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ThatFirstLine Announces Contest Winner

Congratulations to Gerry Cofield of Wedowee, Alabama for submitting the wining entry (voted the best by our judges) in the ThatFirstLine 2007 Fall/Winter Writing Contest!

Gerry's entry:

"James didn’t know whose shame should be greater- his for buying “Girls Gone Wild” or his daughter’s for appearing in it - but he was pretty sure his wife would have no trouble deciding."

was selected as the best opening line to a literary work from the entries presented to our judges. Gerry will receive $500 for her winning line and had this to say:

Do you realize how exciting it is to see, amidst the offers for Rolexes, free credit reports, and Cialis from Mexico, an e-mail saying you’ve won $500? I may be too spoiled now to submit 3,000-word essays for .10/word. And knowing that the competition increases the reading population by supporting literacy is an added bonus!
This is the beginning of a short story that I started during a bout with insomnia. Evidently, people who watch television at around 2 am love viewing partially-clad drunk young women. Also, it appears they may frequent telephone chat lines, need to purchase spiritual advice from strangers, and yearn to pursue higher education online. In the midst of sleep deprivation I inadvertently used my uncle’s name in the line, for which I’m sure he’s eternally grateful.

I’m honored to join your list of hilarious and talented winners. Thanks Thatfirstline.com, Zirdland, and of course, Girls Gone Wild! I’ll be singing your praises all the way to Sweden (I’m using the money to visit my cousin there)!

Congratulations Gerry!

And congratulations to our other finalists!

Each will receive an award certificate and the
highly-coveted Zirdland pen.

Our Spring/Summer Contest has just begun. If you have a great opener, submit it at ThatFirstLine.com and you could win $500 while helping to support national literacy organizations.

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Congratulations to Sharon Whitlock of Rockford, Illinois for submitting the wining entry (voted the best by our judges) in the ThatFirstLine 2007 Spring/Summer Writing Contest!

Sharon's entry:

"Nicholas Drake didn't know how to deflower a virgin, so he looked it up online."

was selected as the best opening line to a literary work from the entries presented to our judges. Sharon will receive $500 for her winning line and had this to say:

My winning first line is the beginning of a mystery/romance novel about the Most Holy Rosary--honest! I wrote nineteen chapters this summer and then my plot dead-ended. So I boxed it all up and hauled it down to the catacombs in my computer, and entered the first line in ThatFirstLine competition. I'm glad I did! I'll get busy on that plot again, by this time next year, I'll have 19,999 more fun lines!
Thanks so much--after reading last year's excellent winner, I'm really honored!

Congratulations Sharon!

And congratulations to our other finalists:

L. Rett Boswell
Alicia Young
Sannon Schuren
Ricardo Mancebo
Laura Stevenson
Deborah Gossett Rivers
William Cotter
Stephen Maynard
Robert Robeson

Each will receive an award certificate and the
highly-coveted Zirdland pen.

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Congratulations to Neil Gudovitz of Brooklyn, New York for submitting the wining entry (voted the best by our judges) in the ThatFirstLine 2006 Fall/Winter Writing Contest!

Neil's entry:

"Uncle Cyrus knew what I loved more than anything else when he said "Seymour, I'll wager you can't eat 5 circus peanuts at once", and so began my eleventh year of life, with the most senseless of emergency tracheotomies."

was selected as the best opening line to a literary work. Neil will receive $500 for his winning line and had this to say:

My entry in the competition would not have been possible without the vile eating habits of my childhood friend Steve. One day this winter Steve and I were motoring around Brooklyn when I spotted an empty package of Circus Peanuts on the floor of his vehicle. No mere wrapper, this was your Family Pak. "How can you let your kids eat this garbage, Steve?" "Uh dude, not my kids, I ate all those on the ride down from Boston. Had to be 40 of 'em. Sick, right?" Suggested serving size for human beings is two Circus Peanuts every ten years so yes, fairly sick.
The rest of my contest entry flowed from Steve's gorging and my belief that as serious and harrowing as a tracheotomy can be, there is no funnier medical procedure. I recall being taught to perform the emergency tracheotomy during First Aid lessons in middle school science class, along with sucking-out snake venom, applying the tourniquet to the spewing wound and the splint to the shattered limb, all of which seem quaint in comparison with jamming your chocolate milk straw into some kid¹s gullet.
As a literary agent specializing in foreign rights, I spend my days writing scores of emails to foreign publishers and my partner agents overseas, being careful in every instance to drain all slang and idioms from the writing. So for this competition I felt like the polar bear at the zoo when the cub scout falls over the railing.
I wish to express my appreciation to the judges and Zirdland for this opportunity, it's been great fun and the ideal outlet for the piffle that wells up inside all of us now and then. Thanks also to my father Seymour for being funny every night at dinner and for having a funny name. And of course thanks to Steve, although I am now in need of new sources of inspiration as he has discovered a Whole Foods near his apartment and is eating much better. Fortunately he remains hooked on Funyons but I suspect those are largely indigestible and glom onto the pancreas in a most promising fashion.
Congratulations Neil!

And congratulations to our other finalists:

Christopher Stanton
Marc Watson
Steven Ramirez
Shannon M. Holliker
Allison Weaver
Mitzi Dykes
Glenna Muse
Ryan Shaffer

Each will receive an award certificate and the
highly-coveted Zirdland pen.

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Congratulations to Jennifer Karin of Newburyport, Massachusetts for submitting the wining entry (voted the best by our judges) in the ThatFirstLine 2006 Spring/Summer Writing Contest.

Her entry:

"My story begins like any great love story, with Gonorrhea, a bottle of rum and a jackass. "

was selected as the best opening line to a literary work. Jennifer will receive $500 for her winning line and had this to say:

Wow! I am stunned. I will now require my children to address me differently: "Mom, winner of the Spring/Summer That First Line contest sponsored
by Zirdland.com, can I please have a glass of water?" It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? As of now, there is no 'rest of the story,' but I will surely win the Pulitzer Prize given such an auspicious start. When the story is written, it will be a dark comedy - my favorite genre. I just loved Anna Kerenina - had me laughing all the way. That's not a comedy? Oh sorry. My mistake. As far as what to do with my prize money - Hmm, so many creditors to choose from, each unique and remarkably attentive. It will be hard to decide. My future plans include stopping global warming, feeding the world, and picking up my dry cleaning on Wednesday. God Bless You, Zirdland!

Congratulations Jennifer!

And congratulations to our other finalists:

Shauna Struessel
Robert Comenole
Ryan Ames
Daniel Krajewski
Stephanie Chuksudoon
Ceasar Rodriguez
Gloria Slater
Debora Gossett Rivers

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2005 Fall Winter Contest Winner:

Congratulations to Jeff Day of Tulsa, Oklahoma for submitting the wining entry (voted the best by our judges in the ThatFirstLine Fall/Winter Writing Contest. His line:

"As Jim felt his body pick up speed, he realized that the only thing wrong with his life was that he had just jumped off a building."

was selected as the best opening line to a literary work. Jim will receive $500 for his winning line and had this to say:

Wow! I'm so thrilled to have won. This is the first literary contest I've ever won. I got the idea from conversations I've had with a good friend of mine, who happens to be named Jim. Jim's suicidal. Finally, after the frustration of listening to his multiple threats to end his life, and because he always suggests jumping off a building, I finally said to him that as soon as he jumped he would change his mind. That's when I said what became, in paraphrase, the submission for the contest. I've written a short story, fictional of course, in which Jim goes through with his suicide attempt. He lives. The submitted line is the First Line. I'm short of cash but have dreamed of going back to California. So I'll use the money for a Greyhound ticket and the rest to pay the first month's apartment rent. Thanks for the contest and for the judges' appreciation of my submission.

Congratulations Jeff!

And congratulations to our other finalists:

Gloria Slater
J. Moser
Karen Simpson
Daniel Young
Debora Gossett Rivers
Rick Baraff
Don Daniels
Rob Geerling
Fred Mayer

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Last September, Greta Bishop of Youngtown, Arizona won ThatFirstLine Summer Writer's Contest! Here's her opening line:

"Joe Mooney had asked me to meet him at the Rusty Nail Tavern, and I'd been there for nearly an hour when, suddenly, here he came, through the plate glass window."

Greta won $500, and here is what she had to say:

It was actually my years of free-lance advertising work that taught me the value of an opening 'grabber'. Early on, I learned that consumers are not that concerned with price, color, size or availability. Rather, the question that all copywriters must initially address is: "What's in it for me?" And, of course, readers are no different, as they ask themselves: "Is this (article, short story, novel), worth investing my time in?" The opening line invariably
answers that question, one way or the other.

The character of Joe Mooney (still a random idea) is a composite of several people I've known,all of whom led rather unorthodox, even improbable lives. The ex-biker, after being evicted from his apartment, asked if he could leave his cat with me until he found other living quarters that would accommodate pets. The year was 1986. I haven't yet heard from him, and probably won't, which is just as well since the cat is now deceased.

The "First Line" involving Joe Mooney is simply that, an opening line without a story. For now, it remains a random idea.

At present, I operate my own literary service, working with clients who require editing, proofing, revision, and some ghosting. In addition, I work with local writers groups, teach classes, and am working on a novel of my own.

As to how the prize money will be used, this question pretty much answers itself in light of recent events. In addition to a donation to the Hurricane Relief Fund, I plan to use a portion of these winnings to provide a special Christmas for a child I am sponsoring in the Dominican Republic. In 2001, when this sponsorship began, Melvin was 8 years old, and unable to read or write. Now, he does both. He is in love with books, and writes the sweetest letters, which is quite enough to gladden any writer's heart.

Congratulations, Greta!

And congratulations to our other summer finalists:

Derek Nelson
Stephen Maynard
Janice Arenofsky
Nick Epstein
Paul Edmund
Shirley E. Johnson
Ronald Soucy
Roger Naylor

If you have a great opening line to a book, a script, play, essay, article, song or speech, you can enter the Fall/Winter contest by clicking on the logo below:

ThatFirstLine Wrter's Contest is sponsored by
Zirdland.com, LLC