The Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction
2021
Danny Thiemann
Final judge T. Geronimo Johnson selected Danny Thiemann’s “One Bad Night in San Jose, Costa Rica” as the winner of the 2021 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. His story appears in the Fall/Winter 2021 issue of Colorado Review.
Danny Thiemann is the recipient of the 2020 Tobias Wolff Prize for Fiction from the Bellingham Review, an Award for New Writers from New York City's Table4 Foundation, and a Madalyn Lamont Award for Fiction from the American University in Cairo. His writing has appeared in the New Delta Review, the Bosque Review, Your Impossible Voice, the Beloit Fiction Journal, and Guernica Magazine. He works at Earthjustice and previously worked for the Programa de Campesinos/Farmworker Program at Oregon Law Center.
2020
Josie Sigler Sibara
Final judge Lori Ostlund selected Josie Sigler Sibara's “The German Woman” as the winner of the 2020 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Her story was published in the Fall/Winter 2020 issue of Colorado Review.
Josie Sigler Sibara has received a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship and an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant. The draft of her first novel won the James Jones First Novel Fellowship. Her most recent fiction appears in Ploughshares, Crazyhorse, and the Master’s Review.
Author photo by Tabitha Morgan
2019
Bryna Cofrin-Shaw
Final judge Joan Silber selected Bryna Cofrin-Shaw’s “Loss and Damage” as the winner of the 2019 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Her story will appear in the Fall/Winter 2019 issue of Colorado Review.
Bryna Cofrin-Shaw is a Brooklyn-based writer originally from Northampton, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Brown University, where she studied climate change politics through the lens of the arts and humanities, and Hunter College, where she received her MFA in fiction. Her work has appeared in Epiphany and the American Literary Review.
2018
Shannon Sweetnam
Final judge Margot Livesey selected Shannon Sweetnam’s “Aisha and the Good for Nothing Cat” as the winner of the 2018 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Her story appears in the Fall/Winter 2018 issue of Colorado Review.
Shannon Sweetnam is a Chicago-based essay and fiction writer whose work has appeared most recently in the Chicago Tribune, terrain.org, Cleaver Magazine, SmokeLong Quarterly, the Golden Key, Literal Latte, the Pinch, Crab Orchard Review, Nano Fiction, and Georgetown Review. She is the winner of the 2016 Wilda Hearne Flash Fiction Contest, 2010 Jack Dyer Fiction Prize, and two Illinois Arts Council grants. In addition, she won second prize in the 2014 Literal Latte Fiction Award and was a finalist for the 2012 and 2013 SLS Summer Literary Seminars, 2013 Orlando Prize for Short Fiction, 2013 David Nathan Meyerson Fiction Prize, and 2012 Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction. She currently works as a real estate agent at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty in Lake Forest, Illinois, and as a community outreach coordinator for Karam Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of Syrian refugees in the United States and abroad. Married with three boys, Shannon plays competitive hockey and polo in her spare time.
2017
Katie M. Flynn
Final judge Richard Bausch selected Katie M. Flynn‘s “Island Rule” as the winner of the 2017 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Her story was published in the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Colorado Review.
Katie M. Flynn’s stories have appeared in Carve, Hobart, Joyland Magazine, Monkeybicycle, Superstition Review, and elsewhere. Recently, she finished her first novel about love, revenge, and uploaded consciousness, the first chapter of which is forthcoming in Indiana Review. She lives in San Francisco and can be found on Twitter: @other_katie.
2016
Farah Ali
Final judge Gish Jen selected Farah Ali‘s “Heroes” as the winner of the 2016 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Her story was published in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of Colorado Review.
Farah Ali was born in Karachi, Pakistan, where she got her MBA. She has lived in Damascus, Syria, and Louisville, Kentucky. Her stories have been finalists in Glimmer Train. She is currently working on a collection of short fiction. “Heroes” is her first published story. She lives in Dubai, U.A.E. (for now).
2015
Luke Dani Blue
Final judge Lauren Groff selected Luke Dani Blue’s “Bad Things That Happen to Girls” as the winner of the 2015 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Her story appeared in the Fall/Winter 2015 issue of Colorado Review.
Luke Dani Blue earned her MFA from San Francisco State University. Her fiction has appeared in Fourteen Hills, Midnight Breakfast, and Bluestem, and won the 2014 Wilner Short Story Award. She teaches creative writing in California.
2014
Amira Pierce
Amira Pierce‘s “Anything Good Is a Secret” was the winner of the 2014 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction, selected by final judge Kent Nelson. Her story appeared in the Fall/Winter 2014 issue of Colorado Review, and she received $2,000.
Amira Pierce was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and has lived in Cairo, Egypt; Chiapas, Mexico; San Francisco, California; and Falls Church and Richmond, Virginia. She teaches in the Expository Writing Program at NYU-Polytech in Brooklyn, works as a literacy volunteer with the Program for Survivors of Torture, and is an editor for failbetter.com and the Blue Falcon Review. Her short fiction has received various honors and appeared in publications including Cream City Review, the Asian American Literary Review, Makeout Creek, and miraclemonocle.com. She received her MFA in fiction from Virginia Commonwealth University and is at work on a novel.
2013
Edward Hamlin
Edward Hamlin‘s “Night in Erg Chebbi” was the winner of the 2013 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction, selected by final judge Jim Shepard. Hamlin’s story appeared in the Fall/Winter 2013 issue of Colorado Review. and he received $2,000.
Edward Hamlin is a Colorado-based writer whose work has appeared in the Bellevue Literary Review, In Digest, New Dog, and Cobalt, and has been produced theatrically in Chicago and Denver. He has recently completed a novel, Sleeping with Her, that explores dream life and the unconscious in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
2012
Matthew Shaer
Matthew Shaer‘s story “Ghosts” was selected by final judge Jane Hamilton as the winner of the 2012 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Shaer received $2,000, and his story will appear in the fall/winter 2012 issue of Colorado Review.
Matthew Shaer is the author of Among Righteous Men, a book of nonfiction. His reporting appears regularly in New York Magazine, Harper’s, and the Washington Post, among other outlets. He teaches writing at New York University and Drew University and lives in Brooklyn.
2011
Joan Leegant
Joan Leegant‘s story “Beautiful Souls” was selected by final judge Ron Carlson as the winner of the 2011 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Ms. Leegant received $1,500 and her story appeared in the fall/winter 2011 issue of Colorado Review.
Joan Leegant is the author of a story collection, An Hour in Paradise, winner of the PEN/New England Book Award and the Wallant Award, and a novel, Wherever You Go. Formerly a lawyer, she divides her time between Boston and Tel Aviv, where she teaches writing at Bar-Ilan University.
2010
Katherine Hill
Katherine Hill‘s story “Waste Management” was selected by final judge Andrea Barrett as the winner of the 2010 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction! Ms. Hill received $1,500 and her story appeared in the fall/winter 2010 issue of Colorado Review.
Katherine Hill holds an MFA from Bennington College. Her fiction has been published in Philadelphia Stories and Word Riot, and her articles and reviews have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Bookforum, The Believer, Poets & Writers, and Philadelphia City Paper. She lives in Philadelphia and is at work on a novel.
2009
Angela Mitchell
Angela Mitchell‘s story “Animal Lovers” was chosen by Robert Boswell as the winner of the 2009 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. She received $1,000, and her story was published in the fall/winter 2009 issue of Colorado Review.
Angela Mitchell is an MFA student at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. An eighth-generation native of southern Missouri, she now lives in St. Louis with her husband and sons. This is her first published story.
2008
Ashley Pankratz
Ashley Pankratz ’s story “Witness” was chosen by Antonya Nelson as the winner of the 2008 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. She received $1,000, and her story was published in the fall 2008 issue of Colorado Review.
Ashley Pankratz is currently enrolled in the MA program at SUNY Brockport. She is working on a collection of short fiction, as well as a book of nonfiction on the Thoroughbred racing industry. “Witness” is her first published story. She lives in Upstate New York.
2007
Thomas Grattan
Thomas Grattan’s story “I Am a Souvenir” was selected by Charles Baxter as the winner of the 2007 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction. Grattan received $1,000, and his story was published in the fall 2007 issue of Colorado Review.
Thomas Grattan is a graduate of the Brooklyn College MFA program. His work has been chosen as a finalist for the Iowa Review Fiction Award. He is also the recipient of the Lainoff Prize for fiction. He lives in Brooklyn.
2006
Lauren Guza
Lauren Guza won the 2006 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction with her story “Running with the Kenyans.” She received $1,000, and her story was published in the fall 2006 issue of Colorado Review. Michael Martone was the final judge.
Lauren Guza received her B.A. from Middlebury College in 2005. She wrote “Running with the Kenyans” as part of her senior thesis in creative writing. A member of the Teach for America organization, Lauren is currently teaching English and ESL in her native Los Angeles.
2005
Dylan Landis
Dylan Landis won the 2005 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction with her story “Delacroix.” She received $1,000, and her story was published in the fall 2005 issue of Colorado Review. Judy Doenges was the final judge.
Dylan Landis is writing a collection of linked stories and a novel. Her fiction has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading, Bomb, Tin House, Swink, and many other publications, and has won the Poets & Writers California Voices Award. She teaches creative writing at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
2004
Emily Bloch
Emily Bloch was the winner of the 2004 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction with her story “The Elevator Version.” She received $1,000, and her story appeared in the fall 2004 issue of Colorado Review. Emily Hammond was the final judge.
Emily Bloch lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. She is currently an MFA student at the Bennington College Writing Seminars and a freelance writer for magazines including Marie Claire, Glamour, Parenting, The Hungry Mind Review, TimeOut NY, Prevention, and American Baby. “The Elevator Version” is her first published fiction.
