Ron Carlson Advises Young Writers To “Finish a Story as Well as You Can”
Acclaimed Novelist Keynotes Adamson Student Writing Awards
Award-winning novelist met with ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Creative Writing students and said he takes his work very seriously.
“I’m one of those guys who gets to do what he always wanted to,” Carlson said.
Carlson’s short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Esquire and GQ. He has taught creative writing to students at Arizona State University and currently co-directs the MFA programs in fiction writing and English at the University of California, Irvine.
He also advised students from Assistant Professor of English ’ ‘Advanced Fiction Workshop’ to, “Finish a story as well as you can and your job is to be in love with it.”
Carlson was on campus to give the keynote speech at the ceremony, an annual celebration of writing. He read selections from his multi-genre collection, and presented awards to undergraduate students from across campus who demonstrated excellence in fiction, non-fiction, poetry and screenwriting.
“This is a great evening for all of us in the , the end of a year in which our most ambitious students have worked hard, revised and polished their best stories and poems and sent them off to the judges,” said , professor of English who co-organized this year’s event with González. “Before the ceremony, we never know whose work the judges will choose, and who will not be recognized. Either way, it’s all part of what it means to be a writer.”
, a senior majoring in chemistry with minors in creative writing and Japanese Studies, placed first in the “Fiction” category for her work titled, “Greenbank.” Her piece explores a radio quiet zone where a mother and daughter move to in hopes of alleviating the mother’s electromagnetic hypersensitivity she claims she is suffering from.
“This year was my first time taking creative writing workshops, and I thought submitting my work to the Adamson Awards was a good opportunity to apply my experience from those classes,” she said.
The Adamson Student Writing Awards have been presented since 1982 in honor of Pauline B. Adamson at the bequest of her husband, the late Clarence H. Adamson, as a testimonial to their marriage and her interest in the English Language and American Literature. Sponsored by the , the competition received approximately 120 submissions this year and was judged by professional writers.
The 2016 Adamson Student Writing Awards Winners
Fiction
First Place: "Greenbank"
Emily Pond, Chemistry
Second Place: "The Last Days of Tohoku"
Laura Berry, Creative Writing & Japanese Studies
Third Place: "Willie's Sign"
Naomi Sternstein, Chemical Engineering & Creative Writing
Honorable Mention: "A Second Thought"
Jacob Gordon, Chemistry
Honorable Mention: "Carry Me Down"
Ariel Hoffmaier, Creative Writing & Ethics, History, and Public Policy
Non-Fiction
First Place: “Jumping on No Feet"
Shaune Marx, Creative Writing & Professional Writing
Second Place: ”Nina Bajbor"
Sinead Foley, Creative Writing & International Relations and Politics
Third Place: “A Different World"
Vinay Viswanathan, Statistics and Machine Learning
Poetry
First Place: Jennifer Huang, BHA, Creative Writing & Art
Second Place: Emily Charleson, Chemistry
Third place: Yaminah Carter, Psychology
Honorable Mention: Sophie Zucker, Chemistry & Creative Writing
Honorable Mention: Stephen Chabassol, BHA, Creative Writing & Music
Screenplays
First Place: “Birdcatching"
Naomi Burgess, Professional Writing
Second Place: "This Will Not End Well for You"
Laura Berry, Creative Writing & Japanese Studies
Third Place: "Pippa"
Eleanor Haglund, Creative Writing
Honorable Mention: "The Thing that Stalks the Fields"
Jane Threefoot, Electrical and Computer Engineering & Creative Writing
Additional Awards
Academy of American Poets Prize: Hyunho Yoon, Psychology & Creative Writing
ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Press Prize for Fiction: "Desert Balloons"
Michelle Mathew, Psychology & Creative Writing
ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Press Prize for Poetry: Sophia Emanuel, Music Performance
The Donna Grear Memorial Award: Nick Rial, Creative Writing
The Edythe and Leon Nagin Award for Best Creative Writing Honors Thesis: “Swim Talk”
Laura Berry, Creative Writing & Japaniese Studies
The Hilary Masters Award for Personal Essay: Laura Scherb, Creative Writing & Professional Writing
Read more about the Adamson Student Writing Awards.
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By Amanda King
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