2010 Norm Stung Youth Writing Awards contest winners announced

MISSOULA, Mont. – Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) awarded 12 Norm Strung Youth Writing Scholarships totaling $1,700, sponsored by Safari Club International and 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 $200; second-place winners received $125; and third-place winners received $100. This year’s winners are:

Senior Poetry

• First Place: "The Naturalists" by Erica Berry (Portland, Ore.)
• Second Place: "First Hunting Adventures" by Kaitlyn Rabaey (Marshall, Minn.)
• Third Place: "Gone Huntin’ by Nathan Kennedy" (Rensselaer Falls, N.Y.)

Senior Prose

• First Place: "Answering the Call" by Christine Koneazny (Spokane, Wash.)
• Second Place: "Another Pheasant Tale" by Kimberly Moy (Cokato, Minn.)
• Third Place: "John Muir: America’s Most Famous Environmentalist" by Staphanie Erin Sykes (Madison, Wisc.)

Junior Poetry

• First Place: "Wild Turkey Surprise" by Caroline Priore (Kenyon, Minn.)
• Second Place: "Things are Changing" by Stephanie McMillan (Independence, Iowa)
• Third Place: "Hardly Seeing, but Always KNOWING" by Kelly Parker (Jefferson, N.Y.)

Junior Prose

• First Place: My First Bird (And a Decoy!)! by Cole Meade (Seaman, Ohio)
• Second Place: My Hunting Trip by Cody Kennedy (Prairie du Rocher, Ill.)
• Third Place: Journey to Carmen Lake, Alaska by Tiancheng Sun (North Potomac, Md.)

The deadline for next year’s entries is March 15, 2011. For complete contest rules and more information, visit www.owaa.org/contests/youth-writing.

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 www.owaa.org.