Alexandria Kelly won 1st place for Fiction in our Spring Writing Contest this year with her story “Food for the Soul.” Final Judge Kate Landers has this to say about her winning entry:
“Hannah’s character grows and changes throughout the story, which is hard to do in such a limited word count. There were some very descriptive details peppered in. The metaphors and similes used really helped to draw the reader in. I really enjoyed how the author was able to show many facets of the grandfather’s personality – the tenderness but also the judgment, and the love and fear Hannah feels toward him. I liked that the grandfather was written as a kind man but with flaws. The ending was appropriate and well-planned.”
Here is an excerpt from “Food for the Soul”:
The rainbow-colored flier folded in her hoodie pocket felt far too heavy for a single scrap of paper. She traced the words on the page once more, as if this time they would finally stop making her mind rock back and forth like a game of tug-of-war. She lowered her head, as if trying to hide behind her long brown hair and the loose fabric of her oversized hoodie. Why had she ever thought she could do this?
Alexandria Kelly is a graduate of the University of Central Florida Creative Writing program. Originally from Mississippi, she moved to the Chattanooga area in 2019, where she lives, happily with her husband Zachary and their car Miri. She placed third in the Fiction category of the 2020 Spring Writing Contest and placed second Fiction category in the 2021 Spring Writing contest.