Today, I was elated to receive two first-place awards (plus a second and an honorable mention) at the annual Illinois Woman's Press Association awards luncheon. One first place award went to my second book, Seniorwriting: a Guide for Seniors Who Want to Write; I've mentioned that book here before. The other first place should be of greater interest to eGenerations members: it was for my September 4, 2007, writing column entitled "Sharing your Experiences, Memories, and Stories." (The second place and the honorable mentions were for two of my "Never too Late!" blog posts).

No, these aren't Nobel or Pulitzer prizes, but recognition is nice! Here are the judge's comments on my eGenerations column:

"This is a terrific guide to self-publishing that sets out to answer the question 'What should I do with my writing? How can I preserve and share it?' In a crisply organized, smoothly written column, Styne takes her readers on a quick tour of publishing options ranging from blogging and participating in online communities, to personal printing and distribution of written pieces, to Web sites that manufacture books on order and a company that makes an audio kit for recording one' life story. Filled with good advice, this highly readable column offers writers a variety of ways to publish their writing."

Thanks, unknown judge. Those are very kind words. Now, fellow eGenerations members, how about more comments about my twice-monthly columns? Positive and negative comments, criticisms: I welcome them all.

Seniorwriting: A Brief Guide for Seniors Who Want to Write: 1st place, Non-Fiction, Instructional

"Sharing your Experiences, Memories and Stories" Column: 1st place, Writing for the Web, Commentary