Gay-themed novel
wins popular online contest

Unpublished author Dora McAlpin-Zeeks of Odenton, Md., won a $5,000 prize from TheNextBigWriter.com. The Web site, which features emerging writers and has a membership of 3,000, held a six-month contest among 200 novels, which elicited 50,000 votes and online reviews. McAlpin-Zeeks, a mother of three with a day job as a writer-researcher for the U.S. government, won the popular vote. Her novel, Out of the Dark, tells the story of a teenage boy with both HIV and leukemia who becomes romantically involved with one of his male teachers. The contest's first runner-up, Lesley C. Weston, is head of costume design for the New York City Opera. The title of Weston's novel: Nancy Boy.