Former journalism student wins national writing competition
Thor Nystrom’s story chronicling his battle with depression edged out about 150 competitors to win Rolling Stone’s College Journalism Competition.
By Joe Preiner (Contact)
Monday, October 6th, 2008
Thor Nystrom was sitting in a movie theater with a few of his friends when his phone vibrated. His mom was calling. Not wanting to distract others, he ignored it. Seconds later, he received a text message from his mom asking him to call her right away. His first thought was that a family member had died.
It turned out to be better news for the spring 2008 graduate. Nystrom had won first place in the feature-writing category for Rolling Stone magazine’s 33rd annual College Journalism Competition. He is featured in the October issue of Rolling Stone, which hits shelves nationwide Friday.
Thor Nystrom's article, "To Hell and Back," chronicling his bouts with mental illness, won Rolling Stone's annual feature-writing contest and is featured in the magazine's October issue.
Nystrom’s story, “To Hell and Back,” chronicled his emotional struggle with, and eventual overcoming of, mental health issues. Kevin O’Donnell, assistant editor for Rolling Stone, said Nystom’s piece edged out about 150 other stories from students across the country.
Nystrom said he remembered sitting in his Depth Reporting class last spring and being the only student without an idea for the class’s major project. His inspiration finally came after stumbling across a story of a girl’s personal struggle with an eating disorder. He said he started thinking about his own story and thought it would translate well to a broad audience.
“I had never really spoken about it with anyone,” Nystrom said, “not family, friends or anyone. I just kind of let all those emotions fester. I had to get it out eventually. I had to write it for myself.”
In writing the story, Nystrom said, he was able to purge the emotions he had held on to for more than a year. For his own sake, he made a deal with himself to tell the story 100 percent truthfully. Telling the story became more a personal necessity and less a class project. He said if he had considered the fact that friends, family and complete strangers would be reading the story, he probably wouldn’t have been able to be as honest.
“It was too important and too personal at that point in my life,” Nystrom said. “I was going to go 100 percent, or I wasn’t going to write it. I would have taken an F in the class. That’s how important it was.”
One moment while writing the story will stick with Nystrom forever. After recounting his experiences and writing the last two paragraphs, he broke down. Emotionally shattered, he couldn’t help but cry. He said that, in retrospect, being able to conjure up those emotions led him to believe he was doing something right. At that point, Nystrom said, he had no conception that other people would be reading his story.
Nystrom's award-winning story was originally published in the May 5, 2008, edition of The University Daily Kansan. Nystrom describes writing the story as an emotional experience.
Other people did.
After the story was printed in the May 5, 2008 edition of The University Daily Kansan, Nystrom received more than 100 e-mails from readers, most of whom he didn’t know. Expecting criticism, he was overwhelmed by the response.
“Oh my God it was amazing,” Nystrom said. “I didn’t get one negative comment. It was validation that I had written it the way I needed to.”
Ted Frederickson was the journalism professor who taught the Depth Reporting class for which Nystrom’s story was his major project. He praised it as “a goosebump-inducing narrative that followed Thor from the dark depths of despair to a personal triumph that left me with tears in my eyes. I have never found it easier to read such a long piece in a newspaper.”
The Rolling Stone editors who judged Nystrom’s piece agreed, awarding him the $2,500 prize for his winning story.
Eric Bates, executive editor for Rolling Stone and director of the College Journalism Competition, said the story accomplished something many feature stories do not.
“The piece pulled off one of the most difficult feats in feature writing — telling a compelling and heartrending story in the first person, one with broader relevance to all readers, without succumbing to pathos or sensationalism,” Bates said.
Nystrom’s name and picture appear on Page 8 of the edition of Rolling Stone.
— Edited by Adam Mowder
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Congrats Thor.
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