Winners At-Large Communications Contest!
Congratulations to APW members who won awards in the At-Large Division of the NFPW Communications Contest this year! Arizona Professional Writers no longer has it’s own contest, but instead competes against entries from 20-some state affiliates that also do not have their own contest. Winning and placing is quite an honor! First place winners go on to compete at the national level contest. Winners of the national contest will be announced in June.
Carol Baxter
First place in Public Relations materials for “Day Tripping”
Chrisann Dawson
First place in Writing novels for adult readers for Congo Ebola
Jody Sharpe
First place in Novellas for adult readers for The Dog Who Came For Christmas
Nancy Marshall
Second Place in Writing novels for adult readers for Finding Zachariah in a Community Garden
Susan Anderson
Honorable mention in writing fiction children’s books for Cool, Cool Cactus Critters
- Carol Baxter
- Carol Baxter, At-Large – Arizona 3rd Place – Public Relations Materials > 53 Catalog, Manual, or Handbook for “Day Tripping”
- Chrisann Dawson
- Chrisann Dawson, At-Large – Arizona 2nd Place – Fiction for Adult Readers > 11A – Novels for “Congo Ebola”
- Jody Sharpe
- The Dog Who Came for Christmas – Jody Sharpe – https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Who-Came-Christmas/dp/0988562057/ref=mp_s_a_1_1
- Nancy Marshall
- Finding Zachariah
- Susan Clair Anderson
- Cool, Cool Cactus Critters
NFPW Communications Contest winners!
- Carol Baxter
- Bobbie Bennett
- Nancy Marshall
- Jody Sharpe
Photo recap – 2024 State Conference
The APW 2024 State Conference was held on the beautiful grounds of the Franciscan Renewal Center in Paradise Valley. Officers were elected. Winners in the At-large division of the NFPW Communication Contest were announced. The 1st place winners will be entered in the national contest and winners announced in June. We also awarded our $1000 scholarship to Grace Meinema, who won it last year as well. Our two excellent speakers were Kathleen Osbourne and Howard Gershkowitz. They provided excellent insights into our theme “May the 4th Be With You!” A docent, Ann, from the Renewal Center gave us a history of the Center.
Photo credits: Bobbie Bennett, photographer except for 3 with an * by Jaimie Bruzenak
- *Franciscan Renewal Center
- *Franciscan Renewal Center grounds
- Outgoing President Connie Cockrell and Brenda Whiteside, Secretary
- Marie Fasano accepting registrations
- Dr Linda Sandel Pettit helping out the speaker
- Speaker Kathleen Osborne “Wisdom from the Galaxy”
- Afternoon speaker
- First place winners in the At-large contest -Jody Sharpe, Bobbie Bennett, Nancy Marshall, Carol Baxter
- Jody Sharpe – Scholarship Chair
- *Grace Meinema- scholarship winner and Jody Sharpe
- Speaker Howard Gershkowitz -“Time Management in the 3rd Dimension”
- Franciscan Renewal Center Docent – Ann
Photos from May 2023 APW State Conference
Photos from the APW State Conference on May 6, 2023 held at The Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center. Go to State Conference page for more information about the speakers. Click on individual photos for larger size.
- Delicious lunch!
- Speaker Debra Utacia Krol
- Debra Utacia Krol
- Grace Meinema – 2023 Scholarship Winner
- Jody Sharpe & Connie Cockrell presenting the scholarship to Grace Meinema
- Connie Cockrell – APW President – Annual Meeting
- Elena Selestewa, speaker
- Bobbie Bennett, Conference organizer, thanking Elena Selestewa
- Jody Sharpe, Scholarship Chairperson, announcing the winner for 2023
At-large Communication Contest 1st place winners
Congratulations to our members who won first place and, in some cases, other awards, in the 2022 “at-large” division of the NFPW Communications Contest. The at-large division is for states that do not have their own contest. This year there were entries from 20 states and Spain. APW members did very well!
Connie Cockrell
- FIRST PLACE: Advertising Poster, Billboard or Banner: “Arizona Professional Writers Conference 2022”
HONORABLE MENTION: Print-based newspaper: “Celebrating International Women’s Day”
Nancy Marshall
- FIRST PLACE: Children’s Book, Fiction: A Rattler’s Tale
Jodi Decker
- FIRST PLACE: Social Media Presence – Nonprofit, government or educational: “Seven Years Insane”
Jody Sharpe
- FIRST PLACE: Novellas (40,000 words or fewer):
“20 Moon Rd. An Angel’s Tale”
Marie Fasano
- FIRST PLACE: News Story Print-based newspaper: “Complications of pregnancy and changes in the law”
- THIRD PLACE: Photographer-writer: “New student aviation club gives teens a chance to fly”
- Connie Cockrell
- Nancy Marshall
- Jodi Decker
- Jody Sharpe
- Marie Fasano
APW Book Club 3/25/23 – Jody Sharpe

Jody Sharpe
Meteorologist and psychic Gayle Force proves a force to be reckoned with as she moves back to her beloved Mystic Bay. While sleeping, an angel sent her a message in a dream. Gayle realizes she must save an old man from drowning. But who is this old man? With the help of attorney Alex Knight, she finds they are caught in the middle of a future crime. But can Gayle and Alex solve the case and save the old man before it’s too late? With twists of intrigue and love they find angels are at the helm as they prove the bully never wins.
APW Book Group 5/28/22 Jody Sharpe
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Book Group -Jody Sharpe – 20 Moon Road, An Angels Tale
Date: Saturday, May 28, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Zoom: The link to the Zoom meeting has been sent to APW members. If you did not receive it or would like to attend as a guest, contact Karen at kslateiner@gmail.com. The link is also in the Members Only tab.
Hello all,
20 Moon Rd An Angel’s Tale is the 5th in the Mystic Bay Series. It can be read alone without reading the others. It’s a novella and pieces together all the themes and storylines of the other 4 books. It’s on Kindle Unlimited. See Jody’s YouTube Channel – Jody Sharpe. Her website is JodySharpe.com
About the author: Jody won NFPW awards for Town of Angels Christmas and for Special Needs Children The Angels On My Shoulder;.
TheAuthorsShow.com awarded her a place in “50 Writers You Should Be Reading.” The interview will be on TheAuthorsShow.com on May 9th for her first book, The Angel’s Daughter. Miracles still happen, in the town of Mystic Bay, California. Angels live as humans there. Angel Ken, a former football coach, is surprised when his late best friend, the indomitable psychic, Madam Norma, appears in spirit form and asks him to write the story of her life through her memories she will send him. Surprising to Angel Ken, Madam Norma saw thousands of angels since her childhood. This story is a tale like no other, an angel’s tale.
Sending with Light from the Angels, Jody Sharpe
Jody is looking forward to seeing you on Zoom. She would appreciate honest reviews – one sentence and stars of your choice.
- Jody Sharpe
- Jody Sharpe – 20 Moon Rd. An Angel’s Tale
Jody Sharpe – 3rd place winner!
Jody Sharpe won third place in Fantasy in the At-large division of the 2021 NFPW Communications Contest! She won for her book, Town of Angels Christmas. Congratulations, Jody!
There was strong competition in the At-Large division with entrants from 18 states, the District of Columbia and Spain.
Jody and the other APW members who won awards in the contest will be honored at our annual State Conference on May 14 at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. Besides our business meeting and honoring winners, we’ll have two excellent speakers, a salad lunch and a private docent-led tour of the museum. (Free parking is available.) See the tab above for details and to register. Both members and guests are welcome.
- Jody Sharpe
- Jody Sharpe – Town of Angels Christmas
APW wins big in the At-large contest!
Arizona winners in the 2021 At-large NFPW communications contest
From Teri Ehresman, Contest Director: “You have an outstanding number of winners again this year in the NFPW at-large communications contest.”
Bobbi Bennett – 2nd place, Publication regularly written by entrant; 3rd place, Publication regularly written by entrant; two honorable mentions for Publication regularly written by entrant
Wynne Brown — Honorable Mention, Books, Biography or History
Jan Cleere — 1st place, Books, Biography or History
Chrisann Dawson – 2nd place, general fiction; Honorable Mention, Fiction for adult readers
Jodi Decker — Honorable Mention, Specialty Articles, History
Marie Fasano — 2nd place, photo/writer; 2nd place, Informational Column, 2nd place, Feature story
Rebecca Goodrich — 1st place, Short Stories
Brad Graber – 1st place, Fiction for adult readers
Janelle Molony – Honorable mention, specialty articles, history
Jody Sharpe — 3rd place, Novellas
We had an extremely competitive at-large contest again this year. We had strong entries from entrants from Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Spain, Washington D.C. and Washington state.
Congratulations to all! First place winners in their category move onto the national contest.
2021 At-Large Communications Contest winners
- Second place -Columns, general, Roaming the Rim Column – “WHO designates 2020 as Year of the Nurse and Midwife”
- Honorable mention -Feature story, Print based newspaper, “Homeless Give Back “
- Third Place- Autobiograpy or Memoir, Surrender
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Second Place-Collection of short stories written by entrant (published together in book form, including electronic books) Body Language
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Honorable Mention Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers – General Nonficton, The Big Book of Small Presses and Independent Publishers








































