The Envelop Please...

Today is the day! After weeks of preparation and reading all the great submissions we have a winner for both the short story and poetry categories. I warned the judges that it would be a hard decision to make and I believe they would each tell you I was correct.

It was a nail biter to be sure as two short stories entered the weekend tied for the top spot. What I found most interesting in the poetry category was the broad range of emotions the poems stirred in the judges. Many had pinpoint reasons why they picked the poem they did. On the flip side of the coin, you could actually feel the internal battle the judges fought as they tried to decide on which would be the winning short story. I received comments that stated how much they liked a particular story but it was still hard because they were drawn to a second just as much.

I can tell you that all the finalist should be proud of their accomplishment. As for the winners, you earned it. As I stated at the beginning, those in the writing industry would decide the winner. Your work won their vote and that is something to hang your hat on.

Okay, enough talking. We are here to celebrate with the winners. As a reminder, the winner from each category will receive a $20 gift card to Amazon.com, a badge for their blog and/or website (as of now there are only 2 on the entire Internet), and your work will be published in an upcoming issue of Dream Chaser's Magazine.

The winners of the 2010 New Author Writing Contest are:

In the Poetry Category the winner is......DECIMATION by Simon Marshland
In the Short Story Category the winner is.......SOLITAIRE by Michael Cormier


Please take a moment and congratulate our winners for this year's contest. I hope next year's contest is just as competitive and entertaining. Remember, it is never to late to get started.

Here is the winning poem and the attachment to the winning short story.

Decimation

By Simon Marshland

Where fly our bees and butterflies

Where nest our birds of song

Who cares if our last meadow dies

Who bothers what’s gone wrong

What selfish careless things we’ve done

How deep should be our shame

Cupidity and greed have won

Base urge of the inane

This land is ours but ours on trust

Not ours to mar despoil

Ten million years turned back to dust

Two thousands wasted toil

There is still time but only just

Still time to mend our ways

And together with concerted thrust

Reverse this trend that slays

Aid the miracle of rebirth

For the children yet unborn

To shape a fresh and new Earth

With a living breathing dawn

You can read the winning short story - Solitaire - by follow this LINK.