Introduction

We’re pleased to publish the winner of the 2023 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest, judged by acclaimed author Danielle Evans. Evans chose “The First Robot” by Beth Bachmann as the winning entry. “Given how concise the story is,” writes Evans, “it would take a citation almost the length of ‘The First Robot’ to properly catalog its virtues. The story feels grounded in a recognizable world while anchored to the strangeness of its perspective. It explores grief, art, utility, and the meaning of sentience, all while expertly balancing clarity and mystery. Its sentences unfold in a riveting and surprising fashion, and by its conclusion the story opens up to a question about humanity even larger than the questions with which it began. This is the voice of a confident, original writer.”