by ANITA LANNING for Cascade AE

Central Oregon Writers Guild’s 2011 Annual Literary Harvest took place in October at the Comfort Suites Inn in Redmond.

In keeping with its mission to support encourage Central Oregon writers of all genres, each year the Guild sponsors a writing contest, open to local authors in a variety of genres. The winning entries are published in the Guild’s Literary Harvest Chapbook.

This year’s Literary Harvest Contest attracted nearly 30 entries, the winners were selected by a panel of three judges: Award-winning novelist Paty Jager of Redmond; author/editor Jami Carpenter of Bend Tina Davis of Bend, owner of Camalli Books.

Those in the Winners Circle were: First place, Cindy Murphy of Terrebonne for her moving story, The Last Storm, Second place, Ava Wilson of Terrebonne for her entertaining essay, The One-Eyed Goose Third place, David Burns of Bend for his memoir, Going to St. John’s. Others winners were: Jackie Aaro of Bend for her humorous piece, Corner of Wall & Ivy,  Elizabeth Stephenson for her memoir Two Hours to Heaven, Alex Weiss of Sisters for his poetry, Dixie Brown of Redmond for her memoir The Call, Verna Clay of Bend for her essay, Prison, JT Gregory of Bend for his memoir, Taking Sides Sue Nell Phillips of Bend for her nonfiction story, The Talk.

The 2011 Literary Harvest Chapbook, edited produced by Guild member Cameron Prow of Bend, will be available at the Guild’s November 17 meeting where it can be ordered from the Guild or purchased at several local bookstores.

Central Oregon Writers Guild, formerly Redmond Writers, was formed in 2002 when a group of local writers gathered once a month at the Redmond Library. The first Literary Harvest took place in an informal setting, a small downtown café, where readers were invited to attend share their stories. Over the years, as interest grew Guild membership increased, the Literary Harvest, originally held twice a year, became an annual event moved to a larger venue.

In 2008, Redmond Writers became Central Oregon Writers Guild to better reflect its commitment to local area authors. It is a not-for-profit organization under the direction of a volunteer board selected by the membership.

In addition to the Literary Harvest, the Guild sponsors the annual Redmond School District’s 4th Grade Book Contest. Co-sponsored with the Redmond Library, High Desert Society of the Arts (HDSA) Redmond Rotary, the contest is open to Redmond elementary school fourth grade students, as well as Central Christian School home schooled students. The top two stories are chosen by judges from the Guild, Library HDSA, a reception book signing are hosted by the Redmond Library, which includes each year’s winners’ books in their collection.

For more information meeting times see:  www.CentralOregonWritersGuild.com or President Elsie Rochna at elsiemariewrites@msn.com.