The Alexandra L. Rowan Memorial Foundation Writing Competition
2021 Rowan Writing Competition Winners
2021 Fiction Winner:
Rana Mohamad is a senior at the University of Houston, majoring in English Creative Writing with
a minor in History. As a writer, she believes that through storytelling, a writer
can live many lives and explore a variety of questions, all indicative of the human
condition. She is especially interested in lyrical fiction and migrant narratives.
Rana plans on pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing and publishing short stories, poems
and memoirs.
Read the Winning Fiction Entry, “The Tiger in the Bathtub” by Rana Mohamad
Honorable Mentions in Fiction:
- Kaunain Khan’s “August Blues”
- Jack Morillo’s “Alyssa Linatto is Throwing Up”
- Jacob Myers’ “The Gates of Greymoore”
Judges for Fiction: Hannah Kelly, Colby Ornell, Scott Repass and Brenda Peynado
2021 Non-fiction Winner:
Shireen Hasan, an aspiring writer/poet, was born in Iraq but raised in Texas. She has been living
in the United States for over 11 years now. She loves to write multiple genres. Growing
up as a Yazidi, a religious minority in Iraq, she is able to understand more about
her culture and connect to the cultures surrounding her through her writings. Writing
is music to her in more ways than even she has come to know. It is something she continues
to use to express herself and understand the world around her. She would rather the
ink speak for her, for it has more to say.
Read the Winning Entry “The lost souls of Shingal” by Shireen Hasan
Honorable Mentions in Non-fiction:
- Alexis Arteaga’s “Three Things (Love in the Time of Corona)”
- Gavin Caterina’s “The Ladybug of the Bronx”
- Mike Clarks’ “Baldwin the Bull”
Judges for Non-fiction: Kartika Budhwar, Weijia Pan, Theodora Ziolkowski and Roberto Tejada
2021 Poetry Winner:
Gavin Caterina is a freshman at University of Houston, who intends to major in English. He enjoys
reading fiction and playing soccer with his family. On book recommendations, he offers
up "Spring Snow" by Yukio Mishima. He wishes to enter the creative writing concentration
in the fall.
Read the Winning Entry, “Heart-Shaped Poem” by Gavin Caterina
Honorable Mentions in Poetry:
- Michelle Garcia’s “El Hombre de la Casa”
- Jack Morillo’s “Tapos / Tapos”
- Alfonso Reyes’ “Ghazal Concerning Self-Preservation”
Judges for Poetry: Kartika Budhwar, Weijia Pan, Theodora Ziolkowski and Michael Snediker
2020 Fiction Winner:
Truth Thomas-Alexander is a senior at the University of Houston and majors in Creative Writing and minors
in Studio Art. Her concentration is fiction and she enjoys writing short stories.
She plans on pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing after she completes her Bachelor's
degree.
Read the Winning Fiction Entry, “invalidation” by Truth Thomas-Alexander
Honorable Mentions in Fiction:
- Josh Cornelius’ “The Correction”
- Zachary Eaton’s “The Liar”
- Piper Gourley’s “Are You Dreaming, Billie?”
2020 Non-fiction Winner:
Zachary Eaton is an English - Creative Writing student at the University of Houston who hopes to
graduate (at last) in summer 2021. He writes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.
He co-wrote the screenplay "Cardinal" with writer/director James Frank. He enjoys
watching sports, procrastinating, and rereading the same short story collections over
and over again. He's worked at Dominos Pizza, Target, Barnes and Noble, as a server,
and as a cashier. He knows you shouldn't start all your sentences with the same pronoun,
but feels the 100-word bio format doesn't leave room for much else. He recommends
"The Student" by Anton Chekhov.
Read the Winning Entry “The Opera Singer” by Zachary Eaton
Honorable Mentions in Non-fiction:
- Alicia Alcantara’s “The Man Downstairs”
- Claire Guzik’s “Tragic Nothingness”
- Naveera Majid’s “Magical Realism and Contradiction in The Hummingbird’s Daughter”
2020 Poetry Winner:
Matthew Flores is a senior at UH and originally from south Texas. He works as a delivery driver
and also assists with humanitarian aid for migrants at the South Texas Human Rights
Center in Falfurrias, Texas. He plans to attend an MFA or interdisciplinary PhD program
next year in the fall.
Read the Winning Entry, “Reading Paz at the Cemetery” by Matthew Flores
Honorable Mentions in Poetry:
- Claire Guzik’s “Stones”
- Alyssa Holt’s “God and Mammoths”
- Kristin Powell’s “Spinach”