Winning submission focuses on Arizona’s disappearing waterways and restoration efforts with urban grey water

Guest judge, noted author Robert Michael Pyle, and the Waterston Desert Writing Prize Board of Directors have named Hannah Hindley, Tucson, Arizona, the winner of the 2020 Prize! Eli Beck, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Leath Tonino, Ferrisburgh,Vermont were Prize finalists. The winner of the Prize’s inaugural student desert writing contest is Al Lehto, a senior at Redmond Proficiency Academy.

September 10 Awards Event Includes “A Desert Conversation” Panel With Renowned Authors
Winners and finalists will be honored and offer readings at the annual reception and awards ceremonies at the High Desert Museum, currently scheduled for Thursday, September 10, at 6:00 p.m., COVID-19 status permitting. The event will also feature “A Desert Conversation” addressing this year’s theme of “Climate Change in the Desert.” Featured panelists include Robert Michael Pyle, author of 30 books, including “Wintergreen,” which won the John Burroughs Medal for distinguished nature writing, his first novel, “Magdalena Mountain,”  and “Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide,” which has been adapted to a movie titled “The Dark Divide.”

Also on the panel, environmental writer Dahr Jamail is the author of “The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption.” Jamail is a recipient of numerous honors, including the Martha Gellhorn Award for Journalism for his work in Iraq and a 2018 Izzy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Independent Media for his reporting on the Climate Crisis. A third panel member is pending. Free creative writing workshops led by the panelists precede the evening’s events.

Hannah Hindley’s Submission Focused on Sonoran Desert’s Disappearing Waterways
Hannah Hindley’s winning submission, “Thin Blue Dream,” proposes a collection of interconnected stories that explore the Sonoran Desert’s disappearing waterways, the fish that used to call them home, and the successes and complications that come with efforts to help restore depleted tributaries with city effluent. “It’s a strange story of ghost rivers, dead fish, and resilience in the heart of urban spaces in the desert,” states Hindley. Currently completing her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Nonfiction at the University of Arizona, Hindley is also a wilderness guide and naturalist. She will be presented with a $2,500 cash award and a residency at PLAYA in Summer Lake, Oregon at the Prize’s sixth annual award event.

Al Lehto Wrote About the Badlands
Student contest winner Al Lehto submitted an essay about the many hours their artist mother spent painting in the Badlands (now a federally designated wilderness area) just east of Bend, and the times they would join her. There, according to Lehto, their mother found solace, escape and inspiration. Al wrote, “As I’ve grown older, my mom’s passion for the aged trees has been more natural, and brought me closer to understanding her compassion for wildlife and longing for the great wide spaces they offer.”

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