This weekend the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) will host the DWAA Awards Banquet, which recognizes outstanding work about dogs and celebrates the dog writing community.
Winners of each Regular Category will receive a Maxwell Medallion, which honors Maxwell Riddle; the former DWAA president and AKC judge wrote about the sport of dogs for over five decades. Winners of Special Awards receive cash grants – the organization will give away a whopping $15,950 in prize money.
“We are so grateful to our sponsors – individuals, companies and nonprofits – for their generous support,” said Jen Reeder, DWAA President. “Sponsoring a Special Award in the DWAA Writing Competition is such a cool way to support the dog writing community and makes the evening particularly fun.”
DWAA will announce the winners of both regular categories and special awards at the awards banquet on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019 at the Hotel New Yorker in Manhattan. The event will feature keynote addresses from NBC correspondent and host of Animal Planet’s “Dog Bowl” Jill Rappaport and radio host/journalist/author Steve Dale of Steve Dale’s Pet World. DWAA will also induct Deborah Wood, renowned newspaper columnist, author and rescue advocate, into its Hall of Fame.
Mara Bovsun, features editor at AKC Family Dog, will receive the DWAA Distinguished Service Award. In 2018, Bovsun launched DWAA’s Young Writers on the Web program, which offers writing mentorship to children and teens under the age of 18. It led to a huge influx of contest entries.
“This year we had so many writers under the age of 18 apply for the DWAA Junior Writer Award that we had to divide it into four age categories,” Reeder noted. “Thanks to a matching grant by an anonymous donor, the four winners will each receive $400!”
DWAA Junior Writer Award
Sponsored by Karen Petit, an author of children’s books, for writers under 18 years of age. This award is to recognize and encourage young writers who exhibit talent, resourcefulness, dedication and integrity in their writing about dogs and dog-related topics. Award: $400 cash grant, DWAA Maxwell Medallion and lapel pin.
Atlas by Nikolas Anthony Klimenko, 9 (Category: 7-9)
A Passion for Helping Pooches by Jayson Kimberly, 12 (Category: 10-12)
Full Circle by Daly Dodsworth, 13 (Category: 13-14)
What I’ve Learned from Smudge, Lola, and Dewey by Kendle Rae Frank, 16 (Category: 15-17)
“I’m so grateful to all of our sponsors, judges and entrants, and to our Contest Chair, Laurren Darr,” Reeder said. “Thanks to everyone’s support, DWAA is still going strong after all these years!”
For more information, visit: https://dogwriters.org/event/
About DWAA
The Dog Writers Association of America is the most recognized professional writing association devoted to dogs. Founded in 1935, the DWAA has grown from eight founders to over 500 members, including journalists, authors, bloggers, publicists, photographers, illustrators and media personalities. Under the umbrella of the human-canine bond, members cover dog competitions, health, training, rescue, pet fashion, veterinary research, working dog organizations, animal welfare legislation, fundraisers and many other topics. For more information, visit: dogwriters.org.