Council for Wisconsin Writers

Supporting Wisconsin writers from 1964 to 2022

Patricia Skalka

by

USA Today picks CWW 2016 winner’s Door County mystery for “50 States, 50 Books”

Patricia Skalka, winner of CWW’s 2016 Edna Ferber Book-Length Fiction Award, has scored again. This time with USA Today.

Skalka’s “Death Stalks Door County”, published by the University of Wisconsin Press, was selected to represent Wisconsin in its “50 States, 50 Books: Travel the Country with These Evocative Reads” feature.

https://www.10best.com/interests/explore/50-books-to-read-each-state-in-america/

Here’s the blurb that accompanies the selection of Skalka’s book:

“This first installment in the Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries introduces us to the natural beauty of Wisconsin’s Door County. This popular vacation peninsula on Lake Michigan in real life doubles as the backdrop for the story of a former Chicago homicide detective tracking a clever killer while facing down his own personal demons.”

Congratulations to Patricia and best wishes from CWW for many more successes.

by

CWW Ferber Fiction Winner Grateful for Writing Residency

Among the many expressions of gratitude our contest winners have conveyed is this recent message from last year’s Edna Ferber book-length fiction winner Patricia Skalka:

“I am writing to thank the Council for Wisconsin Writers for my recent stay at Shake Rag Alley. When I received the writer’s residency last year as part of the Edna Ferber Fiction award for my book Death in Cold Water, I didn’t know what to expect Then this past week I  went to Mineral Point and found myself in a writer’s paradise!
The undisturbed time, the positive creative atmosphere, and the supportive staff at Shake Rag Alley came together in a magical way to form a unique and nurturing experience, one I will long remember and treasure.
My deepest gratitude to the Council for this wonderful gift and hearty congratulations to this year’s award winners.
With all best wishes,
Patricia”
Thank you, Patricia, for taking the time to send us this message.
More information about Patricia and all of our winners is at http://wiswriters.org/wisconsin-writers-awards-announced/

by

Wisconsin Writers Awards Announced

Press Release: 2016 Wisconsin Writers Awards Announced!

From: Council for Wisconsin Writers  www.wiswriters.org

For release: March 27, 2017

Contact: Jerrianne Hayslett  jfarhsi@aol.com

 

2016 WISCONSIN WRITERS AWARDS ANNOUNCED BY COUNCIL FOR WISCONSIN WRITERS

 

Eight Wisconsin writers have been named winners of the Wisconsin Writers Awards for work published in 2016. The Council will award each winner $500 and a week-long writing residency at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point. Honorable mentions will receive $50 and a residency at Painted Forest, Valton, WI. Awards will be presented at the Council’s annual banquet to be held this year on May 13 in Milwaukee.

 

The Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award goes to Patricia Skalka, Sturgeon Bay, for Death in Cold Water, University of Wisconsin Press. Honorable mention is awarded to Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden for Death on a Starry Night, University of Wisconsin Press.

 

Paula Dáil, Spring Green, is the winner of the Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award for Mother Nature’s Daughters: 21st Century Women Farmers, McFarland, while James Campbell, Lodi, receives an honorable mention award for Braving It: A Father, A Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey Into the Alaskan Wild, Crown, Penguin Random House.

 

Catherine Jagoe, Madison, is the winner of the Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award for the book Bloodroot, Settlement House Books. Honorable mention goes to Jon Loomis, Eau Claire, for The Mansion of Happiness, Oberlin College Press.

 

Rachel Davidson Leigh, Madison, is winner of the Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award for Hold, Interlude Press/Duet Books. Dean Robbins, Madison, receives honorable mention for Two Friends, Orchard Books/Scholastic.

 

Liz Wyckoff, Madison, is the winner of the Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction for “Like This, Like That,” Copper Nickel. Jeff Esterholm, Superior, is the recipient of an honorable mention for “Flaming Chevy Lodestar,” RE:AL Regarding Arts & Letters.

 

Carolyn Kott Washburne, Whitefish Bay, is the winner of the Kay W. Levin Short Nonfiction Award for “A Natural Ken,” Milwaukee Magazine. Patti See, Chippewa Falls, receives honorable mention for “Diary of a Bone Marrow Donor” 1966: A Journal of Creative Nonfiction.

 

The Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award for five individual poems goes to David Southward, Milwaukee. Honorable mention goes to Georgia Ressmeyer, Sheboygan.

 

Contest winners and honorable mentions were selected by out-of-state judges.

 

The Council for Wisconsin Writers’ Major Achievement award honors a Wisconsin writer for work that deserves special recognition for literary merit without regard to genre or category. The winner is chosen by the CWW Board of Directors. This year’s Major Achievement award will be presented to John Gurda, Milwaukee.

 

The public is invited to celebrate our state’s fine writers at the CWW’s Awards Banquet at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, at the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee. Banquet tickets must be reserved by Tuesday, May 9.

 

More information about the winners, judges, banquet registration, and the Council for Wisconsin Writers can be found at its website, www.wiswriters.org.