The winner of the 2020 Henfield Prize, given to a creative writer in our graduate program for an excellent work of fiction is third-year poetry MFA student Aimee Seu for her story “Continued Existence.”  The judge for this year’s award is the distinguished writer Dinaw Mengestu. 

In his citation for “Continued Existence,” Mengestu writes: “Continued Existence is a strikingly original, almost radical story, one that gathers energy and meaning through its intricately carved sentences that not only demand but deserve close and careful reading. The story haunts and lingers in the imagination, in no small part because of its wise and thoughtful depiction of faith and its role in determining and shaping our lives, even when absent.”

Mr. Mengestu also noted as an honorable mention the riveting power of "Guided,” a novel excerpt by Acacia Johnson.

More information on the Henfield Prize can be found here.