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And the Winners Are...
BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
ANNOUNCES WINNERS
OF MARK TWAIN WRITING COMPETITION
-- Buffalo Resident Receives First Prize in International Category --
Buffalo, NY -- The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) announced the winners of its Mark Twain Writing Competition "A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage" this evening at an awards ceremony, which culminated an all-day celebration of the contest as well as the life and works of Samuel Clemens. The day’s events attracted more than 300 people, traveling from as far away as England, Montreal and California to attend. All finalists, as well as many honorable mention recipients, were present to receive their awards.
Carolyn Korsmeyer, a Buffalo resident, was selected as the first place winner in the International Category. Finalists from this category were judged by accomplished authors and scholars, including writer and novelist Garrison Keillor, novelists and Buffalo natives Joyce Carol Oates, Lauren Belfer and Connie Porter; humorist and Atlantic contributor Roy Blount, documentary filmmaker Dayton Duncan, scholars Robert Hirst of the Mark Twain Project and honorary panelist Leslie Fiedler of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
More than 520 entrants competed in the International Category (age 14 and older) for cash prizes of $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.
"I generally pursue writing on an academic level," said Korsmeyer, a professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. "Fiction writing is rather unusual and a challenge for me. I entered the competition for pure fun and then became absorbed with it."
Of Korsmeyer’s story, Duncan said, "Some of the characters are superbly drawn, with an understanding of human nature reminiscent of Twain’s."
Belfer commented that Korsmeyer’s conclusion was "fluid and insightful, displaying some fascinating plot turns and vivid descriptions."
William Peschel, a copy editor from Hershey, Pennsylvania, was awarded second place. A Mound City, Kansas educator, Cathy Ramirez received third place honors. Those selected as honorable mention candidates included E.G. Fabricant from Sacramento, California; John Licata and David Mercer from Buffalo, New York; E.A. Messenger from Henrietta, New York; Marvin Rabinovitch from Hod Hasharon, Israel; Mark Shainblum from Montreal, Quebec and Kate Small from Portland, Oregon.
A panel of Western New York educators and writers evaluated final entries from the Young Writers Category, including author and screenwriter Gabrielle Burton, Orchard Park School Superintendent Chuck Stoddart, Buffalo State professor and Twain specialist Tom Reigstad, writer and Canisius College professor Mick Cochran, Arts Council of Buffalo and Erie County Executive Director Celeste Lawson and Buffalo News "First Sunday" Editor Charles Anzalone. The competition for young writers (ages 14 to 18) awarded prizes in the amount of $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place, with both local (students attending school in Erie County, New York) and international divisions.
More than 90 entries were received in the Young Writers Category - International Division. Princeton, New Jersey resident Astrid Claire Werner was selected as the first place winner. Werner is currently attending Hailey Bury College in England and enjoys reading literature, especially the work of Twain.
Lawson applauded Werner’s "quest to be innovative and yet still preserve the tradition of the time the story was set in." Anzalone remarked that Werner’s "tone is faithful to the chapters written by Twain," her "dialogue is believable" and that she "expressed original images and character traits."
Brittany Schlorff, a Plantation, Florida resident and junior in high school, was selected as the second place winner. Greensborro, North Carolina resident and University of North Carolina freshman, Carl Ivan Carlson received third place honors. Those selected as honorable mention candidates, included Stefanie Chipperfield from Manlius, New York; Matt Hanson from Cornwall, Vermont; Joseph McKenna D’Alonzo from Moorestown, New Jersey; James Olchowski from Barrington, Rhode Island; and Lauren Rose Tomola from Jacksonville, Florida.
The Young Writers Category - Local Division attracted more than 110 submissions from young people throughout Erie County, New York. Amherst resident Sarah Waldrop was selected as the first place winner. Waldrop, a junior at Williamsville North High School, writes for her school newspaper.
Burton commented that Waldrop exhibited "imaginative, polished writing with careful attention to the tools of the trade: diction, grammar and punctuation."
"The story achieves a narrative voice and tone very evocative of Twain’s original," added Cochrane.
Caitlin Corr, a Buffalo resident and junior from Nardin Academy, was selected as the second place winner. East Amherst resident and Williamsville North junior, Amanda Watkins received third place honors. Both Watkins and Waldrop were presented with the writing competition as an assignment from their English teacher, Mary Banks.
Those receiving honorable mention accolades in the Young Writers Category - Local Division, included New York residents Caitlin Bell and Lenny Shulgin from Amherst; Amy Lewis from Tonawanda; Joe Lipsitz and Derrick Treichler from Williamsville; Sarah Lynch from Lancaster; Lauren Mendolera from Elma; and Timothy Kenneth Staszak from Buffalo.
Entrants were asked to consider the three parts of Twain’s title in their conclusion. However, entrants were not evaluated on who best replicated Twain’s original ending, but rather on who could develop the most well-written and creative conclusions to the first two chapters.
A fair and objective judging process was ensured, as entries remained anonymous to all judging parties. Entry forms were separated from the stories after information was entered into a centralized database.
Judges received a cover sheet with only the entrant’s initials, an entry number based on the order in which it was received and the category selected. Graduate students from the State University of New York at Buffalo completed initial screenings of entries and selected the top finalists to be passed onto the final judging panels.
"Mark Twain's 125 year old challenge has been met by these 21st
century writers with an encouraging display of ingenuity, wit, and skilled writing,"
said student judge Tim Hisan.
The B&ECPL launched the international competition on March 1, 2001,
challenging writers to create an ending for Twain’s then unpublished short story,
"A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage." More than 700 entrants tried their hand at
Twain by composing their own original conclusions to the first two chapters. Entries were
received from 43 different states, every Canadian province and countries such as
Australia, England, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Iran, New Zealand, South Africa and the
Philippines.
W.W. Norton and Company’s recently released illustrated, gift edition of Twain’s "A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage" is currently on the Best Sellers List for Fiction.
Winning entries have been published on the B&ECPL’s web site, www.buffalolib.org.
For further information, visit the Library’s web site at www.buffalolib.org or call (716) 858-7182.