Watch Lindy West, Tracy Rector, Barbara Earl Thomas, Emily Chisholm, and Erik Blood Win 2016 Stranger Genius Awards

Last night at the Moore Theatre was the 14th annual Stranger Genius Awards, and five Seattle artists left the building with $5,000 each, no strings attached. See photos of the party here. Below are all the winners' acceptance speeches. Those musicians behind them are the lovely and amazing Seattle Rock Orchestra.

Lindy West won in the literature category:

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Tracy Rector won in the film category:

Barbara Earl Thomas won in the art category:

Emily Chisholm won in the performance category:

Erik Blood won in the music category:

Arguably, the biggest stars of the night were Kuttin' Up. Did you see those kids?

Congratulations to all of this year's nominees—you're all geniuses. And congratulations to last night's winners, who now join the League of Geniuses and get to vote in future Genius Awards deliberations.

On behalf of everyone at The Stranger and everyone who cares about the arts in this city, thank you to the sponsors who made this year's awards and party possible: Billy O'Neill, Amazon Literary Partnerships, Case Van Rij, and Clutch Cannabis, as well as our friends at Cupcake Royale, the Goodship Company, the Cloud Room, Shunpike, Georgetown Brewery, Sparkle Donkey Tequila, Sparkman Cellars, and anyone who's purchased a case of Genius Juice.