Twenty-two writers were honored for their work in the Original Writing Competition by the Utah Arts & Museums.
The annual competition is one of the most prestigious in the state, with manuscripts judged in a blind process by writers who live outside the Beehive state.
Past winners have included Utah's entire slate of Poets Lureate, plus science-fiction legend Orson Scott Card and Salt Lake City native Ron Carlson, an award-winning novelist and short-story writer who now teaches at the University of California, Irvine.
Margaret Hunt, director of the Utah Arts & Museums division, congratulated the winners in a press statement. "We look forward to wonderful accomplishments from these talented writers," she said. "Past winners have gone on to receive such accolades as the Flannery O'Connor Award and the International Reading Association Award."
Winners will be recognized Oct. 30 during an awards ceremony at the Rio Grande Depot as part of the upcoming Utah Humanities Book Festival, which will take place Oct. 2-30 at venues around the state.
Short story (judged by Darrell Spencer)
• First place: Larry Menlove, Payson, "Petey Immigrates North, Then Moves West"
• Second place: Sarah E. Allen, Provo, "Zuri"
• Honorable mention: Dawn Houghton, Salt Lake City, "One Woman Rescuing Another"
Novel (judged by Ron Carlson)
• First place: Stephen Tuttle, of Provo, for Inclemency
• Second place: Margaret L. Pettis, Hyrum, for Wyoming Gold
• Honorable mention: Roan W. Poulter, Ogden, for The End of the Road; and Alison McLennan, Ogden, for Falling for Johnny
Poetry (judged by Connie Voisine)
• First place: Jennifer J. Tonge, Salt Lake City, for "from Hermaion"
• Second place: Dawn Lonsinger, Salt Lake City, for "but the rain is full of ghosts tonight"
• Honorable mention: Elisabeth Loveland, Provo, for "Armor Against Air"
Poetry collections (judged by Sue Walker)
• First place: Shanan L. Ballam, Wellsville, for Pretty Marrow
• Second place: Dawn Houghton, Salt Lake City, for The Stars Come All the Way Down to the Ground
• Honorable mention: David Robert Boyce, Harrisville for Miracles, Mutinies & Microbuses
Personal essay (judged by Phyllis Barber)
• First place: J. Travis Washburn, Provo, for "On Understanding
• Second place: Nathan M. Robison, Provo, for "The Streets of Lisbon"
• Honorable mention: John Bennion, Provo, for "On Becoming a Lord of the Earth."
Creative non-fiction (judged by Brian Doyle)
• First place: Jeff Metcalf, of Salt Lake City, for "52 by 52"
• Second place: Linda S. Rotnem, West Jordan, for "Lazarus's Denial"
• Honorable mention: Michael Gills, Salt Lake City, for "White Indians"; and Nate Liederbach, Salt Lake City, for "Tongues of Men and of Angels and Other Adventures in Brief Memoir."
Juvenile book category (judged by Claudia Mills)
• First place: Elaine Vickers, Cedar City, for Discovering Isaac
• Second place: Kate Birch, Salt Lake City, for "Deliver Me
• Third place: Kimberly Jensen, Layton, for The Polliwog Pond War
