桃花直播鈥檚 Hagenston wins prestigious Story Foundation Prize
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擯rofessor Becky Hagenston in 桃花直播 State鈥檚 Department of English is adding to the department鈥檚 creative writing prowess with an elite short story prize and the release of six recent pieces of original work.
The winner of a 2020 Pushcart Prize and two O. Henry Awards, Hagenston this spring won Story magazine鈥檚 Story Foundation Prize for her work 鈥淲oman of the House,鈥 garnering $1,500 and publication of the piece in the summer edition.
Founded in 1931, Story聽is a tri-annual print publication devoted to short fiction.
鈥淪tory is one of my absolute favorite literary journals,鈥 Hagenston said. 鈥淚 enter their contest every year and read every issue. I feel so thrilled and honored to be published in the magazine.鈥
Hagenston drew inspiration for 鈥淲oman of the House鈥 from stories her in-laws shared about living in Rapid City, South Dakota, in the early 1970s.
鈥淢y father-in-law was in the Air Force, spending days underground in a missile silo, and my mother-in-law stayed home with their two little boys. I started this story three years ago, just taking notes as my in-laws talked about what they remembered. Then I became more focused, and started turning it into fiction by making the husband and wife very different from my actual in-laws,鈥 she said.
Since 2022, Hagenston has published five additional short stories: 鈥淭he Sunshine Family鈥 in Southern Indiana Review, 鈥淥rchid Children鈥 in The Normal School, 鈥淭he Participants鈥 in Gulf Coast magazine, 鈥淒ivided House鈥 in The Hopkins Review,鈥 and 鈥淟a Mesa鈥 in Arts and Letters magazine.
For her prolific creative writing, last year Hagenston received a 桃花直播 Arts Commission fellowship, a program focused on honoring 桃花直播 artists who demonstrate the ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field.
聽鈥淚 know I have to be patient and keep writing even when I feel stuck,鈥 Hagenston said. 鈥淚 do something writing-related every day鈥攅ven if it鈥檚 staring at a page or reworking a paragraph or reading something that inspires me. I鈥檓 also incredibly lucky that my job is teaching creative writing, which keeps me inspired.鈥
An 桃花直播 faculty member since 2001, Hagenston is the author of numerous award-winning story collections鈥斺淭he Age of Discovery and Other Stories,鈥 winner of The Journal鈥檚 book prize and the 2022 桃花直播 Institute of Arts and Letters Award in fiction; 鈥淪cavengers,鈥 winner of the Permafrost Book Prize; 鈥淪trange Weather,鈥 winner of the Spokane Prize in Short Fiction; and 鈥淎 Gram of Mars,鈥 winner of Sarabande Books鈥 Mary McCarthy Prize.
For more about her work, visit .
For more details about 桃花直播鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences or Department of English, visit and .
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