Winning writers receive cash prizes, and the winning essay is published in the summer issue of Oregon Quarterly.
EUGENE, Ore. — (May 28, 2014) — The six winning stories from “Oregon Quarterly’s” 15th annual Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest will be presented in a free public reading on May 29, at the University of Oregon. The readings will take place at 6 p.m. in the Gerlinger Alumni Lounge, 1468 University St., preceded at 5:30 p.m. by a reception and book signing featuring this year’s contest judge, author Jonathan Evison (All About Lulu, West of Here, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving). The event is free and open to the public.
The reading will feature “A Demolition” by 2014 open category contest winner Peter Korchnak of Cazadero, Calif., and “South-West” by student category winner Scott Latta of Corvallis.
Attendees will also hear the second- and third-place winners read from their essays: “Road Apples” by Lynn Larssen of Seneca and “Day One” by Gabriel Karapondo of Tualatin in the open category; and in the student category, “Know Home” by Heather Durham of Milwaukie and “An Improbable Aspiration” by Missy Anne Peterson of McCleary, Wash.
The reading will be introduced by this year’s judge, Jonathan Evison of Bainbridge Island, Wash. who was the recipient of a 2009 Christopher Isherwood Fellowship. In his teens Evison was the founding member and frontman of the Seattle punk band March of Crimes, which included future members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Evison will read from his own work at The Duck Store, 895 E. 13th Ave., Eugene, on May 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest is an annual competition sponsored by “Oregon Quarterly” magazine and The Duck Store. The contest, featuring previously unpublished writings about the Northwest, is open to nonfiction writers competing in student and open categories. The top winning essay, Korchnak’s “A Demolition,” appears in the summer 2014 issue of Oregon Quarterly, which is distributed to nearly 100,000 readers. That issue, and a chapbook featuring all the winning essays, will be available at the reading. Winners also receive cash prizes.
Media Contact: Julie Brown, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
Source: Ann Wiens, 541-346-5048, awiens@uoregon.edu
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