Congratulations to this year’s competition winners and finalists!
There were 310 entries for 2014 in the novel category. Of that total, 146 entries were from Louisiana authors. The remainder of the entries represent 32 states and eight foreign countries.
The Narrative Non-Fiction category was judged by Deborah Grosvenor.
Ms. Grosvenor has more than 25 years’ experience in the book publishing business as an agent and editor. During her career, she has edited or represented several hundred nonfiction books. As an editor, she acquired Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October. Her distinguished client list includes nationally prominent writers, New York Times bestselling authors, and prize-winning historians and journalists. Among them are Stephen Coonts, Eleanor Clift, Morton Kondracke, Thomas Oliphant, Charlie Engle, Harrison Scott Key, John Sexton, Henry Allen, Aaron Miller, Scott Wallace, Curtis Wilkie, Nina Burleigh, Thomas Fleming, Jonathan Green, Jay Rubenstein, Willard Randall, Mark Geragos, Peter Cozzens, Meg Noonan, Barbara Dreyfuss and Elizabeth Pryor. Deborah is interested in narrative nonfiction in the categories of history, biography, politics, current, and foreign affairs, memoir, food, the South, humor, Italy, the environment and travel. For fiction, she is simply interested in great storytelling, especially in an historical context. Deborah is the recipient of the TWIN award (Tribute to Women in Industry), given by the YWCA and industry to “outstanding women who have made significant contributions to their companies in managerial and executive positions.”She has been a part of the Faulkner Society’s annual fall festival since Word & Musicwas created and regularly judges a category of the Faulkner-Wisdom Competition.
Winner
Shakespeare’s Royal Bastard, Lawrence Wells, Oxford, MS
Equal Runners Up
Stronger, Mary Bradshaw, Flowood, MS
The Red-Headed Jewess of Oxford Road:You Can’t Imagine This Life,
Cindy Lou Levee, Baton Rouge, LA
Other Finalists
Against the Wind, Frances Haysman, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Hummingbird, Kenneth Neil Rubenstein, Hove, England, UK
Life as a Personal Trainer: Bad Music, Creepy Perverts, and Cottage Cheese,
Ken Kashubara, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Stronger, Mary Bradshaw, Flowood, MS
The Red-Headed Jewess of Oxford Road: You Can’t Imagine This Life, Cindy Lou Levee, Baton Rouge, LA
Short List for Finalists
Behind Lace Curtains, Dorothy Burston Brown, San Jose, CA
Dragged Away by the Hair, Annie Caulfield, London, UK
Gutshot, Anne Webster, Atlanta, GA
Holding On To Right Side Up, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Leaving Vanilla, Anita Crocus, Bellevue, WA
Moving Sam, Ann B. Kovara, Pasadena, CA
Sounds of Letting Go, Vicki Siska, Fort Collins, CO
What Goes by the Name of Love, Gail Hovey, Haverstraw, NY
Semi-Finalists
A friend named Hope: A Memoir And Expedition Through Sovereignty, Heather McLain Harris, Metairie, LA
Ever-Fixed Mark, Charla Lewis, Guymon, OK
My Unsentimental Education, Debra Monroe, Austin, TX
My War and You’re Welcome To It, Michael Fryd, Philadelphia, PA
Stealing Christmas, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Streetlight, Steve Kash, Terre Haute, IN
Yossarian Was Right, Archibald Hovanesian, Jr., New Orleans, LA