Jeff Nelson posted on November 04, 2010 23:56
Winners of the Haunted Astoria short-story writing contest have been selected. The contest is sponsored by Astoria Sunday Market and winners receive cash and other prizes provided by the Market. Winners this year are:
First Place -- John Ciminello from Naselle, Washington, for his story The Interpreter
Second Place -- Jan Bono from Long Beach, Washington, for her story Remind Me Again
Third Place – Norma Seely from Manzanita, Oregon, for her story Comes When Called
Guest Judge this year was Nancy Montgomery, who along with Tim Hurd own Columbia River Coffee Roasters and were founders of The River Theatre. Montgomery joined Cyndi Mudge at Baked Alaska to make their final selections from the eight entries submitted.
Winning entries can be read online at www.AstoriaSundayMarket.com.
The theme this year for Haunted Astoria and the short story writing contest was derived from a news article published in The Oregonian in the 1880s that proclaimed Astoria as, "The Most Wicked Place on Earth," because of the brothels, shanghaiing, and abundance of drinking establishments. Writers were encouraged to dig into the underbelly of Astoria's history to create a wicked tale in this annual contest.
Haunted Astoria is an annual event featuring self-guided tours of wicked historic sites, paranormal investigations, a psychic & paranormal fair, and a spine-tingling movie at Liberty Theater.
Haunted Astoria is a collaborative effort produced by Astoria Sunday Market, Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce, Clatsop County Historical Society, and Liberty Theater.