Judges

Shawn Badgley coordinated The Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest as Books editor from late 2002 through early 2007. This is his first novel.

Alex Smith is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and prize-winning author of short fiction. He, along with his twin brother, Andrew, co-wrote and co-directed the award-winning feature film The Slaughter Rule. He recently sold an hourlong crime drama to the F/X Network and has been hired to adapt the comic-book series Grendel to the big screen. Alex teaches screenwriting and directing at the University of Texas at Austin and is the creative director of the University of Texas Film Institute.

Christine Granados is a stay-at-home mother of two sons and a freelance journalist. Her collection of short stories, Brides and Sinners in El Chuco, was published by University of Arizona Press in 2006. She was a Spur Award Finalist for Best Short Fiction for the story "Inner View" in 2007 and was named one of the Top Ten "New" Latino Authors to Watch (and Read) by LatinoStories.com, 2007.

Amanda Eyre Ward's first published short story was "Miss Montana's Wedding Day," which won third prize in The Austin Chronicle Short Story contest in 1999. Her third novel, Forgive Me, has just been published by Random House.