Exploring the idea of hunger: M.F.K. Fisher writing contest

Readers and critics have often remarked that much of the writings of M.F.K. Fisher focus on hunger: for life, love, nature in all its forms, pleasure, and companionship.

“People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating and drinking? The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry,” Fisher wrote in The Gastronomical Me. “But there is more than that. It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the other. So, it happens, that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it. ” 

The fourth annual Last House Writing Contest honors the style and spirit of Fisher, who explored hunger’s many forms.

The contest is presented by Audubon Canyon Ranch. Its Bouverie Preserve in Glen Ellen is the site of Fisher’s ‘last house,’ where she wrote 13 books (one third of her collection) during 21 years of residence. There, she welcomed friends such as Julia Child, James Beard, and Maya Angelou.

Entries accepted through May 31. There are three age groups, youth included, and there is a $40 entry fee. 

Judges include an esteemed panel of professionals in the literary, food, and agriculture fields, and Audubon Canyon Ranch employees.