Bulwer-Lytton was the author who penned “It was a dark and stormy night”, which line was made famous, of course, by Snoopy. Lytton also coined “the pen is mightier than the sword”, “the great unwashed” and “the almighty dollar”, according to the contest website.
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is for the worst first sentence of an imaginary novel. This year it was won my David MKenzie for his sentence:
Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin’ off Nantucket Sound from the nor’ east and the dogs are howlin’ for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the “Ellie May,” a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin’ and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests.
Full details of the contest and winners here. Thanks to GalleyCat for the heads up.
Screaming contest, indeed.