Maurice Prize Winner’s Novel Produced During Pandemic

Jessica Guerrieri (B.A., English, ’07) is this year’s winner of the Maurice Prize for Fiction. The prize, which includes a $10,000 award, is given to a UC Davis graduate who has not yet published a novel.

Guerrieri wrote the novel she submitted, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, during the COVID pandemic lockdown. The book chronicles the highs and lows of a large family living in Half Moon Bay, California. It is about coming to terms with family, addiction, recovery, children and, not the least, motherhood.

Maurice Prize for Fiction of $10K Accepting Submissions

Submissions are being accepted for the 2023 Maurice Prize for Fiction, a $10,000 award for the best novel written by a UC Davis graduate who has not yet published or been accepted for publication by the contest deadline. Submissions are limited to novels; no short story collections.

The deadline for submission is Aug. 14.

Three Alumnae Named Sacramento Latino Change Makers

Melinda Guzman, Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre and Lydia Ramirez attended UC Davis at different times, pursued different majors in the College of Letters and Science, and followed different paths to successful careers in law, business advocacy and banking. Their paths converged at various times, most recently with a shared honor: each was named to The Sacramento Bee’s inaugural list of Top 25 Latino Change Makers for leading positive transformations in their communities.

Alumni Awards Go to Three College Graduates

Three alumni of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis — an international economist, a racial justice advocate, and an assets manager dedicated to supporting research and educational excellence — are recipients of Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s 2023 Alumni Awards.

Book Informed by Alum’s Experience in Haiti Wins Maurice Prize

Kirk Colvin spent a year as U.S. Coast Guard attaché to the American Embassy during the final months of the brutal Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier regime in the 1980s. His time there informed his novel Bloodless Coup, winner of the Maurice Prize for Fiction. The $10,000 prize is awarded to UC Davis alumni and was established in 2005 by bestselling author John Lescroart in honor of his father.

Eco-minded Aggie Entrepreneur Builds a ‘Closet in the Cloud’

As an economics major with a passion for fashion, Jae Allen conceived a plan to help people declutter their closets and to keep unwanted outfits out of landfills. Before graduating last June, Allen found his way to the UC Davis Student Startup Center, where campus and business mentors helped him flesh out his business plan. As the center’s first entrepreneur-in-residence, he is preparing to launch his company, Ouros.

Book Fiction Submission Period Opens for Maurice Prize

Attention unpublished Aggie alumni novelists! After a yearlong hiatus, the Maurice Prize for Fiction is back — and bigger than ever before. The $10,000 award, doubled in size this year, recognizes the best book-length prose fiction written by a UC Davis graduate who has not yet published or been accepted for publication by the contest deadline. Manuscript submissions are being accepted through July 15 for the 2022 contest.

UC Davis Medals for 2 Alumni Couples

UC Davis Medals will be presented this spring to two alumni couples — Jacque and Wayne Bartholomew, and Pam Rohrich and Karl Gerdes — each pair having met as students and committing not only to each other but their alma mater. The UC Davis Medal recognizes “extraordinary contributions that embody the campus’s Vision of Excellence.” The Bartholomews and Pam Rohrich are alumni of the College of Letters and Science.

Alumna Debby Stegura Honored for Service

The UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association named Debby Stegura (B.A., mass communications and political science, ’79) as the recipient of its 2022 Aggie Service Award on March 8. Stegura is a longtime community leader and University of California and Aggie advocate.