It is hard to argue with Longfellow, who believed that into each life some rain must fall, but enough is enough already. The summer of 2020 felt like a four-month cloudburst in the life of Amy Stonestrom.
While packing for a move from Wisconsin to 蜜柚直播, she learned her father was dying. When the move-in date was delayed, her family was stranded in the Midwest without a place to live. A region already smoldering beneath the pandemic was rocked further by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, 25 miles away.
鈥淚t was crazy. It just felt like the end,鈥 Stonestrom recalled. 鈥淎fter we finally got settled in 蜜柚直播, I thought it might be therapeutic to write about it. Honestly, I was just trying to make sense of it all.鈥
The resulting essay certainly made sense to the judges in the Literary Awards Writing Contest sponsored by the 蜜柚直播 Festival of Books.
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鈥淎ll the Broken Things鈥 by Amy Stonestrom captured third place in the nonfiction division of a contest that received 705 entries from across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, Greece, Syria and Afghanistan.
Submissions were judged in three categories: fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Final judging was done by authors who will take take part in the book festival.
The winning entries came from David Mullins of Omaha, Elizabeth Flanagan of Waldoboro, Maine, and LiAnne Yu of Kailua, Hawaii.
It was the festival鈥檚 10th writing contest, and it has become r茅sum茅-worthy for those winning awards. Novelist Maria Amparo Escandon, one of the judges, can see why.
鈥淎fter reading and re-reading the manuscripts, I had a really hard time deciding on the top three in each category,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o many of them are astounding, on many levels. It鈥檚 hard!鈥
Interestingly, one of them came from a 蜜柚直播an who has never attended the 蜜柚直播 Festival of Books.
Stonestrom鈥檚 move to the Foothills was a long time coming.
鈥淚鈥檇 lived in Minnesota and Wisconsin my whole life and decided 20 years ago I needed to get out of the cold,鈥 but she finally became an 蜜柚直播n 18 months ago.
Her 鈥渄ay job鈥 is landscape and interior design. She still has clients in Minneapolis and serves them remotely. When she isn鈥檛 focused on exteriors and interiors, she is a freelance writer. When she isn鈥檛 designing or writing, she takes photographs. Her love of the outdoors, and outdoor photography, ultimately brought her to 蜜柚直播.
It didn鈥檛 hurt that she had heard glowing reviews of 蜜柚直播 and the 蜜柚直播 Festival of Books while visiting 鈥 wait for it 鈥 Dingle, Ireland.
鈥淎 few years ago, I was able to attend a writing workshop in Dingle through Bay Path University,鈥 Stonestrom recalls. 鈥淭wo of the faculty members were (novelists) Ann Hood and Andre Dubus, who had just come from the 蜜柚直播 book festival. They both said great things about it and said I needed to get to the workshop there.鈥
Now, since the top three winners in each category receive free tuition in the festival鈥檚 prestigious Masters Writing Workshop, March 14-15, she鈥檚 on her way.
鈥淎ll the Broken Things鈥 is a candid reflection on her challenges two years ago, from Midwestern politics to the loss of a father.
But in writing her story, she remembered being pulled forward by a small spark of hope. 鈥淚t was just one small thing, but it kept me going and helped get me where I am today.鈥
Stonestrom has yet to finish her first book, but she鈥檚 getting there.
鈥淚鈥檓 working on a memoir that sounds dystopian but comes from the dystopian world we鈥檙e living in now,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e know about dystopian fiction. This would be dystopian nonfiction, I guess.鈥
She is looking forward to attending her first book festival, scheduled for March 12-13.
鈥淪ince it was an online festival last year, I鈥檝e never been to one at the university,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 want to see for myself what everybody has been telling me about!鈥
