Council for Wisconsin Writers announces contest winners

2017 WISCONSIN WRITERS AWARDS ANNOUNCED BY

COUNCIL FOR WISCONSIN WRITERS

Sixteen Wisconsin writers have won First Place and Honorable Mention in the Council for Wisconsin Writers contests for work published in 2017. The Council will award each winner $500 and a week-long writing residency at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point. Honorable mentions will receive $50 and a residency at Painted Forest, Valton, WI. Awards will be presented at the Council’s annual banquet to be held this year on May 12 in Milwaukee.(see below)

Matt Cashion of La Crosse has won the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award for Our 13th Divorce, published by Livingston Press. 

Honorable mention goes to Kathleen Ernst of Middleton for Mining for Justice, published by Midnight Ink.

Dave Zweifel and John Nichols, co-authors of The Capital Times, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, and both of Madison, share the Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award.

Heather Swan of Madison receives honorable mention for Where Honeybees Thrive, Pennsylvania State University Press.

Matthew Guenette of Madison takes the Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award for his Vasectomania, University of Akron Press.

Honorable mention goes to Crystal Spring Gibbins of Washburn for her Now/Here, Holy Cow Press.

Shelly Tougas of Hudson has won the Tofte/Wright Children’s Literary Award for Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life, Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press.

Dean Robbins of Madison is receiving honorable mention for Margaret and the Moon, Knopf.

Bob Wake of Cambridge is winner of the Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction for “Mudstone,” Wisconsin People and Ideas.

Matt Cashion, La Crosse, receives honorable mention for “What Kills You,” Carolina Quarterly.

Ronnie Hess of Madison is receiving the Kay W. Levin Short Nonfiction Award for “Berlin Letters,” Poor Yorick Literary Journal.

Tamara Thomsen, Paul Reckner and Richard J. Boyd all of Madison share honorable mention for “Solving the Mystery of the SS. Lakeland,” Wisconsin Magazine of History.

Ed Werstein of Milwaukee has won the Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award for five individual poems.

Honorable mention goes to Margaret Benbow of Madison.

Contest winners and honorable mentions were selected by out-of-state judges.

Friends of Lorine Niedecker is receiving the Christopher Latham Sholes Award. This award, which includes a $500 prize, is named for Christopher Latham Sholes (1819–1890), a Wisconsinite who is credited with inventing the first practical typewriter and honors an individual or organization for outstanding encouragement of Wisconsin writers. The Friends of Lorine Niedecker is dedicated to preserving and expanding the legacy of Wisconsin poet Lorine Niedecker (1903-1970) who is widely recognized in the world of poetry as the only woman associated with the Objectivist poets.

The public is invited to celebrate our state’s fine writers at the CWW’s Awards Banquet at 

11 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, at the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee. Banquet tickets must be reserved by Saturday, May 4.

More information about the winners, judges, banquet registration, and the Council for Wisconsin Writers can be found at its website, www.wiswriters.org.

4 Groovy Upcoming Writer Perks You Don't Want to Miss!

Special Upcoming events all around the state - Enjoy!

Symposium

Writing Women Back into History. Featuring author Mary Sharratt and UW-La Crosse and Viterbo professors Jodi Vandenberg-Daves, Susan Crutchfield, and Keith Knutson, the panel discussion will focus on how the novelist and the scholar research and write the history of “overlooked” historical figures.

Writing Women Back into History will take place on April 15 at 2 PM in the UW-La Crosse Student Union, 521 East Ave. North, on the second floor. There will be a Q&A session and a book signing following the discussion. Admission is free and open to the public.

       

I'll be at Green Bay on Saturday and Sunday! 

Sharing about Critique Groups on Saturday afternoon and on a panel Sunday at noon.

Join our supportive community of writers for a two-day conference, May 11-12, Oshkosh Convention Center. We offer over a dozen workshops on the craft and business of writing designed to inspire and guide your creative journey. http://lakeflywriters.org

And, I'm not ashamed to admit, my favorite - Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat, Inc.
where I will also be for the week.

The next Bookcamp will be held May 20 to 26, 2018, at the Cedar Valley Center & Spa (www.cedarvalleycenter.org), which is 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee and near West Bend, Wisconsin, and about 2 hours from Chicago. It can easily be reached from State Highway 41.

debut inspirational fiction from Emily Conrad

Justice by Emily Conrad

Christian romance

Pelican Ventures

March 2018

Ebook $4.99

Buy on Amazon 

Buy on Barnes and Noble

About the Book

Jake thought he was meant to marry Brooklyn, but now she's pregnant, and he had nothing to do with it. As Brooklyn wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake, she can't bring herself to tell him the truth. To make matters worse, if the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake's coffee shop has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both. Can Jake and Brooklyn overcome the obstacles thrown in their path, and finally find the truth in God's love and in each other?

My review

At the core, this story’s title is the one-word bare truth of each character’s reality. Revenge, payback, responsibility, love, forgiveness, and loss all expose the depth of faith and steer the course toward Justice.

Friends from childhood, Jake and Brooklyn can’t seem to figure out what being in love with each other might look like. Their buddies and parents all expected them to marry long since, but Jake and Brooklyn explore relationships with others while they learn to navigate the scary world of responsible adulthood. When the time is finally right for them to move toward each other, crisis inflamed with outside jealousy steps between them. It takes ever-maturing belief to weather the storms, and a lot of help from their friends in an attempt to step back and find the bigger picture.

Jake is a driven young man, full of life and faith, overcoming the devastating death of his father and rising above to operate a popular business while making a difference, or trying to, in the lives of young people at church. Jake tries to follow in the footsteps of his bigger-than-life father, as well as fight the good fight of faith and hormones in the teenagers he wants to influence. He just can’t seem to work up the courage to show his longtime female buddy how he feels. Brooklyn is a naïve young woman who tortures herself by living in the shadow of her dysfunctional and cruel mother. She tries to convince herself that she’s not good enough for anyone, especially God, but has the sense to reach out to a wonderful group of women role models and finally, the person she’s leaned on for most of her life, Jake. When everything goes south, it’s grow up or shut up time. Jake falls back on his deep-seated anger while Brooklyn begins to understand the meaning and sacrifice of forgiveness. Watching their journeys crisscross and wander is a delight. Well-done.

Most of the side stories are woven beautifully into the thread of the story; the biggest one, that of the business competitor, feels a little like a shiny thread that is rough against the grain. While it’s more realistic to be on the side of the victim and not truly understand the hows of the vengeance-seeking little demagogue, I am left feeling a little puzzled. It’s like the scratchy tag on the inside of your shirt. Jake has some growing-up to do, and his business rival helps him learn, on a lesser scale, the lesson in forgiveness that Brooklyn is teaching him through her own faith expedition.

Told through multiple viewpoints, this debut novel is rich in Christian faith portrayal, and not shy about the depth and realities of sin. The characters have great dialog and emotional depth which spoke to me. Those who read deeply inspirational romantic fiction will find much to love about Justice.

About the Author

Emily Conrad writes Christian fiction. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two 60+ pound rescue dogs. Some of her favorite things (other than Jesus and writing, of course) are coffee, walks, and road trips to the mountains. She also blogs and offers free short stories at EmilyConradAuthor.com.

Path to Publication workshop in Waukesha May 19

YOUR PATH TO PUBLICATION SATURDAY - MAY 19, 2018 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Frame Park Rotary Building - 1150 Baxter Street Waukesha, Wisconsin You've done the work, now what?

Finally! A one-day event that answers all your questions about how to pursue publication in magazines, anthologies, and with book publishers. Morning sessions will cover manuscript preparation and market research, showing the writer the best places to find those magazines and anthologies that are looking specifically for your work. Book markets will be covered as well, and the age-old question of whether or not you really need an agent will be examined and answered. You'll learn about cover letters and query letters and how they're used differently. And you'll get rock-solid guidance on how to write the dreaded synopsis of your book. Then, after a lunch break and a chance to interact with other participants and event presenters, you will meet a full panel of experienced writers who have accomplished your goal: traditional publication of a novel, book-length memoir, or poetry collection, as well as individual pieces in magazines and anthologies. Panel participants include: Jim Landwehr Summer Hanford Michael Giorgio Carrie Newberry Ilona Fridl Alice Benson Kerry Crowley Lila Schwenk Event will be led by Kathie Giorgio, director of AllWriters' Workplace & Workshop and critically acclaimed author of seven traditionally published books: four novels, two story collections, and one poetry chapbook. In the last four years, AllWriters' writers have had almost 100 books accepted for publication and an average of almost three acceptances per week in magazines and anthologies. Offering solid and proven marketing advice, Giorgio will guide event participants through all of the steps leading to publication.

Early Bird Registration Fee just $89 (ends March 30, 2018) After March 30  Registration Fee $99 Lunch provided Free Parking Registration Open Now! Register online or by callling 262-446-0284