Wyoming Arts Council and Partners Announce Winners of the America’s 250th Anniversary Writing Contest

Wyoming Writers, Inc., the Wyoming Arts Council, and the American Heritage Center have announced the winners of the America’s 250th Anniversary Writing Contest.

The winners were recognized during the Wyoming Writers, Inc. annual conference held last month in Casper. The contest invited writers from across Wyoming to reflect on the state’s history, culture, and future through original work inspired by Wyoming’s official semiquincentennial theme:

Honoring our past: Commemorate Wyoming’s history, places, and people.
Examining our present: Review Wyoming’s role in America today.
Imagining our future: Plan for Wyoming’s leadership in America’s future.

Contest winners include:

Adult Division

• Flash Fiction: “The Last Day” by Lindsay Hoyt (Laramie); runner-up: “Snapshot” by Ann Stebner Steele (Laramie)
• Nonfiction: “Gabe” by David L. Gutierrez (Reliance); runner-up: “Hunting in Fashion Boots” by Becky Neidens (Dubois)
• Poetry: “My Name Is Ellen Watson” by Lindsay Hoyt (Laramie); runners-up: “Wyoming, Through the Eyes of My Son” by Lauren Voigt (Casper) and “Wyoming’s Daughters” by Taylor Ganley (Gillette)

Young Adult Division

• Flash Fiction: “The Long-Awaited Visit” by Alex Huss (Laramie)
• Nonfiction: “Honoring Our Past: Wyoming’s Legacy of Courage and Firsts” by Hunter Masters (Riverton)
• Poetry: “My Home Sweet Home” by Anna Durrant (Laramie)

Children’s Division

• Flash Fiction: “The Fog Filled Trail” by Atley Benefiel (Thermopolis)
• Poetry: “Wyoming My Home” by Anna Papich (Casper)

“Writers write. About life. About love. About loss. About all the in-betweens. Bringing writers from around the state together to express what history and belonging and hope means to them, be it through short-form fiction, expressive nonfiction, or lyrical poetry, will always be special. Eternal cheers to celebrating writers who put their hearts on the page,” said Andrew Call, former board member and contest organizer with Wyoming Writers, Inc.

Writers were invited to submit original work in one of three categories: poetry, flash fiction, or nonfiction, and were judged in three age divisions: children (age 12 and under), young adult (ages 13–22), and adult (age 23 and older). Entries were evaluated by a panel of judges, and winners received a monetary prize.

Prizes were sponsored by the American Heritage Center and the Wyoming Arts Council.

Additional information about the America’s 250th Anniversary Writing Contest, including the original contest guidelines, is available at wyowriters.org/250.

For more information, visit wyomingartscouncil.org or contact Rachel Clifton, executive director of the Wyoming Arts Council, at (307) 256-0500 or Rachel.Clifton@wyo.gov.