Missouri Writers' Guild Winners Announced

Last Saturday at the MWG conference awards banquet, the names of the winners of the MWG annual contests were announced.

I wasn't able to attend the conference, but several thoughtful and kind-hearted writing friends notified me via social media that my name had been called Saturday night.

Now that the official results have been posted on the MWG website I can announce my winnings:

1st Place "The Magic of Writing" - Blog Post, sponsored by Whispering Prairie Press 

2nd Place "Wisdom in Ruby Red" - Second Chance Essay, sponsored by the Writer's Society of Jefferson County

 

3rd Place "Sweet Memories" - Inspirational Essay, sponsored by Saturday Writers

 

I'm always pleased and excited to have my work recognized, and I'm thrilled that so many of my writing friends were among the winners whose works were also given awards.

 

Here's a partial list of the winners:

 

Coffee and Critique group members and blogger buddies who took home prizes are: Janet Bettag, Margo Dill, Sylvia Forbes, Marcia Gaye, Jennifer Hashieder, Claudia Mundell, Alice Muschany, Sheree Nielsen, Linda O'Connell, Sarah Patsaros, Doyle Suit, and Jack Zerr.

 

Also winning first place was the Saturday Writers Cuivre River Anthology, which took home the top prize in the Best Anthology category, sponsored by Blank Slate Press.

 

To view the complete list of winners and to see a photo of MWG President Steve Wiegenstein with the winners who were on hand to accept their awards, click on the links above.

Congratulations to all the winners, and a special thanks to the chapters and groups who sponsored contests.

 

 

On 12/12/12, Good News Comes in Threes

Among the many words of wisdom I remember my mom saying is, "Good news comes in threes." She also was quick to remind that "bad news comes in threes, too."

Mom's good-news-comes-in-three saying won out today. Maybe it's because of the 12/12/12, triple 12 date. Or maybe not.

At any rate, after my bad-news start of the week, which I won't go in to here, I was ready for some good news.

Everything about my three-part good news is Christmas related, which helped put me in the holiday mood. Please excuse this shameless self-congratulation.

Good news #1: A reprint of my Christmas short story "Canned Beets" will be included in the Saturday Writers 10th Anniversary Edition, Cuivre River Anthology VI. The original version of "Canned Beets," which received Honorable Mention in the Steinbeck National Short Story competition, was previously published in CRA II and the Mid Rivers Review. I share this good news with more than 40 other writers, whose award-winning stories, essays, and poems also appear in the anthology. Almost all contributors are members of Saturday Writers, and many of them belong to Coffee and Critique. The final version is hot off the press today, but you might have to wait a few days if you want to order a copy.


 

Good news #2: My short story "Time to Get Your Jingle On" appears in the Kindle version of Fifty Shades of Santa, which is available today from Amazon. The anthology from Welkin Press is a collection of "12 Nice (Not Naughty) Humorous Holiday Romances."  I share this good news with writing friends -- Marcia Gaye, Pat Wahler, Pat Smith (the editor), Lou Turner, Lynn Obermoeller, and Regina Williams -- and several other writers I hope to meet. The print version will be available in a week or so. Isn't the cover cute?

Good news #3: My recipe for German Gluhwein (Donna's Hot Glow Wine) and the story behind the recipe are featured on the Panera Bread Company website this month. Actually, I received the news that the recipe was posted yesterday afternoon, but for some reason my home town was shown as somewhere in North Carolina. After a quick e-mail to the editor, a fix was made and my correct home town appeared there this morning.

So, that's my good news for 12/12/12.

Congratulations to all the other writers whose works are included in the anthologies mentioned above.

I think it's time to make a batch of German Gluhwein to celebrate.

Prosit! (That's German for Cheers!)

National Short Story Month Contest

In case you didn't know it, May has been designated National Short Story Month. Don't feel bad; I didn't know it either until I read an article in the May/June issue of Poets and Writers Magazine.

I love reading and writing short stories and can still remember some favorites from high school and college--"The Most Dangerous Game," "The Gift of the Magi," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," and "Good Country People"--are some that come to mind.

So, in honor of National Short Story Month, I'm going to sponsor a little no-entry-fee contest to encourage writers to write and submit a short story this month. I'm also doing it to accomplish my goal of downsizing my bookshelves by giving away a copy of Cuivre River Anthology (Volume I), Saturday Writers Winning Words, which contains one of my short stories.

Here are the short and simple rules.

Short stories must be:

The submitter's own work

Written between May 1 and May 31, 2010

Written in English

Unpublished

No longer than 2010 words (as in the year 2010)

Submitted by e-mail to dvolkenannt (at) charter (dot) net

Received by midnight CST on May 31 2010

Other guidelines:

Copy and paste into the body of an e-mail

No attachments; attachments will not be opened

Submit your best work

Proofread before sending

No pornography or gory content

One entry per person

Open to residents of USA and Canada

Decision of judge is final

Writers retain all rights to their stories

No whining, please

Prizes:

First place winner will receive a copy of Cuivre River Anthology (Vol I), which includes my short story "Golden Lilace Under the Worm Moon"

Top three winners will receive certificates

Depending on number of submissions, I might award some honorable mentions

Titles and names of winners will appear on Donna's Book Pub on June 8, 2010

Cuivre River Anthology (Volume IV) Now Available

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Chance of thunderstorms, high 75 degrees.

It's going to be a brief post today. Cari and a few classmates are giving a special Irich dance performance at her school right after lunch this afternoon, and I need to be there to help her with her costume and wig. Yes, most of the girls wear wigs while Irish dancing. It's so their curls bounce with their steps, and wearing a wig is easier than curling their hair overnight.

Now about the Cuivre River Anthology. I'm so excited that CRA Volume IV is finally published and available for purchase. Louella Turner and I co-edited it, and it was published by High Hill Press. The anthology includes short stories, poetry, essays, and flash fiction, including my award-winning flash piece, "Ida's Rocking Chair." Putting the anthology together was a lot of work, but definitely worth it. There were a few glitches in the first short print run, but those have been worked out. Local contributors have received their complimentary copies, and other contributors will receive theirs next month.

Contributors include Walter Bargen, Missouri's first poet laureate; Susan Swartwout, editor of The Big Muddy; Dianna Graveman, winner of the North American National Catholic Press Association Award for Short Fiction; Pushcart Prize nominated writers Amy Willoughby-Burle and Louella Turner, and scores of other award-winning writers from Saturday Writers and the Missouri Writers' Guild, as well as a couple of newly published writers.

Contributors hail from Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, California, North Carolina, and Kansas. Saturday Writers' membership chair Sheree Nielsen took the haunting cover photo.

Copies are available from Amazon.com, or directly from High Hill Press highhillpress@aol.com