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Winners Announced for Eighth Annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest

Carmine Dandrea is the winner of the eighth annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest sponsored by Tom Howard Books. This contest awarded $5,850 in cash prizes, including a top prize of $3,000, for the best original poems in any style or theme. Dandrea's poem "On the Silk Road", a narrative of an exotic pilgrimage through China, was judged the best of hundreds of entries from around the world. The top 11 winners and runners-up are published at

Northampton, MA (PRWEB) February 15, 2011 -

Tom Howard Books is pleased to announce the results from its eighth annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest. Carmine Dandrea of Pine City, New York won first prize and $3,000 for his poem . Hundreds of entries were received from around the world.

Dandrea's colorful narrative chronicles a journey on camelback through diverse regions of China where ancient ways of life persist, from the stark desert to the sensual overload of the bazaars and the tranquil splendor of Buddhist temples. The travelers return to their modern American lifestyle with a new awareness of the omnipresence of the sacred. Contest judges John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad said, "The setting is perfect, the language apt, the philosophy sharp... We readers travel every step of that Silk Road with Carmine because we not only see it so clearly through his eyes, but because he creates a journey so relevant to his own life--and our lives as well."

Second prize of $1,000 went to Berwyn Moore of Erie, Pennsylvania for , a feminist bestiary that is no less charming for the sharpness of its wit. The judges said, "The ancient poet, Semonides, viewed women as a plague created by the gods to disturb the mental tranquility of men. He caricatures women by dividing them into ten types--eight animals, plus mud and the sea. Only the industrious bee seems worthy of praise. Berwyn Moore not only strongly disagrees with this primitive analysis, but cleverly and ingeniously argues her contrary point of view."

Dorothy Anne Spruzen of McLean, Virginia won third prize and $400 for , a dialogue between scholarly speculations about the Egyptian Sphinx and the imagined thoughts of the famous statue itself. The judges said, "In Dorothy Anne Spruzen's most commendably imaginative approach, she expertly examines the Sphinx's legends and traditions from both thoroughly historical yet introspectively poetic viewpoints."

Laurence W. Thomas of Ypsilanti, Michigan won fourth prize and $250 for , a sestina that uses a phrase from Walt Whitman as both its title and the source of the teleutons, or ending-words, for each line. The judges said, "Although the writer's many forecasted concerns are familiarly matter-of-fact, he presents them all in an expressively poetic fashion, and even imaginatively resolves to regard winter not as autumn's rival but as a foil."

Eight Most Highly Commended Awards of $150 each went to Eileen Baland, John Barrale (two awards), Ellen Ficarra, Netta Gillespie, Carlos Andrés Gómez, Debra Gundy, and Lynn Veach Sadler. The winning entries are published online at

About Tom Howard Books and John H. Reid

The Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest accepts original poems of any length, style or theme. Both published and unpublished works are accepted. The current contest opened on December 15, 2010 and will be accepting entries through the postmark deadline of September 30, 2011. The prize pool is $5,550, with a top prize of $3,000. Entries are accepted online and by mail. For guidelines, please see

Contest sponsor and final judge John Howard Reid has himself won first prizes and other awards in prestigious literary events. A former journalist and magazine editor, he is the creator of Merryll Manning, the Miami-based police sergeant who made his debut in Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island. He has also published several historical novels, a collection of poetry, a guide to winning literary contests, and over fifty books of film criticism and movie history. He lives in Wyong, Australia. Mr. Reid is assisted in the judging by Dee C. Konrad. A leading educator and published author, Mrs. Konrad was Associate Professor in the English faculty of Barat College of DePaul University, and served as Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences for the year 2000-2001.

About Winning Writers, Inc.

Winning Writers assists Tom Howard Books with contest administration. We have been selected as one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" by Writer's Digest for six years in a row (2005-2010). Our online database, Poetry Contest Insider, includes complete guidelines and rankings for over 750 poetry contests, plus over 300 of the top fiction and essay contests. Our free email newsletter offers news about quality free contests and literary resources. It has over 35,000 subscribers.

Winning Writers was founded in 2001 by Jendi Reiter and Adam Cohen. Learn more at

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ADAM COHENWinning Writers413-320-1847Email Information

Craig leads S.C.-Upstate past Stetson 72-59

DELAND, Fla. – Torrey Craig scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to carry South Carolina-Upstate past Stetson 72-59 on Friday night.

The win, which avenged last month's 74-71 loss to the Hatters in Spartanburg, S.C., was the second straight for the Spartans (4-19, 3-10 Atlantic Sun Conference) after 13 losses in a row.

Stetson (6-18, 4-9), led by Corey Walden's 13 points and game-high nine assists, has now dropped seven consecutive games.

Craig, notching his 14th straight game in double figures and his sixth 20-point performance of the season, was 6 of 12 from 3-point range. He also contributed four assists, two blocked shots and two steals.

Mezie Uzochukwu added 13 points, Josh Chavis 12 and Tony Dukes 11 for USC Upstate.

For Stetson, Luis Jacobo added 12 points and Ridge Graham 10.

The Spartans trailed only once — for 31 seconds — early in the game.

Pakistan says law must take its course in U.S. diplomat case

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan on Saturday said its legal process should be respected after the U.S. embassy called for the immediate release of an American diplomat who was arrested after he killed two Pakistanis this week.

The American, identified by Pakistani police as Raymond Davis, told a court on Friday he had acted in self-defense after fleeing what he said was a robbery attempt in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday.

Davis has been remanded in police custody for six days for questioning.

"This matter is sub judice in a court of law and the legal process should be respected," a Pakistani foreign office spokesman said in a statement.

The U.S. embassy said in a statement on Friday only that a staff member of the U.S. Consulate General in Lahore was involved in an incident involving "loss of life."

In a statement on Saturday, the embassy identified him as a U.S. diplomat who it said had been unlawfully detained by authorities in Lahore, where the shooting took place.

It said the diplomat acted in self-defense when confronted by two armed men and had every reason to believe they meant to harm him, and said arresting the diplomat was a violation of international norms and the Vienna Convention.

In his initial statement, Davis told police that he was chased by the two men soon after he withdrew money from a cash machine. The men approached him when he pulled over at a traffic signal and they pointed a gun at him.

Davis then fired at the men, a police official said. Armed robberies and carjackings are becoming more common in Pakistan, but Westerners are rarely targeted.

The killings are likely to fuel anger against the United States in the mainly Muslim nation where anti-American sentiment runs high and anger at the U.S.-allied government is also growing due to its perceived ineptitude.

(Reporting by Augustine Anthony, Editing by Michael Georgy and Sonya Hepinstall)

ICC leader: Kenya will face hurdles to defer cases

NAIROBI, Kenya – The leader of the International Criminal Court's member states says Kenya's quest to defer cases against six prominent citizens in connection with the country's postelection violence will run into political and legal hurdles.

Liechtenstein diplomat Christian Wenaweser says only the U.N. Security Council can request a deferral for a case but any of the council's permanent members can veto a resolution on the issue.

Wenaweser said Friday a better route for Kenya would be to argue to the court that it is capable of handling postelection violence cases. The ICC prosecutor wants the court to charge the six Kenyans with crimes against humanity including murder, rape and torture for violence that killed more than 1,000 people after the December 2007 election.

Since mid-January some Kenyan officials have been lobbying African nations to support a deferral of the cases.

St. Francis (N.Y.) edges Monmouth (N.J.) 62-61

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Justin Newton hit a free throw with 1.2 seconds left to give St. Francis (N.Y.) a 62-61 victory over Monmouth (N.J.) on Thursday night.

Newton hit the first of his two free-throw attempts for his only point of the game after being fouled while going for a rebound on teammate Ricky Cadell's missed 3-point attempt. St. Francis (9-11, 4-5 Northeast Conference) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Cadell hit a 3-pointer to give the Terriers a 61-59 advantage with 57 seconds left, but the Hawks (6-15, 2-7) evened the score at 61-61 with 16 seconds left as Marcus Ware scored after Jesse Steele grabbed an offensive rebound.

Ricky Cadell led the Terriers, who had only eight turnovers, with 20 points and Travis Nichols had 16 points.

Ware had 18 points and Steele and Phil Wait had 10 each for Monmouth, which was trying to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.