Congratulations to the winners of the First Shelley Award!

MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY AWARD WINNERS

to appear in Issue 35 Spring 2006

judged by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

THE WINNER:

• "Pale Horse" by F. J. Bergmann

THE RUNNERS UP:

(alphabetically)

• “Tia Trementina” by Joanna Gardner
• “Souvenir” by Sheldon Gleisser
• “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” by Phong Nguyen
•  “Chucko the Clown” by Robert Terry

As per usual, administering Rosebud’s imaginative fiction award was both an exhausting and exhilarating experience. Rosebud wishes to thank the many writers who burned the midnight oil and spent long hours at their word processors and typewriters to send us an amazing variety of unique and exciting work. Editor Rod Clark and special Editor Robert Wake screened hundreds of excellent manuscripts from writers throughout the U.S., Canada, and around the world. The range, sophistication, and diversity of expression were truly wonderful. This year, for the second time, we were able to offer a hundred dollars each to the runners up in addition to the $1000 first prize. Our only regret is that we could not have more winners and offer more prizes.

The judge of this year’s competition, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, was also very pleased as she selected the winner and runners up. “There's a lot of excellent writing and some marvelous ambition here,” she declared. “I'm very pleased. All five [prize winning] stories have excellent voices. The conceits are original and the writing is quite good. Each has strengths that made me consider it for the top prize. All of them came very, very close.”

 Here are the results, and Ms. Rusch’s comments on each.

THE WINNER:

"Pale Horse" by F. J. Bergmann: Beautiful imagery sustained the entire story. The length is perfect. Much longer and the story would have collapsed, much like the horse should have. The metaphor works--and it shouldn't have. Which makes this a tour de force, and the winner.

THE RUNNERS UP (alphabetically):

“Tia Trementina” by Joanna Gardner: Lovely scene setting and
characterization. I thought we were in for a traditional horror plot,
and the author surprised me. Her ending is delicate and illuminating,
making what could have been a well-written but familiar story into
something new and interesting.

“Souvenir” by Sheldon Gleisser: A compact story, a wonder in the way
that it conveys so much in only 1100 words. We get the relationships
and the characters, and a societal commentary, all in a handful of
pages. Nicely done.

“The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” by Phong Nguyen: What a
marvelous idea for a story. Excellent characterization, stunning
voice. Compelling and memorable.

 “Chucko the Clown” by Robert Terry: The voice carried me through this
story and wouldn't let me set it down. Nice use of detail and great
imagery.


We were honored to have Ms. Rusch as a judge for the first iteration of the imaginative fiction award under its brand new name: The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. For more on the remarkable and versatile Kristine Kathryn Rusch check out her website at www.kristinekathrynrusch.com.

ronellis@hughes.net 04/17/08