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