HCU Alumna Kionna Walker LeMalle met with unexpected opposition when she entered a writing contest in middle school and found herself embroiled in controversy when judges questioned the authenticity of her submission. Kionna defended her work, with the support of her teacher and mother, and was cleared of the allegations and went on to win first place in the contest.
Drum roll, please! Blair is proud to announce the winner of the Lee Smith Novel Prize is Behind the Waterline by Kionna Walker LeMalle. LeMalle’s manuscript was selected by contest judge Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) from over five hundred novel submissions.
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