On the Thursday preceding the 2006 WWW conference, two dozen past and present WILLA Winners and Finalists gathered at Denver’s Tattered Cover bookstore for the first WILLA Literary Award Competition Reunion. Our three speakers -- Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, multiple WILLA winner and finalist and WWW member Sandra Dallas, and keynoter Paulette Giles, the 2003 WILLA winner in historical fiction entertained and inspired our more than 100 literary-minded guests.
This first WILLA reunion definitely achieved its goal of publicizing the awards and WWW, said 2006 President Jane Kirkpatrick. “We hope to do a repeat at some future time and place.” The afternoon concluded with WILLA Winners signing their books as attendees enjoyed celebratory cake and coffee.