Comments on: HarperStudio Reveals The “Next Mark Twain”

By: Stephen Frater

Stephen Frater — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:58:59 +0000

To Sarah Burningham, Harper Studio

With all due respect to the judges and Twain experts, but that unfinished story was a dog's breakfast. Trying to write a compelling narrative from the rambling, dis-jointed elements Twain left behind was a quite a mountain to climb. No wonder he did not finish it, he had no where to go with it and left the reader in a puff of fluff.
I don't mind rejection, it's writer's territory, but the level of detail and plotting required to tie the jumble of loose ends into a compelling and in my opinion, readable short story, was in the end a fruitless exercise. The climb was not worth the view. A pithy Twain-esque ending, leaving the reader nowhere but in a puff of Virginia-tinged brimstone smoke is a 19th century parlor trick and is not, in my experience, a hallmark of Twain's style and dedication to his reader's loyalty to his writing. I think those of us who slogged through "A Conversation with Satan," and then dedicated weeks to creating an informative and readable story deserved more. As it stands, the story is unreadable and all my fellow writers who read it suffer from glassy-eyed syndrome. I would love to see how the reading public ranked the entries.

Thanks for your best wishes for my writing luck. Since June, I have been signed by a major NYC literary agent and am working on my first book with five completed chapters in the bag. We have had an offer from a respected university publisher, but hope to do better and passed on the offer.
Thanks for your input and best regards. Stephen Frater

By: Donald Paul Benjamin

Donald Paul Benjamin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:48:08 +0000

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” So…as one of the writing contest’s disgruntled also-rans I stand corrected in my supposition that Mr. Clemen’s never used the contraction “it’s” for “it is.” But let me hasten to lend my congratulations to Mr. Bagby. I am not sorry he won, just sorry I lost. Or possibly just sorry. Thanks to other commentors who advised me not to be discouraged by accidents of fate or whims of judges; and to others who indicated they too were not selected, you have my sympathy. By the way, I’ll (I will) be glad to share my non-winning entry with anyone who cares to view it. It is (it’s) available in a series of sixty-seven carefully crafted sentences each secreted inside a Chinese fortune cookie. Start your collection today! I realize this could create confusion if the reader does not obtain the sentences in order, however I have taken the precaution of numbering each sentence: therefore the task of re-assembling the entire piece should pose little challenge. I recommend dining with friends to increase the number of fortunes available at the close of each meal. In closing this sad chapter in my literary life, let me say best of luck to all entries–sucessful and not–and hats off to HarperStudio (Harper’Studio?) for creating the stimulating writing contest in the first place. And let us (let’s) not forget the publication that started it all: “Who Is Mark Twain?” soon to be available in fine stores everywhere and as an abridged version in Readers’ Digest under the alternate title “Who’s Mark Twain?”. I read a preview of the new collection in the New Yorker magazine and I highly recommend this never before published collection of some of Clemens’ “lost” works and I sincerely look forward to someday reading a retrospective of Mr. Bagby’s mislaid prose.

By: Christine Cwynar

Christine Cwynar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:49:09 +0000

Congratulations to Mark Bagby! I enjoyed reading his ending and look forward to watching the performance online. I was impressed with all the clever and well-written endings and am thrilled to have made the top 25. A special thanks to HarperStudio, Borders, and the judges for sponsoring this unique contest.

By: Candace Coulombe

Candace Coulombe — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:37:05 +0000

Congratulations to Mr. Bagby, but I must concur with Mr. Benjamin. I was so suprised that my entry didn’t make it to the finals, that I emailed Twainia to see if it was actually received. (It was not.) Perhaps other writers’ works were not successfully uploaded either. I would love to see the entries from the other finalists if they are willing to share.

By: Michele Bresso

Michele Bresso — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:13:25 +0000

Congratulations to Mark Bagby for his obviously superior work. Given the picture and the short bio, Mr. Bagby not only writes Twain, he LIVES Twain. I feel like a lucky winner myself. Since I live near Bakersfield, CA I have every intention of attending Mr. Bagby’s reading to hear (and I hope) see The Great Mark Twain come alive! Again, kudos to you, Mark Bagby! What a sweet victory!

By: Jane Blankenship

Jane Blankenship — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:51:11 +0000

Congratulations to Mr. Bagby though my main point is addressed to fellow writers like Donald: Writing contest winners don’t necessarily indicate writing talent, especially if the judges are looking for a certain something that will appeal to corporate sponsors and the purchasing public. This may or may not be true in this instance. Given Twain’s stubborn stance against all things contrived or artificial, keep writing, Donald, staying true to your unique writer’s voice. As the saying goes, better to be an imperfect original than a perfect imitation of someone else’s voice–even a master like Twain!

By: Gerardine Baugh

Gerardine Baugh — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Congratulations Mark Bagby!
I tip my hat, and raise my glass. You are victorious.

By: Rocky Torres

Rocky Torres — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:20:52 +0000

Congratulations to Mark! It was a fun contest to take part in — would be great to read more entries in order to see the wide reach and inspiration Mr. Twain had on participants.

By: Mark Bagby

Mark Bagby — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:53:12 +0000

Just for the record, as to the use of the contraction ‘it’s':

“I have been on the verge of being an angel all my life, but it’s never happened yet.” — Mark Twain’s Autobiography

By: Sarah Burningham

Sarah Burningham — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:39:00 +0000

As the person who collected all the pieces for the contest, I can tell you that we had some really incredible entries, yours among them. But I can also tell you that each entry was sent to the judges with no identifying information and that the eligible pieces were judged according to 3 standards – Skill, Creativity, and “Twain-ness.”

Thanks for taking the time to enter the contest and best of luck with your writing.
- Sarah Burningham, HarperStudio

By: Stephen Frater

Stephen Frater — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:47:07 +0000

That’s it? You must be joking.

By: Donald Paul Benjamin

Donald Paul Benjamin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:29:53 +0000

I was one of the entrants in the Mark Twain writing contest and was quite disappointed that my work did not receive even honorable mention. Too bad no feedback will be forthcoming regarding why my writing fell short of the judges’ standards. I feel the winning entry was “adequate” however I did not hear Mark Twain’s ‘voice’ in the piece and I wonder if Mr. Clemens ever used the contraction ‘it’s’ which Mr. Bagby employed. Sour grapes I know, but I will file my cherished entry in an appropriate manner and, after the bonfire, move on.