From Our Soundbooth | August 14, 2018
2018 Miller Audio Prize Runner-Up in Prose: “Don’t Know Tough” by Eli Cranor
This week, we are so excited to share with you the first of our 2018 Miller Audio Prize Runners-Up. This project, “Don’t Know Tough” by Eli Cranor, was selected as our 2018 Runner-Up in the Prose category. Guest Judge Avery Trufelman shared these thoughts about “Don’t Know Tough”:
“Right away, Cranor’s extraordinary voice draws you in to this dry yet rollicking story, which comes alive as Cranor embodies each new character one by one. A simple yet remarkable tale that lures you in through a series of small details, circling out and out to become a portrait of a young man, a team, a family, and the machismo culture of a whole country.”
Cranor had this to say about his piece:
I have devoted the greater part of my life to football. I scored my first touchdown at nine and went on to play quarterback in college while majoring in English Literature. By twenty-six, I was the head coach of a small, Arkansas high school nestled right at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. During that time, I came face to face with the desperate lives of some of my most at-risk players. These are the boys I picked up before school, took home after practice, bearing witness to the scars and the pain they fought so hard to hide. I wrote “Don’t Know Tough” a year removed from that place. My process for this particular story was similar to surfing; the voice came out in a wave, and I just fought to hang on. Much thanks to Greensboro Review‘s Ben Newgard and Terry Kennedy for smoothing out the rough edges before the story appeared in the GR‘s 103rd edition.
SEE THE ISSUE
SUGGESTED CONTENT
From Our Soundbooth
Oct 29 2020
2020 Miller Audio Prize Runner-Up in Humor: “Quarantine Careers: Voiceover Edition” by Tess Adams
We are so excited to share “Quarantine Careers: Voiceover Edition” by Tess Adams, which was selected by 2020 Miller Audio Prize Guest Judge Alex Sujong Laughlin as the runner-up this year in… read more
From Our Soundbooth
Sep 25 2020
2020 Miller Audio Prize Runner-Up in Audio Documentary: “Going Home: Voices of the Condemned” by Pinckney Benedict
This week, we are so excited to feature “Going Home: Voices of the Condemned” by Pinckney Benedict and Anthony Nalker, which was selected by 2020 Miller Audio Prize Guest Judge… read more
From Our Soundbooth
Sep 14 2020
2020 Miller Audio Prize Runner-Up in Prose: “End of the World” by Rachael Cerrotti
Today’s 2020 Miller Audio Prize feature is Rachael Cerrotti’s “End of the World.” Cerrotti’s project was selected by 2020 Miller Audio Guest Judge Alex Sujong Laughlin as the runner-up for… read more