Genre Wars Winners!

Michelle's Thoughts
So, the moment you've all been waiting for! Some have said waiting was like hanging from a cliff, but I hope it wasn't that bad. I am, of course, talking about my coming back to the Literary Lab to do posts again! Not the winners listed down below. Silly that you'd think anything different than that. Hah!

In all seriousness, I'm glad to be back, although I'm terrified to start posting again. So much pressure to sound intelligent and entertaining. Without further ado, we present to you the cover for the 2009 Genre Wars Anthology!



We had a lot of entries, and overall I was pleased at the well-rounded turnout of all genres. Reading so many varied genres has been amazing for my skills as a reader and a writer. I found a few entries that didn't quite fit in the genre they were put under by the author, and because of that I read the entry differently. For instance, if a very Literary story is labeled under Romance, I'm going to view it with a certain slant. If it doesn't fit right, I might not like the story as well, and on and on.

I really do hate to say that genre might affect how something is received, but it's true in my opinion. I find it more true now after I've done this contest with Scott and Davin. I know that it might have been tough to find the right fit for the limited genres we offered you to choose from, but like Davin says down below, all of the stories we have chosen fit together to form a masterpiece of flavors that when sampled all together offer a wonderful experience for the writerly palate. In the end, though, I found myself ignoring genre as I voted which stories would go into the anthology.

Overall I LOVED reading all of the entries! It was a fantastic ride, and I must say thank you thank you thank you to all of the entrants. Without you this contest would not have happened. It was absolutely tough to choose winners and who would go into the anthology. Because it was a voting process, some of the stories I loved didn't make it in. Please know that just because you aren't in the anthology, that does not mean you didn't make my favorites list!

Davin's Thoughts
I almost hate that I suggested the name Genre Wars for this contest, because the one thing I realized was how well these different types of stories work together. As a collection, each piece helps to balance out the others like a perfect meal, and while I was judging, I always felt refreshed transitioning from one genre to another. Speaking of judging, the majority rules approach we took to deciding our selections and winners was fascinating for me. Even among the three of us, we had many differences in opinion, and I think we all ended up losing some stories that we actually loved. At the same time, the great thing about being part of this trio was that I can blame someone else when a story we didn't choose ends up being part of a Pulitzer-winning collection. Thanks to everyone who entered and mentioned this contest to others!

Scott's Thoughts
Judging this contest was difficult. First, we got a lot of entries and if you add up all the stories, you get something like 200,000 words which means that Davin, Michelle and I read the equivalent of two good-sized novels, all while working on our own writing and having real lives and reading books on the side; there was just a lot of reading to do. Secondly--and most importantly--the quality of entries was high and it was hard to narrow down our choices. We all agonized about the finalists and it was only--as Michelle and Davin have both already said--it was only because we each have our individual tastes that we were able to have some differences of opinion and decisive votes. Almost every story that was entered had one of us judges championing it. Alas, some of my favorites didn't make the final selection and I'm just lucky indeed to have had the chance to read them here before they're published in legit venues. I'd like to thank everyone who entered. It's been an amazing and amusing couple of months for me, and a nice bonding experience with Davin and Michelle. We're all tired now, thanks to you lot. But tired in a very good way.

Here are the winners for the 2009 Genre Wars Anthology:


Grand Prize Winner and Young Adult/Children's/Middle Grade
Frances O'Brien - Two Separate Pieces


Literary
Judith Mercado - Asunder


Experimental
Jason King - LLAC EMIT DOOG A ROF


Sci-Fiction/Fantasy
E. J. Alexander - Heart Seeker


Horror/Crime
Donna Thorland - Napoleon's Boots


Romance/Women's Fiction
Susan James - Luminescence


Congratulations! Each of these winners above receives an interview here on the Literary Lab, their story posted here on the Literary Lab, their story published in the anthology, and a $10 gift certificate to a bookstore of their choice. The grand prize winner receives a $50 gift card to a book store of her choice.

Here's the list of the other stories that will be included in the anthology. Congrats!


YoungAdult/Children's/Middle Grade
Robbin Taylor - My Family Goes Out For Ice Cream
Mary Whitsell - Felix in the Hot Seat
Katelin Shea - The Little Wolf and the Big Bad Pigs
Anne R. Allen - The Big Ones


Literary
Chuck Hocter - Day 25,567
AJ Tanek - Temptations
Simon C. Larter - How To Write Like Hemingway
Steven Argyle - Sweating the Captives
Lisa Katzenberger - In Amsterdam
Jennifer Walkup - The Beginning


Experimental
Jeanie Decker - Channel Surfing and Alternate Realities
Susannah Pabot - Goldilocks is no Fairy Tale Princess
C.N. Nevets - The Best Medicine
C.N. Nevets - Death, Be Not Me


Sci-Fiction/Fantasy
Jason A. Myers - A Reply
B.J. Anderson - Fully Loaded
Maddalena Tarallo - As You Asked
Heather Zundel - A Story More


Horror/Crime
Loren Eaton - Bark
Brandon Boucher - Into the Arms of Digital Angels


Romance/Women's Fiction
Kelli A. Wilkins - Setting the Stage for Love
Anne Gallagher - High Tide
Natasha Ramarathnam - Agonies of Agony Aunt


The 2009 Genre Wars Anthology will be available for purchase by the end of January. Please remember to vote for which non-profit organization you want us to donate the proceeds to in our poll to the right. Below is a list of links to the interviews with each of the groups.

WriteGirl

Writers Emergency Assistance Fund

Young Voices Foundation