John B. Marek

For the second time in four years, John took home First Place in the Adult Prose category at the Anson County Writers' Club Award Ceremony, held Sunday, February 23rd at the Little Theater in Wadesboro, N.C. His short story "'Esque" beat out strong entries "If It's Black and White It's a Holstein" by Kelly Liddington, and "Come Ye Thankful People, Come" by Kaye Ratliff, which won Second and Third Place, respectively. The judges praised the way John's story "started as a conventional narrative, then took the reader to unexpected places with a winning mix of humor, pathos, and metaphor." John joins just a handful of multiple-Anson winners in the thirty-one-year history of the awards. His short story "Bandito" also won the Adult Prose category in 2016. The award comes with a cash prize and publication in the triennial Anson Pathways collection. In his acceptance speech, John explained the title of the story:...

John had a great meeting last night with Main Street Writers in Davison. The special guest author was Dale Neal, who describes his book, Appalachian Book of the Dead , as a "Southern Gothic Buddist mystery." Dale read the first chapter of the book and answered our questions about his writing process and how he got published. We also workshopped John's short story "Bittersweet Gypsum" and it was great getting the group's feedback on his piece.

John was pleased to say a few words and help cut the ribbon at REV Uptown in Wadesboro, North Carolina this morning. The REV Uptown Building (old Roses Building) is located at 114 W. Wade Street. The building houses the Anson County Chamber of Commerce, Anson Economic Development Partnership , Uptown Wadesboro, Inc. , Anson County Tourism Development Authority, Speckled Paw Coffee Wadesboro and a coworking/incubator space. It is a prime example of John's work helping rural communities compete in a 21st century economy.

On Sunday, January 26th, John joined Pastor Russ Williams and members of the congregation of New Beginnings Moravian Church at the church’s property at the corner of Black Farms Road and N.C. Highway 73 in Huntersville to break ground on the new garden ministry. New Beginnings Moravian Garden is an outreach ministry of New Beginnings Moravian Church of Huntersville, North Carolina. The garden project was approved by the church board in October 2019. The garden will be located on a 13-acre tract of land the church owns at the corner of Black Farms Road and N.C. Highway 73, about 3 miles from downtown Huntersville. The primary purpose of the garden will be to provide fresh produce for local food banks, fulfilling the Biblical imperative to feed the hungry. The garden ministry will also offer education and outreach programs that will strengthen the resilience and self-reliance of the community while communicating the church's prime message of salvation through Jesus Christ...

John is the newest member of the NC Writers' Network, a statewide organization dedicated to supporting writers of all genres from "the writingest state." The North Carolina Writers' Network connects, promotes, and serves the writers of this state. We provide education in the craft and business of writing, opportunities for recognition and critique of literary work, resources for writers at all stages of development, support for and advocacy of the literary heritage of North Carolina, and a community for those who write. The North Carolina Writers’ Network believes that writing is necessary both for self-expression and a healthy community, that well-written words can connect people across time and distance, and that the deeply satisfying experiences of writing and reading should be available to everyone.

John's weekly rural lifestyle column FIELD NOTES is now available as part of the Speckled Paw Newsletter. You can sign up to receive this excellent publication here .

What an incredible day! I was pleased to offer a very well-received presentation on rural economic and workforce development at the NCWorks Partnership Conference in the morning, and was then honored to receive the Henry W. Little III Award for Community Leadership at the Chamber Annual Dinner last night.