Editor: Shannon Cottongame
December 7, 2022
A November writing contest held in conjunction with Books on the Bosque weekend yielded successful results for several area writers at the Bosque Arts Center in Clifton.
Theo Boyd of Whitney won first place in the nonfiction essay category with her essay “50 Shadows.”
Kaitlyn Baker of Clifton High School took the top honors in the poetry division, while Beth Hatcher of Clifton and Kelsey Bryant of Valley Mills won second-place awards in the essay and short story categories, respectively.
Hatcher also captured third in essay. Cleon Flanagan of Clifton won third in short story, and Riley Ball of Clifton High School took third in poetry.
Area writers winning honorable mentions were Chelsea Canapi, Sophie Ritzmann, E. Brett Voss, Royce Graham, Kyndall Hunt and Flanagan.
The contest fielded entries from area writers as well as those from New Mexico, California and Maryland. First-place winners in each category received $250, second place drew $100, and third-place winners were awarded $50. Cash prizes were sponsored by Roland and Joyce Jones, B.C. and Leslie Bennett, Nancy Simpson, Debra Evans and Vikki Moore.
The weekend was made possible by underwriting for speakers from Atmos Energy. Tolstoy & Co. sponsored breakfast by Corner Drug.
Country singer/songwriter Radney Foster kicked off the weekend with a concert that featured him sprinkling snippets of his recently released book of short fiction, “For You to See the Stars,” throughout the evening.
On Saturday, guest speaker Nancy Masters Robinson conducted writing workshops in the morning and afternoon. She also delivered inspiring words to all in attendance for the awards ceremony, enlisting the audience to encourage their writer friends and family members.
She closed by reminding everyone: “If you can read and write, you have power.”
The complete list of winners is available at http://www.BosqueArtsCenter.org.
The Lakelander 