Appalachian Writers Association Contests are
The James Still Award for Poetry
The Harriette Arnow Award for Short Story
The Wilma Dykeman Award for Essay
The Josefina Niggli Award for Playwriting
The Tom Jackson Short Story Award
Winners of the 2008 Appalachian Writers Association Writing Contests
Awards were presented to writers at Morehead State University during the July 2008 Conference
The James Still Award for Poetry: Judge - Jane Hicks, Blountville, TN
First Place: Llewellyn McKernan, Barboursville, WV for Features of the Day
Second Place: Susan Lefler, Brevard, NC for Who Will Heal the Bees
Third Place: Sylvia Woods, Oakwood, TN for Forty-eight Stars
The Harriette Arnow Award for Short Story: Judge - Silas House, Lily, KY
First Place: Les Brown, Boiling Springs, NC for "Faith and Jake"
Second Place: Samuel Bevard, Maysville, KY for "Acts of Kindness"
Third Place: Tiffany Williams, JOhnson City, TN
The Wilma Dykeman Award for Essay: Judge - Matt Collinsworth, Morehead, KY
First Place: Donna McClanahan, Irvine, KY for The Calling
Second Place: Sylvia Woods, Oakwood, TN for Jim's Place
Third Place: Renea Winchester
The Josefina Niggli Award for Playwriting: Judge - Shan Ayers, Berea, KY
First Place: Sylvia Lynch, New Tazewell, TN for Mercury's Table
Second Place: Kim Stinson-Hawn, Berea, KY for Oxy Nanny
Third Place: Kim Stinson-Hawn, Berea, KY for Soap Box
Tom Jackson Award for Short Story: Judge - Anne Clinard Barnhill
Not enough entries for a winner.
Winners of the 2007 Appalachian Writers Association
The James Still Award for Poetry:
First Place: Joyce Brown, "Pine Beetles: Spring 2003"
Second Place: Joyce Brown, "Westall Decoration Day"
Third Place: Sue Dunlap, "Sa-lin-nuh"
Honorable Mention: Dory Hudspath, "Light Sleeper"
The Harriette Arnow Award for Short Story:
First Place: Damian Dressick, "Home Brew"
Second Place: Laura Hunter, "She"
Third Place: Tammy Wilson, "Fit to Kill"
Honorable Mention: Phillip Meeks, "On the Toxcity of the Blue-Tailed Lizards Who Sun Themselves on the Underpining,"
Dan Leonard, "Dust," and Ben campbell, "A Welcome Walk in the Dark"
The Wilma Dykeman Award for Essay:
First Place: Elizabeth Lippman, "Anamnesis"
Second Place: Dan Leonard, "The King of Country Music"
Third Place: Jennifer Barton, "Hill-born and Hill-haunted: Exile and Return in Appalachian Literature"
Honorable Mention: Judy Lee Green, "Butcept and Noogleville: English as a Second Language"
The Josefina Niggli Award for Playwriting:
First Place: Mary Owens, "The Landlocked Pond"
Second Place: Denise McKinney, "The Baptizing"
Third Place: Trish Ayers, "Judging Quilts"
Contest Information
Contests open to all dues-paying AWA members; DEADLINE postmark June 1, 2008. It is permissible for an entrant to win more than one place in the same contest. There is a $5.00 entry fee for up to three entries per contest. This fee helps cover the cost of mailings, prizes, and judges honoriums.
The prize structure for each contest is as follows:
$100 for first place - The first place winners for each contest will also receive a year's subscription to Appalachian Heritage.
$50 for second place
$25 for third place
Honorable Mention
Criteria for each Contest
The Tom Jackson Short Story Award
--entry limited to approximately two thousand (2,000) words
--no restriction on subject matter
--entrant must be thirty (30) years old or younger
--entry may not be entered in Arnow Fiction Award competition simultaneously
The Harriette Arnow Award for Short Story
--no restrictions on subject matter or length of entry
--no restrictions on age of entrant
The James Still Award for Poetry
--entrant may submit no more than three poems
--no restrictions on subject matter or length of entry (-ies)
--no restrictions on age of entrant
The Wilma Dykeman Award for Essay
--essay must address Appalachian life and literature, religion, folklore, culture,
and/or values
--no restrictions on entry length
--no restrictions on age of entrant
The Josefina Niggli Award for Playwriting
--limited to single scene or one-act play
--no restrictions on subject matter
--no restrictions on age of entrant
General Contest Rules
You must be an AWA member currently up to date on dues to enter the contests. There is a $5.00 entry fee for up to three entries per contest. You may enter any or all contests for which you are eligible. Submitted entries should not have been published or performed in any form, but they may be under consideration for publication. All submissions must be typed or word-processed. Fiction and non-fiction prose works must be double-spaced. Photocopies are accepted. Submit two copies with removable title pages which include your name, address, and telephone number; title of work; and the name of contest to which you are submitting the piece for consideration.
Contest submissions that do not adhere to contest rules will not be considered. The number of awards determined for each specific contest is contingent upon the number of entries for each specific contest. If there are fewer than five members who submit entries for any given contest, the award for that contest will be suspended for that year. Contestants may not submit more than three entries to any one contest (for example, a poet may submit three separate pieces for the James Still Poetry Award, but no more than three. The same poet could also submit entries to other contests). AWA membership fees are nonrefundable.
No entries will be returned. Make certain that you retain copies of your submissions.
For your convenience, you may include your registration, dues, and contest entries in the same envelope. See conference registration for dues information.
Mail contest entries to:
Appalachian Writers Association
Dr. Christina Walton
Assistant Professor of Education C&I
Morehead State University
401 J Ginger Hall
Morehead, KY 40351
Winners of Past Appalachian Writers Association Contests
We regret that there are some missing bits of information for some years. I know winners are omitted from this listing, and I only have members emails to use to edit the information. Please contact Dr. Christina Walton, President.
Awards were presented to writers at King College during the July 2006 Conference
The James Still Award for Poetry: Judge -
First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
The Harriette Arnow Award for Short Story: Judge -
First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
The Wilma Dykeman Award for Essay: Judge -
First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
The Josefina Niggli Award for Playwriting: Judge -
First Place: Mary Owens of Berea, Ky for "The Landlocked Pond"
Second Place: Denise McKinney for "A Grandmother's Legacy"
Third Place: Trish Ayers of Berea, Ky for "Judging Quilts"
Tom Jackson Award for Short Story: Judge -
First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
2005
Poetry
James Still Award: Charles A. Swanson, "When Turtles Walk"
Second Place: Pamela Steele, "The Fire Bringers"
Third Place: Sylvia Woods, "Survival"
Honorable Mention: Connie Jordan Green, "From the Pulpit: For the Minister at My Memorial Service"
Honorable Mention: Pamela Steele, "Mingo County"
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award for Short Story: PJ Piccirillo, "Not 2b"
Second Place: Tammy WIlson, "Cat Square"
Third Place: Tammy Wilson, "Here Goes the Neighborhood"
Honorable Mention: Sandra Eileen Berry, "A Woman Like That"
Honorable Mention: John Sparks, "On Edge"
Honorable Mention: Llewellyn McKernan, "On the Silver Screen"
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award for Essay: John Sparks, "Sprirt of the Mountains in Rhyme: The Life and the Poetry of J.D. Meade"
Second Place: Judy Lee Green, "Ten Cent Burgers and a Moon Pie"
Third Place: Doug McGuinn, "Brains-and-Eggs"
Honorable Mention: Daniel Leonard, "A Rusty Old Piece of Tin"
Honorable Mention: Sue Richardson Orr, "Washday"
Drama
Josephina Niggli Award for Playwriting: Daniel Leonard, “Memories”
Second Place: E. Paul Osbourne, "Momma's Lamp"
Third Place: Trish Ayers, "Grace in Sorrow"
2004
Poetry
James Still Award: Judy Loest's "Knoxville: Summer, 2003"
Second Place: Evelyn McAmis Bales' "February Walk"
Third Place: Judy Lee Green's "Signs"
Honorable Mention: Dory L. Hudspeth's "The Just Because"
Honorable Mention: Susan Lefler's "Rendering the Bones"
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: David Lee Kirkland's "Story Suite"
Second Place: Janna McMahan's "Candy Cigarettes"
Third Place: Jackie White Rogers' "Her Leg"
Honorable Mention: Rebecca K. Brooks' "Safe Places"
Honorable Mention: Grace Epstein's "Getting Started"
Nonfiction Prose
Wilma Dykeman Award for Essay: Janice Willis Barnett's "Red, White, & Jesus"
Second Place: Michael J. Croley's "The Measure of a Man"
Third Place: Bob Sloan's "Christmas"
Honorable Mention: Georgia Green Stamper's "A Kentucky Legacy"
Honorable Mention: Judy Lee Green's "Blacktops and Cheating Songs"
Drama
Josephina Niggli Award for Playwriting: Dan Leonard's A Long Summer
Second Place: Trish Ayers' The Labyrinth of Tears
Third Place: Dina Courtney Haines' The Waiting Room
2003
Poetry
James Still Award: Jane Hick's "Deep Winter"
Second Place: Llewellyn McKernan's "When Mother Died"
Third Place: Llewellyn McKernan's "Christ of the Ozarks"
Honorable Mention: Bev Olert's "Touching Lorrettie's Hair 1967"
Honorable Mention: Marianne Worthington's "Sara and Maybelle Carter Sing the Hillbilly Boogie"
Honorable Mention: Mary E. O'Dell's "Si Todos los Rios son Dulces"
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Rebecca Bailey's "Her Hips Inscribed Crescent Moons as She Walked"
Second Place: Deborah Reed's "Grassroots"
Third Place: Llewellyn McKernan's "The Norfolk and Western"
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Carl Harris' "Dark Dancing"
Honorable Mention: Wanda Fries' "Fault Lines"
Tom Jackson Award: Natalie Lloyd's "In the Company of Angels"
Second Place: Natalie Lloyd's "Red Lipstick"
Third Place: Elizabeth E. Dunston's "Prologue" to The Emerald Sphere
Nonfiction Prose
Wilma Dykeman Award: Judy Lee Green's "Squeezing the Scale"
Second Place: Jim Minick's "Rock Phosphate"
Third Place: Denise McKinney's "Farther Along: Carico to Hurley and Other Places Dear"
Honorable Mention: Richard Hague's "Seven Times Seven Sons"
2002
Poetry
James Still Award: Stephen M. Holt's "Late Winter 1958: Big Sandy Valley"
Second Place: Jim Minick's "Uncle Bill's Puzzles"
Third Place: Elizabeth Howard's "Ghosts of Red Foxes"
Honorable Mention: Joyce Compton Brown's "Lula Bell Sings at the Franklin Reunion"
Honorable Mention: Charlie Hughes' "What Drives Them"
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Bev Olert's "Private Adoption"
Second Place: Pamela Duncan's "On the Inside Looking Out"
Third Place: Genie Jacobson's "Terrapin Days"
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Carl Harris' "Rolling Salvation"
Honorable Mention: Rita Quillen's "Elizabeth's Lovelife"
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award: Sue Richardson Orr's "Mother's Kitchen"
Second Place: Lee Ann Woods' "An Appalachian Hog-Killing"
Third Place: Janice Barnett's "The Language Issue"
2001
Poetry
James Still Award: Susan Snowden's "New Nest"
Second Place: Jane Hicks' "Come October"
Third Place: Llewellyn McKernan's "Lucynell at the Bus Station"
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Jimmy Carl Harris' "Malfunction Junction"
Second Place: Cully Holderfield's "Clan Peterson"
Third Place: Mary E. O'Dell's "A Good Man"
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award: Mart Baldwin's "Fear of Bear Bites"
2000
Poetry
James Still Award: Mary O'Dell's "Morning and Ivy"
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Jan Barnett's "Sweet Potato Vine"
Second Place: Mary O'Dell's "Only Recourse"
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award: Anne Adkins' "One Man's Land"
1999
Poetry
James Still Award: Joyce Brown
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Vera Dancey
Second Place: Pat Shirley
Third Place: Barbara Smith
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award: Linda Behrend
Second Place: Ruth Trimble
Third Place: Ann W. Olson
1998
Poetry
James Still Award: Ruth Moose
Second Place: Mary E. O'Dell
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Sallie Page
Second Place: Anna Chandler Wilkins
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award: Patricia Shirley
Second Place: M. Katherine Grimes
Playwriting
Josefina Niggli Award: Mary E. Lynn Drew
Second Place: Ruth Moose
1997
Poetry
James Still Award: Susan Snowden
Second Place: Evelyn McAmis Bales
Third Place: Glenda Beall
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Gary Carden
Second Place: Parks Lanier
Third Place: Mart G. Baldwin
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award: Parks Lanier
Second Place: Gary Carden
Third Place: Rita Sizemore Riddle
Tom Jackson Short Story Award (for writers under 30): Jane Meekins
1996
Poetry
TIE for James Still Award: Susan Snowden and Kathleen Hellen
Second Prize: Patricia Shirley
Fiction
Harriette Arnow Award: Tamara Baxter
Second Prize: Gretchen Moran Laskas
Third Prize: Alice Sink
Essay
Wilma Dykeman Award: Alice Sink
Second Prize: Eileen McCullough
Third Prize: Dot Jackson
Honorable Mention: Jim Minick
1995
Poetry
Rita Sizemore Riddle: James Still Award
M. Lucile Henricks: Second Prize
Patricia Shirley: Third Prize
Jim Clark: Honorable Mention
Gwen Y. Fortune: Honorable Mention
Fiction
Jeri Hanel Watts: Harriette Arnow Award
Patricia Shirley: Second Prize
Marian Coe: Third Prize
Jim Clark: Honorable Mention
Gretchen Moran Laskas: Honorable Mention
1995 Tom Jackson Short Story Award (for writers under 30)
Dara Eberly
Essay
Mary Sutton Skutt: Wilma Dykeman Award
Duane Staggs: Second Prize
Barbara Smith: Third Prize
Alice Sink: Honorable Mention
Gwen Y. Fortune: Honorable Mention
1994
Poetry
Kathleen Hellen: James Still Award
Jim Hinsdale: Second Prize
Jo Woody: Third Prize
Fiction
Gretchen Moran Laskas: Tom Jackson Memorial Prize
Cynthia R. Stewart: Harriette Arnow Award
Jeri Hanel Watts: Second Prize
Tamera Baxter: Third Prize
Essay
Vera Dancy: Wilma Dykeman Award
Fran Farlow: Second Prize
Cynthia R. Stewart: Third Prize
1993
Poetry
Allison Thorpe: James Still Award
Fiction
Ricky L. Cox: Harriette Arnow Award
Essay
Ann W. Olson: The Wilma Dykeman Award
1992
Poetry
Mary Lois Lanier: James Still Award
Charlie Hughes: Second Prize
Ron Rash: Third Prize
Fiction
Jeri Hanel Watts: Harriette Arnow Award
Billie Jean Huling: Second Prize
Ruth Moose: Third Prize
Essay
Jim Minick: Wilma Dykeman Award
1991
Poetry
Steve Eberly: James Still Award
Charlie G. Hughes: Second Prize
Jim Minick: Third Prize
Fiction
Allison Thorpe: Harriette Arnow Award
Fran Farlow: Second Prize
John M. Clarke: Third Prize Fiction
Tom Jackson Short Story Award (for writers under 30): April Asbury
Essay
Jim Minick: Wilma Dykeman Award
Ricky Cox: Second Prize
1990
Jim Web: Wilma Dykeman Award
Jim Clark: Harriette Arnow Award
1989
Poetry (Free Verse Honorable Mention): Patricia Shirley
If you can fill in any missing records for these years, please send information to
Kim Holloway (khollowa@king.edu).
1988
Poetry
Steve Eberly: Second Prize
Gretchen McCroskey: Third Prize
1987
Poetry
Patricia Shirley: James Still Award
Barbara Smith: Second Prize
Mikey Terry: Third Prize
Carol L. Edwards: Honorable Mention
Hazel McKinney: Honorable Mention
Mary Ernestine O'Dell: Honorable Mention
Fiction
Liza Kroger: Harriette Arnow Award
Ron Willoughby: Second Prize
Mary Ernestine O'Dell: Third Prize
Steve Eberly: Honorable Mention
Toni D. Iarussi: Honorable Mention
Bernice A. Stevens: Honorable Mention
Essay
Carol L. Edwards: Wilma Dykeman Award
Judy K. Miller: Second Prize
Bernice Stevens: Third Prize
1986
Poetry
Mona K. Helper: James Still Award
Janette Cox: Second Prize
Laura Bowers: Third Prize
Ray Allen: Honorable Mention
Fiction
Liza Koger: Harriette Arnow Award
Cheryl Ruggeriero: Second Prize
Madge Dishman: Third Prize
Janice Barnett: Honorable Mention
Essay
Ron Willoughby: Wilma Dykeman Award
William French: Second Prize
Helen Carper: Third Prize
1985
Poetry
Anne Shelby: James Still Award
1983
Old Towne Appalachian Writing honorable mention: Patricia Shirley
