Results of the 2009 Shreveport Writers Club Contests

The Christmas Party/Awards Ceremony on December 12 was a wonderful event! We started partying at 11:30 to the wonderful music of SWC member BILL CONLY, below right, and his talented friend, BOB JORDAN, below left.

Our PR lady, BONNIE McEWAN, below right, was on the job and captured many photos of the event, as did writer SARA BURROUGHS, below left, in blue receving her award for 2nd Place in the Non-fiction category of the contest from President and Contest Chair BECKY HAIGLER. All photos in this post are used by permission of these two ladies. Thanks!

A little after noon, we interrupted our noshing and noodling to award prizes for the 2009 contests. Results, below, are followed by more photos of the awards and the party. Names in all caps in the winners' lists are SWC Members.

Non-fiction Category:
1st Place, $50, Meg Bearden, "A Complete Compulsion"
2nd Place, $30, Sara Burroughs, "How I Went for a Bike Ride..."
3rd Place, $20, Maddie Layton, "Envelopes"

Remainder of Non-fiction Top Ten, alphabetized by author's last name:
Bettiann Clark, 2X; Orville Jensen; BILL CONLY, 2X; Caitlin Sattler

Fiction Category:
1st Place, $50, SHIRLEY BROWN, "The Long Goodbye"
2nd Place, $30, C.J. Clark, "One Last Wish"
3rd Place, $20, PHILLIP R. GREEN, "The Sound of Silence"
At left, PHILLIP GREEN receives his award from President BECKY HAIGLER.






Remainder of Fiction Top Ten, alphabetized by author's last name:
Bill Allen; Irv Heard, 5X; Clark Strayhan

Unrhymed Poetry Category:
1st Place, $25, MARIE BRASS, haiku--windy spring day
2nd Place, $15, Orville Jensen, "That Inner Rage"
3rd Place, $10, Orville Jensen, "To Son Jim"
Honorable Mention, Shantelle Jefferson, "Our Love Is"

MARIE BRASS, right

ORVILLE JENSEN, left














Rhymed Poetry Category:
1st Place, $25, Irv Heard, "Jive in Hive Five"
2nd Place, $15, BILL CONLY, "The Lone Nerd"
3rd Place, $10, BILL CONLY, "Call 9-1-1"
Honorable Mention, Irv Heard, "The Little Harley Dog"

Address contest questions to shreveportwriters@hotmail.com

Awards and critiques will be mailed to winners named above who were not at the party. Winners have been invited to read their work at the January 30th meeting of Shreveport Writers Club.

Thanks to all who entered this year's contest, to our judges, and all who came out to celebrate with us.

After the awards we enjoyed holiday-themed readings by DAVE HICKS,below left; PAMELA RAINTREE,below right; BONNIE McEWAN; and MARIE BRASS.




Above, left, new member BRENDA FRIED, with Secretary BARBARA MOORE, at right.


BONNIE McEWAN, below left, and BOBI CARR.


KATHRYN WOLFE, at left, with GIL MOORE

Above, MARIAN POE, at left; BARBARA MOORE, Secretary, center; JUNE DOWIS, Treasurer, right

Above, DONNA STONE, left, and SONJI ALEXANDER, right

MARIAN POE, left
CARLOS COLON, right

Christmas Party and Contest Awards Event!

Hope your calendar is already marked for Saturday, December 12, 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. for Shreveport Writers Club annual holiday festivity! This year we will also be honoring the winners of our biannual contests. The fun will take place in the community room at the front of the Broadmoor library branch, 1212 Captain Shreve Drive.

Last year, the party time just flew by and we have even more fun to enjoy this year. SWC member and professional musician Bill Conly and a friend will be playing music for our greeting and grazing time. Please bring a small platter of FINGER FOOD snacks to share -- no forks available! The club will provide drinks and paper goods.

There will be some time for SWC members to read SHORT holiday-themed writings, but we are asking you to keep selections to one or two pages so we have time to hear from those who want to share.

The awards ceremony for the 2009 Writing Contests will be an important part of the party. We had several entrants, and some winners, who are not SWC members and we expect some of them will be with us on the 12th. All first-, second- and third-place winners will be invited to read their selections at the first SWC meeting of the New Year, January 30.

October Meeting and Holiday Changes

At our October meeting, we welcomed new member Dave Hicks whose specialty is poetry. We heard one of his pieces at Round Robin Reading time and look forward to more of his work. Shirley Brown's Flash Writing topics elicited some fun writing, as did Bonnie McEwan's Writers' Tips on characterization.

Don't forget that Shreveport Writers Club meetings in November and December will NOT be on the fourth Saturday! In November, we will meet on the 21st, before Thanksgiving, at our usual meeting time of 10 till noon. In December, the meeting will be a Christmas party, combined with the awards ceremony for our contest, on Saturday, the 12th. We'll have the community room at the front of the library from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Start creating a short Christmas/holiday piece to read, or find an old favorite by an author you admire. In either case, remember we'll be a little pressed for time, so keep it short!

September Meeting

Shreveport Writers Club met Saturday, September 26. We greeted visitor Ayanna Smith and welcomed new members Sonji Alexander and Donna Stone.

SWC member and former president, MARIAN POE, right, spoke on "Vapor vs. Concrete," and led us in some activities to practice making our writing vivid and compelling. Marian has had a long writing career and told about "reinventing" herself as a writer several times, to meet both market and family demands.

Several contest entries were received by hand at the meeting. A final count has not yet been made, but all categories of the contest "made" except that of Novel Excerpt. Only one entry was received and the entry fee will be returned. Submissions will be sent to judges in a few days. Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at the Christmas Party, December 12. Reserve the date and watch this space for more details. Contest results will also be posted here December 13.

2009 Contest Rules

Rules and entry forms for the 2009 SWC Writers' Contest are posted below so you may highlight and copy them. You may also request MSWord attachments of the documents from shreveportwriters@hotmail.com or by sending a self-addressed, STAMPED envelope to the Contest Coordinator at the address below.

Shreveport Writers Club
Contest Rules 2009

1. All entries must be original work of author and unpublished as of September 19, 2009. Entries may not have won any prize in previous SWC contests.

2. All entries must be printed in black ink (font size 12 or 14) on one side of 8 ½” x 11” white paper only. No fancy fonts.

3. Prose entries must be double spaced, one side of paper only, with one inch margins. Poetry entries may be single spaced.

4. On each page of manuscript type title and page number (if more than one page) in upper right corner. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON ANY SHEET OF THE MANUSCRIPT. AUTHOR’S NAME GOES ONLY ON THE COVER SHEET, so entries may be anonymous to judges.

5. Each entry must have a cover sheet. Use a separate cover sheet for each entry. Put author’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and TITLE of manuscript in center of cover sheet. Below that, list CATEGORY and word length for prose or line length for poetry.

DO NOT PUT AUTHOR’S NAME ON ANY PAGE EXCEPT COVER SHEET.

BE SURE TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT IS ON COVER SHEET.

BE SURE EACH PAGE OF MANUSCRIPT HAS CORRECT TITLE AND
PAGE NUMBER (if more than one page in length.)

Fasten cover sheet to each entry with a paper clip. DO NOT STAPLE ANYTHING.

6. Correct entry fee must accompany each entry. Make checks payable to Shreveport Writers Club. YOU MAY SUBMIT MULTIPLE ENTRIES IN ANY CATEGORY, with proper fee for each included in a single check, and in a single envelope.

7. Entry fees:

SWC Members// Non Members:

Poetry: $5 per entry//$7 per entry

Prose: $10 per entry//$15 per entry

8. Entries that do not conform to rules may be disqualified and discarded, no fees returned.

9. No entries will be returned. Entries received after the deadline will be discarded but checks will be returned. Decisions of judges will be final.

10. Any category that does not receive at least five entries will be declared “No Contest” and fees will be returned to entrants.


11. Categories:

Rhymed poetry or poetry in formal forms – 32 lines maximum

Unrhymed poetry – 32 lines maximum

Non-fiction, including personal essays of Memoir/Nostalgia/Inspiration – 1500 words maximum

Short Fiction – mainstream or genre, including Mystery/Suspense, Romance, Western, Sci/fi or Horror, Historical, Young Adult, etc. No erotica. 3000 words maximum.

Novel Excerpt – same genres as above. 3000 words maximum, from the beginning of the novel, plus an additional one-page, double-spaced summary of the entire plot.

12. Prizes to be awarded in each poetry category:

First Prize - $25.00
Second Prize - $15.00
Third Prize - $10.00

13. Prizes to be awarded in each prose category:

First Prize - $50.00
Second Prize - $30.00
Third Prize - $20.00

14. Top ten entries in each category will receive a written critique.

15. Deadline: SWC must receive all mailed submissions no later than September 19, 2009.
Mail entries to:

Shreveport Writers Club
Contest Coordinator
P.O. Box 544
Shreveport LA 71162

OR entries may be hand-delivered to club meeting at Broadmoor Library in Shreveport,
on September 26, 2009.

16. Awards of First Place, Second Place and Third Place for each category will be presented at the SWC Christmas Party and Awards Ceremony on December 12, 11:30 a.m., location to be announced. Winners unable to attend will receive checks and critiques by mail.

17. A complete list of winners, including top ten entries, will be posted at http://shrevewriters.blogspot.com on December 13, 2009. Top ten critique sheets not picked up at the awards luncheon will be mailed.


Shreveport Writers Club 2009 Contest Entry Form

Name: ______________________________
Address: ____________________________
____________________________
____________________________

Phone: (___)_________________________

Email address: _______________________

Have you previously paid SWC dues for 2009-2010?
_____Yes _____No

SWC membership fee is $20 per year. Non-members may join now.

SWC Member:

Total number of poetry entries: ___ x $5= ___
Total number of prose entries: ___ x $10= ___
Membership (optional, as needed) $20 ___
TOTAL enclosed: ______

SWC Non-member:

Total number of poetry entries: ___ x $7= ___
Total number of prose entries: ___ x $15= ___
TOTAL enclosed: ______


I plan to attend the Contest Awards Ceremony
___ YES ___ NO


*****************************************************************************
Detach above and mail to address below

Make check or money order payable to: Shreveport Writers Club

Shreveport Writers Club Christmas Party and Contest Awards Ceremony will be held on December 12, 11:30 a.m., site to be announced. Please check the website: www.shrevewriters.blogspot.com

Join Shreveport Writers Club now! The Shreveport Writers Club has been a support group for writers since 1935. Amateur or professional writers are welcome. The club meets on the last Saturday of each month, January – October, 10 a.m. to noon, Broadmoor Public Library, 1212 Captain Shreve Drive, Shreveport, LA. November and December meetings vary.

MAIL TO:
Shreveport Writers Club
Contest Coordinator
P.O. Box 544
Shreveport, LA 71162

Mailed entries must be received by September 19, 2009, or hand-delivered to the September 26 meeting. Late entries will be discarded, but checks will be returned. Please read contest rules carefully, as non-conforming entries may be disqualified.

April 25th meeting

At our April meeting, Shreveport Writers Club welcomed a visitor who is actually a returning member: KATHY FREEMAN, poet and fiction writer.

MARIE BRASS's Flash Writing topics elicited much spirited writing and JUNE DOWIS's Writers' Tips encouraged us to become confident and comfortable in articulating who we are and what we do.

Making a Mark pens went to JUNE DOWIS, BARBARA MOORE, MARIE BRASS, and MARIAN POE for various kinds of submission of work since the March meeting.

The majority of business discussed dealt with fine points of the 2009 contest. Final guidelines will be distributed at the May meeting. After that, contest rules will be posted here and our PR guru BONNIE MCEWAN will begin to publicize this year's event. Here's a teaser: categories include two for poetry, two for fiction, and one for non-fiction. Start picking out work you want to enter or creating something wonderful that's new.

March 28 meeting

PAMELA RAINTREE, below right, led Shreveport Writers Club members and visitors in a group exercise which proved that careful thought about setting, character, and conflict will produce plot!















Helping us discover "the arcane secret of producing prose from blank paper," PAMELA is shown with an example of the "wand" and "spellbook" she gave to each participant.















After Pam's presentation, in a brief business meeting four "Making a Mark" pens were awarded to MARIE BRASS, BONNIE McEWAN, JUNE DOWIS, and BECKY HAIGLER for submissions made since the February meeting.

Members voted to plan a contest for 2009. SWC's last contest was in 2007, when an effective set of rules and guidelines were developed by a hard-working Contest Committee. President BECKY HAIGLER has asked the Executive Board to serve as the current Contest Committee, and proposals for updating previous contest guidelines will be presented for discussion by the membership at the April meeting.

MACAULEY JOHNSON shared a flyer advertising the Aaron & Peggy Selber RED RIVER CULTURAL TRADITIONS WRITING CONTEST. $1,000 Prize for the best written paper on the contest theme - A Sense of Place. The submission may include cultural, historical, geographical and scientific aspects of North Louisiana's Red River Region. But, don't limit yourself - we are looking for great writing supported by rich reporting of our culture.

Deadline: Friday, May 1. For contest rules visit the Sci-Port website, click on Programs, then on Contests, and scroll down to RRCT Writing Competition.

Round Robin reading at the March 28 meeting was all poetry! Although it was good, we missed our prose writers and hope they will be able to join us again in April.