MSMS dominated at the Oct. 25 Eudora Welty Symposium with three students winning the Ephemera Prize and four students receiving honorable mentions.
Seniors Kaylee Alford, Savannah Massey and Claire Rizzo were honored as winners. In addition, seniors Jaidyn Bryant, Ramse Jefferson, Carys Peden and Brianna Trotter received honorable mentions.
Hosted by the Mississippi University for Women, the Eudora Welty Symposium showcases Misssippian writers and awards the Ephemera Prize, a prestigious award for high school writers. The award includes a $200 prize, the chance to read their works at the symposium and getting their works published in this year’s Ephemera Prize Anthology.
Alford said winning the prize was a confidence boost for her.
“I’ve never thought of myself as a very good writer, so winning made me very happy,” Alford said.
MSMS Creative Writing instructor and Southern Voices advisor Thomas Richardson, who mentored the students throughout their writing process, said he was proud of the students who submitted their work.
“It takes a lot of courage to put something out there in the world for professional writers to assess, and to hear the judges talk about what a pleasure and a challenge it was to engage with the talent from all over the state was a good sign for the future of Mississippi’s literary heritage,” Richardson said.
This year’s theme was “’Keep out from under these feet… I got a long way’: Resilience and Resistance in the South.” This prompt hits close to home for many students who have experienced the hardships of living in the rural South.
Alternatively, students could respond to a prompt about the Eudora Welty short story, “A Worn Path.” Submissions were judged by James E. Cherry and Gerry Wilson, two writers featured at this year’s Welty Symposium.
Rizzo, the vice president of Southern Voices, said she embraced the complexities of this year’s theme.
“Persistence and ambition are topics I use in a lot of my poetry and essays. I felt it didn’t limit me per se, but it gave me a really nice moment for introspection,” Rizzo said.
Massey, the president of Southern Voices, advised those aspiring to participate in the upcoming Ephemera prize to “just write. All you can do is your best.”
