Visitors to the Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) website voiced their opinions on the five finalists in eight of the 2010 SPOW Awards categories in the People's Picks poll. The poll was just for fun. The results had no bearing on the selection of winners of the official SPOW Awards.

You can check how the people's choices listed below compare with those of the SPOW judges, which are listed on our awards page on the Obituary Forum.

Division 1: Long-form obituaries, 800 words or more.

Best body of work (long-form) by one writer, based on exactly five obits, published in 2009 in a print or online news publication. Obits with fewer than 800 words may be included.

Please read all the obits written by the following obit writers. Then make your choice.

Obit writer "A"
Obit writer "B"
Obit writer "C"
Obit writer "D"
Obit writer "E"

Best long-form obituary about a well-known regional figure.

Please read the following obits. Then make your choice.

Mark Pittman
Lee Lacey
Frank Williams
Clarence Peterson
Woody Crocker

 

Best long-form obituary about an Average Joe.

Please read the following obits. Then make your choice.

Mid Barbour
George Iwasaki
Bill Dunn
Harold Solomon
Robert and Darlene Moser

 

Division 2: Short-form obituaries, less than 800 words.

Best body of work (short-form) by one writer, based on exactly five obits, published in 2009 in a print or online news publication. One obit with 800 words or more may be included. Submissions with more than two obits of 800-plus words may be reassigned to the long-form category.

Please read the following obits. Then make your choice.

Obit writer "F"
Obit writer "G"
Obit writer "H"
Obit writer "I"
Obit writer "J"

 

Best short-form obituary about a well-known regional figure.

Please read the following obits. Then make your choice.

Albert Zoppe
L. Scott Deatherage
Bobby Rice
Steve Friedman
Jerry Murphy

 

Best short-form obituary about an Average Joe.

Please read the following obits. Then make your choice.

Danny Stanton
Robert Sterling
Jonathan Ralston
Hayward Ford
John Batman

 

Division 3: Miscellaneous.

Best obituary that goes beyond summing up a life.

The following obits did more than tell the story of a person's life. The obit writers addressed larger issues, prompted action from the public or public officials and/or demonstrated the obit writer's special skills. Please read the following obits and accompanying information.. Then choose the one that merits special recognition..

Hope Witsell
Danny Stanton
Bill Dunn
Mike Woods
Steven Walter Brown

 

Best tribute, column, memoir or retrospective in print or online.

Please read the following obits. Then make your choice.

George Katagiri
Robert and Darlene Moser
Bill Dunn
Police dogs
Rosalie Miltak Sims

 

Division 4: Broadcast.

Outstanding radio obituary.

The winner is Natasha Gruneberg of BBC Radio for her obituary for Sir Clement Freud. PEOPLE'S PICKS Winners of the just-for-fun People's Picks poll are:

Division 4: Broadcast.

Outstanding radio obituary.

The winner is Natasha Gruneberg of BBC Radio for her obituary for Walter Cronkite.