Nancy Thode, Lauren Rosencrantz, & Michael Gautier

As creators and sponsors of the annual Ann Head Literary Prize for Short Story Fiction, the family of Ann Head is pleased to announce the winner of the seventh annual award.

“Except It’s Not,” by Lauren Rosencrantz, Senior at Beaufort High School, has been selected as winner of the 2025 Ann Head Literary Prize for Short Story Fiction. “Except It’s Not,” brings Lauren’s “memaw” to life for the reader by reflecting on their summers together and the many ways in which she impacted Lauren’s childhood.  Anecdotal, Lauren’s story is personal, relatable, heartwarming, and emotionally gripping, showcasing Lauren’s skill in description and reflection. Lauren receives a cash prize of $500 and her name engraved on a plaque displayed at Beaufort High School. She will be honored at the Pat Conroy Literary Festival this fall, where she will have the opportunity to read from her story. Lauren will attend Hollins University in Virginia starting this Fall. She will study English and Creative Writing, with plans to become a professional writer. This is Lauren’s third year participating in the competition, consistently submitting excellent stories from a wide variety of genres.

Jameya Habersham, Sophomore at Beaufort High School, has been named second place Finalist for her narrative poem, “Dear,

Nancy Thode, Jameya Habersham & Michael Gautier

Leland.” Jameya writes with originality, style, and honesty of her relationship with her best friend, Leland, who had moved away. The poem is compelling in its natural shifts in narrative structure and serves as a beacon of hope for what’s to come for two lost friends and others like them. She will be honored at the Pat Conroy Literary Festival this fall, where she will have the opportunity to read from her story.

These winning stories were chosen from submissions written by students at Beaufort High School. The family of Ann Head is grateful for the enthusiastic support of the English Department and its Creative Writing Teacher, Michael Gautier, as well as for the support and partnership of the Pat Conroy Literary Center.

Ann Head

About Ann Head: Writer Ann Head, the pen name of Anne Wales Christensen Head Morse (1915–1968), was the granddaughter of Abbie Holmes Christensen, who came to Beaufort during the Civil War to educate the recently freed enslaved populations of the Sea Islands. Moving back and forth between Boston and Beaufort, Ann carried on the family tradition of bucking traditions and creating new literary forms. Ann was Pat Conroy’s first creative writing teacher at Beaufort High School and became Conroy’s mentor, confidante, and friend. Ann published dozens of short stories and serials in the major national magazines of her day, with many of her stories set in a small town just like Beaufort. She wrote of divorce, snobbery, affairs both emotional and sexual, prejudice, death, and out-of-wedlock childbirth, championing the non-typical heroines of the magazines that eagerly accepted her work. In addition, she authored four novels which were published internationally, most notably Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones, a compelling story of teen pregnancy which was on school reading lists for 50 years and is credited with helping create the Young Adult novel genre.

Ann died suddenly in 1968, at the age of 52, cutting short a vibrant life and promising literary career. The life of Ann Head is chronicled by her daughter, Nancy Thode, in the widely available biography Ahead of Her Time: The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head.

Excerpt from “Except It’s Not” by Lauren Rosencrantz:

“Six years later, warm weather would come, now earlier than most years, and commemorate the arrival of summer. I would see the bees come out, hovering by my window. Girls at my school would have tans, and beach plans were on everyone’s weekend itinerary. Summer started for them, but summer would arrive for me. This year, it wouldn’t be summer. It wouldn’t be summer because Memaw wasn’t coming.

All my summers with her would forever be memories. It will play in my head like a film for the rest of my life. Reimagining how I felt whenever she pulled into our driveway, and how each day—despite how repetitive it got—was always a good day when she was there.”

Excerpt from “Dear, Leland” by Jameya Habersham:

“I remember you crying…

when you lost your mom.

“I remember crying also when your mom passed;

she was like a mother to me, also, so that hurt.

“I remember when you left.

My days have gotten gray and I haven’t seen you since”