I entered my first writing contest at the age of ten winning the coveted Giant Cookie award. My story was about a pumpkin sprouting green legs and running around the world. A ten year-old knows few details about world travel. How does a pumpkin obtain a passport? Of course, my pumpkin avoided the authorities by stowing away with the luggage and running from everyone. I did my research inspecting my globe and asking my mother, an experienced world traveler, many questions. The story turned out long (for a ten year-old) of more than twenty handwritten pages. Circling the globe is a long journey, afterall.

The decision was so close that the judges chose two stories for first place, awarding a giant cookie to each author, and I shared first place with a good friend. The top four winning authors took turns reading their stories to the class. Afterward, I enjoyed my giant chocolate chip cookie,  nearly the size of a cookie sheet. Awards for second and third were smaller, equally delicious, cookies. Between bites, my friend and I congratulated each other on winning first place without any argument over which story was the best. We were content with not having to share a cookie, although we did compare cookies making sure they were of roughly equivalent size.

Neil Gaiman might enjoy his Hugo for The Graveyard Book, but is it as tasty as the Giant Cookie? On Twitter, @neilhimself (Gaiman) says he will win a pie if The Graveyard Book remains a top ten bestseller for the 52nd consecutive week [NY Times, Childrens chapter books.] That pie will be a special award indeed.

The original pumpkin story is no longer in my possession, but much of the story still resides within my memory. Instead of re-writing the story, I plan on writing a new adventure for my pumpkin, Jack. Check back later for an announcement.

[Update: "Runaway Jack" is my new story based on this original contest story.]