MISSOULA, Mont. – Outdoor Writers Association of America awarded 12 Norm Strung Youth Writing prizes totaling $1,700, sponsored by the Safari Club International Foundation.
The annual contest has categories for poetry and prose in two divisions: junior (grades 6-8) and senior (grades 9-12), and entries must be outdoors oriented and previously published in a newsletter, newspaper, magazine, literary collection, etc. Junior and senior poetry and prose first-place winners received $250; second-place winners received $125; and third-place winners received $50. This year’s winners are:
Junior Poetry
- First Place: “Dancing Feathers” by Elijah Provost (Aitkin, Minn.)
- Second Place: “Lone Tree” by Alexandra Palocz (Weston, Mass.)
- Third Place: “Cloud” by Alexandra Palocz (Weston, Mass.)
Senior Poetry
- First Place: “Filling My Dreams” by Alisa Kane (Lake Orion, Mich.)
- Second Place: “Death of Fall” by Liesl F. Eck (Jasper, Ind.)
- Third Place: “First Harvest” by Paige Collingwood (Willard, Ohio)
Junior Prose
- First Place: “The Creek” by Anisha Datta (Hillsboro, Ore.)
- Second Place: “A Day on the Trap Line” by Ben Westin (Ironton, Minn.)
- Third Place: “First Hunt & Hooked for Life” by Abby Wood (Gallipolis, Ohio)
Senior Prose
- First Place: “The Long Island Sound: New York’s and Connecticut’s Inshore Saltwater Fishing ” by Richard DeMarte (White Plaines, N.Y.)
- Second Place: “The Henry’s Hunting: Sharing the Heritage” by Calahan Henry (Eufaula, Okla.)
- Third Place: “My First Taste of the U.P.” by Tabitha Harden (Litchfield, Mich.)
The deadline for next year’s entries is March 16, 2012. For complete contest rules and more information, visit http://old.owaa-oldsite.birchbarkmedia.com/programs/contests/norm-strung-youth-writing-awards/.
The Norm Strung Youth Writing Contest was named after Norm Strung, who served as OWAA president in 1984-1985. Now deceased, Strung received OWAA’s Excellence in Craft award in 1989. He was the Outstanding Board member in 1975. In 1988, Strung was the Ham Brown recipient for service to OWAA. That same year, he organized and edited a book for OWAA titled “Selling the Outdoor Story.”
Since its inception in 1927, OWAA has become the largest and oldest association of professional outdoor communicators in the United States. OWAA’s mission is to improve the professional skills of its members, set the highest ethical and communications standards, encourage public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources and mentor the next generation of professional outdoor communicators. The national headquarters is located in Missoula, Mont. For more information, visit http://www.owaa-oldsite.birchbarkmedia.com.
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