The winners of the 1999–2000 Student Literary Competition, hosted by Central Piedmont Community College and coordinated by Brian Anderson, were recently announced. In the Poetry category, First Place was awarded to Preston Mark Stone, Kern Community College District, for “Matins.’  Second Place was given to Carmel L. Morse, Sinclair Community College, for “Storm Warning”; and Cassandre Lee, the University of Hawaii Community College System, received Third Place for “A Note of Apology to Udo, the Exchange Student Whom I Unwittingly Invited to Bed.”  Honorable Mentions were given to Jeannie Urbanski, Moraine Valley Community College, for “Watercolors”; and Kolleen K. Roberts, Maricopa Community Colleges, for “Einstein’s Brain:  A Fable.”

In the Short Story category, First Place was awarded to Ramona J. Ray, San Diego Community College District, for “Catch Me When I Fall.”  Second Place was given to Sheryl Cadick, Dallas County Community College District, for “Prisoner”; and Heather Hartman, Lane Community College, received Third Place for “The Butterfly.” An Honorable Mention went to Scott Drake, Delta College, for “Twenty Miles to See.”

In the One-Act Play category, First Place was awarded to Adrian Aquilar, Kern Community College District, for “ode to the walls that have crumbled.”  Second Place was given to Lisa Mooney, Johnson County Community College, for “Before the Wedding?” and Tracy A. Werth, Maricopa Community Colleges, received Third Place for “Family Tree.”  Honorable Mention was given to Bonnie Barnes, the University of Hawaii Community College System, for “Astral Tea.”

In the Personal Essay category, First Place was awarded to Scott Drake, Delta College, for “The Magic Pool.”  Second Place was given to Paulette Pohlmann, Maricopa Community Colleges, for “Ma Chere Grandmere.” Honorable Mention was given to John Schwartz, Seattle Community College District, for “Winning A Purple Heart.”

          Four judges were responsible for selecting the winners for the Student Literary Competition.  Fred Chappell judged the Poetry category, and Jade Q. Huynh judged the Personal Essay category.  The One-Act Play category was judged by Karyn Traut, and the Short Story category was judged by Peter Turchi. 

Under the leadership of Central Piedmont Community College, the competition included entries from all League colleges. A literary publication of the winning works is currently being produced by Central Piedmont and will be mailed to all League members this fall. This publication is now titled “The Twice-Bloomed Wistaria.”

The 2000-2001 competition will be hosted by the Kirkwood Community College and coordinated by Steve Gates.