Sophie Williams-Richmond of Bentonville, Carter Whiley of Mansfield and Kylar McDonald of Dover captured the top prizes in the Arkansas Tech University Don’t Know Tough Writing Contest.
The awards were announced on Friday, April 18, at the conclusion of the inaugural ATU Lit Fest, a day-long seminar that provided high school seniors and juniors with information about the creative, educational and career opportunities available to individuals with an interest in and a talent for writing.
Williams-Richmond earned the $500 first-place prize for the writing contest, while Whiley and McDonald both captured $250 runner-up prizes.
Contest participants were challenged to write a short story that would serve as a follow-up to the conclusion of “Don’t Know Tough,” Eli Cranor’s award-winning debut novel.
Cranor is in his second year as writer in residence and instructor in the ATU College of Arts and Humanities and the ATU Department of English and World Languages. He led the creation and execution of ATU Lit Fest.
Breakout sessions at ATU Lit Fest covered topics such as poetry, creative non-fiction, historical fiction, playwriting, editing, acquiring an agent and marketing literature.
Speakers for the breakout sessions included Eliza Borne, Kevin Brockmeier, Dr. David Eshelman, Dr. Claire Kortyna, Dr. Tori Sharpe, T.L. Simpson, Dr. Stanley Lombardo and Pat Young.
Approximately 160 students registered for ATU Lit Fest 2025. In addition to the writing contest and the breakout sessions, participants also heard a keynote lecture from Cranor, toured the ATU campus and ate lunch at Chambers Cafeteria.
ATU Lit Fest and the Don’t Know Tough Writing Contest were sponsored by Freedom Roofing and Fat Daddy’s BBQ of Russellville. Dog Ear Books of Russellville provided additional support for and assistance with the event.
Learn more about the ATU Department of English and World Languages at www.atu.edu/humanities/worldlanguages.
