Controversial Novel Steps Into Spotlight As No.1 Pick At Popular Writers' Site

Maryland Mom Bests 200 Authors To Win $5,000

Dora McAlpin-Zeeks, a 42-year-old Maryland mother of three, has emerged victorious among a field of 200 novel writers to win a $5,000 prize from TheNextBigWriter.com, one of the fastest-growing writers' sites on the Web. McAlpin-Zeeks, who prefers to go by her pen name, Ivey Banks, is a senior writer/researcher for the U.S. Government. Banks is among 3,000 members of the site, which attracts published and undiscovered writers from 17 countries.

The six-month-long competition elicited a whopping 50,000 reviews/votes for the 200 novel entries. In a close race, Banks edged out many other talented writers, including first runner-up, Lesley C. Weston of New York City, and her novel, Nancy Boy; and second runner-up, Kirk Ort, of Stratford, Wisconsin, and his novel, The Journey of Addie Boyd. When not writing, Weston is the head of costume design for the New York City Opera; Ort is a logger.

Out Of The Dark tells the stories of teen Thorn MacDonnell and five quirky teachers who open up their world to him. Every day brings Thorn reminders of all that he has going for him: looks, intelligence, and talent. But every moment, he lives with the reality that he's also got HIV and leukemia. Foregoing the luxuries of being a kid, Thorn strives to become a man before it's too late. Socially awkward among peers, he sets himself on a satellite course around a close-knit group of teachers who play in a band on weekends. One of them, Shane Fetters, becomes not only Thorn's closest friend, but also his first love. (To read Chapter 1 of Out Of The Dark, click here.

Banks has been a "closet fiction writer" for 13 years and has produced 29 manuscripts, but she said she's never had the courage to call herself an author until now. She credits the writers and reviewers at TheNextBigWriter.com for giving her the confidence to seriously pursue her dream of becoming a published fiction writer. One reviewer called Out of the Dark "a winner" and "a brilliant effort." Another said reading the book is the best literary experience he's ever had. Out of the Dark netted more than 2,500 reviews, giving it a readership larger than those of many published novels in today's marketplace.

Banks says that submitting her work to TheNextBigWriter.com took some courage, but has turned out to be "the best thing I've done for myself as a writer." She added, "There's a real sense of community among the authors; a strong, shared commitment to becoming better writers, while helping others do the same."

Site members include doctors, lawyers, innkeepers, a former network executive, a former movie studio creative director, published novelists, members of the armed forces, business owners, and retirees. TheNextBigWriter.com modernizes the writers' workshop, broadening and expediting the variety and number of opinions that a writer gleans.

To date, more than 13 pieces (novels, poems, short stories and other works) posted on TheNextBigWriter.com have been selected for publication by literary journals. One writer says that winning a recent short story competition on the site helped her to become published and a recent winner of a competition sponsored by the site had that piece purchased for publication.