The Ashley Leigh Bourne Prize for Fiction
Ploughshares is pleased to present Andre Dubus III with the sixth annual Ashley Leigh Bourne Prize for Fiction for his short story “Gary’s Way,” which appeared in the Summer 2023 issue, guest-edited by Tom Perrotta. The $2,500 prize, sponsored by longtime patron Hunter C. Bourne III and selected by our editors, honors a short story published in the journal from the previous year.
“After you betray him, you will try to explain yourself,” begins Jean Marie, the narrator in Dubus’ “Gary’s Way.” She struggles to write a letter to her husband, Gary, who was arrested for storming the Capitol. Jean Marie grapples with her decision to report Gary and muses over the ways in which he unraveled from the man she married into someone unrecognizable in the months leading up to the insurrection. Amidst her confusion and grief, Jean Marie must both make sense of how her life has been upended and find the strength to move forward.
Andre Dubus III’s nine books include the New York Times bestsellers House of Sand and Fog (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011), The Garden of Last Days (W. W. Norton & Company, 2008), and Townie: A Memoir (W. W. Norton & Company, 2012), a #4 New York Times bestseller and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. His work has been included in The Best American Essays and The Best Spiritual Writing anthologies, and his novel, House of Sand and Fog, was a finalist for the National Book Award, a #1 New York Times bestseller, and was made into an Academy Award-nominated film, starring Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly. His 2013 novella collection, Dirty Love (W. W. Norton & Company, 2014), was listed as a Notable Book by the Washington Post and the New York Times, and was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a Kirkus Starred Best Book of 2013. His 2018 novel, Gone So Long (W. W. Norton & Company), appeared on many “Best Books” lists, including being selected for the Boston Globe’s “Twenty Best Books of 2018” and “The Best Books of 2018,” on Amazon. His most recent novel, Such Kindness, was one of Amazon’s “Best Books of 2023.” His acclaimed collection of personal essays, Ghost Dog: On Killers and Kin (W. W. Norton & Company), was published in March 2024. He is also the editor of Reaching Inside: 50 Acclaimed Authors on 100 Unforgettable Short Stories (Godine, 2023.)
Mr. Dubus has been a finalist for the National Book Award, a recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, and has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Magazine Award for Fiction, and two Pushcart Prizes. His books are published in over twenty-five languages, and he teaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
What was the inspiration for “Gary’s Way”?
The inspiration for “Gary’s Way” was twofold: over the course of my writing life, I’ve learned to simply trust whatever human situation I find myself curious about. In this case, after the anti-democratic horrors of January 6th, I read about the loved ones of many of these insurrectionists calling the FBI to report that their spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend, etc., was involved. I found that scenario to be really intriguing—one’s love of country being more powerful than one’s love for a particular human being.
The second part of what got me started on “Gary’s Way” came from my good friend, the writer Pam Houston, though she doesn’t know this. I edited an anthology, for which I asked fifty major writers to write one essay on two short stories, and I also asked my contributors to submit a creative writing prompt. Pam’s was to take a point of view you’ve never tried before and use it for a scene or story that’s been haunting you but which you haven’t written yet. I loved this! So, I said to myself, “Well, you’ve never written in the second person future tense before.” So that’s how “Gary’s Way” came to be.
What did you discover or grapple with while writing the story? Were there any risks you took that paid off?
Discoveries, small and large, are what have kept me writing creatively all these years. In this case, I discovered that my main character was not only in love with an insurrectionist who’d been feeding on the hate of our times, but that their relationship had been strained for years, in part because of her body’s inability to bring a baby to full term, which was also a surprise. I guess the biggest risk I took was to write in the above-mentioned second person future tense. I wasn’t sure I—or the story—could hold and sustain it.
What does winning the Ashley Leigh Bourne Prize mean to you?
Winning any kind of award is encouraging, especially this one, because every story Ploughshares publishes is worthy of awards. So, I feel humbled, grateful, and yes, encouraged.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
My advice for aspiring writers is to turn off your gadgets, get off social media, and become one with that place inside you where dreams come from. Don’t prematurely anticipate some future audience, don’t even try to write a story or a book, and let go (while you’re writing) of trying to be a published author. Instead, show up daily and free-fall into your Gods-given imagination with curiosity and bewilderment, with your focus only on honoring these sacred beings called characters who have called you, and only you, to bring them to life.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a novel, or maybe I should say it’s working on me. Many times over the years, I’ve found that the novels that call me—and that’s the characters calling me—are often ones that I don’t even want to write. But it’s not about us, is it? I also have a story collection ready to go, and “Gary’s Way” is one of the stories.
