FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2010

Announcing the Winners of the

'Pyr and Dragons Adventure'

Fifth Anniversary Essay Contest

Amherst, NY — To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Pyr, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books, sponsored the 'Pyr and Dragons Adventure' essay contest, for which fans were invited to submit a short essay on the theme Five Reasons Why Science Fiction And Fantasy Is Important To You. The contest commemorated what is important to Pyr: creative and powerful writing; a passion for genre fiction; and 2010's special number, five.

Pyr is proud to announce the Grand-prize Winner: Lisa Iriarte of Celebration, Florida. Lisa Iriarte teaches seventh-grade language arts and has recently written what she hopes will become her first published novel, Assassin's Nightmare.

Iriarte will embark on a Pyr and Dragons Adventure that includes a round-trip flight to Atlanta, GA, for this year's Dragon*Con; two nights' hotel accommodation; and a Dragon*Con entry badge.

At Dragon*Con, Iriarte will be the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders and featuring special author guests Mike Resnick, Jon Sprunk, James Enge, and Sam Sykes.

Iriarte's winning essay will be posted to the Pyr-o-mania blog at http://pyrsf.blogspot.com.

Robert Rhodes, a published writer from Spartanburg, South Carolina, wrote the Second-place essay. Currently, Rhodes is writing the '25 Heroes in 2010' series at FantasyLiterature.com. Rhodes will receive a complete set of Pyr books as published through June 1, 2010 and a commemorative Pyr fifth-anniversary keepsake which is being produced for Dragon*Con.

L. Lambert Lawson of Escondido, California wrote the Third-place essay. Lawson—the founder and editor-in-chief of Kazka Press, an online magazine devoted to fantasy fiction—will receive five complimentary books of his choice from the Pyr catalog to date as well as a commemorative Pyr fifth-anniversary keepsake.

A panel of nine readers, employees of Prometheus Books, reviewed all eligible entries. Their favorite fifteen essays were sent to Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders without any identifying author information. Anders selected the three winners.

Prometheus Books—a provocative, progressive, and independent publisher of nonfiction since 1969—launched Pyr in March 2005 to complement its strength in popular science. In 2010, in addition to celebrating its fifth anniversary, Pyr will publish its hundredth title.