Video of The Story Prize Event: winner Fiona McFarlane and finalists Ruben Reyes Jr. and Jessi Jezewska Stevens

Here's the video of The Story Prize event held on March 25, 2025. Apologies to those who attempted to watch the live stream. Technical difficulties at the venue caused insurmountable problems.

What the Story Prize Judges Had to Say About There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Ruben Reyes Jr.

When the three judges for The Story Prize vote for the winner of the award, they write citations for their top choices. This year's judges were writer and editor Elliott Holt, writer Maurice Carlos Ruffin, and bookseller Lucy Yu. We include the citations in congratulatory letters we present to each finalist, along with their checks ($20,000 to the winner, $5,000 to the other two finalists). To protect the confidentiality of the judges' votes and the integrity of the process, we don't attribute citations to any particular judge. Here's what the judges had to say about There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Ruben Reyes Jr.: 

Photo: Beowulf Sheehan

“Ruben Reyes Jr. shows there is no way to outrun the past. The distance someone attempts to travel away from all the selves they carry is the same distance one must travel from their own physical body. The consequential state of this is a half-lived experience in permanent limbo. There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven portrays the fragility of hunger for convenience and control. Then Reyes Jr. explores the distinct consequences of believing that control can be bought, which causes constant unsettling murmurs in one’s soul. Ultimately, he shows the impossibilities of buying ourselves out of pain while shattering this notion’s associated capitalistic ideals.

“This story collection and its anachronistic approach to grief show the ever-present nature of its cyclical appearances even as some characters attempt to run from the feeling. The nonlinear style mimics the blurriness of time as it exists through memories. Reading these stories has shown me there is no easy transactional way to connect with generational past or identity, and it is impossible to skirt around the pain of confrontation. This repeated confrontation of self is a necessary step on the path to the freedom of living in the present moment. This book delicately balances both the profound proudness and guilt of immigrants living completely different lives compared to those of even recent ancestors. These stories caution against the pseudo ideal of assimilating into capitalism that ultimately causes the removal of the history of self and severs the connection to our humanity”

Live-Stream The Story Prize event on March 25 at 7:30 p.m.

The Story Prize event is just a week away. Although we're having a private award night this year, you can watch it live on YouTube. 

What you'll see and hear is the three finalists for The Story Prize for books published in 2024—Fiona McFarlane for Highway Thirteen (Farra, Straus and Giroux), Ruben Reyes Jr. for There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven (Mariner Books), and Jessi Jezewska Stevens for Ghost Pains (And Other Stories)—read from and discuss their short story collections before we announce the 21st winner of The Story Prize and present that writer with an engraved silver bowl and the top prize of $20,000. The other two finalists will each take home $5,000.

Finalists: Fiona McFarlane, Ruben Reyes Jr., Jessi Jezewska Stevens

If you miss the live-stream, you'll still be able to watch the video on our website and on YouTube in the days that follow. You can find videos of past events under the WINNERS menu on our home page or on YouTube.

The 2024/25 Story Prize Finalists Are Fiona McFarlane, Ruben Reyes Jr., and Jessi Jezewska Stevens

The Story Prize, now in its 21st year, is pleased to honor as its finalists three outstanding short story collections chosen from 107 submissions representing 82 different publishers or imprints. Although it's no easy task to narrow the list down to three books, these collections particularly stood out for their originality in concept and execution.

The finalists are: 

• Highway Thirteen by Fiona McFarlane (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Ruben Reyes Jr. (Mariner Books)
• Ghost Pains by Jessi Jezewska Stevens (And Other Stories)

Highway Thirteen portrays moments in the lives of characters peripherally connected to an Australian serial killer—from a next door neighbor to an actor playing the killer in a limited TV series to a retired police officer. There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven offers formally inventive narratives contemplating and riffing on aspects of Central American migration to the U.S. Ghost Pains provides a series of precisely written and keenly observed stories about characters in Europe and America facing quotidian predicaments in a time of cultural dissonance.

We'll announce the winner of The Story Prize on the evening of Tuesday, March 25, at a private event featuring readings by and interviews with finalists McFarlane, Reyes, and Stevens. The top prize is $20,000 and an engraved silver bowl. The runners-up will each receive $5,000. We plan to live-stream the event starting at 7:30 p.m. and will post a link before then and the video in the days that follow. 

Story Prize Founder Julie Lindsey and Director Larry Dark selected the finalists. These three independent judges will determine the winner:

• Writer and editor Elliott Holt;
• Writer Maurice Carlos Ruffin; and
• Bookseller Lucy Yu

In the weeks ahead, we'll announce this year's winner of The Story Prize Spotlight Award. We'll also publish a longlist of other exceptional collections we read last year. You can find a complete list of the story collections we received in 2024 on Bookshop.org.