Odin Award Winners |
The Guild's Odin Award, recognizes authors for being major stimulators of the writing arts of the San Diego community or their excellent progress in writing as evidenced by their body of published work. The Odin Award represents the origin of writing. In the words of Lord Russell: [writing is the] “wisdom of many and the wit of one.” As researched by Guild member John Scott Alexander, the word “write” came from the English word “writan,” originally meaning “to scratch runes into bark.” A rune is a letter or character of the earliest alphabet in use among the Gothic tribes of northern Europe. Runic inscriptions most commonly occurred in Scandinavia and parts of the British Isles. Rune is related to the Old Norse word “run” or “secret,” and the word is also applied to ancient lore or poetry expressed in runes, as well as secrecy, charms, and divination. Odin, a Scandinavian given god-like stature for his wisdom, poetry, war, and agriculture, was also a master of magic. Odin is given credit for discovering the runes and introducing knowledge of rune writing. In recognition of being major stimulators of the writing arts of the San Diego community or their excellent progress in writing as evidenced by their body of published work, SDWEG selects and annual Odin Award Winner. Past winners of this award have been: Steve Breen — David Brin — Marc Chery — Matt Coyle — Chet Cunningham — Judy Cullins Michael Steven Gregory — Bob Holt — Betty Jurus — Steve Kowit Antoinette Kuritz — Richard Lederer — Richard Louv — Jonathan Maberry — Mike McCarthy — Dean Nelson Joan Oppenheimer — T. Jefferson Parker — Yvonne Nelson Perry — Philip Pryde — Judy Reeves — Bob Riffenburgh Alan Russell — Arthur Salm — Pearl Silvernail — Charlotte Thompson — Quincy Troupe — Victor Villasenor Susan Vreeland — Jack Webb |
In the forty-five years since the Guild was founded, it has recognized twenty-six people for their body of work or their contributions to the San Diego writing community. Awardee Bios (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
STEVE BREEN
Steve Breen has been the nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist for the Union-Tribune since 2001. Steve has won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning twice (1998, 2009). Steve writes and illustrates picture books, some notable examples being Stick (2007), Violet The Pilot (2008), The Secret of Santa’s Island (2009), and Pug and Doug (2013).
David Brin
Author David Brin combines science and technology into his near-future works.
For more information, see David's official website.
MARC CHERY
Marc Chery modestly lists himself in his LinkedIn profile as Branch library management, community outreach, program planning, collection development, readers' advisory librarian at the San Diego Central Library. His impact on behalf of the San Diego writing community is much greater than that description implies. Marc is the man behind most of the presentations at the San Diego Central Library.
Marc was recognized as Black History Month Local Hero while he served as branch manager of the Malcolm X library, he has hosted panel discussions of local authors, and he plays a major role in the San Diego City Library's Local Author Showcase and in promoting the annual One Book, One San Diego selections.
Marc Chery modestly lists himself in his LinkedIn profile as Branch library management, community outreach, program planning, collection development, readers' advisory librarian at the San Diego Central Library. His impact on behalf of the San Diego writing community is much greater than that description implies. Marc is the man behind most of the presentations at the San Diego Central Library.
Marc was recognized as Black History Month Local Hero while he served as branch manager of the Malcolm X library, he has hosted panel discussions of local authors, and he plays a major role in the San Diego City Library's Local Author Showcase and in promoting the annual One Book, One San Diego selections.
Matt Coyle
Coyle is the award-winning author of the bestselling Rick Cahill crime novels which is composed of ten novels. Matt attributes his interest in mystery writing to the likes of Earnest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, T. Jefferson Parker (a former Odin Award winner), and Michael Connelly. Matt has been the recipient of the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, the San Diego Book Award for Best Mystery, and The Ben Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Fiction. Matt is beginning a new series. Coyle received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. When asked what advice he would give to an aspiring writer, Matt says, “Stop aspiring and start writing!”
JUDY CULLINS
Judy Cullins was recognized for her support of authors through her book coaching. More than 80 clients have worked with Judy since 1986 to get their books completed and published.
Chet Cunningham
Chet Cunningham was a long-time member of the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild. He published his first novel in 1968 and went on to publish nearly 300 more novels and 15 nonfiction books.
Chet Cunningham was also instrumental in establishing the San Diego Book Awards, intended to boost the reputation and prestige of authors in the San Diego area. In recognition of his contribution to the San Diego Book Awards, that organization established the Chet Cunningham Spur Award in 2017.
Michael Steven Gregory
Michael Steven Gregory, Executive Director of the Southern California Writers' Conference, is accomplished in many areas. An author, screenwriter, and filmmaker, his work can be seen on TV series and on video games.
For more information, see his website.
Bob Holt
Betty Jurus
Betty Abell Jurus, founder of the Southern California Writers’ Conference, was at least once called the Mother Superior of the San Diego writing community.
For more information about her, see "A Bit About Betty," a blog post on the Southern California Writers' Conference website by Michael Steven Gregory.
Steve Kowit
Poet Steve Kowit received many awards for his works, including poetry books used in schools from high school to university levels around the country.
A prize of $1,000 and publication in The San Diego Poetry Annual is given annual for a poem, in a contest named for Steve Kowit.
For more information, see his official website.
Antoinette Kuritz
Antoinette Kurtiz was recognized for stimulating the writing arts as founder and director of the La Jolla Writers Conference. In addition, she was the book person for fifteen years on KUSI-TV Good Morning San Diego.
Richard Lederer
Richard Lederer received the Odin Award at SDWEG's Fortieth Anniversary celebration in 2019. A section of Richard's bio from his website, verbivore.com, follows:
I was the kind of child who, almost as soon as I could talk, saw a butterfly and cooed, “Oh, goody. A butterfly will flutter by.” Even as a high-school student, I knew that Elvis Presley, born three years before me, would become immortal because I saw that “Elvis Lives” is a two-word anagram.Still, I entered Haverford College as a pre-medical student but soon found that I was reading the chemistry books for their literary value. I became an English major and then attended Harvard Law School, where I found that I read the law cases for their literary value. So rather than fighting my verbivorous instincts, I switched into a Masters of Arts and Teaching program at Harvard. That led to a position at St. Paul’s School, in Concord, NH, where I taught English and media for 27 wonderful years. I would have gladly served them all their days, but my earning a Ph.D. in English and Linguistics from the University of New Hampshire inspired me to write my books on language. The enthusiastic popular response to these books, beginning with Anguished English, gave me the opportunity to leave the St. Paul’s community to extend my mission of teachership.
That’s what I do now, as a fly-by-the-roof-of-the-mouth user-friendly English teacher, Wizard of Idiom, Attila the Pun, and Conan the Grammarian.
Jonathan Maberry
Maberry is the editor of Weird Tales Magazine and President of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. He is a New York Times best-seller and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner. He has been the recipient of the Inkpot Award, three Scribe Awards, and was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers. His books have sold in more than thirty countries. He writes in several genres including thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and mystery; and he writes for adults, middle grade, and young adult. His website (https://www.jonathanmaberry.com/contact.cfm) provides resources for authors and uses his newsletter to inform subscribers of his activities, including master classes he offers where all proceeds go to good causes.
Mike McCarthy
Richard Louv
Richard Louv, journalist and author of nine nonfiction books, also launched a movement dedicated to connecting people, especially children, to nature.
For more information, see his website.
Dean Nelson
Dean Nelson is frequently seen at local writers' events such as the La Jolla Writer's Conference and the Point Loma Writer's Symposium by the Sea held each February at Point Loma Nazarene University, an event he founded.
Joan Oppenheimer
Joan Oppenheimer is a prolific writer of books, many for a teenage audience.
T. Jefferson Parker
T. Jefferson Parker began his career in journalism where he covered the police and city hall for The Newport Ensign. Relying on those experiences, he has written a number of mysteries with police or former police as the central figures.
For more information, see his website.
Yvonne Nelson Perry
Yvonne Nelson Perry was a member of the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild for many years. In addition to her short story collection, The Other Side of the Island, set in Hawai'i, she was known for her contributions to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
Phillip Pryde
Phil is professor emeritus of environmental studies in the Department of Geography at San Diego State University, where he taught courses in environmental policy for 32 years. His specialties were water resources, energy resources, land use planning, and environmental impact analysis. While teaching at SDSU, he authored six books and over a hundred published papers on environmental topics, has been a Fulbright Research Scholar (at the University of Auckland), and is the recipient of a national distinguished teaching award.
In the community, he has served as Chair of the San Diego County Planning Commission, on the Board of Directors of the County Water Authority, and as a County Flood Control Commissioner. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego River Park Foundation, and from 1989 to 2010 he served on the Board of the Joint Powers Authority for the San Dieguito River Park.
He has been a frequent lecturer locally on a variety of topics, including renewable energy, various aspects of environmental conservation, and the possible effects of climate change in the San Diego area. He has served as editor and partial author for all five editions of San Diego: An Introduction to the Region.
Phil’s primary avocational interest is birding, and he has taught courses on techniques of bird identification for the San Diego Audubon Society for over twenty-five years. He has led birding trips to numerous North American venues from Alaska to Maine to Baja California, and has birded on all seven continents.
Phil’s foray into fictional writing is Mary’s Vision, a fictionalized account about one of history’s most admired women, Mary Magdalene. Mary’s Vision was inspired by history and how societal norms of the time affected one person’s desire for personal fulfilment and gender equality in the patriarchal first century.
Judy Reeves
Judy Reeves is an author and supporter of other local authors who is a frequent speaker at events around the area, including presentations at the Guild in recent years. She established San Diego Writers, Ink, a venue for writers to meet, take classes, and network.
Bob Riffenburgh
Bob Riffenburgh is a biostatistician and San Diego State University Professor Emeritus whose 65-year career spans teaching statistics in multiple fields—fisheries, oceanography, education, psychology, sociology, economics, agriculture, space exploration, business, marketing, military simulations, and medicine. His wide range of publications include Statistics in Medicine, a widely used textbook and guide for medical researchers to plan their studies and conduct the analyses that affect huge numbers of patients.
In addition to his medical and statistical publications, Bob pursued writing fiction in his retirement. He has finished three novels and published some short stories and poetry. Bob has been a company CEO, oceanometrician, ocean sailor, Navy diver, government scientist, NATO office in Europe and, for three decades, a planner/analyst for medical research. Bob says he is fortunate to have a loving family with whom he shares his love of adventure.
Alan Russell
Alan Russell's nomination for the Odin Award was based on his body of published works as a novelist of detective genre. Russell's many novels have ranged from whodunits to comedic capers to suspense, and his works have been nominated for most of the major awards in crime fiction. His novels have garnered him a Critics' Choice Award, the Lefty (awarded to the best humorous mystery of the year), and two San Diego Book Awards.
For more information, check out his website.
Arthur Salm
Arthur Salm was a book review editor and columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Pearl Silvernail
Charlotte E. Thompson, M.D.
Charlotte E. Thompson, M.D., was a board certified pediatrician. From 2005 to 2008, she was named each year as one of the nation's top pediatricians by the Consumer's Research Council of America. She was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at University of California Medical School in San Diego and the author of ten nonfiction books.
Quincy Troupe
Local poet, Quincy Troupe, was recognized with an Odin Award for his volumes of poetry, children's books, and non-fiction works, including the biography of Miles Davis.
Victor Villasenor
Victor Villaseñor is both an author and frequent speaker whose presentations often focus on challenges students with undiagnosed conditions such as dyslexia face.
For more information, see his website.
Susan Vreeland
Susan Vreeland is best know for her historical fiction. She taught English in San Diego high schools for 30 years.
For more information, see her website.
Jack Webb
Author Jack Webb was born in California and wrote fifteen novels under his own name and two pen names, John Farr and Tex Grady. He was often confused with the actor/director Jack Webb who starred in the TV series Dragnet.