Index of University Press Releases

Mar. 6, 2009

Winners in annual writing contest named at DWU

MITCHELL, S.D. – Winners in the annual Agnes Hyde Writing Competition at Dakota Wesleyan University have been named.

The annual competition is open to all DWU students, and cash prizes in the amount of $150, $100 and $50 are given to the top three winners in the essay, poetry and fiction categories.

Selection is based on a writer’s merit, imagination and sophistication of thought, and skill in the use of language. Students can enter more than one category, or enter more than one work in any category.

Essay: Kim Dewhurst, Mitchell, first place; Derek Rihanek, Lynch, Neb., second place; and Jackie Gall, Pickstown, third place.

Fiction: Danna McCloud, Mitchell, first place; Ariel Ptak, Mitchell, second place; and Michael Lynch, Omaha, Neb., third place.

Poetry: Nicole Anderson, Watertown, first place; Ada Guevara, Mitchell, second place; and Michael Lynch, Omaha, Neb., third place.

The Agnes Hyde Writing Competition is in its 24th year at DWU. Joseph Ditta, professor of English, started the contest in 1985 as a way to feature the work of student writers. He named the competition after Hyde as a tribute because she was the first teacher of creative writing at DWU and the primary inspiration for the Prairie Winds, DWU’s literary magazine published annually by the English department.

For more information about the writing contest or the programs offered at DWU, contact the enrollment services office at 1-800-333-8506 or www.dwu.edu.