Congratulations to TTU Press’s 2023 Iron Horse Prize winner, Jefferey Spivey! Spivey was selected for his new work, The Birthright of Sons, a collection of stories centered around the experiences of marginalized people, namely Black and LGBTQ+ men.
The collection amplifies underrepresented voices in a playful and contemporary way, elevating, critiquing, and confronting its characters. This is Spivey’s first book publication. Spivey’s writing has appeared in A Gathering of the Tribes, The Evergreen Review, Typehouse, Flying Island, decomp, and Las Positas College’s Havik anthology. Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Spivey has worked as both copywriter and editor. In conjunction to this award, Spivey is also a 2022 de Groot Foundation “Courage to Write” grant recipient.
The Iron Horse Prize competition serves to recognize and highlight budding authors and their first book of short stories or essays. The IHP was created in tandem with Texas Tech University Press and The Iron Horse Literary Review, functioning to publish strong voices, ones traditionally overlooked and underrepresented in contemporary literature. The winner is ultimately chosen by Texas Tech University Press’s faculty director Katie Cortese, a short fiction writer herself and the author of Make Way for Her and Other Stories.
It is TTUP’s pleasure to spotlight innovative, diverse, and fresh tales from various authors. Thank you, Jefferey Spivey, for trusting us with your work! Publication of The Birthright of Sons is set for late 2023. Get ready to enjoy this moving masterpiece later this year!
Follow along with Spivey at @Jeffereyspivey/@jefferey.spivey to see what he gets up to, and for updates regarding more of his work.
