Acceptances and Sales
Barbara Shepherd had a picture book published by Doodle and Peck: The Potbelly Pig Promise. A mainstream historical novel by Wild Rose Press, River Bend, is scheduled for publication in December 2017. Her poem “Pioneer Stone Masons” was published in the Wordwrights-OKC Christian Writers newsletter. Her poem “The Changing Face of War” was published in the anthology Ain’t Gonna Be Treated This Way: Celebrating Woody Guthrie, Poems of Protest & Resistance.
David Roper had three issues of Truth for Today on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus in the spring and his commentary on the same three books was published in the fall. He had an indie children’s book published earlier in the year: Super Kids, and a traditionally-published children’s book, My Friend, Frank, in the fall.
Contest Winnings
Barbara Shepherd won several awards in a Poetry Society of Oklahoma contest: 1st place for “Wind,” a citation for “A Final Goodbye,” and honorable mentions for “Stolen Sugar,” “Sultry Whisper,” and “The Greening.” In a later contest, she won 2nd place for “Ring of Danger.” She won two awards in the Arkansas Writers’ Conference contest: 2nd place in Poetry (“The Greening”) and 2nd place in Short Fiction (“Painting on Safari”). Her poem “Ravens” won 2nd place in Poetry in the Rose State Writers Symposium. Her poem “Wind” won First Place/Best of Show in the 2017 ”Voice of the Fair” competition.
Catherine Katey Johnson received Honorable Mentions for her caption contest entries on comedywhirled.com. She was a semifinalist in the Funniest Person in Oklahoma City Third Annual comedy competition.
Professional Activities
Catherine Katey Johnson was a co-judge for the “Voice of the Fair” 2017 poetry contest at the Oklahoma State Fair. She had a painting on exhibit at Integris Cancer Institute’s annual “Celebration of Life” Art Exhibit.
Barbara Shepherd has a new blog: “The Write Arsenal.” She did poetry readings at the IOA-sponsored Poetry Reading in Shawnee and at the Poetry Society in Oklahoma City. She hosted the Fiction Writer’s Retreat in June on the Rose State campus. She judged 51 published western novels for Western Fictioneers. She read poems in July at the IAO’s Woody Guthrie Festival and at the Poetry Society of Oklahoma’s Summer Workshop. Two writing-related pieces were accepted for the Integris Annual Art Shoe: Mixed Media Collage “One Nasty Day” and cookbook “Vittles and Vignettes.” She was on a panel at the Norman Galaxy of Writers: “What Writers Need to Know About Entering Contests.”
David Roper made author’s visits at elementary schools in the Mid-Del and Choctaw area and at Wellston, Oklahoma. He spoke to Mid-Oklahoma Writers on “Confessions of a Bookaholic” and spoke on “Writing for Children 101” to a writer’s group in Abilene, Texas. He also did a program for the Southwest Oklahoma City Public Library.
