Star reporter wins national writing award

Kansas City Star reporter Eric Adler has won the 2014 Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award for a 2013 article about a terminal cancer patient’s public farewell.

The award was announced by the journalism department of Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. The annual national writing competition dates to 1960.

Adler’s story, “Life of the Party,” begins with a young mother learning she has less than six months to live. Instead of despairing, Shannon Anaya chooses to throw a party to celebrate life one more time. The story follows Anaya and her family and friends from the celebration to her death just 10 days later.

In announcing the award, the journalism department said judges praised Adler’s story for its “sensitive, meticulous reporting and engrossing narrative.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2014 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Star reporter wins national writing award."