May. 6, 2025 SHARE: HCU alumna releases prize-winning novel. With a gift for writing stories and poetry set to the backdrop of historical events, Kionna Walker LeMalle celebrates the spring release of her debut novel, “Behind the Waterline,” winner of the Lee Smith Novel Prize. The award recognizes and publishes literary novels by authors from the southern United States. A graduate of HCU’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program, LeMalle’s novel is a unique blend of historical fiction and magical realism as she raises the curtain on the lives of a teenager and his eccentric grandmother who, on the eve of Hurricane Katrina, decide to ride out the approaching storm in his second-floor bedroom. In a dream, a hallucination or something else, Eric discovers a room beyond his closet wall, a place he has never seen. What he finds inside will send him on a path to discover secrets to survival, bitter progress, and, ultimately, the history of his own people – those he sorely misses and those he never knew. Deesha Philyaw, a judge for the Lee Smith Novel Prize contest, calls LeMalle’s book a “deeply moving, inventive and surprising page-turner” where natural, political and familial catastrophes collide. HCU Associate Director of Cinematic Arts Bearden Coleman was not surprised at the novel’s selection. He described LeMalle as the “most gifted writer” he has had the pleasure of teaching. “I knew while reading early drafts of the book that she had something special. Her feel for language, place and drama combined with the discipline she devotes to her craft make her truly unique. She is only going to get better. I cannot wait to see where she goes creatively,” said Coleman. In contrast to Professor Coleman’s response, LeMalle was in “absolute shock” when she learned of her novel’s selection. “I remember [the editor] repeating “hello” a few times, then, she laughed a little as I sat in silence for much longer than the comfortable wait time. The first word out of my mouth was a stammering ‘Wow,’” said LeMalle of the call announcing her win. Inspired by Bret Lott’s feedback during LeMalle’s first residency in HCU’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, the novel began as a series of flash fiction stories about a grandmother’s secrets and transformed into a novel of family intrigue set to the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina and told through the eyes of her teenage grandson. LeMalle is excited about the release of her debut novel. The HCU alumna currently serves as the Director of Executive Communications at the UH-Downtown and is an adjunct professor in HCU’s Department of Narrative Arts. She also runs WriterTeacherFriend.com, a virtual writing group that supports writers of all ages. To purchase “Behind the Waterline” or learn how LeMalle supports writers of all ages, visit her site, WriterTeacherFriend.com.
