We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2016 Aura Estrada Short Story Contest, selected by judge Jennifer Egan.
Congratulations to Mikayla Ávila Vilá, pictured at right, who won for her story “Trumpeteers,” which will be published in the July/August 2016 issue of Boston Review. Vilá also receives a $1,500 prize.
Egan says she selected “Trumpeteers” “for its daring and precision. There is a rich and vivid sense of place, a wealth of local texture; an array of striking characters delineated with economy; and lots of deep, latent history that animates the story even without our knowing its details.”
Vilá comments, “A good friend of mine reminded me that last year I’d said, ‘I don’t care if the Boston Review rejects me as long as it’s a personal rejection,’ so this is beyond what I could’ve ever asked for. I’m so pleased that I’ve got something to show my family for all their faith and love. The win is for them.”
Look for the story in print in our July/August issue and online in July.
In addition to the winner, our prize honors Aura Estrada (1977–2007), a promising young Mexican writer and student and wife of the writer Francisco Goldman. Boston Review published several of her works. More on her life and writing can be found here.
We hope you’ll submit for the next contest, judged by Min Jin Lee. The deadline for entries is October 3, 2016. For full submission guidelines, see our contest page.
