Winner of North Coast Writer's Residency announced

The Writer’s Guild of Astoria and Astoria Visual Arts (AVA) have announced the winner of the 2022 North Coast Writer’s Residency: Jennifer D. Munro, of Albany, Oregon.

The residency will take place the first week of November with a reception and a public reading will be held on November 5 at the AVA gallery in Astoria at 6 p.m.

In a competitive field of writers, all accomplished and with merit, the quality of writing made the judges’ jobs extremely difficult this year. However, one writer stood out above the rest: Jennifer D. Munro, of Albany, Oregon.

As the selected writer-in-residence, Jennifer will spend one week working on her book-length collection of essays, The Twelfth Mom. This project explores the challenges of being an adoptive parent of a troubled teen through the lens of their shared passion for bird watching.

Jennifer’s essays have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Her writing has been recognized nationally, and she has twice been a Pushcart Prize Nominee. Her teaching credentials include writing workshops for Hugo House, Whidbey Island Writers Conference, and Hedgebrook Salon. Jennifer will be hosted by Lisa Smith and Buzz Bissinger in their cottage on Willapa Bay. Jennifer is looking forward to having time and space to polish existing essays, and potentially add more to The Twelfth Mom.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Armin Tolentino of Vancouver, Washington and Annie Lighthart of Portland, Oregon. These two authors are invited to read at the fall Literary Ball.

The Writer’s Guild is a 501 ©(3) nonprofit devoted to fostering the literary arts in the lower Columbia region. http://www.thewritersguild.org.

Astoria Visual Arts is a 501 ©(3) nonprofit dedicated to promoting the visual arts in the greater Astoria area. http://www.astoriavisualarts.org.