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The Preposterously Magnificent Sole Survivor Is…

May 24, 2008 by Nathan Bransford 57 Comments

JEFF PROBST: 5 days, nearly 600 entries, over 250 votes… who will be named the preposterously magnificent sole survivor?

I’ll go tally the votes.

First vote… Victoria Schwab. That’s one vote Victoria Schwab.

Second vote… emeraldcite. That’s one vote Victoria Schwab, one vote emeraldcite.

Third vote…. ah, let’s go to the winner, shall we?

The winner, and sole survivor of the Preposterously Magnificent Dialogue Challenge is…

The tribe has spoken.

CONGRATULATIONS TO POLENTH!!

Nominees and sole survivor, please e-mail me after June 3rd regarding your prize. The blog will be on vacation next week, but will return on or about June 3rd.

Thanks again to everyone who entered the challenge, this was a ton of fun, and for the new people stopping by, please stick around!

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: contests

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Adaora A. says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:19 am

    That’s completely brilliant. Maybe for the next contest you’ll send a bottle of the winner’s favorite wine and a agent contract?

    I’m Gonna be suffering from huge withdrawal to see no posts here next week but I’ll manage – coffee, sweets, and all that). Have a great vacation!

    Reply
  2. dramabird says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:22 am

    Congratulations to Polenth. Doughnuts all around!

    Congratulations also to Nathan, not just for surviving another contest, but for being named one of Writer’s Digest’s best 101 writing sites of 2008.

    No wonder we all keep coming back for more!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:26 am

    Congratulations to Polenth!

    (Now, to ponder where and what our Nathan does on his time off????
    or
    Who was that masked man?)

    Reply
  4. Gail Goetz says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:48 am

    Polenth…lot of people you beat out for the top prize. Congratulations!

    Reply
  5. Kiersten says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:59 am

    Oh man, do you ever deserve a vacation!

    Thanks for the fun and entertainment, and enjoy your break.

    Reply
  6. Michele says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:59 am

    Polenth, your dialog was fabulous! Congratulations..I’m heading to Krispy Kreme right now in your honor!

    Reply
  7. Polenth says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:09 am

    Yay, the tribe isn’t going to eat me today! Or whatever it is survivors get on that show.

    Anyway, thanks for voting for me! I lack doughnuts to celebrate with, but I’ll try and correct that tomorrow.

    Thanks for running the contest Nathan and enjoy your holiday.

    Reply
  8. emeraldcite says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:09 am

    Congrats, Polenth!

    Thanks to Nathan for a great contest. I was really proud (not to mention absolutely surprised) to be a finalist.

    Great dialogue was posted by all.

    To everyone who voted for my entry: thanks for the confidence boost. We all need a little of that sometimes.

    I had a blast paring my entry down to the nitty gritty. It was tough to kill the darlings, but in the end, the slimmer dialogue was pretty smooth.

    Reply
  9. Victoria Schwab says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:19 am

    Thank you so much, Nathan, for holding this contest, and thank you to EVERYONE who voted.

    I truly enjoyed being a part of this competition.

    Have a wonderful, and very deserved, vacation.

    Reply
  10. Mary says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:24 am

    Congrats to Polenth and all the finalists!

    Nathan, enjoy your well-deserved blogation.

    Reply
  11. Betty Atkins Dominguez says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:29 am

    Congratulations Polenth

    Reply
  12. Other Lisa says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:47 am

    COngratulations, Polenth! (I voted for you too!)

    Reply
  13. Lisa Molson says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:47 am

    Oops, I meant “Nathan” Sorry! Don’t know why I called you “Nate”

    Reply
  14. Caryn says

    May 24, 2008 at 2:01 am

    Congratulations to all of the finalists! And have a good vacation, Nathan.

    Reply
  15. Dave F. says

    May 24, 2008 at 2:28 am

    Congratulations and thanks for the contest.

    You have my permission to stuff yourself with barbecued beast on memorial day.

    Reply
  16. Phoenix says

    May 24, 2008 at 2:30 am

    Congrats Polenth, finalists and all who entered! And big congrats to Nathan for hosting and surviving (now go tan yourself)!

    Reply
  17. Serenissima says

    May 24, 2008 at 3:55 am

    Well done, Polenth!

    Congrats to all the finalists and a huge thanks to Nathan!

    Reply
  18. sarah says

    May 24, 2008 at 5:01 am

    Thanks again Nathan! That was a real hoot.

    Wish you oodles of fun during your time off. We’ll be waiting for you :-)))

    p.s. vhonkpcp–that sounds like vacation fun, doesn’t it?

    Reply
  19. sarah says

    May 24, 2008 at 5:02 am

    oh, and congrats to the finalists and Polenth!!!

    (I voted for you too :-))

    Reply
  20. Luc2 says

    May 24, 2008 at 5:13 am

    LOL, love the pic.

    Thanks Nathan, and congrats to Polenth. Great bit of dialogue!

    Reply
  21. Tracey S. Rosenberg says

    May 24, 2008 at 6:28 am

    Congratulations, Polenth!

    Thank you, Mr. Bransford!

    The whole ‘following the rules’ issue made me think quite a lot about professionalism in writing – specifically, querying to agents – and I wrote a long entry about it. If anyone wants to continue that discussion, especially in the wake of Nathan-withdrawal, I heartily welcome them round to my blog.

    Reply
  22. Jessica says

    May 24, 2008 at 7:08 am

    Enjoy your holiday!

    Reply
  23. mkcbunny says

    May 24, 2008 at 7:10 am

    Congratulations to all of the finalists for making a tough cut in a public contest.

    Congrats to the winner, Polenth. I am pleased.

    And thanks to Nathan for embarking on yet another seemingly crazy contest adventure. You are both revered and insane.

    Reply
  24. mkcbunny says

    May 24, 2008 at 7:13 am

    “insane”

    I mean that in a good way. …

    Reply
  25. Leis says

    May 24, 2008 at 9:04 am

    Well deserved, Polenth, Congratulations!

    Nathan, I believe you have the respect and admiration of the entire community for your generosity and the rare quality of approachability. Thank you for a great contest!

    Reply
  26. Conduit says

    May 24, 2008 at 9:36 am

    Congratulations to Polenth! 🙂

    Reply
  27. Bartholomew von Klick says

    May 24, 2008 at 11:15 am

    Hey, no fair. You can’t go on a blogging vacation. I just now found you…!

    Reply
  28. JES says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    Congratulations, Polenth! I really liked your dialogue (wish I myself had been smart enough to do the “flash fiction” thing :).

    And congratulations, Nathan, on the well-earned vacation. In light of the last 48 hours or so, it’s kinda surprising you’re not going to be gone until July!

    (Thanks for what you do with this blog.)

    Reply
  29. cc says

    May 24, 2008 at 12:21 pm

    Three cheers for Polenth!!

    Thanks Nathan, for doing this. I learn a ton every time. Enjoy your vacation!

    Reply
  30. Sam Hranac says

    May 24, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Nicely done, all! Congrats Polenth.

    Thanks Nathan.

    Reply
  31. Just_Me says

    May 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    Hooray for Polenth!

    (hands Nathan something stiff for reading that much)

    No wonder you’re taking a vacation! Enjoy!

    Reply
  32. Maripat says

    May 24, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Congrats, Polenth!

    Donuts and drills all around.

    Nathan, I’m in awe how cool you kept things. Man, if anyone needs a vacation it’s you. Have a good one!

    Reply
  33. Michelle Moran says

    May 24, 2008 at 4:40 pm

    Great contest, Nathan!

    Reply
  34. Melanie Avila says

    May 24, 2008 at 4:41 pm

    Congratulations Polenth!

    Nathan, enjoy your holiday.

    Reply
  35. Chumplet says

    May 24, 2008 at 9:41 pm

    Yay, Polenth! One of our AW peeps!

    Reply
  36. ORION says

    May 24, 2008 at 11:08 pm

    I toss a virtual lei your way Polenth!

    Reply
  37. V L Smith says

    May 24, 2008 at 11:26 pm

    A round of applause for Polenth!

    Reply
  38. Katzie says

    May 25, 2008 at 12:20 am

    Congrats Polenth!

    🙁 I was going to vote for you but missed the deadline…sorry! I’m glad you won! ^_^

    Reply
  39. nymeria87 says

    May 25, 2008 at 1:07 am

    Whoohoo, congratz 😀

    And Nathan, I think everyone agrees that you’ve earned yourself a week of blog-vacation.

    Thanks a lot for hosting the contest again, it was great and interesting fun 😀

    Reply
  40. austexgrl says

    May 25, 2008 at 4:23 am

    Nathan???? Puleezeee? !! I think I am subscribing to the wring blog. Sorry!

    Reply
  41. Will Entrekin says

    May 25, 2008 at 8:28 pm

    Congrats to the winner, and have a great break, Nathan.

    Reply
  42. gem says

    May 25, 2008 at 9:37 pm

    Oh, dag nab it. I missed the deadline. Congratulations to the winner. I would have entered this excerpt from my most recent novel, THE SHAKER PROPOSAL (I won’t miss the next one):

    Goody clapped his hands. “It’s a fairy tale starring Princess Grace and Prince Truesdale. But how was he as a lover? If he was really good, maybe I won’t write off older men.”

    “Gentle, attentive. He knew how to please. He wants to marry my inner thighs.”

    “Oh, Goldilocks, who to choose? True or Addison? Papa Bear or Baby Bear?”

    I stared at the ice in my glass, trying to divine the answer among the cubes. “It’s whom to choose.”

    “Okay, Grammar Nazi. Whom to choose. Did you take that Superhero dating quiz?”

    “I should date Iron Man. Apparently I want a man who––”

    ”Works hard, plays hard, and gets what he wants! He’s my perfect match, too.” Goody interrupted. “So, here’s how you choose: Who’s most like Iron Man, if True was on Viagra?”

    “I don’t know either of them well enough to answer that.”

    “So ask them other questions and compare their answers.”

    “Like the Superhero Dating Quiz questions? So, Addison, do you like heights or flying? Are you wealthy? Do you like women who are more powerful than you? How about you, True? Should women be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Boxers or briefs? On second thought, I already know the answer to that question.”

    “Details, chiquita!”

    “Look, I don’t want to date Iron Man. I have no desire to huddle under the covers with a playboy in an iron suit.”

    “Why the hell not?” Goody asked. “Sounds fabulous to me.”

    Reply
  43. Arachne Jericho says

    May 26, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    Polenth, congratulations, and many hugs!

    And I know that mushroom anywhere. Another one for the AW forums!

    Reply
  44. Wanda B. Ontheshelves says

    May 27, 2008 at 2:25 am

    Congratulations to Polenth, best wishes for your grand prize feedback!

    On a related note:

    Curtis Brown agent auctions off a critique:

    https://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/
    Bidding.taf?_function=
    detail&Auction_uid1=965135&_
    UserReference=
    D1D0772146B513C1F99BD0E8ABA2483B6F77

    Donald Maas is listed, and other agents – maybe next year Nathan Bransford will auction off a critique/partial read etc?

    Just some Memorial Day fun

    Wanda B.

    Reply
  45. Eric says

    May 27, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    Well done, Polenth.

    Congrats to the finalists as well. And, of course, thanks to our host Nathan for another great contest.

    Reply
  46. Julie Weathers says

    May 28, 2008 at 11:31 am

    Congratulations. That was a lot of competition, so savor the very deserved victory.

    Reply
  47. Kim Stagliano says

    May 28, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Congrats! What’s this about donuts? May I have one please?
    (PS) I was at an autism conference in Chicago and met a woman who is a writer and her agency is Curtis Brown! Not Nathan though. Small world!

    Reply
  48. cindy says

    May 28, 2008 at 10:00 pm

    oh noes, the dialogue contest put nathan into a deep coma. =(

    Reply
  49. Kristin says

    May 30, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Wonderful job, all finalists, and a particular congratulations to Polenth! Thanks so much for creating, hosting, and judging another great contest, Nathan, and congrats on your best site award. Looking forward to that award winner returning next week.

    Reply
  50. Sam Hranac says

    May 30, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    Gasp… pant… can’t… last… must… get… Nathan fix…

    Reply
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