STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

St. Luke’s Wood River speech and language therapist Anita Dromey must have a flair for poetry. She just took first place for poetry in the Idaho Writer’s Guild’s annual contest for the second year in a row.

“Each presenter is an experienced member of the writing profession, with wisdom to share,” said Dromey. “I think any writer, whether they are in the process of their first or fortieth book, will find their tribe at the Writer’s Guild and be inspired.”  

The Idaho Writer’s Guild announced its award winners at its annual conference designed to explore the business and craft of writing.

“The Idaho Writer’s Guild is interested in refining a writer’s craft and contribution to storytelling at every level,” said Dromey. “I come away with pages of notes, including introductions to agents and publishers, and also references to influential online resources like important websites, and newsletters.”

The keynote speaker in 2023 was Craig Allen Johnson, bestselling author of the Longmire series, which became a Netflix hit series. This year the keynote speaker was James A. Owen, writer and illustrator of “Star Child” comics, the bestselling series “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” and the nonfiction book “Drawing Out the Dragons.”

Owen told how as a child he overcame a difficult-to-diagnose blood disorder that kept him hospitalized most of his fifth-grade year.

“As an adult, he faced and overcame deep financial difficulties that were not directly of his making,” Dromey recounted. “Then, when he was on the verge of a major career opportunity as an illustrator and writer, he was hit by another car in a crash that crushed his right hand so badly his physicians told him he would never draw again. But he was undeterred and went through many months of physical therapy focused on turning screws in a wooden board. This, so he could regain his finger strength to hold a pen.”

Following this story, Owen stood and drew a few lines on a blank sheet of paper. In two minutes’ time, Dromey said, the lines turned into a dragon’s image, which he filled in as he told the audience that obstacles are inevitable and put in our lives for us to prove ourselves.

His audience seemed to be inspired, giving him a hearty standing ovation, Dromey said.

“The Idaho Writer’s Guild is an awesome vibrant group and their conference amazing,” she added.