The debut collection of short stories, "Any Other Place," by Michael Croley, Visiting Assistant Professor at Denison, won the Weatherford award for best fiction.

The Weatherfords recognize the best in writing about Appalachia. Croley's characters live in rural Eastern Kentucky, Ohio and South Korea.

From the Weatherford awards:

“The book captures people at the interstices of identity as they debate whether to leave home or stay,” one Weatherford judge shared.

Throughout his stories, Croley places his characters in complex moral, romantic and politic situations. His prose is sharp, his characters are nuanced and he manages to tackle age-old themes with fresh perspectives. Croley is called a resounding voice for 21st-century Appalachia."

Croley also won the James Still award for writing about the Appalachian South.