Orison Books is pleased to announce that Samrat Upadhyay has selected The Distortions, stories by Christopher Linforth, as the winner of The 2020 Orison Fiction Prize from among anonymous finalist manuscripts. Linforth will receive a $1,500 cash award as well as publication of his book by Orison Books.
We're also happy to announce the excellent finalist pool:
"Paradise Undone: Stories of Jonestown" by Annie Dawid
"On Earth as It Is in Heaven" by Vishwas Gaitonde
"The Last of the Light" by Alexander Joseph
"Senior Skip Day" by Phong Nguyen
"They Kept Running" by Michelle Ross
About the winning manuscript, Upadhyay writes: "The Distortions takes us deep into the transgenerational trauma of the Croatian-Serbian war, but it does so with skill and nuance that make each story shine as a well-crafted gem. The characters in this collection feel real, and their personal urgencies—loyalty, migration, family, identity—pierce through to illuminate the larger history of ethnic cleansing that terrorized the Balkans in the '90s. This book is a perfect example of how art can be a vehicle for remembrance, understanding, and most importantly, healing."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After living in Croatia in the early 2000s, Christopher Linforth now lives in the U.S. He has published two story collections: Directory (Otis Books, 2020) and When You Find Us We Will Be Gone (Lamar University Press, 2014). His stories have appeared in Notre Dame Review, Fiction International, Denver Quarterly, Grain, Epiphany, Meridian, The Dalhousie Review, and other magazines.
THE 2021 ORISON FICTION PRIZE
Submissions for The 2021 Orison Fiction Prize will be accepted from December 1, 2020 - April 1, 2021. Consult https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/orison-prizes-poetry-fiction-eyhfu for details.