Writing contest winners announced
Coshocton’s Write-On Writers Guild is announcing winners in first, second, and third place in four categories of their second summer writing contest. “We had 34 entries,” said Sally Kinkade. “Seventeen of them were in the poetry category.”
Six guild members volunteered to be judges of the entries. They were Debra Bailey, Rick Bailey, Julie Dearyan, Gloria Drobnack, Sharon Hunter, and Mary Ann Sherman.
Certificates have been prepared and individually printed by Julie Dearyan. She has notified the winners, and mailed the certificates.
In the poetry category, Jennifer Jones of Coshocton won first place with her “Good bye, Sweet Eve.” Her poem’s first line began with “To others, you were just a clumsy dog. . ..” Second place in poetry went to Lorna F. Rawn of Coshocton for her “Soft Murmurs.” Her poem’s first line began with “Soft murmurs are heard as the wind blows so free . . . .” Shelly Webb of Coshocton won third place with her poem, “The Afterlife.” Her poem’s last line reads, “And hand in hand we walk away, toward the tree of eternal life.”
Kinkade announced that there were only two entries in the letters category. Both were written by Margaret Lowe of Fresno. Receiving first place was her letter to her daughter JoAnn during the summer of 1985, when JoAnn went to Paris, France, with Ridgewood High School students to be part of the United States All American Band. Her Feb. 14, 2011, letter to Tom M. Batiuk won second place. As an ardent fan and follower of his comic strip, “Crankshaft,” Lowe shared some ideas for future escapades.
In the nonfiction category, “A Graduate Remembers” by Jean Turner Benning of Lebanon, Ohio, won first place. Her story told about what happened during the spring of 1928’s Lebanon High School graduation ceremony. Patricia Kent of Warsaw won second place in nonfiction for her “Changes.” She wrote about happenings during the year 1963 that shaped her life. Receiving third place in nonfiction was Jeff Wherley of Coshocton for his story titled “Sarge.” Sarge was a fitting name for his first dog as an adult, a Norwegian Elkhound who taught him about acceptance, unconditional love, and the importance of running very, very fast.
The fourth category was fiction/short stories. Webb of Coshocton won first place for her story, “The Watch.” In it, her grandfather told her about his best Christmas gift ever, a gold pocket watch from his mother. “Another Day on the Lake” won second place in this fiction category. Jones of Coshocton, who won first in poetry, is the author. Her story is about a fisherman who caught two bass, then his line snagged on something else. June Markley of West Lafayette won third place in the short stories category for her “Christmas of 1967.” She told about taking her three children to Brother’s Store to meet Santa.
Perhaps the greatest distinction from the second summer writing contest went to Toni Whitman of Uhrichsville, for her poem, “This is Why I Write.” Her first line reads, “I write to reveal my deepest feelings and thoughts.” Her poem is going to be placed inside the Write-On Writers Guild’s 20th Anniversary Chapbook, which will be available at the book fair to be held April 10, 2021, at Frontier Power’s Community Room.
“We offer thanks to all participants in our second summer writing contest. Because of COVID-19 considerations, we decided to cancel our Oct. 17 Writers Workshop, but were glad that we could still sponsor our summer writing contest,” Kinkade said.
Category: Clubs & Organizations
