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R.P. Barr to represent Prince William in state writing competition

From left, Manassas writer R.P. Barr, fiction judge Ann Marie Stippey, Manassas writer Dani Ambrose Rogero, contest organizer Maureen Arvai, poetry judge Robert Scott and writer Kim Lervold. Photo by Jan Rayl.
From left, Manassas writer R.P. Barr, fiction judge Ann Marie Stippey, Manassas writer Dani Ambrose Rogero, contest organizer Maureen Arvai, poetry judge Robert Scott and writer Kim Lervold. Photo by Jan Rayl.

Manassas writer R.P. Barr’s short story “Dinner Dishes” and poem “Seasons” won first place in the fiction and poetry categories of the first tier (local chapter) competition of the Virginia Writers Club’s annual Golden Nib Contest. Barr’s entries have been forwarded to the VWC for statewide competition; statewide awards will be presented during the VWC Annual Meeting November 1 in Richmond.
Write by the Rails, the Prince William Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, recognized winners of the chapter writing contest – the first tier of the VWC’s annual Golden Nib Contest – at their Aug. 21 meeting.
The distinguished panel of judges included:
• Ann Marie Stippey, the 2014 Washington Post Agnes Meyer Teacher of the Year for Manassas City Public Schools and an Osbourn High School English teacher (fiction);
• Robert Scott, co-Prince William Poet Laureate, novelist and Osbourn Park High School teacher (poetry); and
• David Fawcett, sports editor for Prince William Today (nonfiction).
Maureen Arvai, Content Director at Brandt Social and a freelance writer, organized the local contest.
These winners were chosen:
• Fiction) First-Place: R.P. Barr, Manassas, “Dinner Dishes”; Second-Place: Dani Ambrose Rogero, Manassas, “The Pin-Up Girl of the Lucky Lou”
• Poetry) First-Place: R.P. Barr, Manassas, “Seasons”; Second-Place: Kim Lervold, “Native American’s Perspective as Columbus Arrives”
• Nonfiction) No entries submitted
Write by the Rails will sponsor Fall for the Book’s “Haute Cuisine at the Hylton,” a celebration of fine food, superior drink and the various stories behind the scenes of every aspect of the food industry from farm to table and beyond on Thursday, Sept. 18, from 6 to 9 pm at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. Cookbook authors, food writers, chefs and chocolatiers, novelists incorporating food into their fiction, and even the newly minted Prince William Poets Laureate will be there. This is a free event, open to the public.