2002 GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

Catch the Devil -- Martin Blinder: San Anselmo, CA

During the American civil war three union soldiers, each with his own hidden agenda, sneak into the heart of the confederacy to make off with the south’s most dangerous weapon – a formidable locomotive decimating union troops. Creating havoc as they go, the soldiers race against time back to the union lines, hotly pursued by the confederate army and the inventor of the stolen locomotive.

Contact: Tracy Washington, Phone: 323-654-4084

1st Place: Black Diamond  -- Karen Marie Howland: Eugene, OR

In 1880, hundreds of ex-slaves leave the South to work in Iowa's coal mines. One man burning with distrust seeks a better life for his family and discovers deep in the mines that all men are black and that he is not alone.

Contact: Karen Howland, email

2nd Place: Joyful Noise  -- Tim Slover: Provo, UT

George Frederick Handel, sunk into despair and on the verge of abandoning his art, suddenly finds the inspiration to write the world’s most famous oratorio: Messiah. But the turmoil of getting the new work premiered in London, amidst charges of blasphemy, threatens to engulf both Handel and a young soprano struggling to recover from one of the most sensational sex scandals of Eighteenth Century England.

Contact: Tim Slover, email

3rd Place: By Any Other Name -- Marion Buckley: Chicago, IL

An opportunistic glove maker is plucked from obscurity by a nobleman who needs a front for his plays. The true author squanders his fortune and reputation, ending his days impoverished and ostracized, while the glover becomes known as William Shakespeare.

Contact: Marion Buckley, email

4th Place: On the Outside -- Peter E. Smith: Chicago, IL

New parolee Rich Mason risks a permanent return to jail when he discovers his ex-wife and young child gone with no forwarding address. Conflicted by his profound desire to find them and be a meaningful part of his child's life, and the equally powerful resolve to stay on the straight and narrow, Rich soon finds out it is nearly impossible to achieve both.

Contact: Peter E. Smith, email

5th Place: Nine Lives and Counting -- Paolina Milana: Tustin, CA

A superstitious, cantankerous Sicilian widow is afraid to take a bite out of life while her daughter is waiting for life to begin. When a tiny black cat enters their lives, it sets in motion a series of events that end up teaching an entire community about luck, love and living.

Contact: Paolina Milana, email