Congratulations to Lauren Bentley, winner of the Flannery O'Connor Review's Sarah Gordon Award competition for the best article by a graduate student writer.
For over two decades, the journal Flannery O'Connor Review has featured scholarly articles dedicated to novelist Flannery O'Connor and her works.
Published by Georgia College & State University, the Flannery O'Connor Review also hosts a yearly Sarah Gordon Award competition for the best article by a graduate student writer. Winners are selected for their depth of analysis, fresh insight, and engaging storytelling.
Trinity Western alumna Lauren Bentley has been named winner of the latest competition. Her article, "Particularity and the Sacredness of Place in Flannery O'Connor's 'A View of the Woods'", will be published in the 2025 edition of the Flannery O'Connor Review, forthcoming in August, and she will receive a $500 prize.
Bentley also presented a version of her article at the Western Regional Conference on Christianity and Literature, hosted at TWU last spring. Bentley feels honoured to have her work recognized. This award, once an unimaginable accomplishment, is now a milestone in her ongoing story.
“When I started my graduate school journey, I wasn't even expecting to publish,” Bentley shares. “To be able to contribute to the scholarship about such a radical and integral American writer is far beyond what I hoped to accomplish. O'Connor's work, including her thoughts on place, technology, and true spiritual community, are as relevant today as they were when she was writing, and I hope more TWU students take up the challenge of grappling with what she has to teach us.”
Bentley pursued both her undergraduate and graduate education at TWU, recently completing a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Humanities in 2025. Within this program, Bentley chose the General Humanities stream, with an overarching focus on literature. Dr. Katharine Bubel was Bentley’s thesis supervisor for her major paper that explored themes of place and technology in The Grapes of Wrath through the lens of place theory, which recognizes the power of place in shaping character and plot development. Her thesis built upon the research and themes from her winning O'Connor paper.
Dr. Holly Faith Nelson, the English Graduate Stream Coordinator of the MAIH program, describes Lauren as one of the most exceptional students ever enrolled in the program, particularly in terms of her advanced critical thinking and writing skills and highly developed creative imagination.
Since completing her graduate degree earlier this year, Bentley has continued to pursue scholarly work with TWU’s ConVersing/ConServing team, including writing a chapter for the forthcoming Learning Takes Place volume.
As a professional writer and editor, Bentley also looks forward to integrating her graduate training into her work with clients.
About the MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities
The MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities will take you on an academic expedition through three related disciplines: English, Philosophy, and History. Delve into the foundation of what it means to be human, considering major perspectives on humanity’s purpose along the way. Learn more about the MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students for life. Uniting faith and reason through Christian teaching and scholarship, TWU is a research institution offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in the humanities and sciences as well as in several professional schools. It has campuses in Canada in Langley, Richmond, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn. For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.