Masha Shukovich—On the impact of the shortlist and writing the story only you can write
Masha Shukovich—On the impact of the shortlist and writing the story only you can write
2021 Shortlist, The Taste of Names
What made you decide to submit your work to the First Pages Prize?
A dear friend, a fellow person of color, and a brilliant writer Allison Hong Merrill won the inaugural Sandra Carpenter Prize for Creative Nonfiction in 2020 and it was her example that made me perk up my ears and ultimately submit my work to the 2021 First Pages Prize. I thought it was a long shot, but I took the leap anyway. I have this deal with myself: if I have a good feeling about a writing contest (and I definitely did about this one) and a piece that’s polished and ready to be shared, I’ll submit my work and forget about it. If it’s meant to get noticed, it will. If not, I’ll keep polishing it and sending it out until its time comes.
How did you decide what you wanted to submit?
The First Pages Prize guidelines specify that writers should submit the first pages (1,250 words maximum) of a longer work of fiction. Since I was already hard at work on my MFA thesis (a novel manuscript which I’m currently revising), I decided to submit the opening of that story to the First Pages Prize and keep my fingers and toes crossed that both my advisors and the judges would look favorably upon it. I was delighted to learn that, around the same time that my thesis was approved for graduation, my submission was selected as one of the 36 longlisted (and later one of the 12 shortlisted) entries for the 2021 First Pages Prize.
What was it like to be shortlisted?
It was surreal, exhilarating, and a little bit like an out-of-body experience, but in a good way.
What changed for you as a result of being on the shortlist?
I've experienced a lot of erasure, micro-aggressions, and racism since arriving in the US in 2004 as an international student who fled the collapse of ex-Yugoslavia. As an immigrant from a country that no longer exists and a neurodivergent person on the autism spectrum with a hard-to-pronounce name, for the longest time I felt safest in the shadows, hiding who I was and doing my best to blend in whenever possible. It was never possible.
Ultimately, I surrendered to my own truth in writing and instead of trying to figure out what American audiences would like to read, I wrote the only thing I could write: an “own voices” story by a neurodivergent brown immigrant. A story that sheds light on the painful history, obscure culture, and virtually unknown mythology of the Balkans, the “dark other” of Europe. A story so specific to my own life and the lives of people like me that I wasn’t sure anyone else would ever care to read it. A story only I could write.
But to my surprise and delight, people I can only describe as literary icons thought it was a story worth telling and certainly one worth reading. I’ve received some generous recognition for my writing over the past few years, but being on the First Pages shortlist really made me feel seen. My next step, after completing the final revisions on my novel, The Taste of Names, is to find an agent who believes in me and my story. Being shortlisted for the First Pages Prize makes me feel confident that I am up to that task.
What advice or tips might you have for people thinking of submitting to the FIRST PAGES PRIZE this year?
Read the guidelines, then read them again. Read the winning entries from previous years. When choosing what to submit, choose your most authentic work. Read it aloud to another human (or yourself) before submitting it. If reading it makes your voice tremble, your hands shake, and your eyes tear up, you’ve made the right choice. Always go in the direction of your fear.
To read more about Masha's experience being selected for the 2021 shortlist, visit her BLOG
Masha Shukovich www.mashashukovich.com Instagram: @mashawrites