Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest Hall of Fame

HIBBING, Minn. ─  The Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest has grown from a small, predominantly local event with a few dozen entries to one with international appeal and hundreds of annual entrants. At the same time, we never forget our roots as an Iron Range organization encouraging local writers.

Past featured speakers:

2007: Barton Sutter, poet laureate of Duluth and Minnesota Book Award winning essayist and poet
2006: William Meissner, St. Cloud, Minn.,-based author and poet who writes of life, baseball and Bob Dylan
2005: Natalie Goldberg, national bestselling author and renowned creative writing instructor

2007

General Division Short Fiction:

      1st Place: “Confessions of a Bookmobile Clerk” by Jordon Turner of Bloomington, Ind.

      2nd Place: “First Fruits” by Phyllis Ring of Exeter, N.H..

      3rd Place: “The Good Shephard” by Brenda Peloquin of Mt. Iron, Minn.

        Honorable Mentions

            “El Gringo” by Jens Porup of Cali, Colombia
            “They Call Me Austin” by Davina Kotulski of Oakland, Calif.
            "Sheila the Sublime” by L.J. Reed of Port Aransas, Texas
            “How Monk Johnson Found Redemption at Churchill Downs” by Jim McGarrah of Evansville, Ind.
            “Audition” by R.F. Marazas of Belvidere, N.J.
            "Slim” by Craig Planting of Minneapolis, Minn.

General Division Poetry:

      1st Place: “Rewind” by Shaindel Beers of Pendleton, Ore.

      2nd Place: “Dylan Gumbo” by Robert Warrington of Tipton, West Midlands, England.

      3rd Place:  “My Father’s Planes” by SuzAnne C. Cole of New Braunfels, Texas.

       Honorable Mentions

            “Remembering” by Justin Stoekel of Georgetown, Del.
            “(I haven't told anybody this, but I really love raspberry picking)” by Tanya Miller of Park Rapids, Minn.
            “For Joey” by Elizabeth Thomas of Columbia, Conn.
            “Wintering” by Michelle Lerner of Flanders, N.J.
            “Hamburg, Iowa 1933” by KB Ballentine of Dayton, Tenn.
            “To a Daughter Leaving Home (for Carmen)” by Timothy Chisholm of Oceanside, Calif.
            “My Father” by Jerard Bretts of Bucks, England

Student Division Short Fiction:

      1st Place: “Upward Infinitum” by Alex Kalamaroff of Rochester, N.Y.

      2nd Place: “Shakespearizzle” by Alison Scheevel of Preston, Minn.

      3rd Place: “For Grandma” by Angela Johnson of Duluth, Minn.

       Honorable Mentions

            “Up Pour” by Henry Bell of Bristol, England
            “God's World” by Yael Green
            “A Real Fairy Tale” by Amelia Fetherolf of Califon, N.J.
            “The Good in Everyone” by Lauren Moore
            “To the Girl Applying Makeup” by Chris Koester of Carbondale, Ill.

Student Division Poetry:

      1st Place: “Death Pops a Wheelie” by Diana Chein of Holmdel, N.J.

      2nd Place: “Sestina” and “Morning in Blue” by Olivia Cole of Louisville, Ky.

      3rd Place: “Spring” by Ben Hamborg of Duluth, Minn. 

2006

General Division Short Fiction:
1st Place: “The Invasion” by Brenda Peloquin of Mt. Iron, Minn.
2nd Place: “The Wheel of Fortuna” by Lucia Howe of Pensacola, Fla.
3rd Place: “Winter” by Ed Fritsch of Grand Rapids, Minn.

General Division Poetry:
1st Place: “She Runs” by Kitty Dyer of Dodge City, Kan.
2nd Place: “Old Plow” by Rob Ganson of Washburn, Wis.
3rd Place:  “Listen to the Moon” by Patrice Powell of Hibbing, Minn.

Student Division Short Fiction:
1st Place: “In the Meantime” by Jessica Maher of Saranac Lake, N.Y.
2nd Place: “Myth of Fish: The Story of Ugh” by Zachary Jacobson of Harris, Minn.
3rd Place: “Three Motivators” by Neil Sandhoefner of Omaha, Neb.
<>
Student Division Poetry:
1st Place: “Ain’t Just a River” by Maren Hagman of Grand Rapids, Minn.
2nd Place: “Arbor Amata” by Kyle Bianconi of Hibbing, Minn.
3rd Place: “31 Killed” by Ben Hamborg of Duluth, Minn.           

2005

POETRY – General Division

First Place:“I Like to Go Where the Old People Eat”/ “Lunchtime at the Hawkridge Cafe with Earl.”
<>By Laura Martin Vouk of Isanti, Minnesota

Second Place: “Oak”
By Erskine Carter of Rock Island, Illinois 

Third Place: “Diagnosis”
By Astrid Slungaard of Minneapolis

FICTION – General Division

First Place: “City Sharks”
<>By Scott Kuzma of Hibbing, Minnesota 

Second Place:  “The Wrong Blue”
<>By Nicholas Ozment of Winona, Minnesota 

Third Place:  “Chocolate Cherries” 
By Brenda Peloquin of Mt. Iron, Minn.

POETRY – Student Division (college and high school)

First Place: “Black and White Photo"/ "Deserted”
By Molly Godfrey of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Second Place: “Our Library Burnt Down”
By Nicole Hendrickson of Virginia, Minnesota

Third Place: “Daysend Epitaph”
<>By Sara Packa of Hibbing, Minnesota
<> 
FICTION – Student Division (college and high school)

First Place: “The Adventure of Phineas Harrington”
<>By Nickolas Butler of Hibbing, Minnesota
<> 
Second Place: “How Was the Ravioli?”
By Kelly Matye of Turtle Lake, Wisconsin

Third Place:  “A Line in the Sand”
By David Henke of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota


2004

FICTION -- General Division

First Place: "Fragile Blossoms" by David Moffatt of Eveleth, Minn.
Second Place: "Small Engine Repair" by Erik Halom of Superior, Wis.
Third Place: "Chocolate Eyes" by Rita Jelle of Golden Valley, Minn.

POETRY -- General Division

First Place: "Devil in the Details" by Candace Simar of Pequot Lakes, Minn.
Second Place: "The Transformation" by Alyssa Brown of Grand Marais, Minn.
Third Place: "Tambourine Days" by Katherine Murphy of Clifton Park, N.Y.

FICTION -- Student Division

First Place: "Within Our Limbs" by Toni Roiger-Taray of Andover, Minn.
Second Place: "Just Her Luck" by Brenda Peloquin of Mt. Iron, Minn.
Third Place: "Saturday" by Pete Rognli of Bemidji, Minn.

POETRY -- Student Division
 
First Place: "Zero Degrees" by Dale Shaw of Puposky, Minn.
Second Place: "The Rite Wae to Spel" by Joanna Rosenlund of Hibbing, Minn.
Third Place: "Covalent Coitus Manage Without End" by John Kreuz of Chisholm, Minn.

2003

Open Division
Poetry
First Prize:   Paige Lee McCoy – Bemidji, Minn.
               "Who Are You" etc. 
Second Prize:  Greig Dahlke – Bagley, Minn.
<>               "April 23rd"       
Third Prize:   Holly Hedeen – Bemidji, Minn.
               "Tomorrow's Dawn"
Fiction
First Prize:   Pete Rognli – Bemidji, Minn.
               "Heartbreaker From Canton, NY"  
Second Prize:  Chris Luukkonen – Hibbing, Minn.
               "Withered" 
Third Prize:   Lindsey Larson – Princeton, Minn.
               Bread and Advice"
Hibbing Community College Division
Poetry
First Prize:   Karen Goins - Hibbing, Minn. 
               "The Fawn"  
Second Prize:  Skye McGinn - Hibbing, Minn. 
               "Say it in Time"  
Third Prize:   Ben Kampf - Nashwauk, Minn. 
               "Live Trap"  
Fiction
First Prize:   Michael Mathews – Hibbing, Minn.
               "Musical Preference"



Dylan Days is an annual event and an association dedicated to advancing the arts in Bob Dylan's hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota.