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LIVE Celebration | Short Story Awards Ceremony & Reading

Wed, Nov 17, 2021
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Join us for this virtual ceremony where you will listen to a dramatic reading of the top three community-submitted stories and find out who will receive our grand prize for best short story in 2021!

Registration is required. 

Writer's Workshop Series:

More details about the 2021 Short Story Contest including story criteria, how to submit your story, and prize information can be found at champaign.org/short-story

*Participants do not need to attend workshops to enter the story competition.


About the judges:

Ashanti Files Ashanti is the second and current Poet Laureate for the City of Urbana and the founder of the Writers of Oya, a program for middle school girls of color that utilizes poetry as an outlet to address mental health and social issues. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in publications such as the Northern New England Review and their Front/Lines: The Poetry of Nursing and Pandemic Perspectives.

John Milas John grew up in Champaign, Illinois, and earned a BA in creative writing from the University of Illinois. He ventured out of Champaign to serve in the Marine Corps and subsequently earned his Master of Fine Arts in fiction writing under the guidance of his thesis director, Roxane Gay. His debut novel, The Militia House, was acquired by Henry Holt for publication, and he is currently at work on a collection of stories. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as The Southampton Review, XRAY Literary Magazine, and Superstition Review. Find him online at johnmilas.com

Molly Thornton Molly is a multi-genre writer and writing coach. Her manuscript Proof of You was long listed by the 2020 [PANK] and Dzanc Books' contests. Her writing appears in The LA Times, They Said Anthology, Hippocampus Mag, Lavender Review, and more. She is a Lambda Literary Fellow and Pride Poet. You can find her at mollythorntonwrites.com

Sign up

Adults | Workshop

Virtual/Online

The Library is committed to making events accessible for all. To request an accommodation, please complete this form, or contact us by email at librarian@champaign.org, by phone at 217/403-2000, or through chat. Learn more about accessibility at the library.


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