We are absolutely delighted to announce the winners of the Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction Contest, as selected by our contest judge Thalia Field! We received so many wonderful stories this year, so thank you to everyone who submitted. Read the three winning stories in our forthcoming summer issue 56.4!
Grand Prize Winner
“The Baptism of Alleluia Gomez” by Michael Mendonez (Pemberton, NJ)
Michael Mendonez is a graduate of the New York University fiction MFA program. He spent the following years writing and teaching in the Jiangsu province of China. He is now based in New Jersey where he teaches writing at Rutgers University and is currently working on his first novel.
“The Baptism of Alleluia Gomez” is Michael’s debut short fiction piece. He is a second-generation Filipino immigrant and the story is an homage to his family’s home country, a world passed down to him through sayings, tastes, and traditions.
First Runner-Up
“Sisters on a Quest” by Mi-Kyung Shin (New York, NY)
Mi-Kyung is from South Korea. She grew up in Seoul, a little bit in Geneva, Switzerland, and a little bit in New York. She holds a BA in English literature from the State University of New York at Binghamton and an MA in liberal studies from Dartmouth College. She has worked as an editor and a translator. At the moment, Mi-Kyung lives in New York City. She will be graduating in May with an MFA in Writing from Columbia University.
Second Runner-Up
“Pooka” by Angelique Lalonde (Hazelton, BC)
Angélique Lalonde holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Victoria. She lives on Gitxsan territory in the Kispiox Valley with two small children, a handful of critters and her partner. In recent years she has worked as a lecturer in Anthropology, a farmer and Community Organizer. Her ancestors are Métis and French settlers. Her work explores the curious links between imaginary and experienced worlds and the relations that spring up between them. “Pooka” is her first literary publication.