Creative Writing: 2002-2003 Winning Entries
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Poetry
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Short Story
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Creative Non-Fiction
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One Act Play
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About the Authors
CHRIS DANOWSKI
Honorable Mention, One-Act Play: "Desconocido Soy"
Chris runs a small experimental theater company in Phoenix called, Theater In My Basement/SW Annex. He is currently working on building an annual festival of alternative performing and visual arts called Teatro Caliente! He lives in a house without a basement with his wife and daughter.
DIAYN DAY
Honorable Mention, Poetry: "Short Ride in a City Bus, Summer '72" Honorable Mention, One-Act Play: "Angel Dust"
Diayn doesn't want to put anybody to sleep with boring facts, so she asks that people make up interesting stories about her and send their ideas in time for next year's competition. She's currently afflicted with writer's block and thanks all of you for your support.
KIMBERLY DAY
First Place, Short Story: "Art History 102"
Kimberly Day has been a full time art student at Glendale Community College since the summer of 2000. She plans to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting at Arizona State University beginning in the fall of 2003. Other recent awards include an Honorable Mention for Painting in the Glendale Community College Student Arts Magazine, The Traveler in 2002, an Honorable Mention for a computer manipulated image in the 2002 GCC Student Arts Show, and an Honorable Mention in Life Drawing in the 2001 GCC Student Arts Show.
JENNIFER SPRAY DOERING
First Place, Creative Non-Fiction: "Border Towns and Bathrooms"
Jennifer Spray Doering lives and writes in the suburban desert of Tempe, Arizona. Her work has been published in Mothering Magazine, Lifestyle Magazine, and at http://www.HandHeldCrime.com. If you see her cruising towards Mexico, it is purely for research purposes.
JENNIFER DOWNER
Honorable Mention, Short Story: "Shadows of the Night"
Jennifer Downer was a home school student who transferred to Paradise Valley Community College as a concurrent student during her senior year of high school. Jennifer plans to obtain her Bachelor's degree in English with a Literature Concentration from Arizona State University in the hope that learning about great works of literature will help to inform her own writing. Last fall, PVCC awarded her the Academic All- American Scholarship, which will pay for all of her education at Arizona State University. Her main goal is to become a fiction author. Her winning entry, Shadows of the Night, is actually the first chapter of a fantasy novel she is currently writing based on Norse mythology.
ROBIN FERGUSON
Honorable Mention, Creative Non-Fiction: "Spiral"
Robin is a third generation Arizonan and has lived in Phoenix all her life. She has degrees from Mesa Community College (A. A. ,1979), Northern Arizona University (B. S. ,1982) and University of Phoenix (M. A. ,1992). For 19 years, she has worked for the Arizona National Guard and the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She believes in life-long learning so when she discovered that Phoenix College had a Creative Writing Certificate Program, she decided to go back to school. Currently, she is working on a book-length piece entitled Kept Secrets, for a three-semester novel writing class at Phoenix College. Her goal is to earn a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
DAVID HERNANDEZ
Honorable Mention, Creative Non-Fiction: "A Man's Man"
David was born the son of a pig farmer and a bank teller in Deming, New Mexico. After graduating high school he immediately joined the Army and attended Westpoint Preparatory Academy. He settled in Phoenix after completing his Army commitment. He is now married and has four children. David is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration with hopes of someday being able to retire to the same, rural, self-sufficient lifestyle that he ran away from.
TIM HILCOVE
Second Place, Creative Non-Fiction: "Tarn"
Tim was born in South Africa, raised in Canada, and now calls Phoenix home. His hobbies include writing poetry and playing music. In the early 1990's he dropped out of art school to live the life of a starving musician in Vancouver, B. C. After an eight-year string of Spinal Tap like mishaps, he returned to Terrace to work at the local McDonalds. He immigrated to Phoenix in 2000 to work and be closer to his family. He is now attending night classes to pursue a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Creative Writing. Tarnwas his first adult attempt at prose and is also his first award for creative writing.
MISTY KIWAK JACOBS
First Place, Poetry: "Other Gods"
Misty Kiwak-Jacobs is a native of Arizona and a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College. One of her poems placed third in the 2002 Tucson Poetry Festival Statewide Contest, judged by Gary Snyder. Her poems will be appearing in an upcoming issue of Red Rock Review. Misty lives in Scottsdale with her husband and two children and is grateful to Sandra Desjardins for turning her into a poet.
NATHANIEL LAAGER
Second Place, Short Story: "Culture"
Nathaniel was born in Pennsylvania in 1978. He enlisted in the Marines at age 17 and served for four years in the infantry. After his discharge in the summer of 2000, he moved to Arizona with his wife and started at PVCC in the fall. In January of 2003 he transferred to ASU West in pursuit of a B. A. in History. Nathaniel wishes to thank his instructors at PVCC from whom he had the privilege of learning.
JAY LECHLER
Honorable Mention, Short Story: "Heaven's Holding Out for High Scores"
Jay Lechler recently moved to Phoenix from his home in Wisconsin. After spending a year studying literature at the University of Wisconsin, Sheboygan, he transferred to Paradise Valley Community College and plans to attend Arizona State University next year. Previously, he trained and performed with Chicago's Second City Theater and earned first place in the 1998 Voice of Democracy Speech Competition. Jay wishes to thank his family and everyone who encouraged him to write.
JOHN MERKEL
Honorable Mention, Creative Non-Fiction: "Acceptance at the Hamptons"
John is a recent retiree pursuing an interest in writing through the courses offered at Phoenix College. He is experimenting with various genres from poetry to non-fiction as he explores his skills of expression. During the past year, John received an Honorable Mention from the Arizona State Poetry Society and Second Place for a memoir from the Society of Southwestern Authors. John and Mary, his wife of 40 years, have two children and a granddaughter. John enjoys hiking in the Arizona deserts and mountains.
BRANDON MICHALIK
Honorable Mention, Poetry: "Arithmetic"
Brandon Brook Michalik is a student in the Phoenix College Creative Writing Program. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, she has lived in Arizona for the last eight years. In 1995, she received her Bachelor of Arts from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She currently works for a small law firm in Scottsdale and as a volunteer tutoring adults in reading. After completing the Creative Writing Program at Phoenix College, she plans to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
TOSCA MINOTTO
First Place, One-Act Play: "Five Thirds of Fortune"
Tosca Minotto is currently taking classes at Paradise Valley Community College, after which she plans to transfer to San Diego State University and major in English. Writing and theatre have been her two passions since childhood, and she intends to pursue a career which will encompass both fields. She had aspirations to become the next version of M. Night Shyamalan, but has decided instead to become the first version of herself.
KELLY MOLLOY
Honorable Mention, Short Story: "Conversations from Around a Kitchen Table as Heard by a Broken Clock"
Scottsdale native, Kelly Molloy, is happy to be back in her old stomping ground and writing again after spending the year at the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina. While at the Warehouse, she played such roles as Adriana in the Comedy of Errors,Kitty Verdun in Charley's Aunt, and Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar. She has been taking writing classes at Scottsdale Community College since her junior year of high school. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting.
ASHLEY NAFTULE
Second Place, One-Act Play: "The Sacred and Profane"
Ashley is currently attending Arizona State University, following his dream of becoming a religious studies major. He has won no other awards of merit, save for Yugoslavia 1998 Uber-Hunktitle. Ashley is an obsessive record collector and aspiring occultist. He cites Salvadore Dali, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Serge Gainsbough, John Hughes, Kevin Shields, and George Carlin as his chief artistic influences.
VANESSA NOWNES
Honorable Mention, One-Act Play: "Gillian Grieves Act I"
Vanessa has a B. A. in Geography Environmental Policy from UCLA and an M. S. in Human Services Administration from Bellevue University. Gillian Grieves Act Iis the first act of a full length three-act play, Pretence, that explores the need for people to believe what they perceived to be the truth about life. She hopes that the audience walks away questioning what it is they are sure is the truth.
D. A. PARKER
Third Place, One-Act Play: "The Kitchen Table"
After working in the corporate world for almost 20 years, Donna returned to school to pursue her writing dreams. She has written short plays and stories and one unpublished novel. Several of her short stories have been published on various web zones. In 2002, she was a staff writer for the Paradise Valley Community College's Puma Press and in spring 2003, she became the community editor.
LUISA PAWLAK
Honorable Mention, Creative Non-Fiction: "Earl"
Luisa is a student at Mesa Community College whose interests include writing, music, film, photography and drawing.
LINDA PRESSMAN
Honorable Mention, Creative Non-Fiction: "Save the Green Ones for Later"
Linda Pressman first enrolled in writing classes at Paradise Valley Community College in the fall of 2001 after having spent the majority of her professional life working in the field of insurance. She holds a B. A. in History and has completed all coursework towards a Masters in Medieval History, both from Arizona State University. In addition to this award, she also won First Place in Creative Non-Fiction and Third Place in One-Act Play in the PVCC Creative Writing Contest. When not writing, she continues to take courses at PVCC, works part-time in insurance, and reads English literature. She lives in Scottsdale with her husband, Howard, and their two children, Daniel, 7, and Rachel, 3.
MELISSA TRAISTER
Honorable Mention, Poetry: "Red Toenails"
Melissa is currently enrolled at Scottsdale Community College where she has been receiving credits to be placed towards a Humanities degree. In the fall, she will be attending Arizona State University. She is an active member of the Creative Writing Program and also works with the Disability Department at SCC. Being an active member in both of these departments, she hopes to improve her skills working with different people which will help her when she pursues her lifetime goal of becoming a college professor. She would like to thank Sandra Desjardins for being a wonderful mentor and for teaching her the value of a higher education.
CAROL TURNER
Honorable Mention, Short Story: "Valuables"
Carol was born and raised in Chicago but actually grew up while living and working in New York City. Two years ago she moved to the valley with her family. In the fall of 2001, she enrolled in her first Creative Writing class, intending to study, analytically, the writing process. Instead, she has found a means of discovering and uncovering her own personal truths. She is grateful to have found a place in the Scottsdale Community College writing community. She thanks Sandra Desjardins for creating such a challenging and supportive program, her fellow SCC writers for their honest and accurate comments, and her partner and children, Shawn, KJ and Cal, for their love.
JAMIE VANDEVEER
Third Place, Creative Non-Fiction: "The Gateway"
Jamie is a single, 32-year old male who moved to Arizona in 1992. He has spent most of his adult career in restaurant management. He began attending classes at Mesa Community College in the fall of 2002 and is currently taking prerequisite classes for eventual entrance into the Nursing program at MCC. He is just a few hours away from attaining his goal of becoming a licensed (private) helicopter pilot. Some of his hobbies are mountain biking, skydiving, experiencing film, discussing current events with friends, and reading. The Gateway was his second attempt at creative writing.
DAVID ZIMMERMAN
Second Place, Poetry: "Places, for Lost Friendship, During Winter"
David Zimmerman is currently attending Paradise Valley Community College. His goals in life are to be a film director and to write at least one "immortal" poem. David would like to thank Lois Roma-Deeley for her support and wisdom.
