Humanities major Jennifer Burnham was awarded first place for undergraduate fiction this year in the Center of the American West’s Thompson Awards for Western American Writing.
Each year, thanks to the generosity and kind support of CU alumni Jeannie and Jack Thompson, the Center of the American West awards cash prizes to talented CU students writing on Western topics. Judges from a broad range of scholarship and specialties seek writing with vibrancy and appeal to a broad, informed audience. Categories include poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and memoir/essay. The contest culminated in April with a dazzling awards banquet to honor the winners and the many participating judges.
Jennifer Burnham is an English and Humanities major and Ethnic Studies minor. She is also a full-time employee at CU Boulder. Her area of academic focus is the examination of realized and non-realized Native American Indian stereotypes and empirical epistemologies in contemporary speculative fiction. Her award-winning piece, “Two Trails I Remember,” is situated in the four corners region. The most challenging aspect of this story is to bring attention to American Indian stereotypes while offering an alternative narration as a non-Native writer. The novel is expected to be complete by September of 2012.
Please enjoy “Two Trails I Remember” and other winning pieces on the Thompson Awards for Western American Writing website.
Congratulations, Jennifer!