Outdoor Writers Association of America - The Voice of the Outdoors, OWAA Legends

August 4, 2006

For more information contact:
Kevin Rhoades, krhoades@owaa.org
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Outdoor Writers Association of America Recognizes Young Writers

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) announced winners of their annual Norm Strung Youth Writing Competition, sponsored by OWAA and the Outdoor Guide. The contest honors outstanding youth writing by junior high and high school students. This year’s total payout was $1,000.

The contest features categories for poetry and prose and awards prizes in two divisions, the Junior Division for students in grades 6-8 and the Senior Division for grades 9-12. Entries must be outdoors oriented and have already been published in a newsletter, newspaper, magazine, literary collection, etc. Cash awards and certificates are granted for both divisions.

This year’s winners are as follows:

Senior Poetry

First Place: Sledding by Jenny Knezovich (Reardon, Wash.)
Second Place: Checking Traps After the First Snow by Fergus Gavin (Faribault, Mass.)
Third Place (tie): Winter Magic by Mary Thomas (Windsor, N.Y.)
Third Place (tie): Canyon Swing by Jacqueline Robinette (Cheney, Wash.)

Senior Prose

First Place: To Be A Thomas by Casey Thomas (Post Falls, Idaho)
Second Place: The First Pheasant by Charles Schmidtbauer (Anoka, Minn.)
Third Place: Untitled by Michael Cambareri (Lacona, N.Y.)

Junior Poetry

First Place: Call of the North by Jake Budnick (Isanti, Minn.)
Second Place: Sound of Summer by Francesca D’Angelo (Duncannon, Pa.)
Third Place: If You Really Want To Know Me by Kam Shaw (Zeeland, Mich.)

Junior Prose

First Place: Untitled by Jacob Aleckson (St.Cloud, Minn.)
Second Place: What A Cast by Dylan Loga (Tawas City, Mich.)
Third Place: My First Rites of Passage by Josh Moyer (New Cumberland, Pa.)

The deadline for next year’s entries is March 15, 2007. For complete contest rules and more information, visit OWAA’s Web site, www.owaa.org.

Since its inception in 1927, OWAA has become the largest and oldest association of professional outdoor communicators in the United States. OWAA’s mission is to improve the professional skills of its members, set the highest ethical and communications standards, encourage public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources and mentor the next generation of professional outdoor communicators. The national headquarters is located in Missoula, Mont.

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