Congratulations to Echo Guernsey! Echo was recognized at the Library Shop SD’s fifth annual Shorties Awards Gala for her winning story:
‘EARTH — Mother. Born 4.543 billion years ago in Cosmos, Darkness. Beloved daughter of gravity and swirling dust and gas. Loyal mother to all life. Funeral services TBD, weather permitting. In lieu of flowers, Earth’s final wish was for peace upon her.’
San Diego’s shortest and quirkiest awards ceremony, emceed by Library Shop SD Manager Scott Ehrig-Burgess, included a spirited reading of this year’s 10 finalists by Write Out Loud SD and an artistic interpretation of last year’s winning story by Ramel J. Wallace and RIC SCALES. Congratulations to our nine finalists: Janet Travers, Barry Sackin, Shana Edwards, Lori Glasgow, Fayli Mikichi, Jodi Bratch, Gretchen Griswold, Crystal Gomez, and Colin Colter.
The show was streamed live from the Neil Morgan Auditorium inside the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common on the Library Foundation SD’s YouTube channel.
The Shop received over 500 entries this year, and thanks to Library Foundation SD Trustee Judith Wenker’s triple-matching donations, the contest raised more than $5,000 for the Library Foundation to help support the San Diego Public Library system.
Stop by Library Shop SD to grab your copy of this year’s winning limited-edition Matchbook Story in late January. The Library Shop SD is located in the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Irwin Jacobs Common and is owned and operated by Library Foundation SD. All proceeds support the San Diego Public Library System.
About the Matchbook Story Contest:
The Library Shop’s annual Matchbook Story Contest started as an oddball challenge to fit a short story inside a book of matches and has grown into one of the Library Shop’s most popular programs and library patrons and Shop customers have collected each year’s limited-edition matchbook. Every year, the winner receives a $50 Library Shop gift card, and their story is printed on 2,000 matchbooks available for purchase at the Library Shop, published in the Library Connections e‑newsletter, and installed as part of the Tiny Book Display in the Hervey Family Rare Book Room at the San Diego Central Library.
