Molia Dumbleton and Carina del Valle Schorske win Granum Prizes

Molia Dumbleton (Photo by Tim Dumbleton)

Carina del Valle Schorske (Photo by Mara Corsino)

November 20, 2023 – Molia Dumbleton and Carina del Valle Schorske have been named the winners of this year’s Granum Foundation writing competitions. Dumbleton was awarded the Granum Foundation Prize for her short story collection, tentatively titled The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Finalists include (in alphabetical order): Jared Jackson, M.M. Kelly, Angie Sijun Lou, and Mollie Swayne. Schorske earned the Granum Foundation Translation Prize for her translation of Marigloria Palma’s The Night & Other Electric Flowers.

Dumbleton is a widely-published author and recipient of the Columbia Journal Winter Fiction Prize, Wigleaf’s Top 50, and Ireland’s Seán Ó Faoláin Story Prize, among others. She teaches creative writing at DePaul University, serves as an Assistant Fiction Editor for Split Lip Magazine, and is a member of the Curatorial Board at Ragdale. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions explores an impressive range of characters and situations, including a sick mother’s reflection of her daughter’s life without her, the story of a young man left behind after his friends are sent to fight in the Vietnam War, and a local community moments before tragedy strikes. These poignant pieces are held together by Dumbleton’s precise, atmospheric, and lyrical prose, along with her eye for revealing detail.

Schorske is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine whose debut essay collection The Other Island is forthcoming from Riverhead Books. The only writer to be included on both Granum contest shortlists, her work has appeared in The Believer, The Cut, The Point, and New York Times Magazine. Her earlier translations of Palma’s poetry garnered the Gulf Coast Translation prize. The poems in The Night & Other Electric Flowers are striking in their surreal and erotic imagery, social and political commentary, and off-beat humor, balancing light and dark, hope and despair.

Jackson’s work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Yale Review, Guernica, Kenyon Review, n+1, among others, and his short story “Bebo” was selected for the Best American Short Stories 2023. He is a contributing editor at Apogee Journal, an adjunct professor at Columbia University, and the program director of literary programs at PEN America. His short story collection, Locals, provides insight into the lives of Black and Brown adolescents and young adults in Hartford, Connecticut, showcasing deep character studies and emotions revealed through powerful, heartfelt prose.

Kelly’s poetry has appeared in Hanging Loose, The Shore, and Quarter after Eight, with work forthcoming in Beyond Words Magazine and The Asheville Poetry Review. She was an editor and contributor of Lifting the Fog of War: New Thinking about War and War Prevention. Her novel Blue, Like Fire follows Harper MacArthur as she enters a “hyper-exclusive treatment sanctuary” for fire survivors. Told in a voice that is sharp, funny, and vulnerable, this story introduces a colorful cast of characters and situations while confronting the external and internal damage that arises from devastating fires.

Lou is a Ph.D. candidate in Literature and Creative Writing at UC Santa Cruz. Her fiction has appeared in or is forthcoming from ZYZZYVA, BOMB, The Kenyon Review, Best Small Fictions, FENCE, and Joyland. She has received fellowships and support from Kundiman, Bread Loaf, Tin House, Oxbelly, and Blue Mountain Center. Her short story collection, tentatively titled Double Happiness, combines powerful imagination, experimentation, and elegant prose to explore themes including queer identity, Chinese immigration, and the need for connection.

Swayne, a writer and journalist, has published poetry in The Carolina Quarterly, Hobart, Lover’s Eye Press, Madcap Review, with work forthcoming in New American Writing, among other publications. Her collection is bright, quirky, and humorous on the surface, but it fearlessly explores the complexities of solitude and self. Mixing pop culture with Greek and Egyptian mythology, these poems mirror our information-fatigued, chaotic world.

As part of the award, Dumbleton will receive $5,000, finalists will each receive $500, and Schorske will receive $1,500.

Applications for the next round of funding are scheduled to open in May, 2024.