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 Malcolm Campbell of Charlotte is the winner of the Doris Betts Fiction Prize for his story "The Whales Moved On." Campbell will receive a prize of $200 from the North Carolina Writers Network. Second place, $100, is awarded to Gregg Cusick for "Have You Seen Me."
Campbell lives in Charlotte with his wife and three young sons. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and of Vermont College's MFA in Writing program. He is the author of two travel guidebooks and founder of the independent publishing house, Walkabout Press, Inc. Campbell is now at work on his first novel, currently titled “Anchorhold.”
Gregg Cusick wrote his first story when he was nine years old. In 1990, he received an MA in English-Creative Writing from North Carolina State University. His stories have appeared in the News & Observer, Chelsea, Crescent Review, Alligator Juniper, and Mochila Review, among others.
Final judge Tim Gautreaux, a Louisiana native and now part-time resident of western North Carolina, is the author of two short story collections, Same Place, Same Things and Welding with Children, and two novels, The Clearing and The Next Step in the Dance. His stories have been selected for the O'Henry and Best American Short Story annuals and have been published in such magazines as The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, and GQ. Gautreaux chose the winning stories from seven finalists that were selected by the North Carolina Literary Review from the original sixty-one submissions. Gautreaux says of "The Whales Moved On," "The writing is nuanced, careful, flowing, and confident." Other finalists Gautreaux recognized are Kristin Sherman for "Sacrament" and Michael Hopping for "Toasted."
Gautreaux has recommended the winning story for publication in NCLR, so readers will find it in the 2009 issue. Cusick's story and several of the finalists have also been invited by the NCLR editors to revise and resubmit for publication consideration. In the meantime, look for the 2007 Betts Prize story, "Distance" by Thomas Wolf and second place winner, "Five Is Red," also by Gregg Cusick, in the 2008 issue of NCLR, due out this summer. For subscription information, go to www.ecu.edu/nclr.
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