e. m. kerkman

Guys. Guys. I won the 2024 Dell Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing!!! Omg. Omg? I don’t know what to say. Thank you to my directors and producers–

No, I’m kidding. But genuinely, I owe this success (and all of my other successes) to the support of my parents, as well as of my friends and peers. Without them, my writing would not be where it is today. My winning short story, Lolo’s Last Run, was written during fiction workshop my sophomore year–as was my other winning story, Kodak Gold, which won an Honorable Mention.

Man, this award is such a big deal for me. This year was my first year applying, at the suggestion of some ALPHA Workshop instructors and alums, and I did not expect this outcome. I got the email in the middle of an art critique for my Advanced Film Photography course and absolutely freaked out, haha.

For those interested, here’s some information about the award:

The award is “given annually to the best short-story written in the science fiction or fantasy genres by a full-time undergraduate college student,” and is accompanied by a $500 cash prize, a plaque, publication in Asimov’s, and an invitation to ICFA (International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts).

The Dell Magazines Award, formerly the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing, was established in 1993 by Asimov’s and the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. The awards are co-sponsored by Asimov’s magazine and the IAFA, and supported by the Graduate Program in Creative Writing, low-residency MFA, and MA, Western Colorado University. For more information, visit the Dell Award website.

This information was taken from the lovely article Locus Magazine wrote on the Dell Award (which they, in turn, got from File 770). Here’s a link to that article.

I will be attending ICFA in Orlando this March, and I cannot wait to meet the other awardees! If you’re there, be sure to swing by and say hello!