Finalist: The Star-Ledger , by Amy Ellis Nutt
For her poignant, deeply reported story of a chiropractor who suffered a severe stroke following brain surgery and became a wildly creative artist, in many ways estranged from his former self.
Winners
Prize Winner in Feature Writing in 2009:
Lane DeGregory
For her moving, richly detailed story of a neglected little girl, found in a roach-infested room, unable to talk or feed herself, who was adopted by a new family committed to her nurturing.
Feature Writing
Finalists
Nominated as finalists in Feature Writing in 2009:
Diane Suchetka
For her harrowing tale of a mechanic whose arms were reattached after being severed in an accident, a disciplined narrative that takes readers on the man's painful personal and physical journey to recove
John Barry
For his concise, captivating story about a rescued baby dolphin that needed a new tail and became a famous survivor, illuminating the mysterious connection between human beings and animals.
The Jury
The Jury
James O'Byrne(chair )
former features editor, The Times-Picayune, director of content, NOLA.com (a Times-Picayune affiliate)
Mary Corey
assistant managing editor, features
Denise Costa
features editor
Mike Jenner
executive editor
Michael Shapiro
professor, Graduate School of Journalism
Carole Tarrant
editor
John Temple
editor, president and publisher
Winners in Feature Writing
Gene Weingarten
For his chronicling of a world-class violinist who, as an experiment, played beautiful music in a subway station filled with unheeding commuters.
Andrea Elliott
For her intimate, richly textured portrait of an immigrant imam striving to find his way and serve his faithful in America.
Jim Sheeler
For his poignant story on a Marine major who helps the families of comrades killed in Iraq cope with their loss and honor their sacrifice.
Julia Keller
For her gripping, meticulously reconstructed account of a deadly 10-second tornado that ripped through Utica, Illinois.
2009 Prize Winners
Patrick Farrell
For his provocative, impeccably composed images of despair after Hurricane Ike and other lethal storms caused a humanitarian disaster in Haiti.
W.S. Merwin
A collection of luminous, often tender poems that focus on the profound power of memory.
Las Vegas Sun, and notably the courageous reporting by Alexandra Berzon
For the exposure of the high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip amid lax enforcement of regulations, leading to changes in policy and improved safety conditions.
Staff
For its swift and sweeping coverage of a sex scandal that resulted in the resignation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, breaking the story on its Web site and then developing it with authoritative, rapid-fire reports.