For awhile now, we have known about the Peauxdunque performance in the 2011 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Writing Competition, held in conjunction with the annual Words and Music Conference, but now the Words and Music folks have updated their website with the official announcement of winners and finalists.

Of course, at the top of the Peauxdunque heap is Terri Stoor, who won the gold medal in the short story category for her story “Bellyful of Sparrow.” Judging the short story category was Harper Collins editor Michael Signorelli, who said of Terri’s story:

“A Bellyful of Sparrow” balances the horror of life with the humor. The mute, immobile, terminally ill narrator wryly observes the life around him, while also inspiring unexpected attention from friends and family. But what could be a dirge is instead quietly mirthful. The story upends expectation and strikes for the elusive territory between bemusement and solemnity. And carried by the strength of its naturally engaging prose-voice, it succeeds.

Terri was also named second runner-up in the essay category of the competition for essay “Bird Dog.” Joining her in placing as finalists in the competition, Maurice Carlos Ruffin was a finalist in the short story category for his “Ten Stories”; J.Ed. Marston was a finalist in the poetry category for his “Voyage of the Limit Perfected Fish”; and Tad Bartlett was a finalist in the poetry category for his “new century/old century: three acts.”

Terri with her gold medal, with Jeff Kleinman, agent and founding partner of Folio Literary Management

Other placings in the competition by Peauxdunqians include: Sabrina Canfield on the short list for finalists in the novel-in-progress for “To the Place Where They Go”; Sabrina was also on the short list for finalists in the essay category for “Spring Sparks Sure Shot”; Tad and J.Ed. cowrote a manuscript on the long list for finalists in the novel category, “Kites, Quite Tall”; Sabrina also had a manuscript on the long list for finalists in the novel category, “Birds of Paradise”; J.Ed. made the semi-finalist list in the short story category with “No Accidental Fall”; and Tad joined J.Ed. on the short story semi-finalist list with “The Non-Artists.”