The winner of the 2017 Robert C. Jones Prize for Short Prize is Gary Fincke. The final judge, Jenny Boully, selected Fincke’s collection, The Darkness Call: Essays, as the winner of this year’s contest.
The Darkness Call will be published in spring 2018 by Pleiades Press. Jenny Boully says of this book, “The Darkness Call: Essays reflects on what lurks, on what can catch us unawares. From viruses and space junk to atomic bombs and murderers, what might be an shadow or suggestion takes on the shape of the real. Gary Fincke’s collection reminds us that nothing is sure, nothing is certain; everything can dissolve or explode in an atomic second. The book is a call to hold what we love, to love what we hold. Ever-changing, surprising, engaging, and enthralling as a skyscape from which the unexpected falls, these essays deliver a beautiful and spectacular show of subjects and forms.”
The finalists for this year’s contest were: George Choundas, Karen Donovan, Andrew Farkas, Stephen Guittierez, Becky Hagenston, Kendall Klym, Kim Dana Kupperman, Rachael Peckham, Sejal Shah, and Addie Tsai.