CM major Alissa Hartenbaum recently won Honorable Mention for the 2013 Dell Magazine's Award for Undergraduate Excellent in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. Alissa originally wrote the short story, "The Boy in the Bell Tower," in Kathy Goonan's Fall 2011 creative writing class and entered it in the 2012 contest. After receiving encouragement, she reworked the story for this year's contest and resubmitted it, with great results.

The Dell Magazine's Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing is given annually to the best short story written in the science fiction or fantasy genres by a full-time undergraduate college student. It was started by Asimov's Science Fiction magazine editor Sheila Williams and science fiction writer and journalism professor Rick Wilber in 1992 to honor the legacy of Isaac Asimov and encourage the work of young science fiction writers. It is the only award of its kind.