Nellie K

Unregistered Nellie K

2017 winner of Honorable Mention with the Writer's Digest. Judge's commentary: "In Unregistered, a literary work by Nellie K, we are presented with elegantly written episodic stories with great emotional intensity. Overall, the writing is evocative and powerful, centering on contemporary issues in a way that documents and witnesses but also brings the concerns to life. The narrative is tightly woven and compelling, moving at a fast pace while still allowing the reader to experience a true depth of characterization as they develop a full appreciation of the events as they take place. While there are passages of solid descriptive writing, moments of great clarity and insight, the most striking element is structural - the way the stories blossom and accumulate, the layering of image and narrative. The title for the novel seems to this reader to be intriguing, setting the reader loose in the novel with an open mind and a series of questions. The book is structured well, comprised of the three stories all of which center around the theme of the title in some way. The overall design of the book is professional, with crisp and legible text throughout while the cover image for the book is spare but striking, setting the book apart in terms of its style and printing." In Guyana, Taniasha, whose birth is not registered, is sold by her father to seasonal gold-miners since the age of seven. When she attempts to escape her torturous life, her little brother, Roy, contracts AIDS. Their grandmother takes the dying boy on a long journey to legendary waterfalls, where she hopes to appease the Great Spirit. Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, home to the oldest semi-nomadic tribe of the Kalaidzhi gypsies, Dana's father, Petko, defies the orthodoxy of traditions. But Dana insists that he pay respect to the clan by selling her at the bride's market. In any other country, Ninon's father feels plagued by a lack of inspiration. Nina, his wife, opens up to a new life unaware that Ninon is being abused.