500 Hazel Avenue, Homer, AK 99603
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| Logo created by Flex High School Student Audrey Bryant |
The Top Drawer Collection is a collection of works by Kenai Peninsula writers put into circulation by the Homer Public Library. The program was begun years ago by Joy and Norman Griffin because they thought it a shame that many of the stories written by their local writers' group were read once or twice by the authors' friends and spouses then put away in top desk drawers and often forgotten.
Read more at: http://litsite.alaska.edu/uaa/aklibraries/drawer.html
The Top Drawer program was last offered in 2009, and culminated in a reading held in conjunction with our annual National Library Week celebration (first week in April). At that time, six new works by local authors were added to the Top Drawer collection and one was selected for the Top Shelf award. The authors whose works were added in 2009 were: Trisha Davis, Richard Holschen, Kayte Kerns, Catherine Knott, Mary Langham, and Victoria Steik. Trisha Davis won the Top Shelf award for her book Wild Fires.
If you are interested in submitting your work to the Top Drawer Program for 2011, click here for submission guidelines Email submissions to info@friendshomerlibrary.org.
Want to search the Homer Public Library's catalog for all of the titles in the Top Drawer Collection? Go to http://www.ci.homer.ak.us:7195/webopac/main?siteid=HPL
Top Drawer Collection organizers begin search for 2011 winning writing entries
Two decades ago, Joy and Norman (Dick) Griffin began a contest to encourage local writers to bring their stories, poems and other works out of their “top drawers” and into public view.
Today, shelves of Top Drawer books surround the Homer Public Library’s fireplace, a testament to the success of this bi-annual program. New works by local authors that are accepted for the 2011 program will also be bound and added to the collection.
Submissions to the 2011 Top Drawer program must be made by January 31, 2011. All entrants must be residents of lower Kenai Peninsula, and all submissions must be original works by the author or authors. Authors are limited to one volume each. All authors will be invited to participate in a Top Drawer reading held during the first week in April. The winner of the Top Shelf award will also be announced at that time.
All genres are welcome, including novels, nonfiction, children’s books, plays, collections of articles, essays, poems or short stories. Works may be illustrated and may be the work of more than one person. Anthologies of works by more than one person should have a common theme or format.
Manuscripts should be submitted in both hard copy and, when possible, digital copy. Hard copies should be “publication ready”, presented in 12 or 14-point type or artfully handwritten on 8.5x11-inch paper with at least 1-inch margins. Larger fonts are acceptable for children’s books. Allowances may also be made for accompanying artwork.
2011 Top Shelf Award: FHL sponsors registration to the 2011 Kachemak Bay Writer's Conference
For the last several years, FHL has awarded one of the new Top Drawer authors a special Top Shelf recognition. In 2009, the Top Shelf award went to Trisha Davis. FHL presented Davis with a publication package from iUniverse for her book Wild Fire.
FHL will continue the Top Shelf award in 2011, but has decided that a more appropriate (and appropriately local) recognition would be to honor the Top Shelf author by sponsoring his or her registration to the 2011 Kachemak Bay Writer’s Conference. For more information on the conference, see http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu/
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 | A Collage of Inconsequential Observations by Margaret Pate | A Collage of Inconsequential Observations is a collection of essays written by Margaret Pate and published in 1993. This 68-page book includes humorous and insightful observations about life in Homer, our small Alaskan town. |
 | The Golden Heart by Joy Griffin | Joy Griffin published this 143-page book in 1997. The author describes the adventures of an 11 year-old boy who moves to an Alaskan homestead from an urban East Coast environment. |
 | Fisheye Soup and Other Rhymes by Lou Schwartzwald | Fisheye Soup and Other Rhymes was written by Lou Schwartzwald and published in 1997. This 65-page collection of poems includes true Alaska tales, ruminations, and other tales which provide humor for young and old. |
 | Tough Times When We Were Kids by Diana Tillion | In Tough Times When We Were Kids, Diana Tillion writes six short stories about the life of her family while living in Halibut Cove, a small settlement across the bay from Homer in southcentral Alaska. This 80-page book contains many wonderful illustrations by the author. |
 | K.E.O.K by Carolyn Coons | In K.E.O.K. Caroline Coons draws upon her experiences as a weather observer on remote St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, during World War II. This 72-page book contains poems, prose, outline poems, and a conclusion. |
