Paste launched a summer-themed writing contest this month in partnership with Biographile’s “That Summer” series. We asked you to think back on a summer that was pivotal in your life, one that remains memorable for being transformative in some way, big or small.
Little did we know, we’d receive hundreds of entries from across the globe. We were awed as we read about a man who had run away to join a fair as a mere teenager. We cheered as a young woman unabashedly described breaking up with an unfaithful boyfriend. And we mourned as dozens of you bared your souls in remembering the heartache of losing loved ones. We were truly honored to read your stories, and we thank you for sharing your memories with us.
When it came time for Paste and Biographile to choose a winner, it was no easy feat. But one woman’s entry about her father’s passing wowed us, and so it is with great pleasure that we announce the winner of the writing contest is Dina Honour for “An Otherwise Ordinary Day”!
Honour is an American writer living abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. She holds a degree in creative writing from Hunter College, CUNY and recently had a short story selected for publication in Precipice, Volume III. In addition to raising two young sons while navigating the rapids of middle-age-dom in a foreign country, she’s also working on her first novel.
You can find Honour at www.wineandcheesedoodles.com, @DinaHonour Twitter or at Wine and Cheese (Doodles) on Facebook in the meantime.
In addition to Honour’s piece, another entry chronicling a terrifying (and hilarious) cliff diving escapade enthralled us as well. So it is also with great pleasure that we give an Honorable Mention to Nicholas DeLorenzo for “The Leap”!
Nicholas DeLorenzo is an Associate NCAA Editor for The Sports Network and a contributing TV writer for ScreenInvasion.com. He has a Bachelor’s degree in English from Temple University and lives in Philadelphia. Additional works can be found on his personal blog, nickdelo.tumblr.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @nick_delorenzo.
Thank you for your stories, and click here to read Honour’s winning entry!