PREVIEW of 2024 Winners and Finalists
Open AllCATEGORY WINNERS AND FINALISTS
- ANIMALS/PETS
-
WINNER ($75):
- Wolf Place, by Nick Jans
FINALISTS:
- The Cemetery Cat, by Elizabeth Karlhuber
- The Fall, by A.D. Vancise
- They Are Not Underlings, by Linda Riebel
- BIPOC (BLACK, INDIGENOUS, PEOPLE OF COLOR)
-
WINNERS ($75): TIE
- Hope for the Free, by Niquita Utrera
- Smoke, by Helen Delaney
FINALISTS:
- A Father's Son, by Sandeep Kumar Mishra
- More Than One Way to Skin a Cat, by Billie Holladay Skelley
- Vigilantes Oscuros, by Scott Russell Duncan
- FAIRY TALES/FANTASY
-
WINNER ($75):
- Out of Time Travel, by YS Pascal
FINALISTS:
- A Girl, a Dog and Water, by Holly Dutton
- Maid of the Moon, by Phil Bowie
- The Witch's Apprentice, by Ekta R. Garg
- FAMILY/PARENTING
-
WINNER ($75):
- What Child Is This, by Julie Stielstra
FINALISTS:
- A Father's Son, by Sandeep Kumar Mishra
- How To Be Left, by Bo Hurd
- Letters Home, by Penny Goetjen
- GENERAL FICTION
-
WINNER ($75):
- Mr. Bandersnatch, by Liza Martini
FINALISTS:
- Bear Tracks, by Rick Hussey
- Dilemma on Mars, by Fred Shackelford
- No Wrong Answer, by Alvin Lin
- The Bonnie M, by F. J. Talley
- GENERAL NON-FICTION
-
WINNER ($75):
- Jimmy Don't Like to Lose, by Robert Wright
FINALISTS:
- Blues and Trouble, by Mark ZY Tan
- MY LIE, by Anka B. Troitsky
- Two Rivers, by Tracy L. Botting
- HEALTH/WELLNESS
-
WINNER ($75):
- Blues and Trouble, by Mark ZY Tan
FINALISTS:
- Exit, Atlantic City, by joseph gosler
- Missing the Clutter, by Greg Peck
- The Hospice, by Zenna Davis-Jones
- HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS (GRADES 9 - 12) - CAN WRITE ABOUT ANY TOPIC
-
WINNER ($75):
- Phantom Pains, by Maggie Bell
FINALISTS:
- Amaranth, by Summer Harris
- Dayeinu, by Cyrus Sarfaty
- Two Way Mirror, by Emma Yin
- HISTORICAL
-
WINNER ($75):
- 2036, by Lynn Housner
FINALISTS:
- A War I Didn't Wage, by Camron Swartzendruber
- Five Blossom Death, by Carolyn Radmanovich
- War Doll, by Luke Rowland
- HUMOR
-
WINNER ($75):
- Service Animals, by Kiki Dove St. Hilaire
FINALISTS:
- Dressed for Success, by Naomi Atwood
- Flying Dog Support Meets Abraham Lincoln, by Brian Price
- Frigg and Bush's Caveman Adventure, by Norm Cowie
- The Tumultuous Tire Revolution, by Rocky Leplin
- INSPIRATIONAL
-
WINNER ($75):
- The Boy and the Tree, by Hank Leo
FINALISTS:
- Cityscape Chronicles--Unveiling the Tapestry of New York, by Mark M. Bello
- Making a Way Out of No Way, by Shelia Payton
- SCARLET A Friend of God Teaches About JOY, by Tamiko Nesbitt
- Strings of Love, by Loretta Marion
- The Last Wave, by Richard Attree
- MYSTERY
-
WINNER ($75):
- The Moving Picture, by Lucia Cascioli
FINALISTS:
- A Japanese Fan, by Lea O'Harra (pen name)
- Grammy's Basement, by Mary Deal
- In the Twilight, by Francesco Paola
- RELATIONSHIPS
-
WINNER ($75):
- Baiting the Line, by Wheston Chancellor Grove
FINALISTS:
- A Murder of Crones, by Susan Hasler
- Black Mountain, by Shilo Creed
- The Bonnie M, by F. J. Talley
- ROMANCE
-
WINNER ($75):
- Love Line, by Lia Hagen
FINALISTS:
- Charlie Myer, by Sarah Blinn
- Lost and Found, by Fran Scannell
- No Wrong Answer, by Alvin Lin
- SCARY STORIES/PARANORMAL
-
WINNER ($75):
- The Vaccine, by Douglas A Burton
FINALISTS:
- Albert, by Donald Firesmith
- SWELL, by Ken Ewings
- What We Were Made For, by Abigail Corfman
- SENIORS (60 AND OVER) - CAN WRITE ABOUT ANY TOPIC
-
WINNER ($75):
- Daddy's Girl, by Mary E. Schulz
FINALISTS:
- Assurances, by Sandy Ince
- Bass Boat Bully, by Sharon CassanoLochman
- Cityscape Chronicles--Unveiling the Tapestry of New York, by Mark M. Bello
- Divergent Blessings, by Barry Lewis
- SOCIAL CHANGE/COVID 19 PANDEMIC
-
WINNERS ($75): TIE
- MY LIE, by Anka B. Troitsky
- The Believer within You, by Tyrone Burnett
FINALISTS:
- Ice Cream !, by Arnold Clickstein
- Love & Basketball in the Time of Covid, by Dan Schiro
- Unveiling the Truth: Inside the Life of a COVID-19 Vaccine Volunteer, by Shelley Malicote Stutchman
- SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS
-
WINNER ($75):
- My Life Spared, by Pete Cruz
FINALISTS:
- The Man and the Boulder (A Retelling of the Classic Parable), by Chris Engle
- Voices, by Andrew Corin
- Wheat, by Kiki Dove St. Hilaire
- SPORTS
-
WINNER ($75):
- Two Strikes Against, by M Thomas Apple
FINALISTS:
- Love & Basketball in the Time of Covid, by Dan Schiro
- The Collarbone, by Liz Larson
- The Power of Imagination, by Robert Almada
- SURVIVAL/OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
-
WINNER ($75):
- Exit, Atlantic City, by joseph gosler
FINALISTS:
- Black Mountain, by Shilo Creed
- Cielito, by Matthew Brady
- Whale Song, by Nick Jans
- TRAVEL
-
WINNER ($75):
- Travel West Oregon Trail, by Richard B. Gartrell
FINALISTS:
- Blissed Out at the Integratron, by Laurie McAndish King
- Open Spaces, by Bryan Bigelow
- What Happens in Chonburi, by Bryan Bigelow
- WILD CARD (IF YOUR STORY DOESN'T FIT ANY OTHER CATEGORIES)
-
WINNER ($75):
- Pussy & Goliath, by Pearl Solas
FINALISTS:
- Nostamon, by Linda Riebel
- The Float, by Robert Wright
- The Manikin, by Donald Firesmith