Teen writers wanted for library fiction contest
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 5 months AGO
North Central Washington Libraries, which includes the Quincy library shown here as well as branches in Moses Lake, Mattawa, Othello, Ephrata and other nearby cities, is accepting entries for its annual Teen Short Fiction Competition.
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Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | March 20, 2025 3:35 AM
WENATCHEE — North Central Washington Libraries is accepting submissions for the 2025 Teen Short Fiction Competition. NCW Libraries oversees the operation of libraries in and near Grant County, among others.
Entries need to be 2,000 words or shorter and the teen’s original, unpublished work, according to NCW Libraries’ website, but other than that the field is pretty wide open, said NCW Libraries Teen Services Coordinator Jessica Lynch.
“It could be a variety of genres,” Lynch said. “It ranges from complete short stories to the first chapter of what will become a longer work, but they've kind of encapsulated it as a shorter piece … We've had stories where it's from the perspective of an animal. We've had stories where it's a murder mystery. It really can be whatever they want to pursue.”
The contest is open to students, including private, home-schooled, and Running Start students, in ninth through 12th grade in Grant, Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan and Ferry counties. The last winner from Grant County was in 2022 when then-sophomore Bridget Jones from Quincy High School received an honorable mention for her story “A Letter for the End of the World.”
The contest is co-sponsored by Write on the Water, a Wenatchee-based organization formed in 2005 to foster connections among writers as well as connecting them with learning and publishing opportunities, according to its website.
One regulation that wouldn’t have been necessary a few years ago is that no artificial intelligence generative tools like ChatGPT may be used in the writing. So far nobody has tried to pass off AI writing as their own, Lynch said, possibly because the library has always been clear about that restriction.
“What the judges are looking for is something creative with the author's voice,” Lynch said. (They’re) looking for development of a character, or a plot or a theme, and trying to experiment with their creative expression. But of course, clarity is helpful too, so we can understand what they're trying to convey.”
The submission deadline is April 11. Stories can be submitted at https://bit.ly/NCWTeenFiction25. More information is available at www.ncwlibraries.org.
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Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.