A Vicksburg student has received the top prize in a regional fiction-writing contest, while another has been named a runner-up.

Donald Brown, a Vicksburg High School senior, won the first-place prize of $400 in the Delta Blues Youth Writing Contest for his fiction short story. The competition is sponsored by Wisconsin-based Tyrus Books, Mississippi actor Morgan Freeman’s Rock River Foundation and the Mississippi Writers Guild.

“I’m really excited,” said Donald, the son of Willie and Cynthia Brown. “It’s good to see that someone appreciates the hard work I did.”

Donald’s winning short story is a parody of the biblical tale of the fall of man. “I read the Bible every day. It’s my greatest influence.”

He hopes to become a literature professor after completing college.

Donald also received a $1,000 scholarship from the Mississippi Writers Guild; free admission to the guild’s writing conference, set for August in Vicksburg; and a one-night stay at a Clarksdale bed and breakfast from the Clarksdale MWG chapter.

Everett Bexley, a junior at St. Aloysius High School, is one of three runners-up in the contest. The other runners-up are Skyln Irby of Batesville and Rachel Brooks of Marks.

Everett won $200 for penning a short story influenced by the 2009 death of classmate Kyle Coleson, who had leukemia.

“More so than the prizes, being exposed to a community and environment of writers invigorated me to write,” said Everett, the son of Bill Bexley and Weesie Biedenharn.

The students were recognized this past weekend during a celebration at Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale.

“It was really exciting to take pictures with Morgan Freeman,” Donald said.

The winners were each presented with a plaque, a gift basket from the Clarksdale Chamber of Commerce and a copy of “Delta Blues,” a collection of short stories by Mississippi authors.

The contest, which kicked off in October, was open to students in grades 7 through 12 in Delta counties.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com