Authors from across the state submitted a total of 27 manuscripts to this year’s Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Manuscript Project (STBF). Librarians across the state volunteered their time and expertise to judge these entries and are proud to announce this year’s winner: Patti Sherry-Crews of Evanston for her story The Wizard of Odd.
The story follows the life of Miles, a successful voice-over actor in crisis, who flees his life in L.A. to take a job as a house and dog sitter on small Todd Island, Odd Island as the residents sometimes call it. There, he unwittingly becomes an agent of chaos when the inhabitants start coming to him with their problems, subconsciously mistaking his soothing, recognizable voice as someone who gives a damn, which he doesn’t. But in the end, Miles is the character who goes on a spiritual journey and comes out transformed at the conclusion.
Patti shared that her book, The Wizard of Odd, like the classic the Wizard of Oz, explores, “…how people will sometimes give more weight to advice or opinions of others over their own instincts. Taking a page from my own book, I deliberately didn’t show any version of this manuscript to anyone, which was a first for me. The first sets of eyes on The Wizard of Odd were the judges of the Soon to be Famous Contest. I knew the story I wanted to tell and how I wanted to tell it. Like the inhabitants of Todd Island, I know I’m susceptible to the opinions of others, and that would’ve made a hash of my story the same as Miles made a hash of the lives of residents of Todd Island.”
Libraries definitely have a special place in Patti’s heart. “This is the second time I’ve had a manuscript make it to the finals in this contest. I submitted a different manuscript a few years ago and making it to the finals in a contest judged by librarians changed my trajectory as a writer,” she commented, “and my favorite job was when I worked the Circulation Desk at Wilmette Public Library. I'm a big fan of the public library so this means a lot to me.”
As the winner, Patti will receive free line-editing and cover design services for her manuscript provided by STBF sponsor, Lyrasis. Also, if she decides to self-publish or indie-publish The Wizard of Odd, it will be automatically entered in next year’s Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project contest.
The STBF Project, now in its 10th year, is entirely run by librarians and other library staff who volunteer their time. Their goal is to recognize and promote outstanding self- or indie-published adult fiction (and memoir for the book contest), to support local authors, and to bring more great reads to library patrons.
