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 photograph: Bruce Dye |
First of all, we had lots to read through -- about 100 more stories than last year. And in the past, even with a smaller total pool, about 20-25 stories went on to our celebrity judges. We thought that this year, since only 15 stories made the cut, their job would be easier. Boy, were we wrong. Although we managed (with normal debate but abnormal disassociation) to narrow the pile down to a suitable number, finding a numerical "place" value for each of the remaining stories was almost impossible. In years past, the top stories were reached by consensus, judges making cases for their personal favorite with a convincing plea -- stories without a strong champion dropped out of the running. This year, no matter how much go-round we had, we couldn't agreee on a winner this way, and in sort of a "technical knock-out" move, I had to insist that everyone score the stories numerically -- lowest score wins first. We even decided that if we weren't happy with the results we would debate more... which we did... and still... nobody agreed. We were forced to defer to the law of averages.
It isn't hard, however, to decide who to thank. We are very grateful to all the first round judges who gave each story two thorough reads, and our faithful celebrity judges (see sidebar) who have shown enthusiasm year after year even in the face of irresolution. And our co-sponsors KGSR, Whole Foods, and Book People, without whom the contest wouldn't exist. Special thanks to former Marketing Director Laura Pruter who not only performed her usual promotional wizardry, but handled all the administrative aspects of the contest this year, as well. Thanks also to Nisa Sharma and Kayte VanScoy, who I hope continue to be short story fans even after I solicited them for my all-day/all-night on-the-floor marathon session to submit each story to "just one last read."
So here are this year's winners. The way in which they were chosen doesn't detract at all from their accomplishment -- perhaps it attests to the deep, personal nature of each that they appeal to such diverse tastes. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. -- Jen Scoville
Second Place: "Throw Up" by Steve Sheinkin
Third Place: "Fraternity" by Andrew Criss
Fourth Place: "All Electric Everything" by Amy Lynn Wilson
The Washington Post hailed Austin writer Neal Barrett, Jr.'s The Heareafter Gang, 1991, as "one of the great American novels." His third mystery/suspense novel, Skinny Annie Blues -- first in the new "Wiley Moss Series" -- was released this month by Kensington Press. Publishers Weekly said, "Imagine Robert Ludlum on laughing gas... breakneck pace, wacky cast and laugh-out-loud dialogue."
Elizabeth Crook is the author of The Raven's Bride (Doubleday, 1991) and Promised Lands (Doubleday, 1993).
Robert Draper is a Senior Editor at Texas Monthly, the author of Rolling Stone Magazine: The Uncensored History, a member of the Texas Institute of Letters, and was a finalist in the 1994 Magazine Awards.
Jesse Sublett is the author of the hard-boiled, set-in-Austin, Texas music mysteries Rock Critic Murders, Tough Baby, and Boiled in Concrete, all published by Viking. He also writes for film, non-fiction television, and multimedia. He is currently working on his 25th documentary film (The Ocean Liners, for the History Channel) and his fourth novel.
Steven Utley is the author of an evidently permanently forthcoming story collection. He has never been a member of the Republican Party or any other terrorist organization.
Mary Willis Walker is a full-time fiction writer; author of The Red Scream and Under the Beetle's Cellar, which has just come out in paperback, or "mass market" as they say at Bantam. Right now she's struggling to finish a new novel, Midnight Hags. It involves the Texas Legislature and a bag lady who lives under the deck of an expensive downtown restaurant.
