Masha Shukovich

Masha Shukovich (she/they) is a writer, poet, storyteller, folklorist, teacher, independent scholar, and intuitive chef with ancestry and indigenous roots in the Balkans; the Mediterranean; and West, Central, and Northeast Asia (Siberia). She is a mother, demigirl, neurodivergent person, practical animist, and a brown immigrant from a country that no longer exists. Masha is a recipient of many writing awards. Most recently, Masha was selected as the winner of Cutthroat Magazine’s 2022 Rick DeMarinis Short Story Prize, the winner of 2022 Page Turner Mentorship Award, and the recipient of the 2022 Courage to Write Writers of Note Award, among other things. Masha is a Tin House and Southampton Writers Conference alum and her scholarly work has appeared in anthologies, books, edited volumes, scholarly and literary journals, as well as on radio and podcasts. In her work and life, Masha is deeply connected and devoted to the land, her ancestors, the more-than-human world, and the Sacred Wild. She is inspired by the lived experiences of people like herself: humanimals, shapeshifters, and apparent outsiders who seem to belong nowhere and everywhere. Masha lives and writes on the land colonially known as the Salt Lake Valley and online at http://www.mashashukovich.com/. Instagram: @mashawrites

http://www.mashashukovich.com/
See profile
Award Category
Writing Award 2023
Writing Award Sub-Category
2023 Best Written Genre
This submission is private and only visible to judges.

Comments

Shirley Fedorak Fri, 04/08/2023 - 04:44

The narrative is wonderfully written and quite engaging. I suggest some attention to using appropriate speaker tags in the dialogue. I found the lists quite distracting but the information within the lists fascinating.

Gale Winskill Tue, 08/08/2023 - 17:39

This has an intriguing beginning and an interesting structure. I liked the use of synaesthesia and think it's an innovative way to describe things. But I would agree that there are too many lists. That said, they might work if more spaced out throughout the text.

Tammy Letherer Sun, 13/08/2023 - 20:07

I might be willing to go with this unique structure and blending of forms if it were simplified. For me, it was a matter of excess that required too much from me before I was hooked. There are 13 items in the first list, some of which could expand into entire chapters. I may want to learn more, but not by being barraged with facts. The narrative sections are strong and compelling.

Kirstie Long Mon, 14/08/2023 - 18:08

This isn't my taste or my field, although I try not to consider my personal perspective. Either way, it would not be for me. However, I did find it interesting and there is a market for this type of fiction when done well.

It is well written, almost compelling, and descriptive which draw me in a little, although confusing for a start to a novel and perhaps overly whimsical. Having said that, this is a limited amount of the full manuscript which will not give it the best initial view, being in an unusual style. I do believe that it could appeal to people depending on how the rest is done.

Samar Hammam Mon, 21/08/2023 - 08:11

This is a wonderful story, bursting with promise. Vida is immediately relateable, there is a love story at the center and set during a time of trouble. Some streamlining might be useful. The lists and recipes are interesting and add a sense of magic to the book, but can also make it feel a bit fragmented. The initial list at 13 is quite long. The stories are intriguing but some of the writing can feel a tiny bit stiff.

Susan Defreitas Sat, 26/08/2023 - 19:13

Great characters, setting, and writing, and I loved the magical realist elements. It does feel a bit fragmented, though, and I wonder if Vida actually needs ALL of these magical powers/abilities/differences--feels just a bit cluttered, like you won't have enough space in the story to come to make all of these traits really mean something, and to fully explore the speculative conceit of each one. Also: It's great to get all this background info on these fascinating characters, but I could not really feel the sense of a story taking shape here.

Overall, though, super promising, and very much to my taste as a reader.

Susan Defreitas Sat, 26/08/2023 - 19:13

Great characters, setting, and writing, and I loved the magical realist elements. It does feel a bit fragmented, though, and I wonder if Vida actually needs ALL of these magical powers/abilities/differences--feels just a bit cluttered, like you won't have enough space in the story to come to make all of these traits really mean something, and to fully explore the speculative conceit of each one. Also: It's great to get all this background info on these fascinating characters, but I could not really feel the sense of a story taking shape here.

Overall, though, super promising, and very much to my taste as a reader.

Paula Sheridan Thu, 31/08/2023 - 18:04

This is a comment from a publisher judge who asked us to post this comment:

We are very impressed by this undertaking. The patchwork quality of memory is on full display here. Rhythmically, there seem to be too many lists and scenes break away too quickly for the reader to feel fully immersed. We feel this is especially true for the first list and would love to see scene writing prioritized, though we thought the recipes were personal, lovely and moving touch.

Annette Crossland Thu, 31/08/2023 - 22:45

There is something about this initial tranche that I found quite compelling. Loved the title, loved the interspersion of recipes. Liked the voices - Vida is a powerful character, one feels that immediately. I actually would like to read more, I was fascinated by the writing style and flow.

Kelly Lydick Fri, 01/09/2023 - 05:39

I think this is compelling, interesting, and well-written. The structure/form complements the content in a way that works well. I'd be very excited to read the rest of this MS. One minor comment is just to watch the numbering so it doesn't seem repetitive or falls into too much of a rhythm. The strength of this MS is its variety of form.