was awarded first place in this year's Best American Newspaper Narrative contest.
Fagone, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, was honored for "The Jessica Simulation," a longform story about a freelance writer who created an A.I.-powered chatbot to replicate the voice of his deceased fiancee.
The award was given as part of the annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, a prestigious event for writers hosted in Dallas by the University of North Texas. Its writing contests award cash prizes and publishing opportunities for authors of book manuscripts, unpublished essays and longform journalism.
