If you know short stories or have a general awareness of the phenomenon known as “the Internet,” you’re probably familiar with Roxane Gay. She’s an assistant professor of English at Eastern Illinois University, as well as the co-editor of PANK magazine, the essays editor for The Rumpus, and the fiction editor for Bluestem. Her Twitter bio starts with “I write things”–an understatement of hyperbolic proportions given her unbelievable list of publications, and that her feed is followed by the official Twitter account of Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States.
Gay visited Butler University on Wednesday, Aug. 14, to shake things up and share her wisdom as guest judge of the 2013 Booth Story Prize. After some pizza from Bazbeaux in Broad Ripple and a sufficiently lively discussion about the final four stories, Gay decided on a winner–Lenore Myka’s “Real Family.”
The sheer scope and complexity of the group discussion surrounding the story, especially the compelling motivations of the lead character, prompted Gay to change her mind about which submission merited the prize.
“I had a winner picked before I came here,” she said, shuffling her entries, “but after this, I am changing my vote.”
“Real Family” centers around a mother’s struggle to connect with her adopted son while trying to pull her strained marriage back together. Some Booth readers felt an aching empathy toward the protagonist, Ginger, while others read her as cold and detached; no one had a lukewarm opinion of Ginger and her efforts to support her son and his unsettling tendencies. Gay talked about how she prefers work that is divisive and inspires love/hate reactions instead of stories that are middling and afraid to take chances.
The group’s runner-up came from Annie Bilancini, “Little Miss Bird-in-Hand,” a heartbreaking story about an android child pageant contestant.
“Real Family” will be forthcoming in Booth. While you’re on the site, don’t forget to pick up a copy of the latest print edition, Booth 5, which features work from Pam Houston and Kim Addonizio, as well as interviews with Charles Simic and Chuck Klosterman.