05/19/2026
The SUNY Cortland English Department’s Distinguished Voices in Literature spotlighted 10 students selected by four noted American authors as winners in its Spring 2026 Distinguished Voices Writing Contests.
Assistant Professor of English Heather Bartlett congratulated all those recognized in the contest, noting that names of the winners, finalists and those receiving honorable mentions will be published online in the Crystallize Review, an eight-year-old online creative writing journal edited by SUNY Cortland students. Bartlett is advisor to the publication.
“There were many strong submissions in all categories,” Bartlett said. “Thank you to our guest judges and to all students who submitted.”
Poetry Contest
The winner in the Poetry Contest, judged by Ana Božičević, author of New Life (Wave Books, 2023), was William Moretti for his poem, “Handled.” Moretti is a sophomore in adolescence education: English from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.
Finalists were:
- Chase Citrin, a junior dual major in adolescence education: social studies and history from Utica, N.Y.
- Jailynn Thrane, a senior in professional writing from Mastic Beach, N.Y.
- Kathryn Wilhite, a senior in professional writing from Clay, N.Y.
- Sofia Zall, a sophomore in inclusive early childhood education from Staten Island, N.Y.
Prose Poem Contest
In the Prose Poem Contest, judged by Jose Hernandez Diaz, author of Portrait of the Artist as a Brown Man, Kathryn Wilhite was selected as finalist for her poem, “Roadkill.” Wilhite is a senior in professional writing from Clay, N.Y.
Kurtis Chamberlain, a senior in English from Mastic Beach, N.Y., was chosen as the runner-up.
Finalists in that category were:
- Derek Bridges, a junior in early childhood and childhood education from Babylon, N.Y.
- Ethan Georgia, a senior in professional writing from Groton, N.Y.
- Savanna Straniero, a senior in professional writing from McDonough, N.Y.
Fiction contest
In the Fiction Contest, judged by Tomás Baiza, author of Mexican Teeth: Stories and Assorted Artifacts of an Errant Chicanidad, Hunter Williams was selected for her story, “The Night Sister.” Williams, a senior in professional writing from Cortland, also earned an Honorable Mention in Poetry in the contest.
Nonfiction contest
In the Nonfiction Contest, judged by Brooke Champagne, author of Nola Face: A Latina’s Life in the Big Easy, Williams was chosen for her essay, “If You are Careful.”
More about the judges:
Božičević grew up in Zadar, Croatia before coming to Brooklyn, N.Y. Božičević is a poet, translator, teacher and occasional singer. She also wrote Povratak lišća / Return of the Leaves, Selected Poems in Croatian (Hrvatsko Društvo Pisaca/Croatian Writers Society, 2020); Joy of Missing Out (Birds, LLC, 2017); the Lambda Award-winning Rise in the Fall (Birds, LLC, 2013), and Stars of the Night Commute (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2009). You can find more of her work at www.anabozicevic.com.
Diaz is a 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow. He also wrote The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020) Bad Mexican, Bad American (Acre Books, 2024) The Parachutist (Sundress Publications, 2025). He has been published in Bennington Review, The Yale Review, The London Magazine, Poetry Wales, The Southern Review, Poetry Ireland Review, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and in The Best American Poetry 2025. He has taught creative writing at the University of California at Riverside and the University of Tennessee.
Baiza is the award-winning author of the novel, Delivery: A Pocho’s Accidental Guide to College, Love, and Pizza Delivery, and a second collection, A Purpose to Our Savagery. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, Best American Short Stories, and the O. Henry Prize, and his novel, Delivery, has been accepted into the holdings of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Sherman Alexie has called Tomás’s writing “painful, scary, hilarious, incredibly vulnerable, and powerful in equal measure.”
Champagne’s Nola Face made her a silver medalist in Southern Nonfiction at the 2024 IPPY Awards. Her writing appears widely in literary journals and has received various awards, including the inaugural William Bradley Prize for the Essay for her work “Exercises.” Her essays have been selected as Notables in several editions of Best American Essays. She is the recipient of the 2023-24 Alabama State Council on the Arts Literary Fellowship in Prose. Champagne serves as book reviews editor for River Teeth: A Journal of Narrative Nonfiction. She is an assistant professor of English in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Alabama.
Distinguished Voices in Literature, part of SUNY Cortland’s Visiting Writers series, brings poets, authors, and scholars to campus for readings and lectures. All events are free and open to the public.
The Distinguished Voices Writing Contests are sponsored by Campus Writing Programs. Distinguished Voices in Literature events and contests are supported by the President’s Fund, the Provost’s Office, the Cortland College Foundation, the Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee, Cortland Auxiliary Services, the Writing Center and the English Department.