At the North Wildwood Beach Writers’ Conference, Ventnor’s Mary Marino, a retired lacrosse and field hockey coach from Rowan University, not only won first prize of $100 in the essay competition, but was the lucky winner in a drawing for the $700 cost toward the publication of her novel, “My Freshman Season.”

Marino’s winning 350-word essay was titled “Living in Parallel.”

That prize was donated by Infinity Publishing whose author representative, John Harnish, was among 13 speakers at the two day conference at the Wildwoods Convention Center.

In the poetry competition, first prize went to Mary Cunningham of Philadelphia for “Twilight’s Last Gleam.”

Other winners were: essay, second—John T. Kammer of Cape May, third—Camille Cocozza of Bensalem, Pa.

In poetry, second—Don Mortensen of Roselle, third—Elaine Rose of Galloway.