Young Reviewers Contest Winner & Finalists Announced

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VQR is pleased to announce that the winner of its Young Reviewers Contest is Emily Wilkinson of Pasadena, California, for her review of “The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective” by Kate Summerscale.

The judges (Rebecca Skloot, Oscar Villalon, and Ted Genoways) praised Ms. Wilkinson’s review as “astute, incisive, and rich in historical context.” Ms. Wilkinson’s review will be published in the Winter 2009 issue of VQR. In addition, she receives $1,000.00 and a contract for additional reviews worth up to $3,000.00. Ms. Wilkinson is a graduate student at Stanford University where she is finishing her doctoral thesis in Restoration and eighteenth century British literature. She is a writer for the lit blog The Millions and has also written book reviews for the Washington Times.

The other finalists were:

• Giles Harvey (New York, NY)
• Michael Lukas (Berkeley, CA)
• Amanda Redig (Chicago, IL)
• Matthew Shaer (Brooklyn, NY)
• Jacob Silverman (Los Angeles, CA)

The finalists receive a one-year complimentary subscription to VQR and a one-year student or associate membership in the National Book Critics Circle.

Over 120 writers from the U.S. and eight foreign countries submitted entries. Congratulations to Emily and the other finalists and thanks to everyone who entered the contest.