Recent alumnus Francisco González ’19 won the prestigious 2020 Gulf Coast Prize for his short story “Clean Teen.” Earlier this year “Clean Teen” was also named a finalist for Narrative Magazine's Winter 2020 Story Contest.
This year, the Gulf Coast Prize for fiction was judged by Pushcart Prize-winning writer and Assistant Professor at the University of Houston-Downtown Daniel Peña.
Peña, on why he chose González’s short story as the winner, said, “In ‘Clean Teen,’ the conflation of fantasy and reality brings one student onto common ground with a young, predatory teacher as she navigates alcoholism, a failed career, and a marriage on the verge of collapse. Acting and reacting with and against their respective demons and hopes, this riveting story expertly navigates questions of power, class, exploitation, and desire as it chronicles the implosion of an American teenager and the things society projects onto young brown men in America today. I've never read characters with as much dimension, with as much immediacy.”
Peña finished by saying “Francisco González is a writer to watch.”
The contest awards $1,500 and publication in Gulf Coast.
Last year, González was named a Glimmer Train finalist for his short story, “Increments of Dust.” He was also a finalist for Beloit Fiction Journal's 2019 Hamlin Garland Award for his short story “Panda Express.”
González lives in East Los Angeles. His work appears or is forthcoming in Arts & Letters, The Southern Review, ZYZZYVA, and elsewhere.