2001
West Virginia Writers Annual
Spring Writing Competition Winners

Emerging Writers Prose

1^st Place— “Second Hand Smoke” by Connie Leinen, Ona (Cabell County)

2^nd Place—“Spaces in Between” by Hanna Wheeler, Independence (Preston County)

3^rd Place— “Homecoming” by John Mugaas, Lewisburg (Greenbrier County)

• “Snakes in Heaven” by Keith Webb, St. Albans (Kanawha County)
• “Breaking Ice” by Tom Donlon, Harpers Ferry (Kanawha County)
• “A Tree in the Attic” by Mary Claire Johnson, Richwood (Nicholas County)
• “Answering Service” by Mary Miller, Kingwood (Preston County)

Emerging Writers Poetry

1^st Place—“Girl in Black Silk” by Lori Wilson, Morgantown (Monongalia County)

2^nd Place—“The Battle at New Market” by Stephan Rowe, Princeton (Mercer County)

3^rd Place—“Sunday Dinner Interrupted” by Mary Claire Johnson, Richwood (Nicholas County)

• “Fishing” by Tom Donlon, Harper’s Ferry (Jackson County)
• “Christmas Party” by Ethan Fischer, Harper’s Ferry (Jackson County)
• “Holding On” by Mary Imo, Dunbar (Kanawha County)
• “If I were Invisible” – “The Phoenix” – “Stars” by Lora Lacara, Huntington (Cabell County)
• “Mountain Winter” by Matt Haught, Barrackville (Marion County)

Long Poetry

1^st Place—“Cuffed Frays” by Grace Cavalier, Hedgesville (Berkeley County)

2^nd Place—“Miss Winnie” by Llewellyn McKernan, Barboursville (Cabell County)

3^rd Place—“Polish Day, Kennywood, June 6, 1969” by Vic Donarke, Phillippi (Barbour County)

Honorable Mentions in Order:

• “Echo of Distant Voices” by Mary Lucille DeBerry, Morgantown (Monongalia County)
• “Elmer Lee” by Llewellyn McKernan, Barboursville (Cabell County)
• “Centuries End, West Virginia” by Llewellyn McKernan, Barboursville (Cabell County)
• “Pedestrian” by Earl Keener, Bethany (Brooke County)
• “Many Hats” by Mary Alice Merryman, Summersville (Nicholas County)
• “Fame” by Grace Cavalier, Hedgesville (Berkeley County)
• “The Popindoo Hat Man” by Ton Donlon, Harpers Ferry (Jefferson County)

Short Short Story

1^st Place —“The Days That Are No More” by Jim Koenig, Harpers Ferry (Jefferson County)

2^nd Place —“Playing Danny’s Breakdown” by Gerald Swick, Clarksburg (Harrison County)

3^rd Place —“Getting Moving” by Jim Koenig, Harpers Ferry (Jefferson County)

Honorable Mentions in Order:

• “I Stand Here Folding” by Lucia Murabito, Mograntown (Monongalia County)
• “On Strike” by Fay Thompson, Ripley (Jackson County)
• “Mud” by Natalie Sypolt, Masontown (Preston County) 

Short Poetry

1^st Place —“Moments Before My Birth” by Llewellyn McKernan, Barboursville (Cabell County)

2^nd Place —“Lost” by Anna Egan Smucker, Bridgeport (Harrison County)

3^rd Place —“Kitchen Words” by Jeanna Wilson, Grantsville (Calhoun County)

Honorable Mentions in Order:

• “The House Where Norman Rockwell Lived” by Robert Flanagan, Yellow Spring (Hampshire County)
• “Why My Happiness for You is Tempered” by Lori Wilson, Morgantown (Monongalia County)
• “Gift” by Ann Smucker, Bridgeport (Harrison County)
• “Poem Catcher” by Jeanne Wilson, Grantsville (Calhoun County)

Short Story

1^st Place—“I love a Parade” by Ralph Riley, Augusta (Hampshire County)

2^nd Place —“Lettie’s Man” by Dale Heaster, Morgantown (Monongalia County)

3^rd Place —“The Buckeye Payroll Heist” by Truman Shrewsbury, Frankford (Greenbrier County)

Honorable Mentions in Order:

• “A Chance to Be Free” by Fay Thompson, Ripley (Jackson County)
• “Left Hand of God” by Jeanne Wilson, Grantsville (Calhoun County)
• “A Furrow Through Time” by Jeanne Wilson, Grantsville (Calhoun County)
• “The Opening” by Ric MacDowell, Hamlin (Lincoln County)

Short Story Collection

1^st Place—“Stories From My Other Self” by Jim Koenig, Harpers Ferry (Jefferson County)

2^nd Place—“Potpouri” by Patsy Pittman, Vienna (Wood County)

3^rd Place—“Peripheral Vision” by Robert Flanagan, Yellow Spring (Hampshire County)

Children's Books

1^st Place—“Speders” by Teresa Newsome, Madison (Boone County)

2^nd Place—“Hardly Blended” by Teresa Newsome, Madison (Boone County)

3^rd Place—“There’s a Cricket in My Closet” by Judith Pratt (Kanahwa County)

• “The Return of Inian Pipes” by Renee Moris, South Charleston (Kanawha County)
• “The Ocean I Know” by Patsy Risner, Millstone (Calhoun County)
• “The Clouds Child” by Kathy Ison, Madison (Boone County)

Humor & Irony/Satire

1^st Place—“In the Concert Hall” by Barbara Smith, Philippi (Barbour County)

2^nd Place—“Maid Mary” by Norma Johnson, Caldwell (Greenbrier County)

3^rd Place—“Like a Geode” by Wilma Acree, Vienna (Wood County)

Honorable Mentions in Order:

• “The Cold War Ends” by Nancy Merical, Ripley (Jackson County)
• “Over the Rim and Back Again” by Pat Stapleton, Ravenswood (Jackson County)
• “Cost of Living” by Bill Lepp, Charleston (Kanawha County)
• “I Love” by Emily Traube, Beckley (Raleigh County)

Poetry Collection Category

1^st Place—“The Work of the Feast” by Jessie Harriman, Terra (Preston County)

2^nd Place—“29 February Poems” by John McKernan, Barboursville (Cabell County)

3^rd Place—“Residue” by Robert Flanagan, Yellow Spring (Hampshire County)

• “Paper Lanterns” by Earl Keener, Bethany (Brooke County)

People’s Choice Award Winners from Annual Conference

PROSE 

1^st Round:  1.) Fay Thompson, 2.) Ralph Baber, 3.) Bill Strange

2^nd Round: 1.) Shirley Klein, 2.) Dolly Withrow, 3.) Candace Jordan

POETRY

1^st Round: 1.) Twilce Townsend, 2.) Sharon Pauley, 3.) Mary Lucille

2^nd Round: 1.) Wilma Acree, 2.) Bob Flanagan, 3.) Sandra Davis

WRITERS WALL

1.) Mary Imo, 2.) Nancy Wright, 3.) Jack Oliver