Isolation. Prejudice. Loss.  Stephanie Silberstein not only writes about heartbreak--she's lived it. She grew up as the only Jewish child in her neighborhood, enduring covert anti-Semitism during the annual Christmas concert and the occasional openly prejudiced remark. Her experiences were the basis of her first novel, Winter's Silence, which came out in 2008.  Ms. Silberstein escaped the suburbs in 1998, landing in Los Angeles. While she was studying to get her MFA, she lived with, and fell for, a recovering alcoholic and addict. She left years of poverty and heartbreak behind in 2006, heading back east to a new life in North Carolina. Shortly after her arrival there, her friend died of a drug-induced heart attack. Despite these setbacks, Ms. Silberstein continually moves forward, embracing the Jewish notion of "Tikkun Olam" (heal the world). She is passionate about GLBT rights as well as the rights of disabled children. She is writing a second novel, Shades of Gay, in order to illustrate the way non-heterosexuals are treated in small town America. Ms. Silberstein owns her own publishing company, Narrow Path Publishing, along with her best friend, Transgender artist D Gavi Chayim. Together they are demonstrating that "there is enough room in this world for everybody to be successful."  

Honorable Mention - 73rd Annual Writer's Digest Competition