Presbyterian Writers Guild prize goes to Bill Chadwick
by Presbyterian Writers Guild | Special to Presbyterian News Service
Bill Chadwick’s “Still Laughing, Still Learning (Still Looking for a Good Title)” is the winner of the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s First Book Award.
LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Bill Chadwick, a retired pastor in Minnetonka, Minnesota, has been chosen winner of the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s Best First Book Award, co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Chadwick, a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary, won the prestigious award for his memoir “Still Laughing, Still Learning (Still Looking for a Good Title).”
Chadwick’s book — a compilation of stories chronicling his career as a Presbyterian minister — “is one of a handful of books I’ve read that is laugh-out-loud funny,” said Best First Book Committee Chair the Rev. Jerry Van Marter.
Added committee member the Rev. Skip Dunford of Elizabethtown, Kentucky: “Bill’s stories capitalize on the ability of stories to help readers experience both the humor and pathos of life. Its appeal lies in the author’s ability to transform short stories in larger ‘life lessons.’”
“Still Laughing, Still Learning” was one of seven books nominated for the biennial award, which includes a $500 cash prize funded by PPC. This year’s contest was open to books written by Presbyterian writers in 2020 or 2021.
The award is usually presented at the Guild’s General Assembly luncheon. But with this year’s Assembly a hybrid affair, Chadwick will be honored at a virtual celebration to be held on Zoom at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Aug. 8.
At that event, the Guild will also honor Jane and Caroline Kurtz, sisters who won the David Steele Distinguished Writer Award and Best First Book Award respectively in 2020, when no Writers Guild event could be held because of the Covid pandemic.
For more about the Presbyterian Writers Guild, visit https://presbyterianwritersguild.org. Here’s the Zoom invitation for the Aug. 8 event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87623843982?pwd=l4c62dqc3ak9ZukRhp2fIsGh3VyJm_.1
Meeting ID: 876 2384 3982 Passcode: 615369. One tap mobile +13126266799,,87623843982#,,,,*615369# US (Chicago).
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