Press Release,
Apr 01, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO – March 28, 2005 – Ethnic media from across the state donated ad space to promote a writing contest sponsored by the California Council for the Humanities (CCH), “California Stories.” As a result, twelve Californians from Stockton to La Jolla, writing to friends and relatives in places as far afield as Guatemala, China and the Philippines, will be awarded $1000 grand prizes in the statewide “Letter to Home” contest sponsored by NCM, an association of over 700 ethnic media outlets, and CCH. The letters are a mirror of the new California, written from the heart by old and young, immigrants and U.S.-born, all reflecting stories of their communities, infused with excitement about the present, laced with a yearning for home and those left behind.
The “Letters Home” contest is a project of the CCH’s California Stories Uncovered, the second statewide campaign of California Stories, the council’s multiyear initiative to strengthen communities through the sharing of stories. The contest's success lies in the most powerful portal of communication today: ethnic media. Dozens of ethnic and community media outlets in the NCM network dedicated space in their publications and on air making sure news of this contest reached their audiences.
The winners were chosen by a panel of distinguished judges from some 200 entries in twelve languages. They will be honored during the month of April at CCH author events featuring some of California’s best writers at libraries across the state. The ethnic media who sponsored the winning letter writers will also be honored. A booklet with thirty “Letter to Home,” and a full list of participating ethnic media will be available from NCM in the coming weeks.
The twelve “Letter to Home” winners and media sponsors are:
Jeremy Tagle Bautista
Vallejo
The Philippine News (South San Francisco)
David Skinner Alvarado
Redwood City
El Bohemio
Young Ha
Albany
The Korea Times, San Francisco edition
Patricia Magure
Hayward
Upwardly Global
Zohreh (Zoe) Ghahremani
La Jolla
Iranian.com
Xia (Monica) Sun
Stockton
APA News & Review
John Hodaro
North Hollywood
Los Angeles Garment & Citizen
Alex Montoya
San Diego
La Prensa San Diego
Vera M. Bilbrew
Toluca Lake
Los Angeles Garment & Citizen
Dinlan Wang
San Pablo
We Chinese Magazine
Daria Tsagaan
Alameda
Upwardly Global
Kathy Hadizadeh
Los Angeles
Iranian.com
CONTACT:
Mary Jo McConahay
mcconahay@pacificnews.org
Julie Johnson
jjohnson@pacificnews.org
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