And the winners are …

We at Saints and Sinners are pleased to be able to recognize and reward writing talent. Our Playwriting Contest received a larger number of submissions than ever this year, and our new Fiction Writing Contest was also a big success.

The winner of the First Annual Short Fiction Contest is Wayne Lee Gay of Denton, Texas for his story “Ondine.”

• Wayne Lee Gay recently completed the Ph.D. in creative writing / fiction at the University of North Texas. He also holds degrees in music history and musicology from Baylor and the University of Iowa. During an earlier career as a journalist and classical music critic, he was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. His fiction has appeared in Swell and SN Review, and his poetry appears in The Weight of Addition: An Anthology of Texas Poets.

Our two runners-up are Danny Bracco of San Francisco for “Dancing Pink Roses” and James Driggers of Asheville, NC for “Jesus Is My BFF.”

The winning stories, along with new stories by a few of the best names in GLBT literature, have been collected into an anthology, Saints & Sinners 2010: New Fiction from the Festival, by QueerMojo, an imprint of Rebel Satori Press. A book release party featuring readings by the winners and others will be held on Thursday, May 13 as a fundraiser for the festival. A copy of the anthology is included with the event ticket. Order at www.sasfest.org

The winner of the FOURTH ANNUAL FULL-LENGTH PLAYWRITING CONTEST is St. Louisian Jerry Rabushka for his play Brushup Ten.

• Jerry Rabushka is a writer, actor, musician, and composer. He is a co-founder of Ragged Blade Productions, where he gained experience writing and producing plays, and in 2006 received the Director’s Award at the Columbus Gay & Lesbian Theater Festival for its efforts in bringing GLBT theater to St. Louis. Many of his scripts, ranging from 3 minutes to full length, have been published by Brooklyn Publishers, and some are also available from Heuer Publishing. His band, The Ragged Blade Band, plays his original tunes in St. Louis and on the road. Rabushka has toured two of his plays to New Orleans; his play “He’s a Real Boy Now” was a Saints and Sinners finalist in 2007.

  Brushup Ten
  will premiere at the Marigny Theatre during the Saints and Sinners weekend. Tickets are available through the Marigny Theatre. Stay tuned for our next e-newsletter for further information on our theatre events.

Congratulations to all our winners and finalists!