Tucson Festival of Books writing contest winners named

Contest coordinator Meg Files received 618 submissions in fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Entries came from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.

The top Tucson entrant in this year’s contest was Sterling Vinson, who took second place in nonfiction with a story entitled “El Salvador, 1986.”

The winner in fiction was Monika Gupta of University Place, Washington. Her submission, “The Right Kind,” explored family ties and the influence of race, class and culture.

Lindsey Pharr of Alexander, North Carolina, took top honors in nonfiction with “Unfinished Foxes.”

Sean Webb of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, won the poetry competition. His submissions featured a poem entitled “Immolation.”

Gupta, Pharr and Webb will discuss their work during a session at the book festival, which is scheduled for March 9-10. All three will take part in the festival’s Masters Writing Workshop March 11-12.

Three festival authors — Jean Kwok, Laila Halaby and Tim Z. Hernandez — judged the competition’s final round. Here are the top awardees:

First place: “The Right Kind” by Monika Gupta of University Place, Washington

Second place: “The Golden Spiral” by Sarah Van Arsdale of New York City

Third place: “Shelter in Place” by Brittany Smith of Cobourg, Ontario, Canada

First place: “Unfinished Foxes” by Lindsey Pharr of Alexander, North Carolina

Second place: “El Salvador, 1986” by Sterling Vinson of Tucson

Third place: “Extraordinary Alien” by Yao Xiao of New York City

First place: “Immolation” by Sean Webb of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Second place: “Christmas Slippers” by Lynne Ellis of Mercer Island, Washington

Third place: “Tia Rebuilds Her House As She Snores” by Purvi Shah of Brooklyn, New York