Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Four Mississippi State students taking part in the university's recent undergraduate writing contest are having their works of poetry and fiction entered in 2008 regional competition.
Jessica K. Balle of Kilmichael, Tameka S. Johnson of Delta City, Jason R. Roberts of Starkville, and Misty A. Smith of Decatur are top winners of the English department's annual writing contest. Balle is a junior chemical engineering major; Johnson, a senior in elementary education. Roberts and Smith are senior English majors.
The challenge is open to students enrolled in any academic major. Judging is completed by members of the department's creative writing program, with first and second place winners in each category advancing to the next level sponsored by the Southern Literary Festival.
The SLF involves more than 100 community and senior colleges and universities in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Tennessee, among others. The group's 2008 meeting in mid-April will be held at the University of Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond.
Smith claimed first-place honors in the fiction category with "The Life and Times of Sarah Lee Greer: Easter Sunday," while "Timber Creek" won second place for Johnson.
Among the poetry submissions, Roberts' "Apropos of Hell" was judged the best. Balle took second place for "Ten Years without You."
LOCAL EDITORS:
Smith is the daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Yarbrough; Johnson, the daughter of Matilda Johnson and Larry Bullock.
Roberts' parents are not listed; Balle, is the daughter of Reuben and Deborah Balle.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.