Cisco Writers Club pays out approximately $1,500 every year in prizes, made possible by CWC's generous underwriters. Besides juicy first, second, third and honorable mention awards, contestants can win one of ten special awards.
Take the Lela Latch Lloyd Nonfiction Book Award, named for a beloved charter member. This award goes to the highest-ranking nonfiction book. It must achieve third place or higher, however. Its counterpart, the Mary Carey Fiction Book Award, is named for Lela's adventurous Alaskan homesteading sister. Also an early member of the Club, Mary Carey on her swings through Texas often regaled CWC members with exploits of her latest protagonist.
One award stands head and shoulders above the rest, however. That's the David Autry Sweepstakes Award. To add this coveted honor and its $250 purse to a contestant's other winnings, he or she must accumulate the most points and at least one First. Points come with winning entries: First receives 4 points, a Second gets 3, Third=2 and Honorable Mention=1. And yes! The more pieces a contestant enters, the easier to garner this prestigious prize.
