College Alumni Judge 2024 CCS Writing Competitions
Brancart Fiction Award, Richardson Poetry Award, M. Garren Tinney Writing Award, and CCS Most Excellent Awards recognize UCSB undergraduate student writers, essayists, and poets
"Across the board, the entries this year once again were phenomenal. It is such an honor to recognize our student writers and alumni judges."
—Kara Mae Brown, CCS Writing & Literature Faculty
In June 2024, alumni Wesley Holtermann '12 (CCS Literature), Ellen O'Connell Whittet ’08 (CCS Literature) (HFA Writing Program Lecturer; CCS Writing & Literature Faculty), Alex Scordelis '04 (CCS Literature), Melissa Seley '04 (CCS Literature), Vivian Walman-Randall '22 (CCS Writing & Literature), and Carson Young '22 (CCS Writing & Literature) participated as judges in the 2024 CCS Writing Competitions, offering their creative expertise. The CCS Competitions are open to all UCSB undergraduate writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and essays who submitted and showcased their best work.
The CCS Writing Competitions are comprised of 6 awards, each with its own prize:
- Brancart Fiction Award, established by Christine Lehner ‘73 (Literature) in memory of her grandmother Reine Brancart
- Richardson Poetry Award, established by Jeffrey Hewitt ‘74 (Literature) in memory of Jeffrey’s grandmother Henrietta Wing Richardson
- CCS Most Excellent Award: Narrative Prose
- CCS Most Excellent Award: Poetry
- CCS Most Excellent Award: Essay
- M. Garren Tinney Writing Award, established in loving memory of Michael “Garren” Tinney ‘01 (L&S English) by his mother, Donna “Dee Dee” Tinney.
Originally envisioned during the COVID-19 shutdown by CCS Writing & Literature Faculty Kara Mae Brown as a solution for building community in a remote world, the initiative to involve CCS alumni as judges for the CCS Writing Competitions has evolved into a meaningful bridge between current students and distinguished graduates. In line with Kara Mae Brown’s vision, this mutually beneficial opportunity enhances experiential learning for students, provides unique networking opportunities within the literature community, and allows alumni to reconnect and contribute to the UCSB community.
In 2024, the M. Garren Tinney Writing Award joined the CCS Writing Competitions as the sixth award, honoring Michael “Garren” Tinney and his passion for writing. It is one of three M. Garren Tinney Writing Awards at UCSB for undergraduate students dedicated to writing and interested in pursuing writing-related careers. CCS decided, in collaboration with Dee Dee Tinney, for this award to focus on a non-fiction genre.
Congratulations to UCSB Student Award Winners
Brancart Fiction Prize—$600
Winner: Maya Johnson ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Stacking Napkins”
Judge: Melissa Seley '04 (CCS Literature)
“It’s a terrific story. Formally concise. Tender yet quietly tense. Compact and conversational yet erudite, soulful. There was so much great work in this folder! But this story stood out as one that had found its footing on all the levels; a work of fiction as singular and self-contained as it is fully imagined.”
Richardson Poetry Prize—$400
Winner: Sean Fina ‘27 (L&S English), “The First Cow”
Judge: Wes Holtermann '12 (CCS Literature)
“It's a small poem, rich and strange, but it stuck with me. This poet has an instinctual feel for using the musicality of language to heighten the image. I thought it was just about a perfect poem, and I'm excited to read more from this writer someday.”
M. Garren Tinney Writing Award (in Nonfiction)—$500
Winner: Maya Salem ‘24 (CCS Writing & Literature; L&S Communication), “Ottolenghi Beans”
Judge: Ellen O’Connell Whittet ’08 (CCS Literature)
“I admire its lyricism, the connection between father and daughter across continents, decades, and language, and the search for identity through food and native tongue. It's gentle yet muscular writing, full of discovery and love.”
CCS Most Excellent Narrative Prose
Winner, $35: Sophia Quinto ‘26 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Return”
Runner-Up, $25: Sasha Senal ‘24 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Kill Time”
Honorable Mentions, $15:
- Avalon Lee ‘26 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Everywhere, North”
- Tia Trinh ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Lucky Lettuce”
- Sophie Najm ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature), “The Hum”
Judge: Vivian Walman-Randall '22 (CCS Writing & Literature)
CCS Most Excellent Poetry Prize
Winner, $35: Tomas Cordero ‘25, “A Picture Drawn in Chalk”
Runner-Up, $25: Maren Reed ‘24 (L&S English), “Angels Played Ball in Palm Springs”
Honorable Mentions, $15:
- Maya Salem ‘24 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Blackford Hill,” “Sprinkles of Autumn,” and “Cramond Island”
- Yuriko Chavez ‘24 (L&S Chicana and Chicano Studies), “pink holiday”
- Olive Howden ‘25 (L&S Psychological & Brain Sciences), “Silence”
Judge: Carson Young '22 (CCS Writing & Literature)
CCS Most Excellent Essay Prize
Winner, $35: Maya Johnson ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature), “Revitalizing Santa Barbara’s Commitment to Rehabilitative Justice”
Runner-Up, $25: Ryan Grant ‘25 (L&S Film and Media Studies), “Journalism and Mainstream Media’s Effect on Democracy”
Honorable Mentions, $15:
- Margaret Gray ‘26 (CCS Writing & Literature) , “The Silent System”
- Josie Hurwitz ‘24 (L&S Sociology) , “Prison Abolitionism Explained”
- Laurel Sheard ‘25 (L&S English), “Uncovering Yeats: A Discussion of Love, Jealousy, and Growth in “The Circus Animals’ Desertion”
Judge: Alex Scordelis '04 (CCS Literature)
Join CCS in congratulating all these amazing UCSB student writers!
To learn more about these writing awards open to all UCSB undergraduate students, visit CCS Writing Competitions.