Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Nature of Words Announces Winners of Rising Star Creative Writing Competition


Winning Entries Showcase Talented High School and College-Age Writers

Bend, Oregon. September 30, 2008. With the observation, "There's a constant sense of rejecting the status quo, answering the call to adventure, leaving the safe known world behind", the judges for The Nature of Words Rising Star Creative Writing Competition have chosen the winning entries from high school- and college-age writers for 2008. More than 100 submissions in literary non-fiction, fiction and poetry were received from throughout Oregon, Idaho and Washington.

Prizes were awarded in the following categories:

Literary Non-fiction
Age 15 to 18 Category:
Winner: Mac Balder, Bend, OR, "Happy Shoes"
Honorable Mention: Annie Brinich, Bend, OR, "Untitled"

Age 19 to 25 Category:
Winner: Haley Poole, Kirkland, WA, "Breathing Injustice"Honorable Mention:
Erica Dietz, Bend, OR, "On the Human Condition and Canning";
Amanda L. Elliot, West Linn, OR, "The Crab Apple"

Fiction
Age 15 to 18 Category:
Winner: Madeline Gobbo, Hood River, OR, "The Old Masters"
Honorable Mention: Zoe Ballering, Portland, OR, "Grapes";
Sangeeta Ranade, Bend, OR, "David";
Alex Street, Boise, ID, "Pike Street Alley"

Age 19 to 25 Category:
Winner: Rachel Gallaher, Seattle, WA, "The Circus"
Honorable Mention: Claire Carpenter, Corvallis, OR, "El Plain Air";
Elizabeth Charles, Forest Grove, OR, "King Street Station"

Poetry
Age 15 to 18 Category:
Winner: Eleanor Ellis, Salem, OR, "Figuratively"
Honorable Mention: Karla Campos, Boise, ID, "Where I'm From";
Rachel Sims, Sisters, OR, "New"

Age 19 to 25 Category:
Winner: Kai Hoffman-Krull, Spokane, WA, "First Time at the Nursing Home"
Honorable Mention: Caityln Moe, Eugene, OR, "Warming";
Jamie Houghton, Bend, OR, "Searching for Champ"

Winners will be honored at a special reception and reading on November 5th in the Central Oregon Community College Robert L. Barber Library at the opening event for the fourth annual The Nature of Words literary festival in Bend, Oregon. Each first place winner will receive a cash award, a scholarship to a guest-author led workshop at The Nature of Words, and a trophy donated by Rising Star Stellar Home Furnishings of Bend. Honorable mention winners will receive a gift certificate. All winning and honorable mention submissions will be published in an anthology available for purchase at all festival venues.



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