The Hudson Valley Writers Guild has released guidelines for its 2011 writing contest. This year, the Guild will read Non-Fiction entries, and the postmark deadline is August 31.
Entries will be judged in three categories, personal essay, humor and memoir, and we are pleased to announce our judges:
Personal Essay – Jan Marin Tramontano
Jan is a poet and a non-fiction writer. She penned her father’s memoir, I am a Fortunate Man. Her essays have appeared in the Times Union and Metroland. As regular contributor to the Times Union and Senior Spotlight, she has written book reviews, as well as author interviews.
Humor – Mary Armao McCarthy
Mary is a writer and past president of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. Her first published essay was in American Girl Magazine as a teenager, and her work has since appeared in anthologies, magazines, scientific journals, e-zines and newspapers as diverse as BoatUS and Persimmon Tree, as well as radio and public access TV. Mary has a degree in English Education, with a career in education and public policy. She is a recipient of the Woman of the Year award from the New York State Center for Women in Government and Public Policy.
Memoir – Daniel Nester
Daniel is the author of How to Be Inappropriate, a collection of humorous nonfiction. His first two books, God Save My Queen and God Save My Queen II, are collections on his obsession with the rock band Queen. His work has appeared in a variety of places, such as Salon.com, The Morning News, McSweeney’s, The Daily Beast, Time Out New York and Bookslut, and has been anthologized in The Best American Poetry 2003, The Best Creative Nonfiction and Now Write! Nonfiction. He is an associate professor of English at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. Find him online at danielnester.com.
