Orison Books is pleased to announce the results of The 2022 Orison Fiction Prize. Judge Tania James has selected "The Height of Land" by M. C. Benner Dixon as the winner from a pool of anonymous finalist manuscripts. Dixon will receive $1,500 and publication of her novel by Orison Books. Congratulations to Dixon and the finalists, listed below!
As previously announced, the winner of the companion 2022 Orison Poetry Prize is Hussain Ahmed for his manuscript "Blue Exodus," selected by Rajiv Mohabir. Read more here.
FINALISTS
Bipin Aurora, "Parched Souls: Stories of India and America" Vishwas Gaitonde, "On Earth as It Is in Heaven" Ryan Habermeyer, "Jesus Wants Me for a Catastrophe"
ABOUT "THE HEIGHT OF LAND"
About the winning manuscript, Tania James writes: "The Height of Land is a refreshing approach to the post-apocalyptic novel, showing us both the possibilities of collective action and the power of a single dissenting voice. That voice belongs to Red, a boy desperately searching for spiritual meaning and connection. I’ve never encountered a novel quite like this one, nor a character like Red, whose questions and observations followed me long after I finished this profoundly affecting book."
ABOUT THE WINNER
M. C. Benner Dixon lives, writes, and grows things in Pittsburgh, PA, where she serves as the Adult Program Director for Write Pittsburgh. She is quick to make a pun and slow to cut her grass. Her poetry and fiction has appeared in Funicular, The Los Angeles Review, The Hopper, Fusion Fragment, Appalachian Review, and elsewhere. Her writing includes a collection of craft essays, co-authored with Sharon Fagan McDermott, forthcoming from The University of Michigan Press.
THE 2023 ORISON PRIZES
The 2023 Orison Prizes in Poetry & Fiction will be open for submissions from December 1, 2022 - April 1, 2023. The judges will be Pádraig Ó Tuama (poetry) and David Heska Wanbli Weiden (fiction).