Local writer Kelly Dolejsi holds up her collection of poems, The Missing Sea, in the Los Alamos Daily Post office. Dolejsi recently earned a first-place spot in the Santa Fe New Mexican’s 2025 Pasatiempo Writing Contest. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Local writer Kelly Dolejsi earned the top spot in the Santa Fe New Mexican’s 2025 Pasatiempo Writing Contest in the adult fiction category.
Dolejsi tied for first place with Santa Fe writer Jennifer Edelson.
Dolejsi’s short story, “Siren”, about a woman who may or may not have encountered her look-a-like in the bedroom closet, was what wowed the judges.
It was published in the Dec. 19 edition of Pasatiempo; included with Dolejsi’s story was a comment from one of the contest judges, Deborah Jackson Taffa, who hailed Dolejsi’s story as having “a surreal, kooky energy, and reminds me of short stories like ‘The Nose’ or something written by Donald Barthelme. It also calls to mind The Master and Margarita (a surrealist Russian novel). … The character seems to be cracking up, or she is mourning, and the fact that it’s not defined is rather appealing.”
The public can experience the tale of “Siren” themselves at 3 p.m. Jan. 25 at La Fonda in Santa Fe. All the winners will be reading their entries.
The annual writing contest includes fiction, nonfiction and poetry. There also is a category for young writers. Dolejsi said a friend encouraged her to submit.
So, Dolejsi took another look at a novel she had been developing for several years, shaved it down, and decided to enter it.
Winning the contest was a complete surprise, she said.
“It felt like it was out of the blue. I had no expectation of placing or winning at all. I was just happy to be making the story better and getting a reader who was a judge.”
This is not Dolejsi’s first outing in publishing or the literary world. In 2018, she published a book of poems titled “That Second Starling” and in 2025, she published “The Missing Sea,” which also features illustrations by Jen Jordan and is available at Samizdat and on Amazon.
Additionally, Dolejsi has had poetry and fiction in literary journals including the North American Poetry, Denver Quarterly, The Cincinnati Review, Fifth Wednesday, The Hunger, Broken Ribbon, West Texas Literary Review, Junto, Gravel, Dirty Paws, The Hungry Chimera, Joey and the Black Boots, and The Disconnect.
Her poem “Loyalty” was nominated for the Best of the Net, and her contribution to the book, September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond (edited by William Heyen) was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Now, Dolejsi said she is working on a collection of fictional short stories set at Ashley Pond.
Poetry and writing stories have been a life-long interest of Dolejsi’s. She said she has written poems since she was a child.
“I was a pretty shy kid. I think writing felt like a way to speak without opening my mouth, which I liked. As with many kids, there was a lot going on around me that I didn’t consciously understand and writing helped me make sense of the world I was born into.”
The publishing world seems, frankly, cutthroat. Its rejections of works for publication are not only infamous but infinite. Trying to get a foothold in the industry seems almost impossible but Dolejsi offers a few pieces of advice.
“Join a writing group,” she said. “Try and let go of your ego and be open to other people’s suggestions. At the same time, trust yourself. If something means a lot to you and you understand why you wrote it, try to think about why your readers or writing group aren’t responding the way you want them to … really think about it.”
She emphasizes the importance of finding an inner voice and letting it be heard.
“I think there’s an inner voice inside of everyone that wants to be heard,” Dolejsi said, “and writing is one way to let that voice free. And letting that voice speak is so validating; it’s so rewarding. It’s like coming back to yourself.”