Book of the Year Awards: High Country Writers Recognize, Celebrate Published Local Authors

HCW Book of the Year Award Winners. Pictured (from left) are: Tony Rankine, Danielle Bussone, Bill Runyon, Doug Kaiser. Not pictured: Peter Morris, Leslie Ann Perry. Photo by Ree Strawsman. — HCW Book of the Year Award Winners. Pictured (from left) are: Tony Rankine, Danielle Bussone, Bill Runyon, Doug Kaiser. Not pictured: Peter Morris, Leslie Ann Perry. Photo by Ree Strawser.

By Jessica Isaacs | jessica@highcountrypress.com

The High Country Writers recently convened to recognize members who published their work in 2015 with the group’s annual Book of the Year Awards.

Much like the work written by the membership overall, award-winning titles span a variety of genres.

High Country Writers

First established in 1995 by six founding participants, the High Country Writers organization now boasts a membership of more than 60 writers.

“Our motto is ‘energizing writers since 1995,’” said HCW 2016 President Anita Laymon. “Our purpose is to encourage, enlighten and educate in the art of writing.”

High Country Writers Books of the Year are displayed along with past recipients. Photo by Ree Strawsman. — High Country Writers Books of the Year are displayed along with past recipients. Photo by Ree Strawser.

The group convenes for monthly workshops, author presentations and critique/editing sessions on the first, second and fourth Thursdays of each month, respectively.

The peer-to-peer fellowship, support and advice offered by group get-togethers encourage each member as they pursue the publication of their work.

“The encouragement and critiques are a high point of what we do. Critiques tell the writer how the work is perceived, if it follows the point of view consistently throughout, if they have maintained the historical significance and if the characters are consistent from beginning to end,” Laymon said. “All of that is so important, and sometimes the critiques point out things that the writer didn’t know or intend. That’s the big thing — it’s a community of writers who encourage each other.”

The membership spans authors of all genres, and any writers interested in joining the group are encouraged to visit the organization’s website and attend the next meeting for more information.

Books of the Year

On Thursday, May 12, the High Country Writers met at the Watauga County Public Library in downtown Boone to recognize its members who published their work in 2015.

“The books were submitted by the authors, and our criteria was that it had to be published online, self published or published by a publisher in the preceding year, and they had to have an International Standard Book Number,” Laymon said. “In the case of a couple of people this year, some had two or more books published.”

The publishing achievements were celebrated in a show of appreciation for each author’s effort to research, write and publish a book.

Visit highcountrywriters.tripod.com for more information on the group, including its history, a list of members and a calendar of upcoming events.

Continue scrolling for represented genres, award-winning titles and additional photos from Thursday’s award ceremony.