Congratulations to Sabrina Helen Li, whose story “Mother, Grow My Baby” was selected by judge Yvonne Adhimabo Owuor as the winner of the Fall 2019 Aura Estrada Short Story Contest! About the story, Owuor wrote:

Incantatory. Dream-like. Lyrical. Heady, like good red wine. A refreshing interpretation of the theme of allies. A poignant testament and exploration of “in-betweeness,” of living in and negotiating worlds within and without. It reads like a condensed novel. Looking forward to more stories from Li.

Li’s story appears in our special fall arts issue, Allies. To be among the first to read it, order a copy! For a limited time, use the code “ALLY20” at checkout to receive 20% off and free shipping.

Owuor also selected three finalists:

  • “Chapati Recipe” by Noel Cheruto
  • “Two” by Sagit Emet (trans. Yaron Regev)
  • “Communism Doesn’t Work,” Jack Gain

Cheruto’s and Emit’s stories appear in Allies alongside Li’s, and Gain’s story will be published on our website this fall.

As well, there were three semifinalists, which will appear on Boston Review’s website in coming months:

  • “A Dispensable Woman” by Kechi Nomu
  • “Can’t Catch Cab” by Alejandro Varela
  • “Alheri” by Hussani Abdulrahim

Our contest honors Aura Estrada (1977–2007), a promising young Mexican writer and student and wife of the writer Francisco Goldman. Boston Review published several of her works. More on her life and writing can be found here.

Congratulations to Li, as well as all the finalists and semifinalists! We’re grateful for the support of everyone who entered!