Thanks to the encouragement (and maybe just a little goading) of my professors Rori Harrington and Daniel Rodrigue, I decided last month to work up an entry to Mayborn’s Student Biography Contest.
I wrote about Birgit Somer, who runs Rainbow Wildlife Rescue, which has just moved to Weatherford, TX. They are in the process of rebuilding and are closed until Fall 2011. Birgit is a tireless worker to rehabilitate wildlife, and has an incredible story.
You’ll be able to read the biography soon in The Dallas Morning News — because my entry was one of the 10 chosen! That also means I get to attend the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference on scholarship. Friday we’ll have a day-long workshop with James McGrath Morris, and some time to revise our entries based on his suggestions afterward. I’m really excited about all of that — it’s a great opportunity and I’m honored to be chosen.
Thank you, Rori and Daniel, and I’d encourage others to enter next year’s contest. The contest is open to high school and community college students, and all contest information for next year will be at this link: https://journalism.unt.edu/maybornconference/student-biography-contest