The Brown Bag Book Club listened Monday to a reading of the winners of Anson County Writer’s Club contests, featured in their latest edition of the Anson Pathways.
Kaye Ratliff, the club president, and local author Sandy Bruney read selected works from the new editions to the audience, while talking about some of the changes in recent years of the contest.
The Writer’s Club has been active for 30 years.
“Over that time, we have produced 10 books of contest winners,” Ratliff said.
Anson Pathways is published every three years. The 2019 edition features winners from 2016-2018.
Works from Ratliff, Bruney and others read during the club meeting.
Ratliff read a story by the late Rufus Gatson, about his cat named Sirus. The story has won in contests in Anson and Union counties.
“It is an excellent story, and I think you’ll all enjoy it,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff said that her family has always liked Peter Pan, so she wrote a poem called “Loving Peter Pan,” which won second place in 2016.
She also read a poem from Beverly Gatson, called “The Chipped Mug,” in memory of her husband; and won first place in 2017.
“It was written in memory of Rufus,” Ratliff said. “I always call Rufus and Beverly Nick and Nora Charles, from the Thinman series.”
Ratliff also read another memory poem, written by Bruney called “Our Song,” written for her husband.
Bruney read, “The Assignation,” a story written by Charles Kaska of Heath Springs, South Carolina, that won first place in Adult Prose last year.
“I want you to listen at how he balances the two points of views in the story; a wonderful job,” Bruney said.
The annual Writer’s Club contests is open every September to the first Monday in December. Entries can be through pose or poetry, and by adult and school-aged children.
“We get wonderful entries from students,” Ratliff said.
Contests entries are sent to other writers’ clubs or universities to judge anonymously.
“We do not judge them because we often enter it,” Ratliff said.
Sandy Bruney reads ‘The Assignation,’ by Charles Kaska, to the Brown Bag Book Club.
Kaye Ratliff reads poetry from winners of the Anson County Writer’s Club contest.