Meet the Winners of Wordclay's Short Story Contests.

Anne Greenawalt is a writer, a feminist, a swimmer, and a Buddhist (not always in that order). She was pleasantly surprised when she received notification that she'd won Runner-up Prize in the Short Story Collection contest. "I can't even describe how excited I was when I opened the e-mail," says Greenawalt. "I had to read it about 10 times to make sure I wasn't mistaken." 

Greenawalt was born and raised in Mechanicsburg, Pa. where she currently lives. In 2007, she graduated with a Master of Arts in creative writing from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and in 2006, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing and women's studies from Hamilton College. Greenawalt looks forward to one day becoming a published novelist.    

Purchase a copy of Greenawalt's winning collection, Growing Up Girl, available now through Wordclay's Bookstore and other major retailers.

Patricia Coble is the Grand-Prize winner of the Short Story Collection contest. "After doing some research, I felt very comfortable submitting my work to Wordclay," says Coble. "I was impressed with the variety of service packages offered, as well as the professional appearance of the Web site. For someone who had not a clue of how to go about publishing a book, Wordclay was the perfect solution."

Coble was born in Pietersburg, South Africa. The majority of her formative years were spent in the Legogote region of the eastern Transvaal, the area that provides the setting for the stories in Legogote: Tales from the Bottom Township.
 
Since coming to the United States in 1971, she has been very involved in being a wife, mother and teacher of high school students.
 
Coble lives with her husband, Dr. Stephen Coble, in Sanford , N.C. They have three children.

In the Single Short Story contest, Benjamin Solomon won Runner-Up for his story, "This Is Called Prowess." Not only is he enjoying the winner's circle of Wordclay's Contests, but he also appreciates the publishing resources. "I have found Wordclay to be an excellent resource for DIY writers eager to take publication into their own hands," says Solomon, who currently lives in Atlanta, where he edits The Open Face Sandwich, a journal of uncommon prose.

Winning Grand-Prize in the Single Short Story contest is what Samantha Weiss called an "unexpected, lovely surprise." Her story, "Simulated in Black and White" is described by the Wordclay Contest Judges as containing "elements of science fiction, noir, and suspense," and as a story that "readers will find . intriguing, as well as haunting."

Weiss just graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in creative writing and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. She completed Odyssey in the summer of 2007, one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of speculative fiction. She participates in Codex, a professional-level writers group, and is editing a book about professional athletes written by an author who coaches Olympic, all-pro NFL, and NCAA athletes. The winning story, "Simulated in Black and White," was part of the thesis work for her writing degree. At the moment, she is working as a chemical engineer in India.

Read excerpts from the winning stories and comments from the judges on Wordclay's Contest Connection page.

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