Brian “B.J.” Condike wins 2024 Key West Writers Guild award

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts, in conjunction with the Key West Writers Guild, is pleased to announce that Brian “B.J.” Condike has garnered this year’s writing award for his manuscript, “Murder in the Family”.  BJ Condike has won several short story contests, including twice placing in the top 1% of Writers Digest’s Short-Short Story Contest. While he loves the challenge of packing a complete story into a few pages, his goal is to traditionally publish Murder is Personal, his first full-length mystery novel. A variety of his stories appear in several anthologies published by Granbury Writers’ Bloc, Sisters in Crime (North Dallas Chapter), and the Key West Writer’s Guild. BJ minored in English at UMass Amherst and has completed The Writers Path creative writing program at Southwestern University in Dallas. He is past president of his local writing club and is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Mystery Writers of America.

This year marks the twenty first annual award which is supported by an endowment under the administration of the Arts Council. Past winners include: C.J. Geotis, Kristina Neihouse, Dale Dapkins, Lisa Mahoney, Joanna Brady Schmida, Richard DeGrasse, Harry Schroeder, the late Elizabeth Warner, Eddie Goldstein, Rusty Hodgdon, Janette Stone, and Mary Lou Condike.

The manuscript was anonymously reviewed in a competitive field of submittals and selected by three distinguished judges: Michael Blades, of Key West, heads up the RPM Nautical Foundation headquarters in Key West, Florida. RPM Nautical Foundation locates, studies, and protects maritime heritage, primarily in the Mediterranean. He graduated with a B.A. in English/English Education from Purdue University.

In 1991, he moved to Key West and worked as Project Director for Reef Relief, a coral reef conservation non-profit for 15 years. Michael was hired by RPM Nautical in 2006 as Office Manager and currently serves as the Treasurer and Secretary of the RPM Executive Committee. Michael also serves on the Board of the Key West Literary Festival as Vice President, and also coordinates volunteers for the festival. Sheila Cullen, of Key West, is a dedicated journalist at the Keys Citizen. She has also sat on the Key West Tree Commission. Cricket Desmarais of Key West, graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU. Also, Cricket recently graduated from CFK with a B.S. in Marine Resource Management. She currently works with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary team to oversee the marketing and communications for Mission: Iconic Reefs, an unprecedented, 20-year initiative to restore the coral reef. Cricket has also written for the Florida Keys Keynoter, and has published her book “Love on the Rock”.

Local writers with works in progress are encouraged to apply for the 2025 award of $2000. To qualify, one must be a resident of Monroe County, a member of the Key West Writers Guild, and working on either a novel or a work of non-fiction. Applicants must read from their work at two meetings of the Key West Writers Guild. Membership is paid annually, and meetings are held at 9:00 a.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. For more information – please visit the Arts Council website www.keysarts.com