Wednesday, September 2, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
High Desert Museum adopts writing prize
September 17 is a big
day for the Waterston Desert
Writing Prize. Not only will
the sixth annual awards cer-
emony be held, recognizing
the overall Prize winner, the
two finalists and the inau-
gural student essay winner,
but also the High Desert
Museum, Central Oregon9s
renowned natural and cul-
tural history museum, will
make official its adoption of
the Waterston Desert Writing
Prize.
An invitation and link to
reserve a virtual seat at this
exciting event, scheduled
for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday,
September 17, is available
on the Museum9s website,
www.highdesertmuseum.org/
waterston.
Since its inception, the
Waterston Desert Writing
Prize Awards Ceremony has
been hosted by the High
Desert Museum. The mission
and goals of the Prize com-
plement those of the High
Desert Museum, emphasizing
the importance of protecting
deserts and creating impor-
tant conversations about the
issues affecting them.
P r i z e F o u n d e r a n d
President Ellen Waterston
states: <I believe I can speak
for both boards of directors
in saying this is a very excit-
ing day. The Museum is posi-
tioned to grow the breadth of
reach and depth of the Prize
and, in so doing, will acquaint
a larger literary audience
with the Prize as well as the
extraordinary spectrum of
programs and activities the
Museum offers.=
High Desert Museum
Executive Director Dana
Whitelaw calls the transition
<a natural fit.=
<It has been an honor to
partner with the Prize for six
years and a privilege to con-
tinue the brilliant work of
the Waterston Desert Writing
Prize,= she says. <Sharing
inspiration about and insight
into desert landscapes and
cultures crafted by such
gifted writers aligns perfectly
with the Museum9s mission
to foster understanding of
and dialogue about the High
Desert.=
Now in its sixth year, the
Waterston Desert Writing
Prize honors creative non-
fiction that illustrates artis-
tic excellence, sensitivity
to place, and desert literacy,
with the desert as both sub-
ject and setting. The Prize
recognizes the vital role des-
erts play worldwide as eco-
systems and in the human
narrative. Since its found-
ing, the Prize has received
submissions from across the
United States and from more
than 20 countries. The overall
winner receives a cash prize,
currently $2,500, and a two-
week residency at PLAYA,
an artists9 and scientists9
residency campus in Summer
Lake, Oregon.
In addition to the formali-
ties of the transfer of the Prize
to the care of the Museum,
the September 17 virtual cel-
ebration will feature a reading
by the 2020 Prize recipient,
Hannah Hindley, of Tucson,
Arizona, for her winning
book proposal, <Thin Blue
Dream,= a collection of inter-
connected stories that explore
the Sonoran Desert9s disap-
pearing urban waterways.
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Prize finalists Eli Beck, Salt
Lake City, Utah, and Leath
Tonino, Ferrisburg, Vermont,
will also offer brief readings
from their proposals. Beck
was recognized for his sub-
mission <Rude Awakenings,=
an examination of wilder-
ness therapy programs in the
Four Corners region of New
Mexico.
Tonino submitted <Nooks
and Crannies: Mapping the
(Unmappable) Waterpocket
Fold with Prose Vignettes,=
a documentation of his
experiences in Capitol Reef
National Park. The essay by
Al Lehto, the winner of the
inaugural student essay writ-
ing competition, reflects on
the many hours their artist
mother spent painting in the
Oregon Badlands Wilderness
east of Bend, and the times
they would join her.
T h e P r i z e Aw a r d s
Ceremony is free, however
registration is required in
order to receive the ZOOM
link. For more informa-
tion contact info@waterston
desertwritingprize.org or
call 541-480-3933. To reg-
ister for the 2020 Waterston
Desert Writing Prize Awards
Ceremony, visit www.high
desdertmuseum.org/
waterston.
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