AWARDS
Save the Date
The Annual Awards Banquet will be Thursday, May 6, 2010.
This year's Mark Twain Award will be presented to Pulitzer prize winning playwright Donald Margulies
CPC Annual Awards Contest
Each spring an Awards Banquet is held to honor the winners of the CPC Annual Awards Contest. The contest is open to anyone, members and non-members alike. However, CPC award winners must be both CPC members and National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) members in order for their entries to be submitted into the national contest. Membership is open to both men and women.
Contest Rules 2010
For contest 2010 rules, click here.
For contest 2010 application, click here.
| Mark Twain Award for Distinctive Author | Wally Lamb |
| Fiction book (1st place) | Deadliest Strain by Jan Coffey |
| Coffey's book was thrilling and exciting. | |
| Fiction book (2nd place) | Belly of the Whale by Linda Merlino |
| Non fiction book | All the Presidents' Spokesmen by Woody Klein |
| Klein, press secretary to New York City Mayor John Lindsay in the mid-1960s, gives a sure-footed analysis of 24 presidential spokesmen from FDR's Stephen Early to Bush 43's Dana Perino. Rather than writing a dry chronological narrative, he addresses his material thematically -- "Hot War," "Cold War," "Presidential Scandals," "Domestic Crises." Klein ably deconstructs spin, examining how spokesmen over the generations have coped with ethical dilemmas in their office. | |
| YA book (1st place) | Jump the Cracks by Stacy DeKeyser |
| DeKeyser gives the reader a look at how an adolescent might feel and react in what could be a plausible situation. She has a good hold on a 15 year old's angry adolescent thinking as well as a 2 year old's behavior. | |
| YA book (2nd place) | Comes A Little Light by Darice Bailer and Rosemarie Molsen |
| Children's book | The Winter Lodge by Gwen North Reiss |
| The work done in rhyme gives a feeling of summer camp and what it must be like when no one is there but mice who have just as much fun, it would seem, as people do. | |
| Poetry | Lion's Tooth by Connie Magnan-Albrizio |
| Column (1st place) | My Fellow Americans by Judith Marks-White |
| The nomination of Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain's running mate was fodder for columns and talk show hosts around the country. In this column, Ms. Marks-White echoed the sentiments felt by many Americans and did so with her trademark light touch. | |
| Column (2nd place) | "When Obama's Right, Give Him Due Credit" by Theresa Vara |
| Column (Honorable Mention) | "Pardon Me If I Don't Shake Your Hand & Please Pass the Purell" by Ann DeMatteo |
| Creative writing | When Janice Bailey Walked by Tessa Smith McGovern |
| We meet Janice Bailey as she is being released from prison and so terrified of the real world that she wants to return to life behind bars. Her crime? Manslaughter in self-defense. Ms. McGovern's tightly written prose and fine sense of pace allows the story to build gently to a happy conclusion. | |
| Blog | Heather Kovar |
| Much of the success of Ms. Kovar's blog is due to the many links she provides to other sites that are related to her news segments. | |
| Web copy | "Social Media Emerging as Customer Engagement Channel" by Dave Pelland |
| This straightforward business piece explains why social networking sites are a more effective means of reaching customers than call-in centers or traditional web sites. Mr. Pelland writes in plain English, not just for "suits." | |
| PR campaign | Nancy Helle |
| A comprehensive and strategic public relations campaign. | |
| Feature (1st place) | "Secret Shame" by Margaret Farley Steele |
| "Secret Shame" started with a great lead that grabbed the attention and got to the heart of dating violence among teenagers. Well-written and researched piece on an important topic. | |
| Feature (2nd place) | "Food Fight" by Leslie Chess Feller |
| Feature (Honorable Mention) | "Rail Riders" by Nick Wedge |
| Feature Video (1st place) | "My Name is Mimi" by Andrea Vavasour, Matt Cyr and Debra Alfarone |
| The narrative arc was perfect, great beginning, middle and end. The commentary was lean and well-paced, creating a compelling story. The topic was moving and the message worthwhile. | |
| Feature Video (2nd place) | "Out of Darkness" by Andrea Vavasour, Matt Cyr and Chris Wood |
| Feature Video (Honorable Mention) | "Bodie's Place" by Kristi Faccenda and Mark Sogofsky |
| TV News | Old Man Marathon by Shawna Ryan and Jim Mennino |
| Well documented, action packed, informative, leaves viewer with an upbeat feeling. | |
| On the Scene | No Fire Hydrant by Joe Connors |
| First rate, first hand reporrting, fire images graphic, brings disaster alive. | |
| Investigative | Justice for Jessica by Melissa Taberna |
| Well documented, images good, topic inviting, well thought out. | |
| Sports | Gracie by Robert Cook and Fred Gerteiny |
| Moving story, proves a good point, video action excellent. | |
| Prepared Special | What's Bugging You by Heather Kovar and Lori Golias |
| Enterprising reporting, excellent camera work, articulate, clear script writing. Real public service. | |
2008 Winners
| Best Publication | Geoffrey Morris, Ridgefield Magazine |
| Best Feature | Jamie Marshall |
| Best Creative Writing | Theresa Vara |
| Best Column | Theresa Vara |
| Best Children's Book | Marianne Prokop |
| Best Adult Fiction | Amy Bloom |
| Best Adult Non-Fiction | Edward Alwood |
| Best Audio-Visual | Weston Woods |
| Best Prepared Sports | David Springer, Mark Sogofsksy, News 12 |
| Best on the Scene Coverage | Debra Alfarone, Joe Connors, Matthew Cyr, News 12 |
| Best Prepared Feature | David Springer, Christopher Wood, News 12 |
| Best Investigative Report | Dave Grunebaum, Frank Bruce, News 12 |
| Best Creative Report | David Springer, News 12 |
| Best Blog | Heather Kovar, News 12 |
List of Past Winners
For award certificate sample, click here.
Mark Twain Journalist of the Year Award
Given each year by the Connecticut Press Club to a candidate who has made a notable journalistic or literary contribution to Connecticut. The candidate may or may not be a member of the CPC.
List of Winners- 2009 Wally Lamb
- 2008 Faith Middleton
- 2007 Hugh Mulligan
- 2006 Robert E. Button
- 2004 Morton Schindel
- 2003 Andree Aelion Brooks
- 2002 Diane Smith
- 2001 Lawrence Fellows (Post-humously)
For Mark Twain award criteria, click here.
For background details about Mark Twain past winners, click here.
Wally Lamb's novels She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True were both featured selections of Oprah's Book Club and climbed The New York Times best seller lists. She's Come Undone was a 1992 "Top Ten" Book of the Year selection in People Weekly. Lamb's latest novel, The Hour I First Believed, explores the lives of a fictional Connecticut family interfaced with nonfiction events such as the Civil War and Columbine High School shootings in 1999.
A native of Connecticut, Lamb lives in Storrs, where he taught writing at the University of Connecticut. He earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in teaching from UConn and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Vermont College. He began writing fiction in 1981 while teaching high school English at his alma mater, The Norwich Free Academy. Lamb also edited the nonfiction anthologies Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters and I'll Fly Away.
Background on 2008 winner Faith Middleton.WNPR interviewer Faith Middleton is one of only two dozen interviewers in the world who have ever received the The George Foster Peabody Award ("Pulitzer" of national broadcast journalism) twice. She joins the ranks of Ted Koppel, Walter Cronkite, Charles Kuralt, Diane Sawyer, Robert MacNeil, Jim Lehrer, Scott Simon, and Susan Stamberg. Faith has interviewed more than 7,000 people and is the author of The Goodness of Ordinary People (Crown, now in its third printing). She is a contributor to CPTV and to National Public Radio's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. She has guest hosted Fresh Air With Terry Gross, and her print stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post, The Hartford Courant, and a variety of national magazines. In addition, she has taught The Art of the Interview at Yale University, where she is an associate fellow.
