Lake Writers -
Contest Winners


Image: Lake Writers


Three SMAC Lake Writers Members are Contest Winners

25th Annual Wytheville Chautaugua
Writing Contest


On June 26th, three members of the Smith Mountain Arts Council Lake Writers were awarded prizes at the 25th Annual Wytheville Chautaugua Writing Contest. It was the first time that three members of a single writing group won for their work.

Becky Mushko won second place in the short story contest for "Rat Killing," a story about an elderly woman, dying of pancreatic cancer, who crashes her truck into a local ne'er-do-well. Bruce Rae won second place for "Dare We Bail Out Bad Businesses?," a political essay wondering why corporate CEOs who led their companies into bankruptcy and government bailout keep their jobs. Betsy Ashton took third place in the essay contest for "The Gift," a personal essay about life's lessons and growing up in a household with three women.

Image: Contest Winners

Bruce Rae, Becky Mushko, Rhonda Catron-Wood, chairperson of the writing contest,
and Betsy Ashton.


The Lake Writers (http://www.lakewriters.webs.com/) is a group of writers from around the Smith Mountain Lake area that was founded in 2000 and meets under the auspices of The Smith Mountain Arts Council. The group includes writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. Some are published writers, and some are aspiring to getting their work published.