Honorable Mention in the 2023 Nick Adams Short Story Contest
Read the story: Warmth
Lyrically written and genuinely frightening, this deep story combines ghostly revenge and spiritual searching.”
— Final Judge Lan Samantha Chang
More about Eve Henley-Rayve:
- Senior at Beloit College
- Major: Literary Studies and Creative Writing
- Minor: Journalism
- Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
ACM: Do you have plans after graduation?
Henley-Rayve: I hope to find my way into graduate school eventually, specifically for creative writing, but for now I’m just going to go back home and try and save some money. I plan to start writing a novel after graduation, and continue submitting my work to literary magazines and writing contests.
ACM: What sparked your interest in writing, and how did you get started writing fiction?
Henley-Rayve: I started writing really in middle school, kind of as an outlet for all those preteen emotions I wasn’t sure how to process yet. One of my teachers told me she really enjoyed my poetry, and that it was something I should continue. That got me writing more, because it was the first time I felt like I was actually good at something, especially academically. I would write short stories and poems in this notebook I carried around, and eventually I was able to really feel how writing was making everything around me seem less scary. I really learned how to sort my emotions through making up these extremes in fiction, and I’ve stuck with it ever since.
ACM: How have you developed your writing while you’ve been at Beloit?
Henley-Rayve: I’ve definitely been pushed to write more, and longer. I think one of the big things I’ve taken away was that if I was ever in the mood to write, I should do it right then. This is how I’ve written some of my best work. I think some of the more obvious things would be learning how to take criticism, and use it to strengthen the quality of my writing. Seeing so many different writing styles helped me to settle into my strengths, and really hone in on what it is I’m good at.
