The winners of the sixth annual Robert and Adele Schiff Awards are:
Tom Howard, for his story “The Magnificents”
and
Chelsea Jennings, for her poem “Elegy”
This year’s field was particularly distinguished, and it was difficult to choose from among the many quality entries. In addition to the winning pieces, three other contest entries—two poems and one story—will also be published in the prize issue (forthcoming May 2015). We present below a list of finalists and honorable mentions, as well as the editors’ comments on the winning poem and story. Next week look for the winners’ comments on their works.
Don Bogen on “Elegy”: “Elegy” stood out, first of all, for its distinctive music: bold and insistent in its rhythms, subtly lyrical in its sound echoes. The last couplet particularly grabbed me—the insights there and in the eight spare lines before it seemed to deepen with each reading. Anchored in concision, thoughtful repetition, and fresh use of some of the simplest terms, “Elegy” sings its own grief as it captures the sad complexities of human loss.
Michael Griffith on “The Magnificents”: This year’s fiction winner of the Schiff Award belongs to, or perhaps invents, something like a new genre: Dystopian Slapstick. Told in a frenetic shorthand that makes this feel like a short novel rather than a long story, “The Magnificents” combines hilarious black comedy with surprising pathos. Never before have I rooted so hard for a little boy’s garage magic to save someone from euthanasia.
Finalists
“The Mountain,” Barret Baumgart
“A Recipe for Mice,” Amy Knox Brown
“Bird Fair,” Katherine Davis
“Real Americans,” Camellia Freeman
“Walls,” Rachel Goldman
“The Nino,” Sarah Gurman
“Sirens,” Stephanie Horvath
“The Neighbors,” Sheri Joseph
“A Bildungsroman,” Mark Labowskie
“Forces of Nature,” Jason Mastaler
“But for Herr Hitler,” Robin McLean
“Judas Cradle,” Robin McLean
“Philip Roth’s Last Hours,” Timothy Parrish
“The Doppelgangers,” Helen Phillips
“Unaccompanied Cello,” Jennifer Acker Shah
“Stay Up with Hugo Best,” Erin Somers
“Tuckernuck,” Melanie Unruh
“Planet Joy,” Misty Urban
“History of Titles,” Jason Whitmarsh
“The World without Nan,” Elise Winn
“Dear Lazarus,” John Woods
Honorable Mentions
“The Greenhouse,” Alex Collins-Shotwell
“Hell,” Jacques Debrot
“Pedazos of a Man,” Daisy Hernandez
“Learning to Swim,” Jennifer Imsande
“M1 Liberty Freedom,” Adrienne Johnson
“Source Code,” Kevin Lavey
“The Deliverist,” Dan Mancilla
“True Carnivores,” Robin McLean
“The Yellow Dress,” David Meischen
“The Erratic,” Christina Milletti
“Split Skin,” Samantha Mitchell
“Sleeping Alone,” Alexander Sorondo
“Trilogy,” Julie Marie Wade
“Paper Boats,” Caroline Wilkinson
