2023 Dell Award Winners

“blooming beating hearts” by Sam Wilson is the winner of the 2023 Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing.

The complete list of honors is:

  • Winner: “blooming beating hearts”, Sam Wilson
  • First Runner-up: “Of the Known Universe”, Olivia Garcia
  • Second Runner-up: “The Glass Foxkit”, Rona Wang
  • Third Runner-up: “The River People”, Simon Herz
  • Honorable Mention: “A Practical Guide to Housesitting for North American Witches”, Jazmin Collins
  • Honorable Mention: “Gone Up in Fog”, Simon Herz
  • Honorable Mention: “Blind Faith”, Emely Menjivar
  • Honorable Mention: “The Great Blue Heron of the Mississippi”, William Romero
  • Honorable Mention: “The Ivory Peak Hotel”, Jadyn Straigis

The award is “given annually to the best short-story written in the science fiction or fantasy genres by a full-time undergraduate college student,” and is accompanied by a $500 cash prize, a plaque, publication in Asimov’s, and an invitation to ICFA (International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts). This year Wilson, Garcia, Herz, Collins, Straigis, and Romero will take part in ICFA, to be held March 15-18, 2023 in Orlando FL. Wilson will read from his story during the conference, and all will be honored at the award ceremony.

The Dell Magazines Award, formerly the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing, was established in 1993 by Asimov’s and the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. The awards are co-sponsored by Asimov’s magazine and the IAFA, and supported by the Graduate Program in Creative Writing, low-residency MFA, and MA, Western Colorado University. For more information, visit the Dell Award website.


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