AwardsDavid Stewart Awarded First Annual Book Prize; By Beryl Lieff Benderly, Washington Writing Prize Committee Chair WIW’s first annual book prize has been awarded to David O. Stewart for The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution. The other 2008 Washington Writing Prizes went to Michael H. Levin for poetry, Claude Berube for reported nonfiction, and M. Eileen Cronin for short fiction. Tom Glenn, Maurice Martin, Jessie Siegel and Susi Wyss received honorable mention. Presented at the Washington Writers Conference on June 14, the prizes honor published freelance work by WIW members. Stewart, a constitutional lawyer, crafted “a bright and colorful rendering of the extraordinary convention that created the American Constitution,” according to the judging committee. Published by Simon & Schuster, Stewart’s “unusually readable account... allows us to peer into the room in Philadelphia where months of debate laid the foundation for our democracy,” the citation continued. The prize recognizes the most significant book in any genre by a WIW member published during the year. Levin, also a lawyer, won his second Washington Writing Prize for poetry for “Dead Weight,” “a “fine poem [that] shines with vividness” despite its “a dark subject,” the death of a beloved dog, the judges stated. Berube’s article, “entitled "Budget Battles, Interest Groups and Relevancy in a New Era - The Ship-of-the-line USS Pennsylvania,” published in the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings magazine, “is at once both historical and timely, as well as a good read. It draws readers in by making its subject relevant to today's controversies,” noted the judging committee. Berube is an author and a faculty member at the United States Naval Academy. Martin, a previous winner of the Washington Writing Prize for reported nonfiction, won honorable mention this year for "Greasy, Trashy and Full of Energy," published in Lee Magazine. Cronin, an assistant editor for Story Quarterly and Narrative Magazine.com, has a doctorate in clinical psychology. The judging committee praised the “colorful, hilarious language” of “Martin’s Tart,” published in G.W. Review. Honorable mentions went to Glenn for “Wolf Rock,” to Siegel for “Her Own Kind,” and to Wyss for “Monday Born”. The prizes were presented by prize committee chair Beryl Lieff Benderly. Other members of the judging committee were Joseph Barbato, Mary Collins, C.M. Mayo, Eugene Meyer, Lester Reingold and Jeff Richards. Collins, Mayo, Meyer and Reingold are themselves previous winners of Washington Writing Prizes. The 2009 competition, which will be retitled after WIW adopts its new name, will be open to all members in good standing. Details and deadlines will be announced in the fall. Read the 2007 award-winning work Read the 2006 award-winning work Read the 2005 award-winning work Read the 2004 award-winning work Read the 2003 award-winning work |