The Writers' Colony

The Mahony Fellowship for Courageous Writing for Young People 

 

Joy Pope-Alandete of Decatur, Georgia, was recently named the winner of the 2010 Mahony Fellowship for Courageous Writing for Young Adults.  Joy grew up in Powder Springs, Georgia, spent some time out west and then returned to Georgia.  She has a B. A. in English from the University of Oregon and an M.A. from the St. John’s College Great Books program.  She is a leader for two Girl Scout troops, a frequent school and community volunteer, and the mother of two girls.

Joshua Mahony, Writers’ Colony Board member, felt that Joy’s writing and characters fully met the spirit and hope of his intent in founding the fellowship to inspire, stimulate and challenge children.  

We know that Joy will be successful with her project.   Congratulations, Joy!

 Joy Pope-Alandete and Joshua Mahony at WCDH

 

The Moondancer Fellowship for Writing About Nature and the Outdoors

 

The winner of the 2010 Moondancer Fellowship for writing about nature and the outdoors is Helen Krieger of New Orleans, Louisiana.  Congratulations, Helen!

Helen has been a prolific writer for the past decade, working in journalism, fiction and screenwriting. She received her BA in psychology from the University of Dallas, then moved to Boston, where she worked as a journalist for The MetroWest Daily News and The Jamaica Plain Gazette for a year before once again being tempted by the South. She moved to New Orleans and co-founded a local paper, The Bywater Marigny Current, which she ran for several years before turning it over to her partner so she could concentrate on writing fiction.

Helen says that even with the grim environmental times we find ourselves in, she’d rather be inspired by the power and diversity of nature than depressed because of what we’re doing to it.  She feels our way forward is to constantly draw people back to the natural world as a teacher rather than a reason to be ashamed of ourselves and what we’ve done.

Helen is a returning alum of the Writers’ Colony and we look forward to having her back this fall.

 

The Duncan Eat-Write! Culinary Fellowship

Lucindy Willis of Yanceyville, North Carolina has been chosen as the winner of the Duncan Eat-Write Culinary Fellowship for 2010.  Lucindy is co-owner and operator of the Yancey House Restaurant & Gallery, where they work extensively with local farmers and grow their own produce at the restaurant and farm, helping guests see the connections between the food on their plate and the farms surrounding the restaurant. 

She also writes a column called "The Literary Chef" which appears weekly in their newspaper, The Caswell Messenger. 

We are very excited to be welcoming Lucindy to the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow this fall.

 

Winner of the KidLit! Fellowship Announced

Writer David Davis, of Fort Worth, Texas, has won the KidLit! Fellowship for Writing for Children & Young Adults. This Fellowship awards a two-week stay at the Colony.

In addition to his writing, David is a humorist, cartoonist and speaker. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and most of his stories draw on his Texas roots as well as his baby-boomer love of music. David is the author of Jazz Cats and Ten Redneck Babies, both of which were named to the Children's Choice Top 100 list. Jazz Cats was also a finalist for the Texas Golden Spur Award. David's satirical Night Before Christmas books are perennial comedy best-sellers, and he is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

David Davis at WCDH