Press 53 Award for Short Fiction Announced

Winston-Salem —Press 53 is proud to announce the winner of the
inaugural Press 53 Award for Short Fiction: Wendy J. Fox of Denver, Colorado, for her
collection The Seven Stages of Anger and Other Stories. Due out in October, this is
Wendy J. Fox’s debut collection; it was chosen as winner by Press 53 publisher Kevin
Morgan Watson and fiction editor Christine Norris. Ms. Fox’s manuscript was one of 264
entries. Besides publication, the prize also carries a $1000 advance and an expense-paid
trip to Press 53 headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the annual Gathering
of Writers, where the book will be launched, and where Fox will also lead a workshop.
Of the collection, Kevin Morgan Watson says, “What impressed me most about Wendy’s
collection was her attention to detail, not with just everyday items, but with emotions,
word choices, actions. Her characters were engaging and honest, and they made it clear
how the smallest thing, a word, an action, a thought, or even silence, can lead to bigger
consequences. Her manuscript was in the company of some powerful writers, but in the
end her collection stood out as the one we had to publish.”
Christine Norris adds, “Wendy Fox’s stories are meditations on the things we leave
behind, the things that remain after a fire has blazed through. These stories shimmer with
the vividness of memory refracted through time, with the hard nature of the earth and its
elements. This collection is astonishing from start to finish, and I guarantee you’ve never
read anything like it before.”
Stories from this collection have previously appeared in a number of literary journals and
magazines, including Washington Square Review, The Pinch, The Madison Review, PMS
poemmemoirstory, and more.
Wendy Fox received her MFA from Inland Northwest Center for Writers, and her work
has been published or is forthcoming in many literary magazines and journals. Her
story “Ten Penny” was selected as part of a series by The Emerging Writer's Network for
National Short Story Month, and her story "Maps of the Americas" was chosen as a semifinalist
for the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards competition.
A limited number of advanced copies are available for review. If interested, contact
Kevin Watson at 336-770-5353 or email kevin@press53.com.

via press release