MUW Student Wins Writing Honor

Rutledge

COLUMBUS, Miss. — Tamara Rutledge, W junior and interdisciplinary major, recently placed third in the Southern Literary Festival competition. Rutledge is a resident of Columbus.

“I submitted the work with hopes that someone would like it, but I knew there’d be a lot of competition and other great writers submitting work,” said Rutledge. “This recognition means a lot to me because being a successful published writer has been my dream since elementary school.”

For the competition, Rutledge submitted the short story “Ink Stains,” the story of two sisters, formerly part of the foster system, who finally have a chance to meet their older brother from whom they were separated when they were younger. The younger of the two sisters works to overcome an anxiety disorder throughout the story.

The story was inspired by Rutledge’s high school friend, who was in the foster system with his siblings.

“Their separation from family members and the other problems they experienced as a result of being adopted kids really stayed with me,” she said.

Rutledge completed the story in Dr. Michael Smith’s creative writing class during the 2014 fall semester.

“As a class requirement, I had to revise the story for my final portfolio, so a lot of work had already gone into it as a class assignment,” she said.

She credits Dr. Smith and her classmates for her success. Due to their helpful suggestions during the revision process, Rutledge was motivated by their enthusiasm and excitement.

More than 20 universities from around the South participated in the contest and submitted their top- two entries in each category.

The Dilettanti, The W’s student literary magazine, won second place in the Literary Magazine category.

W students and faculty hope to attend the festival March 26-28 in Dahlonega, Ga.