ANY PUBLICATION

ANY PUBLICATION: Lifestyle reporting, short form

(23 entries)

Judge: Sheila Toomey, Anchorage Daily News
Toomey is a senior general assignment reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. Her focus is the city's minority communities and writes a feature column called "Tales of the City." She won a Blethen for feature writing and was part of the Daily News team that won a 1989 Pulitzer for "People in Peril," a series on the ravages of alcoholism and forced acculturation in Alaska's indigenous communities. She teaches writing workshops for the Alaska Press Club and was a presenter at last year's Poynter Institute's National Writers Workshop.

First Place
JAMES HIBBERD
Phoenix New Times
"Phone Alone"
"I gave a lot of weight to creativity in my decisions, and to a writer's efforts to speak with an interesting voice. This writer got help from the quirkiness of the subject, but also had the sense to see its potential. The voice is assured and easy to read."

Second Place
DAVE WALKER
The Arizona Republic
"Dad teaches son the joy of sax"
"An excellent job of taking a familiar subject and delivering it creatively. No traveling, no research and very spare writing. Sometimes that's exactly what is called for. This was a brilliant idea. Even if it's not original with the writer (I haven't seen it before so it may well be), it is flawlessly executed."

Third Place
A.J. FLICK
Tucson Citizen
"Dream wrangling"
"This story does a good job of putting urban readers into an unfamiliar world. A strong first half. A strong first half. If I were editing this piece, I would have suggested fewer quotes and more observations by the writer.

Honorable Mention
MAUREEN WEST
The Arizona Republic
"A Silent struggle"

and

DONNA HOGAN
The Tribune
"Moms make it their business to balance family time, work." "Both these stories illuminate how modern moms raise children in difficult situations. I felt that both stories succeeded, but thought both needed to be written with a little more edge."