Message Boards
Today's Active Topics Today's Active Cases Browse Forum Categories My Recent Activity My Messages Private Groups My Marked Threads My Subscriptions
Today's Active Images Today's Active Polls Most Active Topics Global Townie Map Advanced Message Board Search Message Board Terms of Use

Novel About Dentist Wins Apex Award

Start Discussion
Novel Murder on Skid Row Wins International Apex Award
Posted: July 2, 2010
Novel Murder on Skid Row Wins International Apex Award; Main Character is Dentist UIC College of Dentistry

Writer Charlene Wexler has won an international Apex Award of Excellence for her first novel, Murder on Skid Row, in the Books and E-Books competition of the 2010 international Apex Awards competition, sponsored by Communications Concepts, a writing think-tank based outside Washington, DC.

Based on a true story, Murder on Skid Row is set on Chicago’s Madison St. Skid Row in the 1960s, home to hustlers, winos, addicts, bums, lost souls, ripoffs, and kickbacks. Into this shady society steps main character Dr. Mel Greenberg, a new graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, who opens his new dental office “to help the downtrodden,” he says.

Instead, he finds himself in a world for which his working-class upbringing never prepared him, where a day might bring anything from a philosophy-quoting patient to a knife held at his neck. Eventually, he finds himself a suspect in murder.

This year’s Apex competition was the 22nd annual.

"Apex Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content, and the ability to achieve overall communications excellence," said John De Lellis, one of the Apex judges. "With more than 3,700 entries, competition was exceptionally intense.”

Wexler was one of only five winners in the Books and E-Books category.

“Every year the quality and effectiveness of Apex entries go up a notch,” DeLillis said.

“I’m extremely proud for my work to have been honored by such a prestigious competition,” Wexler said. “Apex judges are leading writers and editors, and their recognition of the quality of our work means a lot to all Apex winners.”

Apex is an international competition, and this year other winners have come from Canada, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Okinawa, Singapore, and South Africa, as well as the United States. For more information, log on to www.apexawards.com.

Murder on Skid Row is available through Amazon.com and bookstores and book sales websites everywhere. Published in 2010 by Author House, the book sells for $21.49 hardcover and $10.99 paperback.

About the author
Native Chicagoan Charlene Wexler is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She has worked as a teacher and dental office bookkeeper and as “a wife, mom, and grandmother,” she said. In recent years, Wexler’s lifelong passion for writing has led her to create numerous essays as well as fiction, as well as her award-winning novel Murder on Skid Row.
Her work has appeared in several publications, including North Shore Magazine, the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry’s Vision magazine, Alpha Omegan magazine, and the Gazette newspaper of Chicago.
“I have always used writing as therapy,” Wexler said. “Now I have the time and opportunity to pursue it as a career.”
Wexler has dedicated Murder on Skid Row “to the three dentists in my life,” she said—her husband, Sam; son Mike; and Sam’s business partner, Lew.
Wexler is active with the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity, Children’s Memorial Hospital philanthropy, Lungevity (an organization that fights lung cancer), the McHenry Bicycle Club, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish United Fund, and the University of Illinois Alumni Association.
Her advice for other aspiring writers—even grandmothers like herself—is to “follow your dream. You can do it, and it’s never too late.”
Views: 19
Start Discussion
Dentaltown Magazine
November 2025
Dentaltown Magazine November 2025 Read Current Issue Read Archived Issues
Sponsors
Townie Perks
Townie® Poll
Do you do more or less endo procedures since you started practicing?
  
Site Menu
Message Boards Magazine Continuing Education Podcasts Blogs Classifieds Dental News Events Townie® Poll Ebooks Townie Choice Awards
Company Info
Contact Us Advertise With Us Howard Farran DDS, MBA Policies and Agreements
Site Help
The Dentaltown Team, Farran Media Support
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: support@dentaltown.com
©2025 Dentaltown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450