Arcadia’s Emmalee Gagnon ’20 received honorable mention from Dell Magazines for her short story submission, “Say Her Name.”

Before submitting her short story to the Dell Award, Gagnon worked on “Say Her Name” for over a year between workshop classes and peer reviews. “Say Her Name” taps into the lore of ghost stories told around campfires and the nostalgia associated with going to summer camp. Gagnon brings to life the horrors of reality and fiction as she tells the story of a girl who works at a camp and the contrasting tale of another girl who died there.

“Through the help of peer reviews and professor tips, [‘Say Her Name’] became something I am proud of,” said Gagnon. “When submitting to the Dell Award, I didn’t expect to win. I’m so happy that I was chosen as a finalist.”

The Dell Award (formerly the Isaac Asimov Award) was started in 1992 by prolific Science Fiction magazine editor Sheila Williams and science fiction writer and journalism professor Rick Wilber. The Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing is given annually to a full-time undergraduate college student for the best short-story written in either genre.

For more information on the Dell Award, visit their website.