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Announcing Our 2024 Contest Judges

  • Writer: Puerto del Sol
    Puerto del Sol
  • Jul 11, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: Nov 17, 2024

Since 2017, Puerto del Sol hosted an annual poetry & prose contest, with one winner in each category taking home a $1,000 cash prize. Along with the cash prize, contest winners also receive publication in the forthcoming Spring issue of Puerto del Sol. Winning pieces are selected with the help of renowned writers, serving as the final judges. Contest submissions are open from March 1st to September 1st each year.

Ready to meet this year's judges?!


For our 8th annual Puerto del Sol Poetry & Prose Contest, we are so very pleased to announce our judges:

Diana Khoi Nguyen and Ruben Degollado.



Poet, human, and multimedia artist, Diana Khoi Nguyen was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of Ghost Of  (2018), a finalist for the National Book Award, and Root Fractures (2024), her second poetry collection which was named as one of LitHub’s Poetry Books to Read in 2024. Her video work has recently been exhibited at the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art. Nguyen is a Kundiman fellow and member of the Vietnamese artist collective, She Who Has No Master(s). She has also received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, is a winner of the 92Y Discovery Poetry Contest and recipient of the 2019 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Nguyen currently teaches in the Randolph College Low-Residency MFA and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. For more information on Dian Khoi Nguyen and her beautiful work: https://dianakhoinguyen.com/




Rubén Degollado's work has recently appeared, or is forthcoming, in Lit Hub, Texas Highways, The Common, as well as within the anthologies Living Beyond Borders and Nepantla Familias. His YA novel, Throw (2019) was the winner of the Texas Institute of Letters 2020 award for Best Young Adult Book, and was included on the Texas Library Association 2020 TAYSHAS list of best books for teen readers. Rubén’s debut literary novel, The Family Izquierdo (2022) was long-listed for the PEN/Faulkner Award, was a Texas Institute of Letters Best Fiction Award finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, and selected for Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2022. Rubén has been an educator since 1994, serving as a tutor, teacher, assistant principal, principal, and director of school improvement. rubendegollado.com/


Update

A special thanks to both of these judges for taking the time to carefully read and select our 2024 winners:

Matthew Woodman with "Park Fire Minor Arcana" (Poetry)

&

Morgan Christie with "163 Tings" (Prose)

Check out these two amazing pieces in our forthcoming Spring 2025 Issue of Puerto del Sol!

 
 
 

10 Comments


Harriet Armstrong
Harriet Armstrong
Jun 27

Announcing the contest judges is always exciting because it gives participants a better idea of the experience and perspectives behind the evaluation process. I think having a diverse panel helps make the competition fair and encourages different styles of creativity. It would be interesting to know what qualities the judges value most in submissions. Likewise, students tackling difficult coding projects sometimes explore a Programming Assignment Writing Service UK to better understand complex requirements and improve their academic work.

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John Thomas
John Thomas
Jun 22

2024 contest judges prestige. As a PhD student who works part-time at Last-Minute Assignments, I love a good competition. I was so impressed that I'd think, Just Write My computer science Assignment so I can submit."Your post is a reveal. Thank you for that. Experts, criteria, excitement. Grateful for the announcement. Keep judging. Seriously, my entry is ready. Here's to contests. Thanks for the news. Cheers.


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Ricky Rivera
Jun 19

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kiki
kiki
May 26

Fantastic announcement! 🌟 The caliber of judges for the 2024 Puerto del Sol contest is truly impressive. Their diverse perspectives and expertise will ensure a fair, thoughtful selection process. Thank you to all the judges for donating their time to support emerging writers! --words

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May 16

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Puerto del Sol is funded by New Mexico State University and the Mercedes Delos Jacobs endowment, and operated by the MFA in Creative Writing program.

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