What follows is unedited explanation from the judge for the Richard Eastman prize.

"I thought it would be so easy. When the Naperville Writers Group asked me to choose the winner of the first annual Richard Eastman Prize for prose pieces in RIVULETS, I thought it would be a piece of cake--good cake, maybe like chocolate fudge. After a cursory reading, the winner would just jump out.

"Yeah, right.

"After three or four readings of the 50-odd entries I'd narrowed it down to about seven finalists. Each time I read them, I liked something different about each. Of course it was more complicated because I was judging fiction and non-fiction, stories and memoir.

"Another reading helped me get it down to four: a narrative non-fiction piece and three stories, including Greg's story, REGRET, WITH MATH.

"But the pieces were strong in different ways. So I realized I had to come up with a criterion, a scythe to cut through it all. Finally I did: it had to be something that I thought was so ingenious and engaging that very few writers--maybe even no one but the author--could have written so well.

"The next morning, the winner jumped out at me: REGRET, WITH MATH.

"Meticulously structured, witty, and with a great message (i.e., don't worry too much about this life, because you're probably even more screwed in several others; oh, and try not to think too much about the ones where you're better off), the story delivers.

"I was judging the pieces blind, because I knew many NWG members from my time with the group. But when they took the blindfold off, I wasn't surprised at all to find out it was Greg's story. He always nails the writerly trifecta of voice, story, and wit.

"I loved REGRET, WITH MATH. It stayed with me like few stories do. I'm sure you'll feel the same way.

"And a bit about me:

"Sachin Waikar’s writing has appeared or is forthcoming in two Seal Press anthologies, South Asian Review, Parents Magazine, and children’s magazines including Highlights, and Kahani. His screenwriting has placed in HBO/Miramax’s Project Greenlight and been nominated for an ABC/Disney Writing Talent Grant. Sachin holds a BA from Stanford University and a PhD in clinical psychology from UCLA. He is a freelance writer in the Chicago area, where he lives with his wife and two children."