The 2011 MWA Novel Contest: Great Beginnings

Maryland Writers Association

Judges

Final Round Judge

New York Times bestselling author Sandra Dallas will judge the final round of the Maryland Writers Novel Contest: Great Beginnings.

Dubbed "a quintessential American voice" by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine, Sandra's novels -- with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity -- have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films.

A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine's first female bureau chief), she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development to contemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels.

While a reporter, she began writing the first of ten nonfiction books. They include Sacred Paint, which won the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Western Heritage Wrangler Award, and The Quilt That Walked to Golden, recipient of the Independent Publishers Association's Benjamin Franklin Award.

Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published eight novels, including Prayers For Sale. Sandra is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, and two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award, for The Chili Queen and Tallgrass. In addition, she was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Association Award, and a four-time finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award. Visit her website at www.sandradallas.com.

Second Round Judges

Marcela Landres is the author of the e-book How Editors Think: The Real Reason They Rejected You, publishes the award-winning e-zine Latinidad and is an Editorial Consultant who helps writers get published by editing their work and educating them on the business side of publishing. A member of the Women's Media Group, she has acted as a judge for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, and was formerly an editor with Simon & Schuster. For more information, visit www.marcelalandres.com.

Marcela says: "My best advice for writers is to learn the business side of publishing. Writers who think their only job is to write are invariably unpublished, or unhappily published."

Geoffrey M. Gluckman is the author of the award-winning espionage thriller Deadly Exchange. He also writes features for print publications in the United States, Canada, and Australia, such as Iron Horse Magazine, Law Enforcement Technology, and Mini Rider. His poetry ("Unicorn Pain II") and fiction ("Broken Horns") have been featured in several anthologies, including Teen Angst (St. Martin's Press, April 2005) and A Far Off Place (1995). Three years prior, an essay entitled "Ultimately" appeared in Expectations. Learn more at www.geoffreygluckman.com.

Geoffrey says: "I think my favorite aspect of writing, along with well-crafted characters, plot, and action, is telling a good story."

Amy Burkhardt joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in 2007 and represents fiction and nonfiction projects for the adult and young adult market. (For specific categories, see her bio at www.kimberleycameron.com.) In any genre, she looks for fresh, compelling voices and new points of view. She advises all writers to write about what engages them -- an author's passion for a topic is what makes a great book a page-turner. She's also excited about the launch of her most recent book, The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food by Dr. Heli Perrett, in January 2011.

K.S. Brooks is an award winning novelist, photographer and poet. Her first novel, Lust for Danger, was published in 2001, and its novella prequel, The Kiss of Night, in February 2011. Ms. Brooks has also authored two children's books: The Mighty Oak and Me (2009), and Postcards from Mr. Pish (2011). Her articles, photographs, poetry, and blogs can be found in books, magazines, newspapers, galleries, and web sites worldwide. Learn more at www.ksbrooks.com.

Sally Kemp has an M. Ed. in education/English. She's a freelance editor and book doctor who's worked on mass market, romance, science fiction, literary, and Christian novels, non-fiction, spirituality, biographies, how-to, articles, book proposals, and essays. She also mentors beginning novelists. Her published work includes Matine (Penguin, 1997) and the essay "A Sunday Guest" (Brown Books, 2000).

Jill Morrow was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Annapolis, MD. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in History from Towson University, where she had a particular interest in medieval studies and creative writing, and a JD degree from University of Baltimore School of Law. She has completed three books in the Angel Cafe trilogy. They are thrillers with a twist. Learn more at www.jillmorrow.net.

Mary Bargteil holds an MFA, Creative Writing and Publication Arts, and her novella, Rayleigh Scattering, was selected as part of the honors monograph series at the University of Baltimore. She is also published in short story and poetry. She is an Associate Professor at Stevenson University and University of Maryland University College in the departments of English and Communication Studies. She has been an instructor in the Writer's Workshops at Anne Arundel Community College since 1992. In addition,she works as a freelance writer/editor and a creative writing consultant. She's been involved with MWA as a member, and often as a leader, since 1990.

Patricia Valdata received an MFA in writing from Goddard College in 1991. She received Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for poetry in 2001 and 2003. Her newest work is The Other Sister (Plain View Press, 2008), a novel. Her poetry has appeared most recently in Thanal Online, Big Bridge, Letters to the World (Red Hen Press, 2008) and North American Review. You can read about how Pat's poetry and fiction writing complement one another at Public Republic and learn more about The Other Sister on YouTube.

Linda Shertzer has written 20 historical romance novels under her own name, as well as under the pseudonym Linda Kreisel and Regency Romances as Melinda Pryce. She has served as a judge in both local and national level romance writers contests. She is the past president of two local writers associations, and a founding member of a third organization. She has a Masters Degree in Historical Studies. She teaches creative writing at Anne Arundel Community College.

CJ Cooper is the author of three espionage thrillers, Non-Prophet Intelligence, Refracted Intelligence, and Stab of Intelligence, the First Prize Winner in the 2005 RockWay Press International Writing Competition. CJ is a proofreader, copyeditor, freelance writer, former editor of Pen in Hand, and an instructor at Anne Arundel Community College's Writer's Workshop.