Press releases

March 25, 2010
2010 IDAHO magazine Fiction Contest Winners

The 2010 IDAHO magazine Fiction Contest winners have been selected.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION! THANK YOU, JUDGES!!

Here are the winners:

ADULT DIVISION:
1st Place: Nancy Teggeman for "The River of No Return" (Polson, MT)
2nd Place: Richard Earl Rice for "The Seventh Dog" (Idaho Falls)
3rd Place: Amy McClellan for "Little Things (Idaho Falls)
Honorable Mention: Alex Thatcher for "Skunk Creek" (Boise)
Honorable Mention: Karen Finnegan for "A Letter from Jazz" (Idaho Falls)

WINNERS' CIRCLE:
1st Place: Les Tanner for "The Real Story" (Caldwell)
2nd Place: Bruce Bash for "Hookjaw" (Idaho Falls)
3rd Place: Marylyn Cork for "Harry as Detective" (Priest River)
Honorable Mention: "Buffalo Robe" (submitted anonymously)

JUDGE'S CHOICE AWARDS:
Wes Scantlin for "The Terrible Twosome" (Twin Falls)
Lowell Vanskike for "Snake Trouble" (Emmaus, Pa.)
Will Schnupp for "The Lake Road Resurrection" (Star)
Wallace Swenson for "The Lizard's Lesson" (Shelley)
Les Shannahan for "The Bridge as Siren" (Buhl)
Michael B. Sessions for "Chance" (Caldwell)
Todd M. Hubbard, "Hermannus Wintre" (Star)

YOUTH DIVISION:
1st Place: Gemma Giovanna Clark for "Julia Child and the Best of Birthdays" (Idaho Falls)
2nd Place: Colin Guth for "Potato Casserole" (Eagle)
3rd Place: Caitlin Halone for "Water Horse" (Emmett)
Honorable Mention: Aurora Cossairt for "Sunset Autumn" (Boise)

PUBLISHER'S CHOICE AWARD:
Daniel Allan Claar for "The Proper Filter" (Boise)

There were six judges for our contest this year. Each judge could give zero to 100 points to each story. Category winners had the highest cumulative scores in their classes. Fiction is subjective, and one thing that always surprises new judges to our contest is that we have had stories vary by up to 100 points by two different judges. So, we have a
Judge's Choice Award, wherein each judge can give a special choice to his or her story that was their highest rated, but didn't receive another award. (There are seven Judge's Choice awards this year instead of six, because two of the stories were locked in an unbreakable tie.) The Winner’s Circle awards are for entrants who have won in the Adult Category in previous years. The Publisher's Choice Award is IDAHO magazine publisher Kitty Fleischman’s top-rated story that didn't win an award.

Several of our veteran judges commented that the competition for this contest gets tougher every year, and I agree with their assessment! With your help we're raising the bar on great Idaho fiction.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a way to publish your stories on paper, but we do have fiction archives on this website. Please send us electronic copies of your stories if you'd like to allow us to include them in the archives. We'd be proud to do that.

If your story did NOT win, please do not be discouraged. Most of the contests were won by as few as five points out of the possible 600. You might think about polishing up your stories for next year and resubmitting them, or submitting them to other contests. You'd be amazed at how differently six judges look at the same story.

SOME judges' comments are available for most stories. If you'd like them, please contact Kitty Fleischman, kfleisch@idahomagazine.com.