In River Teeth News …

Beth Nguyen Announced As River Teeth’s 2024 Literary Nonfiction Book Prize Judge

May 2, 2024

By Ethan Rice

We are thrilled to announce the final judge for the 2024 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize.

Beth Nguyen is an author and professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing. Born in Saigon, Nguyen’s family came to America as refugees while she was a baby, settling in Michigan, where she grew up and would receive her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. 

The recipient of an American Book Award, a PEN/Jerard Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, Nguyen has been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Time, and Best American Essays. Her published books include two novels and two memoirs, the most recent of which – Owner of a Lonely Heart – was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice Pick and listed among the best books of 2023 by NPR, Time, Oprah Daily, and BookPage. 

Owner of a Lonely Heart tells the story of Nguyen’s coming-of-age and relationship with her mother, who remained in Vietnam after her family’s flight. It carries themes of “absence, parenthood, and the condition of being a refugee; the fragmentation of post-war resettlement; and the uncertainty of home.” Beyond the many year-end lists it appeared on in 2023, it has received high praise from Nguyen’s fellow authors, such as Alexander Chee, Lacy M. Johnson, Joanna Rakoff, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil. We could not be happier to have her as the final judge for our 2024 Prize.

Submissions for the 2024 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize will be open from August 1 – October 31, 2024. A list of past winners, including the 2023 winner, Laura Julier, can be found on our website and can be purchased from University of New Mexico Press site and wherever you buy books.

In Other News …

Brooke Champagne, Book Reviews Editor

Brooke Champagne Joins the River Teeth Team

Hello from the confluence of River Teeth here at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, on the kind of gorgeous fall day that makes a person want to leash up the dog and head out into the fields and woods–but not so fast because submissions opened on September 1st and we’ve got a lot of reading to do. Happily, we love to read. 

Meet River Teeth’s Spring 2024 Interns

Hello! We are excited to shine light on some of the creative minds and passionate spirits that have been working with us this past spring semester: our interns! From painting the beautiful rocks you might’ve seen at AWP to writing captions for Instagram posts to moving book reviews from our old website to our new website - our interns have been with us through it all and we couldn’t have done it without them. Each intern brings a unique blend of enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication to our team. They had so much fun interviewing each other for this article, so we hope you enjoy getting a glimpse of them as much as we have loved working with them.

Laura Julier Wins River Teeth’s 2023 Literary Nonfiction Book Prize

We are delighted to announce that Laura Julier has won the 2023 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. Her manuscript, Off Izaak Walton Road, will be published by the University of New Mexico Press in Spring 2025. Julier will also receive a $1,000 honorarium. All entries were screened by the editors, and our guest judge, Lacy M. Johnson, chose a winner from among the finalists. All of us at River Teeth are grateful to the many writers who submitted their books to the competition this year and to Lacy M. Johnson for sharing her time and expertise to choose the winning manuscript and runner-up.

Sarah Capdeville Wins River Teeth’s 2022 Literary Nonfiction Book Prize

We are delighted to announce that Sarah Capdeville has won the 2022 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. Her manuscript, Aligning the Glacier's Ghost, will be published by the University of New Mexico Press in spring 2024. Capdeville will also receive a $1,000 honorarium. All entries were screened by the editors and our guest judge, Natasha Trethewey, chose a winner from among the finalists...

Cover of Robert Lunday's Disequilibria

Robert Lunday Wins River Teeth’s 2021 Literary Nonfiction Book Prize

We are delighted to announce that Robert Lunday has won the 2021 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. Fayettenam: Meditations on Missingness will be published by the University of New Mexico Press in spring 2023. All entries were screened by the editors and our guest judge, Rigoberto González, chose a winner from among the finalists. Everyone at River Teeth is grateful to the many writers who submitted their books to this year’s competition and to Rigoberto González for sharing his time and expertise to choose a winner.

Walter M. Robinson Wins River Teeth’s 2020 Literary Nonfiction Book Prize

We are delighted to announce that Walter M. Robinson has won the 2020 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. His winning manuscript, What Cannot Be Undone, will be published by the University of New Mexico Press in Spring 2022. All entries were screened by the editors and our guest judge, Megan Stielstra, chose a winner from among many exceptional manuscripts. River Teeth is grateful to the many writers who submitted their books to this year’s competition and to Megan Stielstra for the difficult service of choosing among them.

Cover of Kevin Honold's The Rock Cycle

Kevin Honold Wins 2019 River Teeth Book Prize

We are thrilled to announce that Kevin Honold is the winner of this year’s River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. His winning manuscript, The Rock Cycle, will be published by the University of New Mexico Press in Spring 2021. All entries were screened by the editors and our guest judge, Bret Lott, chose a winner from among the exceptional finalists.

Headshot of Megan Stielstra, a blond woman wearing glasses and a black turtleneck

Megan Stielstra To Judge the 2020 River Teeth Book Prize

We are delighted to announce that acclaimed author, Megan Stielstra will judge the 2020 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. Stielstra is the author of three books of essays: The Wrong Way to Save Your Life, Once I Was Cool, and Everyone Remain Calm. 

River Teeth Finds New Home at Ball State

After twenty years at Ashland University in Ohio, River Teeth will now be housed in the Department of English at Ball State University with Jill Christman and Mark Neely as Senior Editors and Professor Todd McKinney as the Managing Editor. River Teeth is a portfolio of literary editing projects anchored by one of the top literary nonfiction magazines in the country. It includes a bi-annual, print magazine (River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative), a weekly online magazine (Beautiful Things), and a nonfiction book contest with an annual winner published by the University of New Mexico Press. Founding editors, Joe Mackall and Dan Lehman, wished to find a new home for the literary journal after their retirement from teaching at Ashland University.

Subscribe

All River Teeth subscriptions and back issues are available for purchase or renewal through Submittable! River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative (ISSN 1544-1849) is published semiannually. Issues are distributed in the fall and spring.

Submit

River Teeth accepts submissions of creative nonfiction through Submittable from September 1 to December 1 and January 1 to April 1.