Virginia Outdoor Writers Association
2023 EIC SHOWCASE
Congratulations to our Excellence-In-Craft Writing, Photography, and Illustration Winners!
VOWA is pleased to present the winners of our 2023 Excellence-In-Craft Competition
Note: Many of the titles are links to the writer's work... read and enjoy!
OUTSTANDING BOOK
Jessica R. Chenard is a writer of purposeful adventures, healing, and legacy; hiking and writing give her a sense of creativity and purpose. She is a business owner, mother, wife, daughter, sister, community builder, and friend. Jessica is the founder of Her Hike Collective, an all-women's hiking community. You can find her hosting the group's quarterly hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Jessica was motivated to write this book after spending a decade living it. She hiked to heal from tragedy, and later hiking helped her nurture a beautiful life. People she cared about played a large role in nurturing her love for the mountains, the most significant of these people being her brother. After his tragic death, she was left with only the knowledge of his love for nature and hiking. This enabled and inspired her. His love for the outdoors gave her a direction to go in-her true north-nd she made hiking a part of her lifestyle. Ultimately, writing this book became her calling. Jessica passionately believes that spending time in nature can heal. When you endure a tragedy or even just a hard season, hiking and nature can be a lifeline for you too, just like it was for the author. This story is written for you.
OUTSTANDING BLOG
Tim Koppenhaver grew up in Maryland, where in the woods behind his suburban home, a passion for the outdoors was born. Family trips to beaches in Florida, the woods of Pennsylvania, lakes in New Hampshire, and the aridness of Arizona drove that love even more. Following the advice of a college professor, he started journaling in 1988 and has not stopped writing since. Most passionately, he writes about outdoor travel. In 2016, he took a sabbatical to visit The Nature Conservancy preserves in Virginia and across the country writing several articles about those experiences. In 2019, he established the Shenandoah Saw-whet newsletter – a quarterly publication of the Virginia Master Naturalists Shenandoah Chapter and continues to serve as editor. Tim enjoys living in Virginia and considers it a microcosm of America. Its four-season weather and geographic diversity – from shorelines to mile-high mountains – are a literary inspiration.
OUTSTANDING BLOG
SECOND PLACE
Nancy Sorrells
“Blue Ridge Tunnel Accessibility Day”
Rails to Trails Conservancy Trail Blog
For more than 40 years, Nancy has found ways to combine her loves of history, journalism, photography, and the great outdoors. She became interested in outdoor journalism in the 1980s while working in the sports department of a daily newspaper, where she started the paper’s outdoors page. That was thousands of articles, photos, and a couple of books ago. She continues to freelance for a number of publications where she writes about outdoor adventure including biking and hiking as well as tackling environmental issues. She has been the editor of Sempervirens, the statewide newsletter of the Virginia Native Plant Society since last century. She is a VOWA past president and has been VOWA’s long-time secretary. She shares 10 acres of land in Augusta County with her husband Randy, two crazy dogs, a very large cat, and a few fish.
OUTSTANDING BLOG
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A D.C. foreign policy nerd by day and Virginia outdoor writer by night, Peter Brookes chases feather, fur, and fin wherever and whenever he can—and occasionally scribbles about his outings for a variety of online and print outlets.
OUTSTANDING COLUMN
FIRST PLACE
Amanda Creasey
" Two Rivers, Three States and a Lot of Paddling"
Cooperative Living Magazine September 2022
Amanda is an award-winning and widely published freelance writer. She is a graduate of Michigan State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in German, with a minor in English. In 2013, she completed a graduate degree in creative writing at University of Denver. She has been a high school English teacher since 2006.For several years, she has worked as a
juror for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She is also a current VOWA board member. Recently, she signed her first book contract for her speculative fiction manuscript, due out in book form in 2023. Subscribe to her biweekly author newsletter here.
OUTSTANDING COLUMN
SECOND PLACE
Amanda Creasey
Cooperative Living MagazineJuly 2022
See Amanda's bio above
OUTSTANDING FEATURE STORY
Beau Beasley has fished the waters of the Old Dominion since early childhood and knows them as only a native can. His insider’s knowledge of Virginia ranges from the mountain brook trout streams of the Shenandoah National Park to the salty windswept shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Although he’s pursued trout on Montana’s Bighorn River, landed every species of salmon in Alaska, and successfully brought to hand five-pound brook trout in Labrador, his first love is still fishing poppers on a Virginia farm pond. Beau has garnered multiple awards for his articles covering conservation of such diverse species as menhaden and bonefish. He has distinguished himself as a thorough, impartial investigative journalist covering thorny issues like public sporting access to local waters and lands. His writing has appeared in numerous regional and national publications. Beau serves as the Director of the Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival and the Texas Fly Fishing & Brew Festival.
OUTSTANDING FEATURE STORY
Melissa Scott Sinclair is a journalist, fiction writer and essayist. She is the recipient of the 2023 Lit/South Award in Fiction and the 2021 Michael Kenneth Smith Novel Fellowship. Melissa’s bylines have appeared in The Washington Post, Audubon, Richmond magazine, and other publications. Look for her piece about the ancestral dens of the timber rattlesnake in WILD LIFE, a book forthcoming from Atlas Obscura. She lives with her family in Chesterfield, Virginia.
OUTSTANDING FEATURE STORY
THIRD PLACE
Marie Majarov
“Neighbors Join Forces to Build a Quail-Friendly Wildlife Corridor"
Virginia Wildlife Nov-Dec 2022
Marie Majarov is a photojournalist whose work has been featured regularly in Virginia Wildlife Magazine. Marie is also an active Virginia Master Naturalist and Habitat Partners© trained habitat educator. She lives on a lovely old woodland edge in Winchester VA with her husband Milan where they are active with a large pollinator garden, the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association, and Virginia Native Plant Society.
OUTSTANDING FEATURE STORY
HONORABLE MENTION
Peter Brooks
“The Shop That Time Forgot”
Virginia Wildlife Sept-Oct 2022
See Peter's bio above
NEWSLETTER
FIRST PLACE
Nancy Sorrells
Newsletter of the Virginia Native Plant Society
See Nancy's bio above
NEWSLETTER
SECOND PLACE
Tim Koppenhaver
Newsletter of the Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists Program
See Tim's bio above
PUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPH
FIRST PLACE
Jamie Wulfekuhle-Zaweski
"Ice on Leaves"
Virginia Wildlife July/August 2022
Jamie Wulfekuhle-Zaweski is a photographer with interests in the outdoors, adventure, photojournalism, families, and weddings. Her style is true to color with an emphasis on authentic spontaneous moments. Jamie's work has been published in the Virginia Outdoor Magazine, the Cooperative Living Magazine, and the Village News.
PUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPH
SECOND PLACE
Marie Majarov
"Hover Fly"
Virginia Wildlife November/December issue
See Marie's biography above
PUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPH
THIRD PLACE
Nancy Sorrells
"Sweat House"
Virginia Native Plant Society newsletter, Sempervirens
See Nancy's biography above
UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPH
FIRST PLACE
Sara Davis
"Yawning Barn Owl"
Sara Davis is a high school English teacher and when she is not working with her students, she is often out taking pictures or at her desk painting away. She is originally from Alaska, where her father instilled in her a love of the outdoors. Before settling just south of Richmond, she lived in Roanoke, Va., where she would take her own family on outdoor adventures into the Blue Ridge
Mountains, fishing with her husband, collecting bugs with her two boys, or just enjoying a peaceful sunset from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Before she became a teacher, she owned her own photography business, working with models and being featured in international photography magazines. Recently, some of her art was on display in the Library of Virginia, where she also
shared her story of how she brings art into the classroom. Now, she makes a point to encourage her students to integrate creativity into their everyday lives.
UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPH
SECOND PLACE
Nancy Sorrells
“Osprey on the James”
See Nancy's bio above
UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPH
THIRD PLACE
Nancy Sorrells
"Red Eyed Frog"
See Nancy's bio above
UNPUBLISHED ILLUSTRATION
FIRST PLACE
Sara Davis
“Neowise Over the Potomac”
See Sara's bio above
UNPUBLISHED ILLUSTRATION
SECOND PLACE
Sara Davis
“Wood Duck Drake”
See Sara's bio above
UNPUBLISHED ILLUSTRATION
THIRD PLACE
Rick Ridpath
“Brook Trout”
My earliest art was inspired by my grandmother, Virginia. She was a very talented painter, and whether at her house or ours, she would always take time to paint with me during visits. My parents provided further inspiration by taking me to shores of the Chesapeake Bay every summer. Some of my happiest memories have been made along those waters. As a teen I often drew those scenes I so much felt were a part of me. As my daughters started to become adults, I picked up the pencil I had set aside years before. While I work some with watercolor and pastels, it was pen and pencil that brought my art back to life and is the
medium I most enjoy.
Most of my art centers around outdoor life in Virginia, and, of course, the Chesapeake Bay. I still draw the scenes I feel a part of, and the places that I very much love.
Rick Ridpath, Virginia Pen Studio
SPECIAL AWARDS
FLY FISHERS OF VIRGINIA CONSERVATION AWARD
This award must have the conservation of natural resources as its main emphasis. The submission can come from any category, but you must specify that you are entering the Fly Fishers of Virginia Conservation Award Contest. Winner will receive a check for $100.
Marie Majarov
“Neighbors Join Forces to Build a Quail Friendly Wildlife Corridor”
Virginia Wildlife November/December issue
See Marie's biography above
SPECIAL AWARDS
APPALACHIAN HEADWATERS AWARD
This award is for best conservation writing focused on pollinators. The submission can come from any of the writing categories, but you must specify that you are entering the Appalachian Headwaters Special Award Contest. Winner will receive a $100 cash prize.
Nancy Sorrells
Newsletter of the Virginia Native Plant Society
See Nancy's biography above
SPECIAL AWARDS
MOSSY CREEK FLY FISHING AWARD
Robert Thomas
Newsletter of the Fly Fishers of Virginia
Robert Thomas is an award winning professional photographer/writer with many published articles and photographs. An avid outdoorsman, he is active in the fly-fishing industry teaching classes, conducting seminars, and hosting adventure trips throughout North and South America. Robert is the current Chairman of VOWA’s Board of Directors and chairs the organization’s Excellence-In-Craft competition. In addition, he is a member of the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association. Robert lives in Henrico, Virginia with his wife Joan and spoiled rotten dog Liza.
Special thanks to our Excellence-In-Craft sponsors: the Fly Fishers of Virginia, Appalachian Headwaters and Mossy Creek Fly Fishing. We also send our gratitude to the many fine judges involved in this competition for their generous donation of time, patience, and expertise in judging our contest.
VOWA thanks Robert Thomas for all his efforts in chairing and organizing this successful Excellence-In-Craft competition.