APSE winner: Haven't I read this before?

Um ... does it seem like the APSE judges missed something?

Here is the APSE Features winner for 125K for 2008:
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-32606721_ITM


And here's the APSE Features winner for 125K for 2007:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2006/01/22/m1a_NEWREARDON_0122.html

Should we just write about Jeff Reardon this year, quote the previous year's winner, and go for a trifecta?

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

Were the judges supposed to scour the previous year's winners to make sure no subject material overlapped?

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

damn! wish i would have thought of that.

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

The only real new stuff is at the bottom. And its ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY! How do you not lead with that when you are just regurgitating a previous story?

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

This confirms it.

Awards are frauds.

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

Waylon:

Shouldn't consistency be important when a major organization is giving out awards, especially in such a subjective field? I think each year's judges should educate themselves on what type of stories have won in previous years, absolutely. Helps establish a precedent, instead of just having things dictated each year by whoever happens to show up to judge that particular time.

This type of thing lends ammo to those who scoff at the importance and diligence of the APSE awards and their judges.

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

But what does the Twin Cities market care if a Reardon story was already done in Palm Beach, Fla.?

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

That's fine for the local readers. But how can you reward that with an APSE?

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

Not that impressed with some of the winners. Won't nitpick, but if those are the best of the best no wonder the injury is dying. Good stories, not GREAT.

A Reardon wins consecutive years? Awards are frauds.

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

What's discouraging is these judges' lack of self-awareness. They're completely oblivious to the fact that they tend to award genres as much as stories these days. The Reardon type of story is very popular these days -- family hardship, blah, blah, blah. Here's another: The estranged/absent parent. Stories revolving around that won the feature award in the big paper category two years running -- for the same newspaper. More and more, stories about sports are becoming passe . . . to these APSE juries, anyway. It's all about Touchy and Feely.
Well, feel this.

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

As Hack said, that has nothing to do with the APSEs. Every newspaper can do a Reardon story if they so choose. Doesn't mean the same organization should reward the same exact subject matter in consecutive years.

 

Re: APSE winner: Havent' I read this before?

couldn't agree more

this is why i stopped entering several years ago

if you write the greatest story in the history of the universe, but it's not about somebody who overcame cancer, lost a limb or dealt with the death or imprisonment of a family member or friend, you have very little shot

it's tiresome, and it's the very thing we all try to avoid -- cliche

i used to live and die by awards. now i don't give a damn, and i'm a better sports writer because of it