Emerging Writer's Contest Winner, and: Vigil Sofia Puente-Lay (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution In fiction, our winner is Sofia Puente-Lay for her story "Vigil." Of her story, fiction judge Kirstin Valdez Quade says, "'Vigil' is a closely observed, richly sensuous, and beautifully rendered story about a husband and wife cut off from their homelands and cut off from each other. Vittorio and Neang are bound by what holds them apart: their own histories of loss, their imperfect mutual language. Danger and grief press in from all sides, and in this space, a tender, tentative intimacy grows between husband, wife, and child. With its quiet, gorgeous prose, 'Vigil' is a devastating portrait of a marriage." When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I think I came to writing as a way to engage with the storytelling that shaped my childhood—both my parents' cultures are rich in story, so I grew up listening to narratives and wanting to be a part of them. Throughout middle and high school, I'd write as a response or as an outlet, but I don't think I considered myself a "writer" until switching my major to creative writing in undergrad. What is your writing process like? Pretty unstructured; I'd hoped it would sort itself out while I was in my MFA program, but unfortunately it remained on the same touch-and-go schedule. I tend to work in bursts, and I think I have learned to better focus and sustain those times, but I haven't had much luck in figuring out how to start a working session. What inspired "Vigil"? Back in middle school, my dad asked me if I remembered this girl who [End Page 195] had disappeared in the apartment complex we'd been living in when I was very little; I didn't, even though he was sure we'd played together a few times. He's always wanted me to write about that incident, but I wasn't able to find an "in" until now. Even after all this time, my parents' concern was what happened to the child—my catalyst became trying to unpack the roots of that lingering disquiet. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before writing? Even though I draw a lot from my own family history, I find that research into the historical and cultural contexts is necessary—at least to help me feel as if I'm doing the proper justice to who and where I come from. Since my father is in academia, I feel I do fall back pretty regularly on the standard resources: journal articles, narrative histories, etc. However, when I'm trying to find a voice for a character, I tend to rely on the fiction I've read from authors who share a similar background—paying attention to cadences, imagery, how they shape the world of the narrative. Most of this research is ongoing with the writing itself, though I tend to do more focused research during revision than before starting a piece. What is the most difficult part about writing for you? Starting a first draft and then finishing it. I'm still very hard on myself with first drafts, so it's difficult for me to get a concept onto paper—even with knowing that most of the craft is going to happen in the revision stages. Who are you reading? And who informs your work? Right now, Louise Erdrich, Jenny Offill, Mieko Kawakami, and Tania James—though I haven't gotten the chance to read much since I graduated. My dad is a literature professor and read a lot from the Western literary canon, so I grew up with [James] Joyce, [Ernest] Hemingway, [William] Faulkner, [Jorge Luis] Borges, and [Gabriel] García Márquez; however, I also found Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, and Haruki Murakami from his bookshelves. Lately, I've been trying to read more Southeast Asian writers, as well; Ocean Vuong and Kim Thúy are two that have really resonated with me. [End Page 196] Do you have any advice for new writers? It...