13 November 2009

Kaitlin Webber ‘11 of Bates College, Maine, has won a $5,000 scholarship to spend a semester at Williams-Mystic for her short story “Song of the Selkie,” a piece of magical realism set on the coast of Scotland. The story is posted here.

Nicole Wooten ‘10 of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earned “Honorable Mention” for her short story “End to Begin,” a moving piece involving an annual family visit to the ocean. She has been awarded a $2,500 scholarship.

Williams-Mystic: The Maritime Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport is a study away semester for undergraduates. The curriculum is made up of four classes for Williams College credit: Literature of the Sea, Maritime History, Marine Policy, and Marine Sciences. Students spend the semester living at Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea. As part of the semester, students attend three week-long field seminars. The first is offshore on a tall ship; the second is to the Pacific Coast; and the third is to coastal Louisiana. Students of all colleges and majors are welcome.

Philosophy and History of the Prize: Williams-Mystic and an anonymous donor wish to encourage writing about the world’s oceans or major water bodies. We wish to reward promising writers with the opportunity, as part of their college career, to study about and travel on the ocean and live at Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea, the largest maritime museum in the world. Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was one of the greatest of our maritime authors. He wrote both fiction (Typhoon) and nonfiction (The Mirror of the Sea). Mystic Seaport owns and maintains the tall ship Joseph Conrad (1882), which is a historic ship that circumnavigated the world with young people. The prize deadline is in October of each year. See further details at: Conrad Contest

Contact: Aislinn Doyle Director of Admissions,
The Maritimes Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport
adoyle@williams.edu
860.572.5359
www.williams.edu/williamsmystic