“Literary Whidbey: Nearly 200 enter island writing contestMore than 70 adults and 100 students submitted entries in the Celebrate Writing Contest which ran through the month of February, sponsored by the Whidbey Island Writers’ Association.Adult contest award winners were feted at the Writers’ Conference book-signing event at Teddy’s on March 4. The contest offered four categories: Fiction, Poetry, Essay, and Life History Essay. In the Poetry category, which drew the most entries, Leann Chrisman’s Papaya and Ken Matzen’s Pumpkin in the Corn shared 1st place honors. Matzen proved it is never too late to start writing: He wrote his first poem eight years ago at the age of 80. Victory Lee Schouten’s No Other Shoe won 2nd place; Carla Willbight’s Dragonfly took 3rd; and honorable mentions were awarded to Miriam Raabe’s Today’s the Day, ‘Patterns, by Sandra McGillivray Ortgies; Rebecca Morgan Bondelid’s The Archaeology of Love, Lorraine Healy’s Miss Doreen – retired, and Another Thousand by Phyllis Thonn. South Whidbey Primary School counselor Chrisman, who tied with Matzen for first in poetry, went on to win a first in Life History for Without a Cup of Coffee. Second place went to Barbara Read for Downtown, 1942; 3rd place to Mildred D. Erickson for Pastoral Episode; and honorable mention to Bradley E. Robertson for The Talent Show.Wilhemina Condon won 1st place in Fiction with Lust in My Heart; Gloria Koll won 2nd place with Bathsheba Fernandez; Suzanne Schlicke took 3rd place with The Visitor; and Andrea McDavid earned an monorable mention with The Coops-ville Murders.Barbara Read won 1st place in the Essay category with Sojourn; 2nd placer went to Jenny E. Gulick for Boarder Crossing; Diane V. Adair won 3rd with The Journey; and honorable mention was awarded to Lisa Gosper Brereton for Giraffe.Chrisman was also given a Special Achievement Award for children’s literature. In the student contest, entries were submitted in four categories: Fiction, Poetry, Essay, and Personal Narrative. Entries came in from homeschooled students as well as South Whidbey Primary, Intermediate and High schools, Langley Middle School and the Shared Schooling Cooperative. The response was really pleasing, said Nancy Thompson, who assisted in coordinating the event. We want kids to see themselves as writers, and the work we see here shows that is happening.All of the student entries were displayed at the Freeland library and the Langley library Feb. 18-March 1. The public was invited to cast ballots for their favorite pieces, and awards were chosen by a combination of popular vote and final readings by judges. Student participants all received a button that says, I Am a Writer, and award recipients earned certificates and prizes donated by Whidbey Stationers and The BookBay. (See below for student awards.)It is fun to go into the schools and recognize these young writers, said event coordinator Dorothy Read. They show such enthusiasm for writing–it’s really heartwarming. The Writers’ Association was pleased with the quality of the entries as well as the number, Read added. We are awed by the work we read–we’re already looking forward to next year’s contest. This will be an annual event.All manuscripts will be returned, with comments. “