Monday, March 03, 2008

Winners Announcement--"Whispers" Short Fiction Contest

Drum roll please!

It's my pleasure to recognize the following writers:


1st Place--JOSH VOGT, They Call Him... (#15)
[Prize: $25 Amazon gift certificate, 8 x 10 print of the "Whispers" photograph (inscribed by Jason Evans)]

2nd Place--MICHAEL PELC, Trees Don't Dream (#54)
[Prize: $20 Amazon gift certificate]

3rd Place--PRECIE, Holding On (#51)
[Prize: $15 Amazon gift certificate]

4th Place--REBECCA LAKE, Please (#26)
[Prize: $10 Amazon gift certificate]

5th Place--HOODIE, My Dog Has Fleas (#48)
[Prize: $5 Amazon gift certificate]

Honorable Mention--DINA LYNSKEY, Breakfast with Sarah (#7)

Honorable Mention--JOHN MCAULEY, Walden's (#44)

Honorable Mention--DAVE WATTERS, A Time Past (#46)

Honorable Mention--THERESE, Point of View (#62)

Honorable Mention--ANGELIQUE H. CAFFREY, Out on a Limb (#73)


READERS' CHOICE AWARD:

Readers' Choice--SARAH HINA, Christina's World (#45)
[Prize: $15 Amazon gift certificate, 8 x 10 print of the "Whispers" photograph (inscribed by Jason Evans)]

1st Runner-Up--REBECCA LAKE, Please (#26)

2nd Runner-Up--AERIN ROSE, November (#57)

3rd Runner-Up--PAUL LIADIS, Tastes Like Brains (#17)

*********


I have to say that never before did I have so many entries score 40 or above in my scoring system (out of 45 points). I was confident of the top 5, but the honorable mentions were killers. So many could be in that list. Choosing was painful. Also, because Readers' Choice voting was strong for several entries, I decided to recognize three runners-up in addition to the winner.

You all deserve a massive round of applause. This contest has set a record for mutual support and comments. Everyone has something valuable to take away.

STATS
Just how successful was it? Your 73 entries have generated 18,750 hits from 6,041 unique visitors! I'm grateful for such a wonderful turnout.

MORE COMMENTS
Over the course of next few days, Aine and I will be adding comments to each entry saying what each of us liked best about it. So much talent here. Wow!

KEEP THE COMMUNITY GOING
Don't let the community end here. I hope to see all of you back at The Clarity of Night and on your own blogs. I'd love to trade links if you're up to it!

*********

Thanks again for a great contest experience and for all of the excellent writing. Give the winners a pat on the back for their outstanding work.

The Clarity of Night will now be powering down from contest mode and returning to normal content. At this point, I'm planning to hold the next contest in early July. Check back Wednesday when I will serenade you on the Scottish smallpipes!

It's been great fun! Feel free to contact me anytime.

You will always find a welcoming place here.

27 comments:

S. Kearney said...

A big congratulations to all the winners! What a wonderful turnout this contest generated ... with such a lot of terrific writing.

Jaye Wells said...

What a fantastic round this was. I enjoyed so many of the entries, and loved all the winners' stories. Congrats to everyone.

Unknown said...

What a great competition. serious hits too. Congrats to all the winners!! wil take part again and wud love to get ur comments!! :)

Patricia said...

Congratulations all!

"contact me anytime" and "always find a welcoming place here" - does it get any better?

Thank you, everyone involved.

Sarah Hina said...

Congratulations to Josh and all the winners! So many wonderful writers here.

Thank you to all of the readers who voted for my entry! I'm so honored to have taken Readers Choice award, especially with all the fine entries. This was such a fun, and inspiring, contest.

Big thanks to Jason for putting it all together, and to Aine, too. I look forward to receiving that lovely photo! :)

Unknown said...

A huge congratulations to all the winners. Jason, I don't know how you managed to choose! There really was some superb writing.
Thanks for hosting the competition and thanks to all who participated. It was fun.

Anonymous said...

Thanks to everyone for voting for me for the Reader's Choice. I'm glad you all liked my little zombie story :)

Thanks to Jason for the contest.

Paul (Entry #17)

Anonymous said...

A huge congratulations to all the winners!!

raine said...

Congratulations, all!
Excellent entries. Well done!

SzélsőFa said...

Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you for Jason and Aine for organizing this for us.

Beth said...

Congratulations, Winners! I love when some of my own picks make it. =)

Precie said...

Thank you so much! I'm honored! And I consider myself lucky to be a part of this online community!

Thanks to Jason and Aine for all the hard work of organizing this! And thanks to all the participants who make this such a fascinating and enlightening and welcoming place to visit.

Hoodie said...

I'm thrilled to be recognized. Thank You! This is so much fun. I'm especially honored to be among such fine writers. I applaud everyone who entered. I had a blast reading.

Thanks Again, Jason.

Aine said...

Congratulations to everyone-- winners and participants! The courage to put ideas into writing and actually share them with the world makes you all winners in my eyes.

I truly enjoyed reading all the entries. and, I'm grateful that Jason has a solid judging system, because I'd never be able to choose a winner.

Keep creating and sharing! We readers are counting on you to make human thoughts and experiences more tangible.

I hope to see you all around the Clarity of Night from time to time. And I'll be wandering around your blogs, enjoying your thoughts!

JRVogt said...

Holy crap...I'm dumbfounded. Leave the internet behind for a few days to move across the country and come back to this...yowza. Thanks so much, Jason. As always, this contest has been a great way to see so much talent in one place. Congratulations to all other winners as well.

Sameera Ansari said...

Congratulations to all the winners! :)

Rob said...

Congrats to the winners. It's well deserved!

Posol'stvo the Medved said...

Congrats to the winners. Good work.

I may be in the minority on this, but rather than getting comments on what you liked about my entry, I'd be interested in constructive criticism about what could make it better.

Anonymous said...

Thank you everyone! Everyone's work was well worth it. It was a great experience.

Posoxstvo, if you (or anyone else for that matter) would like to discuss your entry by private email, give me a holler. I used to offer more formal critiques, but it was difficult for me to keep up, and relatively few people asked for them. A more informal conversation should be fine, though.

sparklydina said...

well done all....and thank you...:)

paisley said...

this was wonderful fun and the most amazing showcase of talent.. thank you dso much for sponsoring it... looking forward to next time!!!!!

steve on the slow train said...

Jason, I'd be honored to be on your blogroll. Having read some of the excellent entries, I wasn't upset at not being among the winners. Thank you for the contest. I'll be looking forward to the next one.

JaneyV said...

Well my internet service has been down for the last 24 hours so this is the first chance I've had to wish all the winners a hearty Congratulations. I add my voice to all those who are gobsmacked by fantastic work that was submitted. Jason it's been a great competition. You had a tough job with so many strong entries so very well done to you. And thank you to you and Áine for being such wonderful hosts!

To Josh and Sarah and all the runners up - Well done indeed. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.

Josh best of luck in the new home! I've just moved to a new town myself so I know the stress and excitement of it all too well!

WH said...

Great pieces. Congrats to the winner(s) and hats off to Jason for taking the time to give us such great material to read.

bluesugarpoet said...

Thank you everyone for sharing a bit of yourselves through your writing. Loved the variety! Congrats to all of the winners - well deserved. :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats to the winners, and thanks to Jason!

Anonymous said...

You're very welcome, everyone! It's been an honor to be your host.