Arkansas Writer Ellen Withers Possesses Impressive Portfolio
This the first in what may prove to be a series of posts submitted by subscribers to ArkansasWriters. Guidelines.
Ellen Withers, of Conway, Arkansas, began her professional writing career in 2003 when she became a freelance contributor to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Also in 2003, she entered her first writing contest. Since that time, she has received numerous writing awards at the Arkansas Writers Conference, Ozark Creative Writers Conference, Oklahoma Writers Conference, Byline Magazine, and White County Creative Writers Conference.
Twelve of her fiction stories have been published in anthologies and one non-fiction article was published in a historical guidebook. The anthologies were Echoes of the Ozarks, Volumes One, Two and Five; Tales from the South, Volumes One and Two; Writing on Walls Anthology II and III; Voices by High Hill Press; Silver Boomers, This Path and From the Porch Swing (all Silver Boomers books); and Memories and Make Believe, a short story anthology. Two creative non-fiction stories were featured on KUAR’s radio show Tales from the South. She was nominated in 2009 for The Pushcart Prize in the published short story category. The Pushcart Prize is a prestigious national award given for an outstanding literary work published in a Small Press.
Her non-fiction articles have been included in an international magazine, and several national and regional magazines. She has written the monthly resident feature for Life in Chenal Magazine since 2006. She was editor of an international magazine, SIU Today, for insurance fraud investigators from 2007 to 2017 and remains on their editorial committee.
Ellen frequently speaks about the craft of writing. She has given presentations to the Arkansas Parks Department, the Hot Springs Village Writers, Fiction Writers of Central Arkansas, the Arkansas Writers’ Conference and the Ozark Writers League.
She serves as an officer of the Pioneer Branch of the National League of American Pen Women and as a board member of the Arkansas Writers Conference. Currently, Ellen is compiling and co-editing Winning Writers’ Waltz, an anthology featuring winning pieces from the 2020 Arkansas Writers’ Conference writing contests and Arkansas Writer Hall of Fame recipients.
Ellen credits her success in the world of writing to the generosity and kindness of established writers who have shared their expertise and nurtured her writing ambitions.
Phil Slattery
Phil Slattery writes fiction and publishes thechambermagazine.com and ruralfictionmagazine.wordpress.com.