By Marc Glass, February 2019
Aimee Degroat ’19, manager of the University Store and soon-to-be member of the UMF alumni community, has — once again — won the Islandport Magazine Fiction Writing Contest.
Degroat’s winning submission “paints a dark and, at times, disturbing portrait of life for Angie, a shoe factory worker living in rural Maine with her deadbeat boyfriend,” says Shannon Butler ’13, operations manager at the Yarmouth-based book publisher and founder of the annual contest. “Angie is faced with decisions that blur the line between right and wrong, and the line between loyalty and betrayal as she is forced to contemplate what is best for herself rather than those surrounding her.”
Repeat winner Aimee Degroat ’19 says self-doubt, “one of the toughest challenges writers face,” nearly precluded her from submitting this year. (Photograph by Marc Glass.)
Degroat, who will graduate in May with a BFA in Creative Writing, won the magazine’s inaugural fiction contest in 2018 with her short story “Where He Ain’t.”
“All the stories were judged blindly,” says Butler, who earned her BFA in Creative Writing at UMF and now oversees Islandport’s editorial offices, warehouse and distributions, and retail branch. “Judges were unaware that Degroat had entered the contest again this year. Her story rose to the top because of her undeniable ability to set a scene and immerse the reader in a place that feels real and true.”
Degroat says self-doubt, “one of the toughest challenges writers face,” nearly precluded her from submitting again this year.
“When I won in 2018, I felt as though I had been hit by lightning — like it was a lucky shot not likely to happen again,” Degroat says. “Having now won a second year in a row, I am in a state of stunned euphoria.”
With the consecutive wins comes this wisdom, which Degroat shares with aspiring authors everywhere: “Keep writing, keep submitting, and most importantly, believe in yourself.”
It’s exactly the kind of advice that Butler hoped the contest would inspire. As a Creative Writing major, Butler says she knows, firsthand, how the prospect of submitting and being judged can give an aspiring author pause. But she also knows the wellspring whence she came. And when Islandport launched a quarterly magazine to promote its authors and decided on recognizing fiction with an annual contest, she knew where to source strong submissions.
Shannon Butler ’13, operations manager at Islandport Press and founder of the Yarmouth publisher’s annual fiction writing contest for UMF students. (Photo courtesy of Shannon Butler.)
“When I was at Farmington, I was constantly amazed by the talent I was surrounded by, both in my professors and my classmates,” says Butler. “So I thought, what a great way to connect all the dots in my life — to link Islandport with the place where I got an invaluable education.”
Butler also conceived the contest as a way to provide UMF’s Creative Writing majors with a critical professional development opportunity: “to be brave and submit.”
The contest, says Butler, “is a good way to get your feet wet with submitting, because it’s the friendliest of fire. Nobody’s sitting here shredding your work. And it’s a terrific prize, especially for students in an undergraduate degree program. Being published in a magazine that reaches 35,000 readers is pretty good.”
In addition to “Down to It,” Islandport Magazine’s Spring 2019 issue, available March 24, will also include excerpts from two honorable-mention submissions: “Frosted Windows and Salt Stains” by Bethany Wicks ’19 and “The Wish” by Meagan Jones ’19.
The Islandport Magazine Fiction Writing Contest is held annually in partnership with UMF’s Creative Writing program. Open exclusively to UMF students, the contest guidelines call for short fiction that represents Maine through setting or character.
The next call for submissions will be held in fall 2019. For contest guidelines, please see www.islandportpress.com/writingcontest