Article by Olivia Simonson. Photo by Brianna Condon.
Stories are essential for our society. They give us hope, nourish our imaginations, and help us reflect on the world. Good writing helps to bring these stories off the page, and awards across the nation recognize this achievement in various ways. Brianna Condon, an SCSU alumnus who graduated after the fall 2024 semester with a bachelor’s degree in English Studies, is one of these writers.
Condon is nominated for the Pushcart Prize, which recognizes the best works published in literary magazines. Condon submitted her work to a literary magazine titled “Tales from the Kitchen”, and from there, the magazine submitted her work to the Pushcart Prize, where a panel of judges selected her work to be a nominee.
Condon has been interested in English since childhood, and her passion has grown.
“I’ve always been into writing,” said Condon, “When I was a little kid I got read to, so I could read really early. From there it was ‘Now I want to make my own stories,’ as kids do, and I’ve been writing ever since.”
Condon’s piece “Week Twenty-Nine” is a flash fiction piece, or a short piece of fiction. It follows an old man as he struggles with grief, and as Condon describes it, the story does not end happily.
“It’s just this awful, super sad story,” said Condon, “and he’s thinking about the things he misses and then at the end he’s just sad.”
It is this depressing feeling that Condon believe caught the attention of the editors, and it is one of the things that made her story stand out.
“The editor of the journal I submitted it to read it and sent me an email,” said Condon. “And it said ‘Wow, this is so sad and exactly what I’m looking for.’”
Being nominated for the Pushcart Prize is an honor at any age, but with Condon still being in college, she got to celebrate this moment amongst her peers and professors, who were ecstatic for her as she read the email.
“I was at one of those kiosks [in Atwood],” said Condon, “and it was when Professor Dando was giving a presentation during his Hip Hop and Education Summit. So, we were sitting there, me and a couple of friends from the Upper Mississippi Harvest, and I was just checking my email and saw it.”
Condon is using this nomination as encouragement for her to keep going, as being nominated is still a huge honor.
“It makes me feel really good about my writing abilities and makes me want to keep going,” said Condon. “It’s not like you just win an award and go ‘Okay, I’m done.’ For me it’s all about seeing what else I can do.”
Condon prefers writing short stories to novels, and she hopes to continue doing so in the future.
“I just don’t think I could write a novel. I don’t see myself writing something that long,” said Condon. “But I would like to put together a chatbook, which is usually somewhere between 30 and 90 pages. It’s usually poetry, short stories, essays, etc. that you can get published.”
Condon doesn’t just pull stories from her imagination, though. She likes to take inspiration from other writers and their styles, whether that be an idol of hers or her classmates.
“I feel like I pull a lot of stuff into my writing,” said Condon. “I’ll see something my peers do where their story is written a particular way and say ‘Hey, I want to try this.’”
Condon took many different creative writing classes at SCSU, where students are asked to get into groups every so often and provide feedback to each other, allowing others to get involved in each other’s stories.
“The collaboration aspect is my favorite part,” said Condon, “There’s something so fun about sitting down with your peers and having everyone read what they wrote and then discussing it. I love taking in as much as I can from other people so I can make my writing better.”
Looking back on her journey, Condon has found she has grown as a writer exponentially, and there are some things that, if given the chance, Condon would tell her younger self.
“I’d tell her to ask for help. Not so much when it comes to writing, but for ideas. When you come to a roadblock, sometimes you just have to reach out and ask ‘Hey, you have any ideas for what this person could do?’ and then go from there. And also, to remember the stories that you hear. Listen, take suggestions, and let them soak in. It’s the only way you’re going to grow.”
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