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 B. 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