2009.09.11
Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest Winners
The Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest is held annually and is sponsored by the Smyth-Bland Regional Library in Marion, Virginia. The contest has separate categories for students 1st through 12th grade, college students, and an open category for adults and graduate students. The goals of the short story contest are to stimulate efforts in creative writing, and to encourage a better understanding and appreciation for the literary work of Sherwood Anderson.
An awards luncheon and ceremony to honor the winners of 2009's contest will be held Saturday, Sept. 12. They are:
Category I (grades 1 - 4 )
Honorable Mention to: Holden Robinson from Spiller Elementary school in Wytheville for his story "Don't Use Too Much Soap."
Category II (grades 5 - 8 )
1st place to: Rachel Scott from Marion Middle School for her story "The Rain Started to Fall."
2nd place to: Amanda Brooke Costigan from Marion Middle School for her story "Fire on the Mountain."
3rd place to: Katie McCarty from Marion Middle School for her story "Small Town Surprise."
Category III (grades 9 - 12 )
1st place to: Caleb Clarke from Chilhowie High School for his story "My Name is Blossom."
2nd place to: Ty Sheets from Chilhowie High School for his story "Life Goes On."
3rd place to: Shimera A. Wix from Chilhowie High School for her story "Finding Family."
Category V (Adults/Graduate Students)
1st place to: Anita Firebaugh from Troutville, Virginia for her story "The Last Cutting."
2nd place to: Richard Lawson from Overland Park, Kansas for his story "Is This What This Is?"
3rd place to: Cheryl Wood Rugierro from Blacksburg, Virginia for her story "Potatoes."
According to the Smyth-Bland Regional Library website: "Born in Ohio in 1876, Sherwood Anderson moved to southwest Virginia in 1925. He built his house, “Ripshin”, near Troutdale in 1926. Late in 1927, he purchased the weekly newspapers in Marion, “The Marion Democrat, “and “The Smyth County News.” He married Eleanor Copenhaver of Marion in 1933. She was a leader in the national Y.W.C.A., traveling extensively conducting workshops and conferences in behalf of better conditions for women working in factories.
"They embarked on a cultural exchange voyage to South America on February 28, 1941. Sherwood became ill and was taken to a hospital in Colon, Panama, where he died of peritonitis on March 8. His body was returned to Marion for burial in Round Hill Cemetery.
"Anderson published twenty-three books, plus numerous stories and essays in magazines, from 1914 until shortly before his death. He gained prominence for his originality in a new approach in writing the short story. Selections from his book, “Winesburg, Ohio,” are found in many anthologies and college reading assignments in American literature, along with others of his short stories."
