My writing mentee, Keith Sanders, has racked up another win!  He has been working for some time on a full-length play called PUSHING UP DAISY, which I love and have been rooting for through several drafts.  As part of his process, he took a break from dialogue and wrote a short story encapsulating the characters and the action he hoped to put on stage.  The resulting short story was so excellent that he submitted it for The Insider Prize at AMERICAN SHORT FICTION.  The judge was the amazing Lydia Davis, and she chose his story to share first place.  Keith’s “Pushing Up Daisy” is published in its entirety here: Insider Prize Winners.

I want to emphasize that, although I have been corresponding with Keith for years about his writing and this project in particular, his decision to use fiction as a way back into his playwriting of the piece was entirely his.  Although I read one draft of the story, I gave no significant input–this is his work and his alone.  I am deeply proud of him and pleased, as well, that he is back to work on the script so we can continue to shepherd Daisy and Glenn to the stage.  It’s marvelous to have these interesting, peculiar, yet endearing characters live in more than one medium.

Enjoy the read!