The prize money for first place was $2,800, but I didn't take it because I was still an amateur.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The worth of a prize depends on the people who have received it before you.
The prize seemed to change my professional life very little.
Ninety-five percent of the time when I run a contest I've purchased the giveaway prizes with advertising money.
I was never much of a one to win prizes... and certainly never placed too much value on their acquisition.
My total winnings after 14 appearances were $129,000.
The first money I ever had was when I received an award from the American Association of University Women.
There's something very strange about associating me with that prize. I had hoped for it in a more directed way as a journalist. Somehow as a journalist you know there are Pulitzers out there and you can work hard and get one. To win it for Fiction seems unbelievable.
The first award that I recall having received was in the form of a scholarship when I was studying in the 5th standard. I was granted this scholarship for achieving academic excellence, and it continues to be one of the high points in my life.
I got $30 from Nation magazine for a poem and $500 for my first book of poems.
I won the first contest I ever entered, when I was 6.