SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Awards Ceremony

The Awards Ceremony for the 27th Annual SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest was held November 14th, 2017.

Winners and Finalists were honored for their wonderful achievement and the winning entries were read aloud to the general membership and guests at the event. Please check out the ceremony and read the winning entries, on the page tabs above.

A special thanks to our amazing judges for their tireless work, expertise, and dedication to this contest.  We couldn't do it without them!

Thank you all for another wonderful year.

Keep writing - we can't wait to see your words again soon!

Sincerely,

Tia Araminta
Contest Director
SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest

Winners and Finalists Announced in the 27th Annual SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest

Congratulations to all entrants in the 27^th annual SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest! This year welcomed new and established talent locally, and from around the globe. The quality of writing was outstanding, making our esteemed judges’ task very challenging. We are pleased to announce the following top three winners and finalists in all categories.

Please join us for the Awards Ceremony at the SLO NightWriters General Meeting on November 14^th beginning at 6:00 p.m. The winning entries will be read aloud by the author and all winners and finalists will be presented with their certificates and prizes. The address and directions to the location are below.

Non-Fiction

First Place                   Cate Touryan            The Auction   

Second Place              Nancy Bodily             Pain Management

Third Place                 Mary Beth Ellis           … And the Married Girl

Fiction

First Place                   Hope Padalino           The Liberation of the Family 

                                                                       Moto

Second Place              Rod Pound                 Earning the Urn

Third Place                 Patricia B. Ellson        The Night we Saved the 

                                                                       Moon

Poetry

First Place                   Laura Apol                  In My Next Life

Second Place              Sharyl Heber              Soldiers for a New 

                                                                       Millennium

Third Place                 Linda Neal                  I Don’t Mean to be 

                                                                      Melancholy

FINALISTS

Non-Fiction

Communication With a Lost Soul	Sue Andrews
Forgiveness = Liberation	Patty Moreno
The Gift	Anna Allen
Theology of the Artichoke	Christine Venzon
Incident in Managua: A Memoir of Liberation	Adrianne Aron
The Poet President	John W. Polonis
Turtle Liberation	Penelope Anne Cole

Fiction

The Prayer	Nancy Bodily
Behind the Veil	Shoba Sadler
Ezkaba	Eva Garcia-Gonzalez
Finding Joy	Adrienne Riley
Strip and Restore	Margaret Duarte
The Last War	Carlen Vigo
A Last Saturnalia	Kathryn Mitchell Lucchese
The Dog Guy	Scott Matthews

 Poetry

Social Work	Kathryn de Lancelotti
St. Louis, 1950	Jeanie Greensfelder
Gaze	Suellen Wedmore
Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello	Laura Apol
Quitting, Quitting, Quitting	Finn Anderson
I Miss You Because You are Not Here (resubmitted)	Diane Swan
At the Edge of the Cliff	Patricia B. Ellson

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Awards Ceremony November 14^th, 6:00 p.m.

Meet Your Judges as They Work on the Finals - Lillian Brown

Lillian Brown is a retired journalist and public relations specialist trying her hand at fiction since returning to the Central Coast 12 years ago. She has published a number of short stories, as well as nonfiction articles, and is currently focusing on an historical novel. She lives with her husband and one stray cat in Atascadero, close to her two daughters and their families. 

When not writing fiction, she works in real estate and promotion, spends time with grandchildren, does some horseback riding, and enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and generally goofing off in retirement. 

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Finals!

The esteemed panel of judges for the SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest is hard at work, ranking the Finalist entries. Their task is not easy this year. The quality of submissions is making the final determination of the top three winners in each category exceptionally challenging.

 But – they persevere and the top ten Finalists and First, Second and Third place winners will be selected by October 26^th. These contestants will be contacted via email at that time, so check your inbox!

All contestants and guests are invited to the Awards Ceremony on November 14^th at the SLO NightWriters General Meeting, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Please see address and directions below. The First Place winners in each category will be invited to read their winning entries. The top three winning entries will additionally be published in the SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest webpage at http://slonwgoldenquillwritingcontest.com/

11245 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo CA

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Judges Hard at Work on the Finals! Meet Natalie McDermott

Natalie’s love for the written word began in the first grade, and it simply never stopped flourishing; her family was not surprised when she received her Master’s in Literature, since seeing her with her nose in a book was not uncommon.   Since she now runs TheCrimsonQuill.com with her friend and business partner, Mindy Conde, this sight is still not uncommon, except now she has a red pen in her hand.   

As an editor, Natalie’s passion for the written word has grown exponentially, as she thoroughly enjoys helping authors with their craft.  She lives in Burbank with her husband and their small dog, and she dreams of the Central Coast.

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Judges Hard at Work - Meet Susan Tuttle

Susan Tuttle is a professional editor, writing instructor, and the award-winning author of 14 books (5 suspense novels, 1 short story collection, a 6-volume workbook series on writing titled Write It Right, and 2 books 

on spiritual Biblical meditations. She is a member of SLO NW, the Central Coast Chapter of Sisters In Crime (SinC), SinC National and the Public Service Writers Association (PSWA). Find her writing prompts every Wednesday at www.SusanTuttleWrites.com

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Judges Hard at Work - Meet Mindy Conde

With a Master’s degree in Literature and a lifelong passion for the written word, Mindy is in her element as an editor for TheCrimsonQuill.com, which she runs along with friend and business partner, Natalie 

McDermott. She loves working with authors to help them perfect their manuscripts and turn those tricky passages into masterpieces. After graduating from Cal Poly, Mindy and her husband didn’t want to leave the area and now call the Central Coast their home. She lives in the lovely, and often foggy, little town of Los Osos with her husband, two cats, and piles and piles of books. When she’s not editing or reading, Mindy enjoys local wine tasting, baking, and hiking in the many beautiful areas the Central Coast has to offer.