Upcoming Events:

Saturday, April 14, McMinnville Community Center, 600 NE Evans Street in McMinnville.

Join other local readers and writers for a day of workshops, readings and book signings. This year’s speakers include Chelsea Cain, Willy Vlautin, Matt Love, Charles Goodrich, Leanne Grabel, Evelyn Hess, Molly Johnson and Marilyn Worrix, plus several local authors. Early-registration discount ends Mar. 23_^rd. Click here for more information.

Paper Garden Literary Contest Winners Announced

The Arts Alliance of Yamhill County congratulates winners of the 19th annual Paper Gardens Literary Contest. Open to all residents of Yamhill County ages 6 and up, Paper Gardens is a wonderful creative-writing outlet for the community. This year nearly 300 submissions of prose and poetry were received.

Corvallis poet and essayist Charles Goodrich served as guest judge for 2012. Goodrich is the director of the Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature, and the Written Word at Oregon State University. His newest collection of work may be found in his book “Going to Seed: Dispatches from the Garden” (Silverfish Review Press, 2010).

The 2012 Literary Celebration will take place on Friday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m. at the McMinnville Community Center, 600 NE Evans Street. The celebration will be a chance for community members to interact with contest judge Charles Goodrich, meet other writers and hear the 2012 winners read their work. Chapbooks will be available for sale at this time. The event is free and open to community members.

2012 Winning Entries

Adult Prose 1st Place: “Lesser God” by Dennis Bershaw 2nd Place: “Joys of a Mailbox” by Larry Kurtz 3rd Place: “Runaway” by Loren Willbur	Adult Traditional Poetry 1st Place: “As It Should Be” by Mike Paull 2nd Place: “A Step” by Melissa K. Terrill
Adult Free Verse Poetry 1st Place: “Undone” by Julie Stubblefield 2nd Place: “My Surgeon” by Jen Jo 3rd Place: “Lullaby” by Susan Easterly	Adult Haiku 1st Place: “Small Steps” by David Hallett 2nd Place: “Spring” by Ann E. Patton 3rd Place: “Hovering Over Mt. Shasta” by Brenda Huante
Adult Poetry of Place 1st Place: “Tyler, Age 2, Picks Blackberries” by Fran Hunter	Youth Prose 1st Place: “The Patient” by Erica Keaveney 2nd Place: “The Old Lafayette Estate” by Kristi Thompson
Youth Free Verse Poetry 1st Place: “Sideways” by Bethan Bonebrake 2nd Place: “Short Answer Questions and First Lines” by Natasha Balwit	Youth Haiku 1st Place: “Creative Juices” by Margaret Halstead
Children Prose 1st Place: “The Wreck of the SS Star Liner” by Kiran Sawhney 2nd Place: “Video Adventure” by Lakshmi Austen Sawhney	Children Free Verse Poetry 1st Place: “Quiet” by Hannah Siepmann 2nd Place: “The Ocean” by Tatum Frey 3rd Place: “Orchestra Sparks” by Sara Lin Asada
Children Haiku 1st Place: “Snowball” by Emily Cinnamon 2nd Place: “Fire” by Pruette Karl 3rd Place: “Rain” by Kyra Ellen Sieber	Children Poetry of Place 1st Place: “Our Library” by Juan Hernandez

Student Awards and Scholarship

The deadline is April 30 for 2012 Student Recognition Awards and Marg Johansen Scholarship. Nominate a student at your school! Click here for more information.

Renew or Join now for 2012

Start the new year off inspired. Renew or join online here!