Lisa Suhair Majaj and Dave Edgerton
The essay's poetic language and deep emotions challenge readers to see past politics to the human element.
Northampton, MA (PRWEB) October 15, 2016
Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its 24th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Dave Edgerton of Bloomington, Indiana won first prize for fiction and $1,500 for his story "The Death of Betty Boop". Lisa Suhair Majaj of Nicosia, Cyprus won first prize for nonfiction and $1,500 for her essay "Journeys to Jerusalem". 1,177 authors from around the world submitted 1,453 entries.
The 24th contest was judged by Arthur Powers, author of A Hero for the People (Press 53, 2013), with preliminary judging by Lauren Singer.
Edgerton's tragicomic story is voiced by a cynical US intelligence agent operating a radio station in Honduras in 1986, at the peak of America's covert support for the right-wing Contra rebels in Nicaragua. No one here is quite what they seem, a situation that at first irritates and amuses the narrator, then leaves him regretting that he failed to appreciate certain people before their sudden pointless deaths.
Contest judge Arthur Powers said, "The story richly portrays the tropical village atmosphere, the wartime balance of boredom and tension, told through a well-developed narrative voice."
Majaj's lyrical essay exposes the pain and outrage of Palestinians in exile, and the burden of loving a lost homeland. As a Palestinian-American growing up in Jordan, she was profoundly affected by the humiliations of military checkpoints and occupation during her family's regular visits to relatives in East Jerusalem. The essay's poetic language and deep emotions challenge readers to see past politics to the human element.
Powers said, "It gives a day-to-day, non-dramatic sense of what it is like to be a Palestinian."
In fiction, Honorable Mentions and $100 each were awarded to Linda Barbosa, Carey Ford Compton, Iris Litt, William Pei Shih, Juliana Roth, and Nadeem Zaman. In nonfiction, Honorable Mentions and $100 went to W. Royce Adams, Elizabeth Hoover, Amanda Mancino-Williams, and Kathryn Winograd. All 12 winning entries and the judge's remarks are published online.
The Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest accepts short stories, essays, and other short works of prose. All styles and themes are welcome. Both published and unpublished work are accepted. $4,000 will be awarded in the 25th contest, and there is a fee of $18 per entry. Fiction and nonfiction are judged separately. The top entries in each category will receive $1,500. Entries are accepted online now via Submittable through April 30, 2017. The judge is to be announced. For guidelines, please visit winningwriters.com/tomstory.
About the Contest Sponsor
Winning Writers was founded in 2001 to provide expert literary contest information and resources to the public. In addition to the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, it sponsors the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee), and the North Street Book Prize for self-published books. Winning Writers is one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest) and one of the "100 Best Websites for Writers" (The Write Life). Learn more at WinningWriters.com and join our 76,000+ Twitter followers at @winningwriters.
