Last year it was Linda LeGarde Grover from Duluth, who won for her collection, "The Dance Boots." In years past, it was Debra Monroe (OK, she's from Spooner, Wis., but that's almost Minnesota, isn't it?) and Lori Ostlund, who grew up near Alexandria, and Anne Panning. Scott Muskin of Minneapolis was a finalist.

The Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction has been good to Minnesota--or maybe Minnesota has been good to the Flannery O'Connor Award, presenting it consistently with strong and beautiful collections of stories. The award, established in 1983, now goes annually to two writers for their short story collections.

This year--ta da!--E.J. Levy, born in St. Louis Park, a past winner of the Loft-McKnight Award, a former writer for Hungry Mind Review (remember that? that lovely review?) and City Pages. Levy now lives in Washington, D.C., and has written for the Paris Review, the Gettysburg Review, the North American Review, and many other publications.

Her winning manuscript, "My Life in Theory," will be published next year by the University of Georgia Press.