Hidden River Arts Announces Winners of Fiction and Drama Competition

June 10, 2011 - PRLog -- Hidden River Arts is proud to announce the winners of its 2010 awards cycle in Fiction and Drama.  

Loreen Niewenhuis of Michigan is the winner of the William Van Wert Fiction Competition, with the excerpt, "Benjamin Caudwell's Future," from her novel-in-progress, Tumor Board.  Loreen trained as a scientist, and began writing fiction while taking a break from research work to raise her sons.  Her memoir, A 1,000 Mile Walk on the Beach: One Woman’s Trek of the Perimeter of Lake Michigan, was released in March 2011 by Crickhollow Books.                          

Douglas Huff of Minnesota is the winner of the Hidden River Arts Playwrighting Award, with his play, A Far Shore.  Dr. Huff is a professor of Philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College.  His primary area of philosophical interest focuses on problems of virtue, ethics and the philosophy of religion.  He is active internationally as both a scholar and a playwright

Both winners receive $1000.  Their winning manuscripts will be published by Hidden River Arts, and will receive readings in Philadelphia, PA in the autumn of 2011.

"The decisions this year were difficult, because of the high quality of submissions we received in both categories," said Founding Director, Debra Leigh Scott.  "It took us several months longer than anticipated to make our final choices."  

Names of the semi-finalists and finalists can be found on Hidden River's website, and Ms. Scott said that all of them are deserving of much praise.  "The level of talent was just astonishing," she said.  "The quality of work we receive for our competitions is higher each year."  It is a joy, but doesn't come without its difficulties.  "To be entrusted with an artist's work is both a wonderful gift, and a great responsibility," she says.  

Named after The Schuylkill River (Dutch for "Hidden River") in Pennsylvania, Hidden River Arts was established over ten years ago to support  the "hidden", or outsider artist in literature.  Through competitions, residencies, educational outreach and other activities, the organization reached out to writers in English from all over the globe.  The support was then expanded to writers of drama.  Most recently Hidden River Arts has launched an independent small press, Hidden River Publishing.  Among its first titles are the memoir Sweet Dreams: A Family History by DeWitt Henry and Her Story: Essays on the Goddess in Our Lives by Annabel Lindy.  More information about Hidden River Publishing can be found at www.hiddenriverpublishing.com

Beginning in late summer of 2011, Hidden River Arts will be offering newly designed programs in creative writing, playwrighting, memoir and poetry.  The goal of all programs is to offer support to writers at all stages of development.  

Arts outreach activities now include more inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary offerings.  Hidden River Live presents events of live music, readings and performance. Hidden River Salon, as part of the Hidden River Lives project,  will offer a gallery space for visual arts as well as creative and performing arts activities monthly.  Hidden River Review will offer a virtual Salon experience, and will launch in the fall of 2011.  

More information about Hidden River Writers and Hidden River Live as well as a
full list of  this year's semi-finalists and finalists in the writing competitions, can be found at www.hiddenriverarts.com.  Guidelines and applications for this year's awards competition can also be obtained on the website.  This year's competition deadlines June 30, 2011 and is open to writers in English from around the world.

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Hidden River Arts is an arts and artists support organization offering competitions, residencies, publication, outreach, live events. More information can be found at www.hiddenriverarts.com