Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Hooray!

Good news (sorta)! One of my short-stories won in a writing competition (kinda).

Well, it didn’t win, in the sense of coming in first, but it did take third place in the short-story category of the American Gem Literary Festival. Actually, two of my stories made it to the semi-finals, but only one hung in until the end - not, in my opinion, the better one, but I’ll take what I can get.

21 comments:

Bob Belvedere said...

Congrats!

Now when's the next Det. Paco story coming, eh?

richard mcenroe said...

Congratulations,Paco. And yeah, readers will do that to you.

The other thing that will make you paste on the very special smile is, "Gee, your old stuff was better."

bruce said...

Congrats but in future you will do much better than this I am sure.

Paco said...

Thanks.

Bob: I'm mulling one over; probably Tea Party related.

richard mcenroe said...

Deborah told me to give you a Gibbs-slap and point out there's no link to the story...

RebeccaH said...

Applause and cheers, Paco. I knew you had it in you.

Paco said...

Richard: I thought someone was going to notice that. I did, in fact, post an earlier version of the story on my blog nearly two years ago. Here it is.

Brett L said...

I blame Wronwright. He probably fell asleep when he was supposed to be fixing the contest.

All joking aside, congratulations.

bruce said...

Our old school friend Geraldine Brooks got a Pulitzer in 2006 for a novel. Her formula was: lots of bodice-ripping, escaped slaves, the absent father of Little Women, and the sweaty combination thereof in a hayloft (I think). Worked like a dream, instant Pulitzer. She's a former journalist so she knows how to push people's buttons.

On second thoughts in such a context, your third prize is a badge of integrity and originality. Don't sell out, man!

TimT said...

Congrats old chap!

JeffS said...

Break out the bubbly!!!

bingbing said...

About time, slacker.

Merilyn said...

Well done Paco, your stories, that I have come accross so far have been a joy to read.

JP said...

Most excellent, good sir.

Look forward to the day that you are pictured at your first major book signing tour.

Paco said...

Thank you, one and all.

Third place is all I was shooting for, and I'm pleased to have latched on to it. The good thing about the American Gem contest is that it's sponsored by Film Makers Magazine, so they're interested mostly in straightforward stories that have some cinematic potential. Since my stuff is light comedy, it wasn't automatically excluded, as it would have been (has been) in some of the contests sponsored by various academic magazines. I've had occasion to read some of the work that has won in those situations, and, as I think I've mentioned before, the stories almost always seem to be well-written, but dreary little psychological studies - like poor imitations of Chekhov.

Anonymous said...

Paco, I'm not a trained writer or critic. I haven't read a lot of the things considered 'must reading.' I read for fun. The stories you post here may be intellectually sound, properly written, with sytax and grammar and punctuation done PERFECTLY...I wouldn't know. I know I enjoy them very much.

You've explained part of that with your comment - I can SEE and HEAR your stories in my mind as I read them.

Well done, congratulations, and thanks for sharing all your work with us!

richard mcenroe said...

You reference PG Wodehouse quite a but, but has anybody ever mentioned the real Thorne Smith flavor to your stuff?

Paco said...

Richard: I'm embarrassed to say that I hadn't heard of Thorne Smith until you mentioned him, but in Googling his name I see that he was the author of the wonderful "Topper" series. I'll have to get hold of some of his stories.

Merilyn said...

Paco Thorne Smith stories are very funny, check local Libary and see if they still have some on hand. Most Libaries don't seem to stock his books these days which is a shame. I have read all his books and laughed so much at times that husband asked if I was o'k! So handed the books to him to read when I was finished and he did the same. Enjoy.

Paco said...

Merilyn: There are some Smith books available on amazon. I'll certainly give 'em a try.

Boy on a bike said...

I am very chuffed by your success!