pixelhose.com announced winners of the web site’s first writing competition in two categories: Fiction and Non-Fiction. Six emerging writers were selected from over a thousand submissions, from eleven countries.

The pixelhose writing competition is unique in that it is the only writing competition to include social elements, such as reader “Likes” and comments, as tangible scoring components. The final selections were made by a combination of pixelhose staff opinions and readers’ reaction to each submission.

“The social element of the contest worked far better than we had ever imagined. Not only did it give authors instant feedback, and our staff an indicator as to how the piece resonated with readers, it also exposed almost all of the submissions to new readers. In fact, most submissions were read by an average of 130 individuals, giving each author significant new exposure. The pixelhose.com social approach is a contrast to traditional writing competitions, where only the winning authors receive any benefit from participating. This Social approach is a key success ingredient of pixelhose.com, and one which we plan to further enhance and strengthen in our future contests,” said Bob Dourandish, pixelhose publisher.

Winners, Fiction Category

First Selection: “Peg” by Bellakentuky

Kent DuFault writes under the pen name, Bellakentuky. Kent is a native of Minnesota, but has also lived in Florida, South Carolina, and Argentina. He has worked most of his life as freelance photographer and incorporated writing into his work whenever possible. He has a penchant for short stories and began marketing them in earnest about two years ago. He lives with his wife, Clarisa, and their three pets in Corrientes, Argentina

Second Selection: “The Life and Times of Emmy Calhoun” by Annie Boreson

Annie Boreson was born into a quirky story-telling family. The mother of three grown girls, she now resides in L.A. with her husband. She has co-written a memoir and is currently working on a novel. Annie also tackles daily dramas in her humorous blog Annie Off Leash. Visit her webseite here.

Third Selection: “Just One Cut” by J.C. Martin

J.C. Martin is a butt-kicking bookworm: when she isn’t reading or writing, she teaches martial arts and self-defense to adults and children. After working in pharmaceutical research, then in education as a schoolteacher, she decided to put the following to good use: one, her 2nd degree black belt in Wing Chun kung fu; and two, her overwhelming need to write dark mysteries and gripping thrillers with a psychological slant. Her short stories have won various prizes and have been published in several anthologies. Her debut novel, “Oracle,” will be released by J. Taylor Publishing on July 30th, 2012. Born and raised in Malaysia, J.C. now lives in south London with her husband and three dogs. For more information, visit her website here.

Winners, Non-Fiction Category

First Selection: “Charlie” by Vandy Gibson

Vandy’s story is based on real events that took place after she was abandoned at a gas station by her parents when she was 13. It is a chapter in the book she is writing.

Second Selection: “Pop” by Amy Hildreth Duncan

Amy lives in Rio de Janeiro (an American expat) and is a musician and translator as well as a writer and ex-journalist. Her story “Pop” is part of her upcoming autobiography with the working title “Getting Down to Brass Tacks.” The book traces her long history though her musical, travel and other adventures and her search for spiritual answers for her own life and life in general. She is currently writing about her book on her blog.

Third Selection: “The Mustached Murderers” by Tara Parian

According to Tara, the piece developed over time. “In the summer of 2010, I was on a road trip with my best partner in crime, Emily, driving back to NYC from a music festival in Tennessee. We laughed and cried and shared stories as we reflected on our epic weekend with the windows down, our hair down, and the sun on it’s way down. My ‘Mustached Murderers’ story somehow came up in conversation, and Emily laughed so hard she nearly wet the driver’s seat. She said, “You HAVE to write that down.” So, I did, and it eventually developed and found its way from my road trip journal into cyberspace. Becoming a professional writer is an equally challenging and heartbreaking career path to pursue, so I feel honored to be recognized,” Tara explained.