Winning Writers Announces the Winners of the 26th Annual Tom...

Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its 26th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Charlie Schneider of Brooklyn, New York won the $2,000 first prize for fiction for his story "Lulu". Ryan Ireland of Alpha, Ohio won the $2,000 first prize for nonfiction for his essay "Circumambulatory Cacozelia". 1,572 entries were received from around the world.

Dennis Norris II, final judge of the 2018 Fiction & Essay Contest, described Schneider's entry as "the heart-wrenching story of the mess that remains in the wake of loss. Twins torn apart by an uncle unable to love them equally, a wry sense of humor not enough to maintain their bond. Here are two young people, one aching for freedom, and one yearning for another." Norris called Ireland's essay "the shattering love letter from one man to his older brother. A meditation on before and after, and the theft of temporary death, it reminds us that everything we have is fleeting, that memory and history shape us as much as our past and present."

Second Prize of $500 went to Elizabeth Brina for "How They Met", an essay about the complex love story between her Japanese mother and American G.I. father in the aftermath of World War II. Ten Honorable Mentions of $100 went to Tanushree Baidya, Patrick Boyce, Mikaella Clements, Tammy Delatorre, Joseph Hernandez, Adam Karlin, Kristie Betts Letter, Hapuya Ononime, Michael Tuohy, and Julio Cesar Villegas. The judging was assisted by Lauren Singer Ledoux. The top 13 entries and judge's comments are published at https://winningwriters.com/our-contests/contest-archives/tom-howard-john-h-reid-fiction-essay-contest-2018

The 27th contest is open now through April 30, 2019. The fee is $20 for each entry, 6,000 words maximum per piece. The final judge will again be Dennis Norris II, fiction editor of Apogee Journal and a 2017 MacDowell Colony Fellow. Winning Writers welcomes Duotrope as a co-sponsor of the 27th contest. They will award one-year gift certificates (a $50 value) as a special bonus for the top two winners. See guidelines and enter online at https://winningwriters.com/tomstory

In addition to the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, Winning Writers sponsors the North Street Book Prize for Self-Published Books, the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, and the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee). Writer's Digest has named it one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (2015-2018).

To post a comment, you must register and login.