With almost 2,000 entries, the submission pool for our Fantasy Competition did not make for an easy selection for Guest Judge Susanna Kwan. Yet from so much young talent, two names emerged: Myah Rathi Litteljohn and Sofia Almonte.
Lucky for you, we've had the opportunity to interview the winners to offer you a behind-the-scenes look at their fantastical minds. How did they craft their magical work and manage to stand out among thousands? Read on below, and don't forget to check out the guest judge's commentary here.
Read the winning piece here!
Guest Judge Susanna Kwan called your piece “a beautiful exploration of the power of imagination and presence in moments of grief and inevitable change.” Can you tell us a little more about how intertwined grief, fantasy, and imagination are in your winning piece?
I think that in my piece, fantasy, grief, and imagination are necessarily and inextricably intertwined. Fantasy is a way for us to explore and process difficult truths, such as grief and loss, in settings that are far removed from our own. This lets us see the “bigger picture” in a less threatening or distressing way, potentially revealing new perspectives that may help us reconcile with our own circumstances and emotions. In other words, fantasy allows us to view and explore the “here” from over “there”, and imagination is our way of getting there. In my piece, I’ve attempted to portray a father’s physical and mental deterioration, and a child’s attempt to navigate these changes, in an imaginative, fantastical, and, hopefully, truthful way.
How did you first encounter the fantasy genre? How did your experiences with fantasy influence this piece?
I can’t pinpoint exactly how I first encountered fantasy, but I really fell in love with the genre when I read The Sisters of Straygarden Place by Hayley Chewins in middle school. I was inspired by how the author used fantasy elements to depict a portrait of a family of sisters at the edge of collapse. I also enjoyed reading Hayley Chewins’ I Am the Swarm, which uses what she calls the “lie of fantasy” to tell an important truth about the world. For example, the main character’s silent anger transforms into a swarm of wasps. In my piece, I attempted to use the fantastical to the same effect—depicting things not as they are but how they feel.
Something else that I’ve learned from the fantasy genre is the importance of absences and empty spaces–the deliberate omission of information to instill a sense of mystery. Many fantasy books that I love, such as Yōko Ogawa’s The Memory Police, have left me with nagging, unanswered questions, making them all the more compelling. Because if fantasy is, at least partly, about putting a name to the unspeakable and the unknown, then it seems only fitting that a little of the unknown should slip back into the writing. In my piece, I tried to respect those empty spaces and let some questions go unanswered.
Read the runner-up piece here!
Your submission is epistolary (i.e., written in the form of a collection of letters), which was a bold choice that paid off as your piece was selected to be our Fantasy Competition’s Runner-Up. Tell us more about this decision!
The only thing I was certain about when I began working on this story was that it had to be told by Andy or it couldn’t be told at all. For a while, I kept writing a detailed first-person POV; it wasn’t epistolary at all. Those first few drafts helped me to figure out who he and Frances were, but eventually I realized that the way I was writing was doing the opposite of what I wanted. Because the reader was in Andy’s position, his story was no longer his own. I needed the reader to be close to him, but I didn’t need them to be him. So I went back to the drawing board and thought about the things I like to read. One of my favorite novels is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, which happens to start with a series of letters. Letters, or any sort of personal writing, allow the reader to get a firsthand account, but don’t require the reader to be the character in the way that a non-epistolary piece does. That allows Andy to keep his story, which is ultimately what led me to submit my final draft as a collection of letters.
What are some of your favorite works in the fantasy genre?
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is my favorite fantasy book hands down. I see a lot of people hype the trilogy up for the romance, but it’s actually a subplot, and the story itself is much more than that. Jude Duarte is one of the best written FMCs I’ve ever read. Black’s characterization is to die for and her worldbuilding felt so real. Another book that’s stuck with me is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Her debut novel Shadow and Bone is what got me into reading, but Six of Crows captured my heart. I don’t think I can put into words how much I loved that duology, so instead I will say, if you haven’t read it yet, please do so now! For movies, I really love Coraline, but anything made by LAIKA studios has my heart to be honest; I am so excited for Wildwood!