Rebecca Lee, a creative writing professor at UNC Wilmington, has been selected as one of the final three candidates in the running for the prestigious Story Prize contest. Her book “Bobcat and Other Short Stories” was chosen from among 96 other books of short fiction written in 2013.

This is not the first time “Bobcat and Other Short Stories” has been recognized. It was awarded Oprah’s Book of the Week and Amazon’s Best Book of the Month. Barnes and Noble also recognized the short story collection in their Discover Great Artists Awards. 

Lee’s book is a collection of short stories with an academic setting that focus on relationships between students and teachers. According to Lee, the inspiration for the book’s title came from a newspaper article about a bobcat stalking a woman, and the ideas for the stories developed from a fascination with the article. Lee weaves topics such as food writing, the Donnor party, gossip, best friends and bad marriages into the overall academic setting.

While growing up in Regina, Saskatchewan (a province in Canada), writing was considered very important to Lee. 

“The city I grew up in has a huge congregation of writers who were really supportive of young writers,” Lee said. “There was just a lot of opportunity in that regard.” 

The support of the community and having a mother who constantly read to her influenced Lee to become a writer. 

“My inspiration mostly came from other books, actually,” Lee said. “I was a bookish child, so the instinct to respond to interesting events with writing comes pretty naturally to me.” 

As well as being a writer, teaching is an important part of Lee’s life, and her reputation as a teacher precedes her.

“I have never had one of her classes, but I have heard great things about her,” creative writing minor Kayla Smiddy said.

Former student Maria Squitieri confirmed the rumor about Lee’s great teaching methods. Squitieri described Lee’s teaching style as personable but informal, and said that it was very important to Lee to get to know her students’ writing styles.

“I try to tell my students to write things over time, rather than all at once,” Lee said. “So they can write in a sprit of excitement, and give themselves license to take risks with the work.”

The teaching styles that Lee uses in the classroom greatly influence her writing style, and she claims her students are very inspirational.

“When my own work is stalled or sluggish, there are always students around me who are working at top speed with incredible amounts of ambition,” Lee said. “That keeps me inspired and grateful.” 

Since some of Lee’s work has already been recognized, it was only a matter of time before it would be recognized again. Algonquin, the publisher of Lee’s book, submitted “Bobcat and Other Short Stories” for The Story Prize. Shortly after the submission, Lee’s book was picked for the top three finalists.

“I was very excited when I found out,” Lee said. “I love the work of the other two finalists, [Andrea Barrett and George Saunders], and have taught one of them, Andrea Barrett, for years. She’s one of the models for me, of how to write fiction that has a deep sense of history but also has a lot of human intrigue.”

When former student Squitieri heard that Lee’s “Bobcat and Other Short Stories” was nominated, she was not surprised. 

“I enjoyed the story and bought the book,” Squitieri said. “If anyone deserves to win the award, it would be her.” 

Lee never thought she would be nominated for such a prestigious award. She started each of the stories with trepidation and a sense that it might be a failed experiment. However, she also explained that the idea of a failed experiment is the only way that she will write.

“That’s the only idea that gets me to write, and that it’s ok if it doesn’t work,” Lee said.

The winner of The Story Prize will be announced at 7:35 p.m. on March 5, and if Lee happens to win, she said there would be only one logical response: to weep. 

The Story Prize is an annual contest that honors a book of short fiction. The winner receives a $20,000 prize, and the runners-up receive $5,000. 

Andrea Barrett’s “Archangel” is a finalist alongside George Saunders’ “Tenth of December.”