” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Paul Dixon, “Snap” (Winterville, NC)
  • Molly McCaffrey, “Look Away ” (Laurinburg, NC)
  • Robert McGee, “That Woman That Night”  (Asheville, NC)
  • Shailen Mishra, “Performance Behind A Theater” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Megan Roberts, “R Like Me ” (Greenville, NC)
  • Sarah Simpson, “Conservation” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jennifer Weathers, “Triplets”  (Wilmington, NC)

Winner of the 2007 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Josh Eure, “Balloon Vine” (junior, English)

Brenda L. Smart Prize for Fiction

  • Amy Knox Brown, “Why We Are the Way We Are”  (Winston-Salem, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Mitch Conover, “A Short Story for the Last Man Who Still Liked Whistling Dixie” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Molly McCaffrey, “The Lake in Winter” (Laurinburg, NC)

Finalists:

  • William Boggess, “There”  (Burnsville, NC)
  • Danielle DeRise, “Small Bodies”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Paul Dixon, “Precious Memories”  (Winterville, NC)
  • Mary Hennessy, “Chicago”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Nell Joslin, “Danny”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Kathleen Laughlin, “Persons in Need of Supervision”  (Cary, NC)
  • Shailen Mishra, “The Fifty Year Old Dream”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jeanne Mullins, “On the Spectrum”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Melinda Shail, “Pluto—Not A Planet Anymore”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Stella Ward Whitlock, “Bear Train”  (Fayetteville, NC)

Winner of the 2006 Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • Megan Mayhew Bergman, “The Wet Bones of Eldress Parker Comar” (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Jane Andrews, “Nautilus” (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists:

  • David Bell, “Second Choice”  (Laurinburg, NC)
  • Melissa Bickey, “November Water”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Vicki Crouser, “In Holyoke Hell”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Adam Currie, “Cleaning House” (Wendell, NC)
  • Cathy Freeman, “Daisies”  (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Zackary Vernon, “Birthday Suit and the Texture Flat”  (Hillsborough, NC)
  • Jodi Lynn Villers, “Church Bells”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Robert Wallace, “Why Do Cold Brown Chickens Wear Watered-Down Pants?”  (Durham, NC)
  • Kate Wheeler, “Mark and Jane Talk About Math”  (Carrboro, NC)

Winner of the 2006 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Adam Currie, “Cleaning House”; senior, English

Brenda L. Smart Prize for Fiction

  • Whitman Bolles, “The Saving of the Turtles”  (Chapel Hill, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Erica Berkeley, “Fine People Come About By Accident” (Pittsboro, NC)
  • Sarah Boone, “Homecoming”  (Raleigh, NC)

Finalists

  • Greg Behr, “Massapequa”  (Cary, NC)
  • Daniel DeRise, “Who Said Anything About Love?” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Kalyani Deshpande, “The Drawing on the Wall” (Morrisville, NC)
  • Kristine Forrest, “Waves”  (Cary, NC)
  • Rebecca Morgan Gee,  “Icie”  (Apex, NC)
  • Matt Griffin, “Final Expenses”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Miriam Delaney Heard, “Southern Sweetness”   (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Nell Joslin, “Amputee”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Penelope Robbins, “Like the Moon, Only Fuller”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Leslie Youngblood, “Poor Girl’s Palace”  (Greensboro, NC)

Winner of the 2005 Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • Amy Knox Brown, “Sitting Bull’s Translator Remembers the Speech in Bismarck, N.D.” (Winston-Salem, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Claire Guyton, “Demonstrating the Versatility of a Blender”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Miriam Delaney Heard, “Samson’s Might” (Winston-Salem, NC)

Finalists

  • Whit Coppedge, “My Wife Knows Where I Keep My Golf Clubs in Winter” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Paul Dixon, “Have A Nice Day” (Winterville, NC)
  • Mackenzie Dotson, “Stark White” (Cary, NC)
  • Mary Hennessy, “A Clean Sheet” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Leigh Johnson, “Stranded” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Sharon Kurtzman, “Slanted” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Elizabeth Livingston, “Light At Dusk” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Claire Moseley, “We All Fall Down” (Asheville, NC)
  • Jodi Lynn Villers, “Underwater Where It’s Safe” (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2005 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Claire Moseley, “We All Fall Down”; senior, Parks and Recreation

Brenda L. Smart Prize for Fiction

  • Misha Angrist, “Paper Boy” (Durham, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Tim McBride, “Mr. Wittington” (Cary, NC)
  • Robert McGee, “Ed Ramirez” (Asheville, NC)

Finalists

  • Kate Betterton, “When They Ring the Orchard Bell” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • William Conescu, “The Bridge Group” (Durham, NC)
  • Whit Coppedge, “Towers” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Claire Guyton, “Where Your Head Goes” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Irene Harvley-Felder, “Naming the Stars” (Burlington, NC)
  • Vishal Khanna, “Garbo’s Eyes” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Paul Koning, “The Ends of the Earth” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Nicholas Perros, “Break Up” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Penelope Robbins, “Girlfriend” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Denise Sherman, “Gift From A Sinister Santa” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Mallory Tarses, “Boy At Sea” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Art Taylor, “Mrs. Marple and the Hit-and-Run” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Tara Thompson, “Bald” (Wilmington, NC)

Winner of the 2004 Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • Tracie Fellers, “Reverb” (Greensboro, NC)

Honorable Mention

  • Kevin Boyle, “Palm” (Burlington, NC)

Finalists

  • C.L. Dowd, “By The Numbers” (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • Linda Finigan, “Simple Mission” (Durham, NC)
  • Mary Hennessy, “In Over Her Head” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Colin Hickey, “Courage” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Michael Jasper, “Tiny Disaster” (Wake Forest, NC)
  • Sharon Kurtzman, “Fresh Air” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jason Lundberg “The Artists’ Penaptych” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Greg Shemkovitz, “When You Get Home Late At Night” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Shelley Stout, “Comfort in the Poetry of Songs” (Matthews, NC)
  • Mallory Tarses, “World Series, 1979” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Art Taylor, “Here For You” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Jodi Lynn Villers, “H is for Husband, B is for Baby” (Raleigh, NC)
  • Brent Winter, “I Wish I Could Tell You” (Carrboro, NC)
  • Leslie Youngblood, “Daddy’s Biscuits” (Greensboro, NC)

Winner of the 2004 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Millie Breedlove, “I’m Not Afraid, Exactly”; senior, English

Brenda L. Smart Prize for Fiction

  • L.H. Finigan, “Rain, Heavy At Times”  (Durham, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Mallort Tarses, “Details” (Wilmington, NC)
  • Lisa Ward, “Those Who See”  (Rocky Mount, NC)

Finalists

  • Misha Angrist, “Venn Diagram”  (Durham, NC)
  • Amy Knox Brown, “Habeas Corpus”  (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Gerard Canavan, “When the Boys Comes Out to Play” (Greensboro, NC)
  • Kim Church, “World Without Columbo”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • William Conescu, “Cam and Collin”  (Durham, NC)
  • Brian Crocker, “Late Skate”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Timothy Davis, “Mexican Space Shuttle”  (Charlotte, NC)
  • Therese Fowler, “Outside the Lines”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • E.F. Harabin, “Do You Know What It’s Like?”  (Wake Forest, NC)
  • Louisa Jones, “Viet”  (Burlington, NC)
  • Rebecca Lanning, “Leaving Paradise”  (Wilmington, NC)
  • Laura Grant McGuire, “Heads or Tails”  (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2003 Brenda L. Smart Award for Short Fiction

  • Jennifer Garrison Stuber, “Clown Baby”  (Raleigh, NC)

Honorable Mentions

  • Wes Saylors, “This Just In: Bear Drinks Sodas for Money”  (Boone, NC)

Finalists

  • Misha Angrist, “Holidays”  (Durham, NC)
  • Amy Knox Brown, “Dr. Faustus in Lincoln” (Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Russell Campbell, “Jake”  (Durham, NC)
  • Whit Coppedge, “Drought”  (Chapel HIll, NC)
  • Brian Crocker, “Mill Town, NC”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • Paul Dixon, “Empty Nest”  (Winterville, NC)
  • Patrick Egan, “Like We’re Talking”  (Greensboro, NC)
  • L.H. Finigan, “Birth Mothers, Seeking”  (Durham, NC)
  • Lisa Hartman, “Bald Mountain”  (Durham, NC)
  • Jordan Hester, untitled  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Mel Jones, “MIssissippi Funeral”  (Chapel HIll, NC)
  • Charles Merwarth, “Think of the Alternative”  (Raleigh, NC)
  • Tom Sowders, “Special”  (Raleigh, NC)

Winner of the 2003 Undergraduate Fiction Prize

  • Lisa Ward, “Those Who See”; senior, English