Polyglot was chosen by renowned southern author, Janice Daugharty. “In contests of this caliber, finally, a judge must pick a winner by that single story experienced on an almost subconcious level. On a concious level, the writing seems effortless but only the perfect word would do; the sensory detail draws the reader in and holds him or her there, spellbound, till the last line. Weather, as sensory detail for this judge, was a deciding factor. I could feel and smell the cold in Polygot, by Wendy Marcus. Her snowstorm is so real that I felt caught out in it with her pregnant English teacher. Marcus is a natural with dialogue, too. Her dialogue always does more than only one thing--it furthers the plot while informing

A former reporter with the Seattle Times, Vancouver Columbian, and University of Washington Daily, Wendy Marcus co-founded, with Rabbi James Mirel, the Northwest’s first Klezmer band—the beloved Mazeltones—in 1983. After a grand run of 16 years, the band gracefully gave way to numerous up-and-coming Klezmer ensembles and Marcus went on to build the music program at Temple Beth Am in Seattle’s North End, where she serves as Music Director and editor of Drash: Northwest Mosaic, a literary journal.