Award-Winning Writer? That’s Me!

Yesterday, I had the honor of receiving the Charles Hauser Prize for Prose from the Chautauqua Literary Arts Friends at the Chautauqua Institution for my short story, “Through the Storm.” It’s the tale of a young girl, her ailing brother, and one fateful stormy night.

Here’s what the judge for the contest had to say about it:

This piece pulled me right in with rich detail and a distinct voice from the opening sentence. I feel as if I’m right there in the scene with the characters. The author was able to compress a lot into just a couple of pages with lyrical, rhythmic description like this: “…listened to the rain come down on the roof and the yard and the busted car in the driveway, on the barn with the lonesome dog that wouldn’t let anyone pet her anymore, on the mailbox with the flag rusted up forever like we were putting out mail every day, sending letters to the whole world.”

I visited Chautauqua for the first time earlier this summer, and can’t wait to spend a week there next year. And yes, I’m definitely going to refer to myself as “award-winning fiction writer Bethany Snyder” from now on!