SDCCD LEAGUE FOR INNOVATION
STUDENT LITERARY AWARD COMPETITION
SPRING 2020
LOCAL JUDGES
Mabelle Reynoso is a commissioned playwright and veteran teaching artist for the non-profit arts education organization Playwrights Project. She is also a core leader at TuYo Theatre, working to strengthen connections and representation between the Latinx community and the theatre community.
Author of two memoirs: The Nigerian-Nordic Girl’s Guide to Lady Problems (Shebooks/SheWrites), a witty, tricultural e/audiobook about black women and fibroids, and Meeting Faith (W.W. Norton & Co.), a travel memoir about becoming Thailand’s first black Buddhist nun, which received PEN Open Book Award.
Author of two books of poetry: microchips for millions (Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc., 2016), which is about immigrant women workers in Silicon Valley; and like a solid to a shadow (Timeless, Infinite Light, 2017 by way of Nightboat Books), which is about her father, family lineage, and learning Ilokano. Author of several published chapbooks. She is the 2020-2021 Santa Clara County Poet Laureate.
Author of the novel How to Set Yourself on Fire (2018). Her short fiction and essays have been in McSweeney’s, Hobart, Paper Darts, Barrelhouse, Literary Hub, Pithead Chapel and elsewhere, and she won the 2019 Magazine Award for Fiction. As a journalist, she writes the culture report for KPBS, and she is the founder and host of Last Exit, an online journal, workshop and reading series dedicated to building literary community in San Diego.
DISTRICT WINNERS
DRAMA WINNER: TROY BERNARDO, SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE, THREE THIEF RIVER
"In a very compact script, the playwright has invited us into a tension where we learn about family history, family bonds, and family values. The effective pacing of the dialogue and the deliberate actions of the characters effectively build the urgency of the situation. I would love to see more from this writer." Mabelle Reynoso
TROY BERNARDO
National 1st Place Winner!
Troy won first place in the League for Innovation national competition for his One-Act Play Three Thief River.
Troy loves spending time reading, writing, camping, and drinking craft beer. He is a teacher at an alternative high school and lives with his wife Laura and their two cats Jax and Maya. Troy grew up in Port Orange, Florida, and just moved to San Diego three years ago. He earned a Certificate in Performance in Creative Writing from Mesa College in spring, 2020.
Click above to listen to the play and below to read it.
Copy of WINNER_Mesa_Troy_Three Thief River.pdfPOETRY WINNER: RUWAYDA ABDI, SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE, "MISCONSTRUED REALITIES"
“I’m tired of caring too much, / too tired of those who don’t care enough.” Ruwayda Abdi’s free verse poem “Misconstrued Realities” addresses, names, and questions a contradictory American audience. This poem carries in it the spirit of spoken word, conversational poetry that cites limited freedom and all too familiar and too painful news headlines that further marginalize communities of struggle. This poem talks back, holds its ground, steadies its voice, and aims." Janice Lobo Sapigao
RUWAYDA ABDI
Ruwayda Abdi is a student at San Diego City College studying Political Science. She has a passion for inspiring her audience through words and she hopes it encourages a collective action for change. She hopes to one day work for the United Nations. In her free time she likes to read as well as go on road trips with her friends.
MISCONSTRUED REALITIES - Small.movClick above to listen to the poem and below to read it.
Copy of WINNER_City_Ruwayda_Misconstrued Realities.pdfFICTION WINNER: ANN KIM, SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE, "MEMORY"
"This piece had a really powerful sense of place and relationships. I was captivated the entire time, rooting not just for the main character but for his entire world. The writer has a deft command of description and detail, and I felt so 'in the room.' Suicide is such a loaded subject to tackle, and I thought it was handled beautifully, giving teeth to the topic but also painting a bigger picture of family, heritage, and human connection." Julia Dixon Evans
ANN KIM
Ann graduated with a B.A. in English and climbed the corporate ladder for several years before realizing that writing was her true passion. She enrolled in Mesa College to sharpen her skills and to test if creative writing was, indeed, the path she wanted to pursue. By the end of the semester, she felt reaffirmed of her love for literature and ready to call writing her craft. She is currently working on the manuscript of her first novel.
Click above to listen to the story or below to read it.
Copy of WINNER_Mesa_Ann_Memory.pdfPERSONAL ESSAY WINNER: CRISTIAN GABRIEL, SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE, "WEST"
"The author has crafted a powerful take on the classic American road trip tale, with masterful attention to both inner and outer landscapes. The language is lean and assured, taking the reader on a compelling, essential journey through and to the west." Faith Adiele
CRISTIAN GABRIEL
Copy of WINNER_City_Cristian_West.pdfSPRING 2020
District and Site Coordinators
Christy Ball, District/San Diego City College Coordinator, cball@sdccd.edu
Jennifer Derilo, San Diego Mesa College Coordinator, jderilo@sdccd.edu
Carmen Jay, San Diego Miramar College Coordinator, cjay@sdccd.edu
© 2020