A Writer’s Place Blog

Epublishing Conference

Posted by on Jan 30, 2012 in Blog, Conference | Comments Off

The New Publishing World: Everything You Need To Know From E to Z

START TIME: Mar 24 2012 – 09:00 AM

Portland Airport Sheraton

Take Advantage of New Technology & The Digital Revolution
March 24-25, 9:00AM to 5PM at the Airport Sheraton – 8235 NE Airport Way, Portland

E-books, e-readers, tablets, indie authors, on-demand printing, Kindle Fire, the Nook – it’s suddenly a whole new world of opportunity for readers and writers. Self-publishing and the e-book market have skyrocketed in popularity. To help you understand this revolution, Oregon Writers Colony brings together technology providers, subject area experts, and successful e-book authors and publishers to present all you need to know to get started e-publishing. Click here to read more, or to register for this conference.

2011 Contest Winners Announced

Posted by on Nov 14, 2011 in Blog, Contest | Comments Off

Celebrity judges, author Robin Cody, and poet Barbara Davis Kroon announced the winners of the Oregon Writers Colony annual writing contests in October. OWC received more than one hundred entries from all over the United States, and even one from Australia.

Short Story Fiction

1st place

Patricia Barnhart
Lakeview, Oregon
Coda

(Judge Robin Cody’s comment)
Coda opens like “Lives of the Cowboys” with four horny wise-crackin’ pards playin’ poker in the bunkhouse, but in the morning, when they have work to do, four distinct and appealing characters emerge. They know their horses and they feel the landscape and they get under one another’s skins. The chase is dramatic, not gratuitous, and it leads to a smart twist at the end.

2nd place

Beth Navarro
Corvallis, Oregon
Loba

3rd place

Nancy K. Berry
Seaside, Oregon
Classified Miracle

First Honorable Mention

Kathleen Ewing
Prescott Valley, Arizona
Living Legend

 

Short Story Non-Fiction

1st place

Joanne Arledge
Yonkers, New York
The Birds

(Judge Robin Cody’s comment)
The Birds is a complete short story of the sudden shift in little sister’s view of herself in relation to three wild brothers in a broken family. Boy! This is narrative nonfiction at its best, with finely detailed scenes, a strong sense of place and a sharpshooting, immensely appealing narrator.

2nd place

Valerie Lake
Corvallis Oregon
The Man with No Legs

3rd place

Rick Lamplugh
Corvallis, Oregon
Slugging it Out in the Garden

First Honorable Mention

Samantha Ducloux Waltz
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Persuasion

Other Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical)

Linda Elin Hamner Philomath, Oregon O Christmas Tree…O Christmas Tree…
Judith Allen Manzanita, Oregon Boots
Rachael S. Neal Missoula, Montana Kind Eyes
Kate Gilbert Richmond, NSW, Australia Strong Lines
Dee Roy Albany, Oregon Different Kind of Snake
Sara Truitt Claremont California Daughter

 

Elizabeth Bolton Poetry Contest

1st Prize

Ada Molinoff
Salem, Oregon
Tethered

2nd Prize

Kathryn Graves-Messer
Keizer, Oregon
Steam

3rd Prize

Gail Black
Portland, Oregon
The Arleta Library

1st Honorable Mention

Jeffrey Jensen
Portland, Oregon
Orpheus The Haunt

2nd Honorable Mention

Kathryn Graves-Messer
Keizer, Oregon
At The Mouth of The Klamath River

3rd Honorable Mention

Gwendolyn Morgan
Willapa Bay
Ecotones

RaeAnn Proost Releases Stories

Posted by on Nov 8, 2011 in Blog, Member News, News | Comments Off

ReeAnn Proost has released a collaboration of stories titled, Just a Heartbeat Away: Reconciled to the Loss of our Children.

Fourteen parents celebrate the lives of their children, share their loss and unfathomable grief, provide unique insights, and offer up glimmers of inspiration and hope. To bare the heart is a painful and daunting task. The stories are fraught with memories, calamitous sadness, and hope. Here is advice and understanding, along with peace and comfort, for the mothers and fathers who sadly must follow in our footsteps. We work through our grief to find a new normal, and we know we are not alone.

The book contains a forward and afterward by Chaplain Joy LePage Smith, MA, and is available by emailing
heartbeat@bendbroadband.com, from Book Locker, or from your favorite bookstore.

Robyn Parnell’s Short Stories

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, Member News | Comments Off

Robyn Parnell’s story “Here is What” is published in the current issue of Bellevue Literary Review, 10th Anniversary Issue, v. 11 No. 2, Fall 2011, and her story “Modus Operandi” appears in Wild Violet’s “Passion” issue, v. X #1, Fall 2011.

Patricia Steele’s New Book

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, Member News | Comments Off

Patricia Steele, an OWC member living in Virginia, has published Mooning Over A Drug Card on Kindle. It can be purchased for $2.99. She has a blog at www.patriciasteele.blogspot.com . The blog helped her meet many of the Spanish members of her Silvan family. She just returned from interviewing 12 of them.

Joyce Lindsey O’Keefe in Kaleidoscope

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, Featured, Member News | Comments Off

The work of Joyce Lindsey O’Keefe was featured in Kaleidoscope: Exploring the Experience of Disability through Literature and the Fine Arts. Her nonfiction articles have appeared in Pizza Today, Apartment Age, Reunion’s Magazine and Hearing Loss.

Robert Rubinstein’s Children’s Book Published

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, Member News | Comments Off

Robert Rubinstein has published Zishe the Strong Man, a beautifully illustrated children’s book. He has published Curtains Up! – Theater Games and Story Telling, and Hints for Teaching success in Middle School. He has many stories in anthologies and his tales have also been recorded. His website is www.robert-rubinstein.com.

Jill Kelly on Speaking Tour

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, Member News | Comments Off

Jill Kelly has been on a national speaking tour for her memoir, Sober Truths: The Making of an Honest Woman. The memoir was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in Creative Nonfiction. Next stop: Naples, Florida, in October. Jill is currently finishing up her second novel, a romance turned murder mystery. Visit her author page at www.jillkellyauthor.com.

Donelle Knudsen’s Memoir Available

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, Member News | Comments Off

Donelle Knudsen’s memoir, Through the Tunnel of Love, a Mother’s and Daughter’s Journey with Anorexia, has been published by Etcetera Press. In this compelling book you’ll read touching details of an international adoption, learn possible causes of anorexia, steps for intervention, how anorexia affects the entire family, and what difference faith, fathers, friends and unconditional love make. Through the Tunnel of Love is also ideal for use in a small study group setting. To order your copy visit: www.amazon.com or contact the author at dknudsen49{at}gmail.com .

Linda Kuhlmann Interview, Article & Book-Signing

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Blog, Member News | Comments Off

Oregon author Linda Kuhlmann was recently interviewed by Stirling Editing about her novel The Red Boots, her work in the schools and her forays into script work. See the interview at her website: www.lindakuhlmann.com. Her article “Using Oregon in Mysteries” has been published online on Bad Spelling: Marva Dasef’s Books, Reviews, Interviews, and News: http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-crime-wednesday-location-location.html. Linda also signed copies of her novel Koenig’s Wonder, with other local authors, on Sept. 25 at the grand opening of the new Oregon Book and Games store in Grants Pass.