Finalist Quotes & Sayings

You are the Michelangelo of your own life. The David you are sculpting is you. — Joe Vitale

The first think I did when I found out I was a finalist, was, I don't remember, because it felt like it was an out of body experience. — James Durbin

I have entered the New Yorker's Cartoon Caption Contest almost weekly virtually since it began and have never even been a finalist. I have done more writing for free for the New Yorker in the last five years than for anybody in the previous 40 years. It's not that I think my cartoon captions are better than anyone else's, although some weeks, understandably, I do. It's that just once I want to see one of my damn captions in the magazine that publishes the best cartoons in the world."
- Roger Ebert
(By the way, in 2011 Ebert finally won, after 107 tries.) — Bob Mankoff

I like photography as a recording device. It's the best possible two-dimensional representation of 3D living things that we have. — Andrew Zuckerman

Antiques to Die For sets the gold standard for the classic contemporary cozy. Agatha-finalist Jane K. Cleland's writing is top-notch; her plotting and pace smooth and assured. This antiquing series is in mint condition! — Julia Spencer-Fleming

Proud to announce that Esfir Is Alive has been selected as a 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist in Young Adult Fiction. — Andrea Simon

Anytime you play a finalist it's going to be a challenge. — Steve Nash

When I first found out that I was an Idol finalist, I cried tears of happiness. I was just so happy, and my family was there and the fact that got to see that moment and share that moment with me was just everything to me. — Pia Toscano

I cried when I found out I was a finalist, I kind of went limp when they called my name. I felt like my spirit jumped out of my body, and I was just flesh - it was just amazing. — Naima Adedapo

Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. She is a RITA and Christy Award finalist. The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and two pets and writes from her ivory — Rachel Hauck

Generative ideas emerge from joint thinking, from significant conversations, and from sustained, shared struggles to achieve new insights from partners in thought. — Vera John-Steiner

I was a finalist for the Pulitzer as a reporter. — Robert Scheer

I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament ... — J.R.R. Tolkien

$20M in sales, our leadership team was dysfunctional and divided. Prior to this, our culture had earned several "Best Places to Work" accolades, and our performance was repeatedly acknowledged by Inc. Magazine's, Inc. 5000 award, and Ernst & Young honored our success as a finalist for their Entrepreneur of the year award. — Werner Berger

I was always a show girl. My parents were wonderful. There wasn't a lot going on where we lived, but they ferried me to classes and competitions all over the place. When I was 12, I came to London as a finalist in a singing competition and I was completely wide-eyed. — Anna Maxwell Martin

Golden Heart finalist in the prestigious RWA writing contest. Finalist in the International Digital Awards Semi-finalist in the Best Indie Books of 2012. A featured — E. Ayers

Listen! This is where it began but I keep getting muddled ... The fact of the matter is that I now want to recall everything, every trifle, every little detail. I still want to collect my thoughts and - I can't, and now there are these little details, these little details ... — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I had a healthy appetite [being pregnant]. I got more healthy as time goes on, and they grew. I never let myself go. — Jennifer Lopez

RITA finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several bestselling romantic suspense series, including the Mercy Falls series, the Lonestar — Colleen Coble

Being named as a finalist for the USA Basketball National Team is an unbelievable feeling and an opportunity that is truly humbling. It is an honor to be included with such talented players and I look forward to the chance to represent my country this summer. — James Harden

Dr. Holmes says, both wittily and truly, that crying widows are easiest consoled. — Josh Billings

My father had died, and very swiftly, too, of cancer of the esophagus. He was 79. I am 61. In whatever kind of a 'race' life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist. — Christopher Hitchens

It's cool when fashion recycles itself, it's not cool when sustainable living does because it means there was (and is as I write) a period of absolute and possibly irreversible destruction. — Cameron Conaway

A proud heart and a lofty mountain are never fruitful. — George Eliot

Fear is always with us, but we just don't have time for it. Not now. — Hillary Rodham Clinton

Ignore the tall, dark, and handsome vibe. Book boyfriends exist for a reason. — R.S. Grey

You're weightless. The world hasn't touched you yet. You're not heavy with the weight of pain, and guilt, and selfishness. — Kandi Steiner