UA Wayne College Announces 2013 Writing Award Winners

The University of Akron Wayne College recently presented awards to the 2013 Writer of the Year and to high school, college and community writers at its annual Writers Workshop. For thirteen years, UA Wayne College has recognized exceptional writing with its Writing Awards and for ten years has offered workshops to help writers sharpen their skills. The competition recognizes students from area high schools, Wayne College students and regional writers for projects they submitted at the end of the fall semester.

High school writers competed in poetry, short story or personal essay categories, college writers submitted short stories or poetry, while regional writing competitors submitted poetry, short story or nonfiction pieces. The winners in each category received a monetary prize and complimentary registration to the April 6 workshop event. The Writer of the Year received a plaque and a $500 cash award.

The Writer of the Year award, which recognizes excellence and achievement by a published writer who resides in Wayne, Holmes or Medina counties for a lifetime of work or for a recent success, was presented to Holmes County resident Raymond Buckland, who signed a multi-book contract this October with Penguin for a series of Victorian crime novels. He published his first book in 1969 and has published more than 50 since then. His books, both fiction and non-fiction, have been translated into seventeen different languages and there are over two million copies in print. Eleven years ago he established the Killbuck Valley Writers Guild, a group that is still active today.

Buckland has taught courses at many colleges and universities and has made countless presentations nationally and internationally; he has served as a technical advisor for the Orson Welles movie The Witches and as an adviser to William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist; and has also appeared on numerous television programs, including Tom Snyder, Dick Cavett, and Sally Jessy Rafael.

In the high school poetry category

• Sarah McCartney of the Wayne County Schools Career Center won first place with “Human Silhouette.”
• Alexis T. Kirk of Highland High School was awarded second place for “Life.”
• Abigail Lyall of Jackson High School claimed third place for “I’ll Love You ‘Till the Trees are Soft with Snow.”

In the high school short story category:

• Autumn Koenig of Medina High School won first place for “One Thousand Cranes.”
• Mary Anne Snyder of Orrville High School/Wayne College PSEOP took second place for “Solace.”
• Morgan Elswick of Buckeye High School took third place with “What We’ve Done.”

The high school personal essay category:

• Abigail Lyall of Jackson High School was the first-place winner in with “The Christmas Without Santa Claus.”
• Carolyn Beatty of Dalton High School placed second for “In the Shadows.”
• Rachel Detweiler of Dalton High School received third place for “First Impressions.”

In the college poetry division:

• Cody Steigerwald received the first place award for “First Lust”
• Treva Eihinger received the second place award for “Raging.”

College short story category:

• Cody Steigerwald was the first place winner in the with “The Spider, the Fly, and the Cartels”
• Treva Eihinger took second with “Crystal.”

The regional awards poetry category:

• Daniel Ackerman won first place for “Moonstruck.”
• Sue Spirit won second place with “Guidelines for Nirvana.”
• Darlene Mullett won the third-place award for “The Contrast.”

In the regional awards short story category, Melinda Neuhauser took first place for “Crossing the Wire.”

Regional nonfiction category:

• Joseph McLaughlin was the first place winner in the with “The Case Against Sparrows”.
• Bruce Stambaugh placed second with “Enamored By Names,”
• Mary Ann Lieser received third place for “Tending Our Treasures.”

UA Wayne College is a regional campus of The University of Akron offering baccalaureate degrees in business administration, social work and organizational supervision as well as associate degrees, a Saturday MBA program and the first two years of general studies courses for students who plan to complete their degrees at the Akron campus or other colleges or universities. In addition, UA Wayne College prepares students for a variety of paraprofessional and technical careers and offers a wide range of continuing education and workforce development programming. The campus is located at 1901 Smucker Road in Orrville. More information about the College can be found at www.wayne.uakron.edu.