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Thanks very much to all who entered the contest. The challenge was to provide a script for a magic effect old or new which would be entertaining, original, and usable. It was a pleasure going through the entries, and picking the winners:

Here they are:

FIRST PRIZE: John Macnab for his script for a simple Coins Across and Vanish routine. It is a quiet, intimate routine, perfect for a closing coda in an act. He chose Joshua Quinn’s book Paralies for his prize.

SECOND PRIZE: Jon Shaw for his absolutely wild take on “Out of This World.” It involves lacy pink underwear…and that’s just Jon’s costume (seriously!). He chose the two DVD volumes of John Bannon’s Move Zero as his prize.

THIRD PRIZE: Ed Rhodes for his humorous script for a three rope routine. The routine is a great example of what Gerry Deutsch calls “Perverse Magic,” and it has lots of opportunities for comedy. He chose Jim Steinmeyer’s Further Impuzzibilities.

HONORABLE MENTION to Brian Douglas for his “Vintage Travel Agency” script, a multiple prediction effect. Brian’s routine takes some warhorses of magic and weaves them into a thematically consistent and entertaining “Confabulation”-like routine. Moreover, Brian submitted his script in the form of a 15-page illustrated comic book, storyboard-ing the entire routine. Amazing, Brian!

I admired many of the other routines as well, and all participants will receive a pdf compilation of all the routines submitted.

By the way, I was looking at the pdf from last year’s contest again, and wow, I have to say—it is really worth re-reading if you haven’t done so lately.

Thanks again, all, and rest up now for next year’s contest.