Note: The LSSU High School Short Story Prize is on hiatus.

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The LSSU High School Short Story Prize is a North American literary competition run by the Lake Superior State University Creative Writing Program (visit us online or follow us on Facebook!). The competition is open to all high school students residing in the United States and Canada. Our mission is to create excitement about writing and reading in high school students, as well as to raise awareness about the growing Creative Writing Program here at LSSU.

Each year, the contest award is a $500 cash prize that can be increased to a $1000 cash scholarship if the winner chooses to attend LSSU. The winning story will also be published in the subsequent volume of Border Crossing.  You can read the 2018 contest winner here, the 2017 contest winner here, the 2016 contest winner here, and the 2015 contest winner here.

The judges have completed the process of determining the 2019 prize-winner. This year, forty stories were selected as semifinalists, listed below in alphabetical order by name, with their locations, story titles, and grades. Seven finalists were chosen from these forty stories at the end of June, with the winning story chosen from the finalists in early July.

Congratulations to the winner and all the finalists and semifinalists! There was an excellent selection of stories from which to choose this year.

2019 WINNER

• Jieyan Wang, Moscow, Idaho, “Deep Dreams,” grade 11

FINALISTS

• Lukas Bacho, San Francisco, California, “Packing,” grade 11
• Uma Menon, Winter Park, Florida, “Surprise in Solitude,” grade 11
• Ella Paraskevopoulos,  Cambridge, Ontario, “Daffodils,” high school
  student (unknown grade)
• Helen Qian, Boyds, Maryland, “Desensitization,” grade 11
• Elyse Thomas, Miramar, Florida, “Ode to My Father and Jamaica,” grade 10
• Jieyan Wang, Moscow, Idaho, “Deep Dreams,” grade 11
• Ann Zhang, Ballwin, Missouri, “Green Mango,” grade 11

2019 SEMIFINALISTS

• Armstrong, Corey, Sault Ste. Marie,MI, “Judgement,” grade 9,Sault Area High School, Mr. Paul Pioszak
• Bacho, Lukas, San Francisco,CA, “Packing,” grade 11, San Francisco University High School, Mr. Pierre Carmona
• Bujnosek, Bailey, Mountain Center, CA, “Walled Out,” grade 11, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Ms. Kim Henderson
• Burke, Ellen, Upperville,VA, “Wendigo,” grade 10, Foxcroft, Mr. Steven McCarty
• Camargo, Katia, Miami, FL, “Sensible,” grade 10, Miami Beach Senior high, Haselmann
• Craig, Rebecca, Okemos, MI, “The New World,” grade 9, Okemos High School, Ms. Amy Huntley
• DeRosa, Vivian, Oakhurst, NJ, “Deferred,” grade 12, Communications High School, Ms. Jaime Vander Velde
• Duran, Penelope, Houston, TX, “Tin Dance Sea,” grade 10, Willy Brandt Schule (German International School), Jevgenija Rahn
• Econa, Tyler, Woodbridge, VA, “How Spring Thaws,” grade 12, Woodbridge Senior High School, Catherine Hailey
• Ekeh, Siobhan, Milford, CT, “Lotus,” grade 10, Sacred Heart Academy, Megan Callahan
• Ferdman, Jordan, New York City, NY, “Refresh,” grade 10, Horace Mann School, Andrew Fippinger
• Fitzgibbons, John, Cornwall, PA, “Rainy Season,” grade 11, Cedar Crest High School, Dr. Jennifer Stumphy
• Gomez, Fatimah, Mississauga, ON, Canada, “Keep Running,” grade 10, Independent Learning Centre, Homeschooled
• Gonzalez,Angelina, Homestead, FL, “Treason,” grade 9, Miami Arts Charter School, Dana Degreff
• Gowda,Rohun, Novi, MI, “Re-entry,” grade 11, Novi High School, Joanna Kidle
• Holowitz,Morgan, Pewaukee, WI, “Sinking Trap,” grade 11, Arrowhead High School, Terri Carnell
• Jin, Evie, Pittsburgh,PA, “After The Show,” grade 12, Winchester Thurston School, M. Christine Benner Dixon
• Kadrich,Emily, Hartland ,WI, “Never Again: August 28, 1955”
• Kim, Yeji, Hudson,OH, “Remember to Tell the Moon Goodnight,” grade 10, Hudson High School, Jacqueline Hannan
• Larson,Nicole, Eagle, WI, “Red Waters,” grade 12, Arrowhead High School, Terri Carnell
• Mannion, Angelina, New York,NY, “Psychosis,” grade 10, St Barnebus High School, Miss Osorio
• Menon,Uma, Winter Park,FL, “Surprise in Solitude,” grade 11, Winter Park High School, Mr. Fottler
• Mota Cichy, Sofia, Okemos,MI, “For Wolfram, Love Lia,” grade 10, Okemos High School, Jessica Geyer
• Paraskevopoulos, Ella, Cambridge,ON, “Daffodils”
• Qian,Helen, Boyds,MD, “Desensitization,” grade 11, Helen Qian, Joshua Klotz
• Rinkus,Priya, Rumson,NJ, “Winter’s End,” grade 11, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, Jack Shea
• Roberts,Caitlin, Anchorage,AK, “The Silver Lining,” grade 11,Robert Service High School, Mrs. Palmisano
• Satterfield,Keeley, Freeport,MI, “The Symptoms of Our World,” grade 11, Thornapple Kellogg High School, Cary Saxton
• Schramka,Caroline, Pewaukee,WI, “Perception,” 12, Arrowhead Union High School, Mrs. Terri Carnell
• Selim,Sarah, Elmwood Park,NJ, “Happiness (And Other Vices),” grade 11, Bergen County Academies, Mr. Richard Weems
• Shin ,Spencer ,Watertown,CT, “Breathe in the Road not Taken,” grade 10,The Taft School,Steven Palmer
• Smith,Magdalena, Ithaca,NY, “Train Ride,” grade 11, Lehman Alternative Community School, Dr. Naminata Diabate
• Snyder,Grace, Cedarville, MI, “Winter Elegy,” grade 11, Les Cheneaux Community Schools, Joanna Izzard
• Thomas,Elyse, Miramar, FL, “Ode to My Father and Jamaica,” grade 10, Miami Arts Charter, Victoria Castells
• Trimmer,Lauryn, Camarillo, CA, “The Pocketknife,” grade 12, Trinity Pacific Christian School, Heather Trimmer
• Wahmhoff,Joanna, Hartland, WI, “Fight,” grade 11, Arrowhead Union High School, Elizabeth Jorgensen
• Wang,Jieyan, Moscow, ID, “Deep Dreams,” grade 11, Moscow High School,Robert Bailey
• Yeomans-Stephenson, Rebecca, Okemos, MI, “Hidden in Plain Sight,” grade 12, Okemos High School, Rachel Freeman
• Zhang, Ann, Ballwin, MO, “Green Mango,” grade 11,John Burroughs School, Maggie Ervin
• Zrncic, Zachary, Mechanicsburg, PA, “The Hills of Abandon,” grade 10, Mechanicsburg Area Senior High, Meghan Mathis

2019 THEME

In this, the fifth year of the LSSU High School Short Story Prize, the theme for the contest will be open. This means any short story written by a North American high school student will be considered for this year’s contest! For more on what we’re looking for, read the contest rules below.

READING RECOMMENDATIONS

The following short stories, which were used as models during our last four years of contests, are all available online:

• “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
• “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
• “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
• “Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been?” by Joyce Carole Oates
• “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe
• “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury
• “The Curse” by Arthur C. Clarke
• “The Long Haul” by Ken Liu

Also available online are all of the winning stories from the last four years:

• “Survival of the Fittest” by Zoie Cole (post-apocalyptic short story)
• “Shadows of Auschwitz” by Anna Shier (alt-history short story)
• “The Catch” by Grace Coberly (realistic fiction)
• “The Type of Bite that Stings” by Magdalena Deniz (historical fiction)

2019 CONTEST RULES

To enter, high school writers submit an original, unpublished story that meets the following guidelines:
1. Entrants must be high school students and residents of the United States or Canada. All entries will initially be read anonymously, with the identities of authors revealed only after judges’ semifinalist decisions are made; locations will be checked after this point.
2. This year’s contest theme is open. This means we are looking for any stories written in a compelling voice with a well-developed story, character depth, a detailed setting, attention to language, and a deeper meaning.
3. Stories may be no longer than 5,000 words.
4. Students may enter only once, and stories must have individual authors.
5. Address and contact information should be entered in the form only; please do not enter contact information on the story itself. Stories will be read blind.
6. On the upload form, enter your grade, high school, and current English teacher’s name.
7. Entries must be previously unpublished, online or otherwise, at the time of submission. (There is no need to withdraw stories if they are selected for publication after submission.)
8. The winner will be asked to provide proof of residency and high school student status (homeschool status is acceptable as long as documentation can be provided).
9. The winner must sign a standard Border Crossing publication contract (for first-time North American serial rights only–all other rights remain with the author). For legal minors, the winner’s parent or guardian will co-sign.
10. Per Border Crossing editorial board policy, the winning story may be subject to editing. The judges reserve the right not to award the prize if no entry of winning quality is received.

MAILING LIST

Teachers, parents, and students interested in the contest are encouraged to sign up for the contest newsletter to receive contest updates.

CONTEST LESSON PLAN

HOW TO ENTER

Enter your story using the Border Crossing submissions manager online. There is no fee for entering.

PAST WINNERS AND THEMES

2018: Historical Fiction Short Stories Lesson Plan, Model Texts, and Contest Results

2017: Realistic Fiction Short Stories Lesson Plan, Model Texts, and Contest Results

2016: Alt-History Short Stories Lesson Plan, Model Texts, and Contest Results

2015: Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Lesson Plan, Model Texts, and Contest Results

QUESTIONS? 

Contact the contest coordinator, Mary McMyne, at mmcmyne@lssu.edu.

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Did you know? At LSSU, you can major or minor in creative writing and English education. We have been voted Department of the Year twice in recent years by Student Government!  Learn more about LSSU English Majors here.