Raz-Shumaker in Fiction Goes to Mi Jin Kim
Congratulations to Mi Jin Kim, the winner of the 2024 Raz-Shumaker Book Prize in Fiction! Her winning manuscript is entitled Invitation: Stories and will be published by the University of Nebraska Press.
“It was my interest in past Raz-Shumaker, writers like Janelle Bassett and Megan Cummins, that inspired me to submit,” Kim said. “It’s thrilling to think that my stories will soon be out in the world. I feel so supported!”
Laird Hunt, one of this year’s Raz-Shumaker judges and the winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, praised the collection: “It’s very effective at communicating a sense of reality seen clearly but always at a slight remove: a reality in which a car’s air conditioning blows ‘neither warm nor cool air’; in which televisions drone at low volume; in which hams are small and ‘tidily prepared’; in which mothers die; in which mothers don’t die; in which dream life and waking life casually intermingle; in which children are loved and loathed in equal measure; and in which sentimentality has been denied entry.”
Elizabeth Crane, another of this year’s judges and the winner of the Chicago Public Library 21st Century award, praised Kim’s singular voice: “Whether the characters are dealing with a missing person, uncertain medical conditions, or find themselves uncomfortable (socially, culturally, or otherwise), the voice was consistent throughout.”
If you’d like a taste of Mi Jin Kim’s stunning work, look no further than The Prince, a 2020 Crazy Horse Fiction Prize finalist. Kim has also been awarded the Henfield Prize in Fiction and the Frederick Busch Prize in Fiction. She currently resides in rural South Korea, where she is at work on a short story collection and a novel.