About WV Writers
Established in 1977, West Virginia Writers, Inc. is the largest all-volunteer, writers' resource and service organization serving literary interests in West Virginia.
We are founded on the fundamental principle that the written word is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of all human endeavors. Our aim is to expand and develop creative writing and professional opportunities for writers and to connect the state's writers with others in the literary community and the public at large.
WV Writers sponsors both an annual writers conference and an annual writing competition.
Equality Statement
As an organization, we respect diversity, embrace inclusion, and will never endorse any discriminatory practices in any form toward any writer. We do not discriminate on the basis of political, religious, or other views. We're a group composed of a wide range of viewpoints and belief systems, and we like it that way. Your interests, viewpoints, and opinions are a vital brushstroke in the colorful landscape of literary life.
Upcoming Events
2025 Fall Conference
Details coming soon.
Contest winners
The winners of our 2025 writing contest are as follows.
Short Poetry
First, Stone Wood Star, James Long
Second, Snowglobe, Mary Ann Honaker
Third, Robbed, James Long
Honorable Mention, On Learning that WV Legislators Plan to Rename Spruce Knob Trump Mountain, Christina Fisanick
Long Poetry
First, The Lady Preacher Trilogy, Barbara Marie Minney
Second, Stop Writing About West Virginia, Kassidy Jordan
Third, Cold Rain, Mary Ann Honaker
Honorable Mention, Our Country Is Dying, Mary Ann Honaker
Short Story
First, Genevieve, Chrissie Peters
Second, One Marble, Anna Eplin
Third, Sweet Honesty, Louis Schlesinger
Honorable Mention, Pinned Hopes, Karin Patton
Nonfiction / Essay
First, They'll Say I Died of Botulism, Marjorie McAtee
Second, Returning Home to Say Goodbye: A West Virginia Doctor's Journey, Scott Santibanez
Third, Committing Crimes, Danny Kuhn
Honorable Mention, Into Thy Hands: African Americans and the Disinterment of WWI Soldiers, Don Narkevic
Honorable Mention, The Show Must Go On, Michael Chalmers
Honorable Mention, Going feral, Karin Patton
Honorable Mention, Frolicking Squirrels May Not Be What They Seem, Barbara Marie Minney
What Is Appalachia?
First, Blackberry Winter: Songs of the Appalachian Trails, Whitney Healy
Second, Brain Drain Appalachia, Paul Clancy
Third, What is Appalachia?, Karin Patton
Honorable Mention, Legacy, Earl Keener
Honorable Mention, Appalachian Gothic, Barbara Marie Minney
Book Length Prose
First, Rapids, Kathleen Furbee
Second, Blue Nile Waltz, Paul Grussendorf
Third, Hollow, Tina Caldwell
Honorable Mention, 1999 (In Theory), Matthew Kushin
New Mountain Voices 6-8
First, Vanity and Virtue, Heidi Fry
Second, Orange, Gloria Hu
Third, The Rooster That Came Home, Reagan Ali
Honorable Mention, Tick, Tick..., Emersyn Miranov
New Mountain Voices 9-12 Poetry
First, Stages of Being a Lesbian, Saelyr Wilson
Second, In the Spin of the Chamber, Jayden Jones
Third, Simply Tormented, Lauryn Coffman
Honorable Mention, Unspoken Confession, Lauryn Coffman
Honorable Mention, I Am Like The Man Who Looked Back, Jessie Wisman
Honorable Mention, My Grandfather, Aleena Reed
New Mountain Voices 9-12 Prose
First, The Last Fortnight in Alsace-Lorraine, Madison Richmond
Second, Arctic Street, Jane Gardener
Third, Haunting Harmony, Jessie Wisman
Honorable Mention, Meteors, Jayden Bragg
Membership Join/Renew
Click the table above for an overview of our different membership levels.
We would love to have you as a member at any level. Please join us.
If you're already a member, or have been in the past, you can renew your membership.
Mission and Goals
- Support and encourage serious writing activities within the writing community
- Establish a networking system for writers
- Promote writing as an artform
- Give voice to our people and way of life
- Expose the public, particularly our children, to the importance of writing
- Encourage appreciation of the literary arts
- Expand the horizons and deepen the appreciation of life, culture and communication among writers and all citizens of West Virginia.
Contact WV Writers
Officers and Staff
ORGANIZATIONAL OFFICERS
To contact us email: westvirginiawriters@gmail.com | subject line: individual or topic; or use our online contact form.
- President - Brad Mills, Charleston
- 1st Vice President - Bradford Barkley, Frostburg, MD
- 2nd Vice President - David Prather, Parkersburg
- Secretary - Amy Deal, Huntington
- Treasurer - Kara Starcher, Chloe
- Parliamentarian - Laura Jackson, Wheeling
- President Emeritus - M. Lynne Squires, Scott Depot
VALUED STAFF
- Timothy G Huguenin, Newsletter Editor
- Natalie Sypolt, Contest Coordinator
- Amy Deal, Historian
- Brad Mills, Webmaster
REGIONAL REPS
WV Writers uses volunteer representatives from 10 multi-county regions of the state as a resource in each geographical area.
- Region 1: VACANT (Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Roane)
- Region 2: Shannon Bennett Campbell (Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, Webster)
- Region 3: Cheryl Kula (Greenbrier, Monroe, Nicholas, Summers)
- Region 4: Audrey Stanton-Smith (Fayette, McDowell, Mercer, Raleigh, Wyoming)
- Region 5: Michele Schiavone (Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Wayne)
- Region 6: Betsy Allen (Boone, Kanawha, Putnam)
- Region 7: Joe Stephens (Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt, Wood)
- Region 8: John Harris (Brooke, Doddridge, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler, Wetzel)
- Region 9: Lisa McCombs, Julia Todd (Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur)
- Region 10: Thomas Donlon (Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan)