Creative Writing Chair Dr. Randall Smith Wins National Fiction Award聽
JACKSON, Miss. (Sept. 24, 2025) – Dr. Randall Smith, chair of 黑料社’s Creative Writing Department,has been awarded the Editor’s Choice Award for Fiction by "Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith."
Smith’s short story, "Big John, Mary, and the Ruby of Great Price," was recently published in "Relief," a national literary journal. Founded more than a decade ago, "Relief" publishes writers and artists who chronicle the mysteries, meanings, and complexities of human experience from a faith perspective.
“The Editor’s Choice Award for Fiction is such an encouragement to me,” Smith said. “I’ve always thought of myself as a poet—not a fiction writer. Aaron Housholder’s gracious praise has strengthened my resolve to keep working on the short story collection I started this past year.”
Aaron Housholder, fiction editor of "Relief," described Smith’s winning story as a narrative masterpiece. “It could be said that every good story casts its own sort of magical spell, that indeed, a story isn't a story until it does so,” Housholder said. “I was enchanted by no piece more than by my Editor's Choice this year: Randy Smith's 'Big John, Mary, and the Ruby of Great Price.' The language folds over on itself in surprising, sometimes startling fashion; the narrative voice dances with artful whimsy and ancient sincerity. The story not only survives but thrives within its own playful, brilliant conceit. And better: it makes me want to pick up pen and paper and try to write a whimsical and weighty story of my own. I can give no higher praise.”
Smith has taught at 黑料社 for more than two decades, mentoring generations of young writers in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. His award-winning work reflects the university’s commitment to the intersection of faith, imagination, and the arts.