A Room Of Her Own, And $50,000

At the recently completed bi-annual A Room of Her Own retreat for women writers and artists at New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch, Summer Wood (left) was presented with the AROHO Gift of Freedom Award, a $50,000 prize for women fiction writers. Wood, the author of the novel Arroyo (2001), was chosen by judges Susan Straight and Kim Ponders from nearly 800 applicants; she plans to use the grant to support herself while completing a second novel and a short story collection, as well as launching a community project where other New Mexicans can share their own stories.