Kansas City, MO. – Mariko Nagai’s “Georgic: Stories” – published by the University of Missouri-Kansas City‘s (UMKC) BkMk Press – won the Independent Publisher’s silver medal for Short Story Fiction. In addition, BkMk Press’ “Georgic” and “Beauties,” by Mary Troy, placed second and third on Small Press Distribution’s fiction bestseller lists in March and April.
In 2010, “Georgic” won BkMk Press’ G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction. BkMk Press established the G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize in 2002 to honor the memory of Chandra, a writer and longtime faculty member at UMKC. Nagai’s and Troy’s work also received the USA Book News Award for Literary Fiction.
“Having two BkMk titles on this bestseller list further confirms the quality of writing published by BkMk Press,” said Susan Schurman, assistant managing editor of BkMk Press.
Founded in 1971, BkMk Press has been a part of UMKC since 1983. BkMk concentrates on publishing collections of poetry, short fiction and creative essays. Publishing as many as six titles a year, BkMk Press has more than 125 titles in print. For more information, contact Ben Furnish, managing editor of BkMk Press at furnish@umkc.edu or (816) 235-2558. Financial assistance is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.