The
Winners Have Been Chosen!
The
judging is finally done, the winners have been chosen, and all that
remains is to devulge who won what…and then announce our next
writing contest.
The contest called
for the best character description you’ve ever written. It
could be from fiction or nonfiction, with the only stipulation being
the up-to-150-word restriction.
The entries made for
some difficult decisions. In a few cases, some very nice writing was
disqualified because it either significantly exceeded the word limit
or couldn’t be considered a character description.
The winner of the $250 Grand Prize
came from Dorothy S. Hassan from Virginia, whose entry follows:
Uncle Ali is a lowly clerk who wishes
always to remain so. Even thinking about promotion – hard work
and decision making – whips him into sweaty agitation. He is a
simple soul, depended upon by no one. He likes it that way.
He
is plump and rolls slightly as he navigates seedy Cairo streets on
little outturned feet crammed into scuffed shoes; his arms, curved
like a penguin’s, provide further balance. He smiles amiable at
everyone, his nodding brown moon face and wispy graying hair
inspiring affection in the neighborhood acquaintances he greets on
his daily commune.
He has four outfits for work: two English
winter suits, shiny with age, and two Egyptian open-necked summer
suits, somewhat frayed at the collar. At home he wears a white cotton
galabich. He is a good eater, but a sloppy one, so always ties a
large napkin at his neck to catch the spills.
Dorothy just
finished a master’s degree program in creative writing and
tells us that she’s looking for an agent.
First
Prize ($100) goes to Crystal Meserole, a poet and artist who was
raised in Colorado and now lives in Western North Carolina. We found
her entry, which follows, to be very evocative and emotional.
He stood there,
Watching his
village burn.
His coarse black
hair settled down his back
In uneven wisps,
And blew like the
tall grass
On the hillside he
stood amongst – slightly, in the wind.
The heat from the
fire
Slid in waves over
his thick cracked skin,
Weathered
From many hot
summers and harsh winters –
But he barely
noticed.
He was old…
But it wasn’t
his bony hands resting lightly on his staff
That gave him
away.
It was those deep,
penetrating eyes,
Worn and wise
From lifetimes of
experience.
He turned from his
village where he had first made love to his
Woman –
And into nowhere,
Never to return to
his native land.
He stood there in
my dream…
And I felt him
when
I looked into the
mirror,
His eyes
reflecting back at me,
Leaving an imprint
on my soul
For eternity.
Second
prize ($50) goes to Christina Betar from New South Wales, Australia
for her amusing entry that begins, “Creamy pearls as large as
pigeon eggs cascaded into a full and fleshy cleavage.”
Third
prizes ($25 each) went to:
- Judy
Hurd from Oregon
- Catlyn
Ladd from Colorado
- Connie
Fleenor from Texas
- Myrna
Beth Lambert from Illinois
- Susan
Nadathur from Puerto Rico
- Casandra
Key from Texas
- Gerry
Di Gesu from Massachusetts
- Maggie
Dugan from Paris, France
- Andrew
Ruff from Colorado
- Charles
Estes from Arkansas
Honorable Mentions were awarded to the following:
- Judy
Hurd (her second entry) from Oregon
- Lynn
Veeach Sadler from North Carolina
- Usha
Akella from Texas
- Lisa
Wippert from Texas
- Dena
Miller from California
- Nellie
Carreau from New York State
- Sandra
Kucinich-Horn from Ohio
- Jodi
Bonney Day from Arizona
- Myrna
Beth Lambert (her second entry) from Illinois
- M.C.
Wyatt from Indiana
- Christopher
T. Werkman from Ohio
- Alice
R. Marks from Colorado
- Vicki
Nelson from Oregon
- Maggie
Dugan (for her second and third entries) from Paris, France
- Daria
Stone from Florida
- Patricia
Schultheis from Maryland
- C.J.
Clark from Arkansas
Congratulations
to all our winners! Your prize checks should arrive shortly. Be
sure to check out our next contest.
