writing

Writing winners: Napa Valley Writers hold a first student writing contest

24 January 2018 William H. Gould 0

“Six students were honored at the Jan. 10 meeting of Napa Valley Writers. Honorable mention went to Paola Machuca, Dariya Stuter and Ally Peterson. First- second- and third-place winners were Fernando Cisneros, Shaelynn Sublett and Olivia Ilsley.”

The students won cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50. The club hopes to make this contest an annual event and to expand to other schools in the future.

Editor’s note: Last fall, author Lenore Hirsch contacted the Register with a question: If the Napa Valley Writers, a branch of the California Writers Club, held a student writing contest, would we be interested in publishing the winning essays?

 

Jon McGregor: ‘I have never been asked how I juggle writing and fatherhood’

7 January 2018 William H. Gould 0

I read an interview in the New Yorker recently with Mikaela Shiffrin, one of the world’s leading slalom skiers, in which she talked about how little time she actually spends on the slopes. After accounting for the hours spent travelling between training runs, kitting out, warming up and sitting on chairlifts, even the most dedicated skier will struggle to get more than seven minutes skiing out of a training day. Contrary to the famous Malcolm Gladwell assertion that success requires 10,000 hours of practice, Shiffrin considers it the height of dedication to be achieving 11 hours of skiing over the course of a year.

(Fun fact: I have never been asked how I juggle writing and fatherhood. I’m not complaining; it’s nobody’s business, and nothing to do with writing. But I wonder what assumptions lie behind the question of juggling writing and motherhood coming up so regularly?)

 

NW Ontario writing contest opens door for new talent

7 January 2018 William H. Gould 0

THUNDER BAY – Organizers of the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop Writing Contest hope to find some undiscovered gems among the entries to this year’s competition.

Contestants have until March 31, 2018 to submit their work in any of five categories including poetry, short fiction, historical fiction, creative non-fiction and the Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose.

“Each year NOWW’s contest does something bigger and better,” said contest coordinator Jodene Wylie. “If you’re a reader and a writer, we want to impress you and motivate you to pull out that pen, pull up to your computer and get writing.”

 

read more at tbnewswatch.com

Woods Bay Grill holds writing contest to find new owner

7 January 2018 William H. Gould 0

KALISPELL, Mont. – The owners of Woods Bay Grill in the Flathead Valley weren’t having any luck selling their property traditionally, so they created an essay contest to find the next owner.

Bacon’s been sizzling at the Woods Bay Grill for 13 years now.

“It’s kind of like your own version of cheers but without the alcohol,” said Woods Bay Grill co-owner Leslie Browning. “People walk in the door and they are like ‘hey, how you doing Pat. How’s it going today?’”

Browning is just one of three owners of the grill. They all decided they are ready to retire, but they want the grill to still be there for the community.