Congratulations to the winners and runners-up of our 2026 contest:

 

Natasha Trethewey Prize for Poetry

Winner – Madeline O’Neill

“Car Wash Gorilla”

 

Runner-Up – LuLu Johnson

“On Estero Island after Ian”

 

Runner-Up – Princess Rashid

“My Father’s Ashes”

 

 

Rick Bragg Prize for Nonfiction

Winner – David Raphael

“Zeno’s Paradox”

 

Runner Up – Kathy Hamdy-Swink

“Another Summer”

 

Runner Up – John Tures

“Short on Sight, Long on Vision”

 

 

Terry Kay Prize for Fiction

Winner – Chun Bleau

“Daughters of the Yangtze”

 

Runner Up – Carissa Holmes

“Stop When You’re Full”

 

Runner Up – Dave Swan

“Everything Must Go”

 

Atlanta Writers Club Annual Writing Contest Will Open for Submissions in December 2027

 

2027 Rules and Instructions:

ELIGIBILITY:

  1. The AWC 2026 Writing Contest is open to: All current (through May 31, 2027), paid club members. Please check your membership status before submitting your entry. To join the AWC or renew your membership, please use this link. If you have a question about when your AWC membership expires, please contact the Membership VP, Christina Gusby, at christinagusby@gmail.com.
  2. Submissions must be original, unpublished, and previously un-awarded work. (NOTE: having previously put your work on your own blog or Substack won’t be considered as “published,” but putting your work as a guest blog on another’s website or on someone else’s Substack will be considered as “published.”)
  3. Entrants may submit only one piece to only one category per contest year.
  4. AWC Board members are not eligible for any categories in this contest.
  5. Past AWC annual writing contest winners are eligible to submit in categories for which they haven’t previously won.

 

DEADLINE:

March 20, 2027 at 11:59 pm US Eastern. Submissions received after this date will automatically be ineligible.

 

AWARDS:

Winners will be announced at our club meeting on May 15, 2027. Each award carries a $300 cash prize and a certificate as well as a reception with the other award winners and finalists after the May meeting.

 

CONTEST CATEGORIES:

Terry Kay Prize for Fiction                  (Maximum, 3000 words) – can be a short story or book chapter(s)

Rick Bragg Prize for Nonfiction          (Maximum, 3000 words) – can be a short piece or book chapter(s)–this category includes memoirs

Natasha Trethewey Prize for Poetry  (Maximum, 90 lines)

 

CONTEST GUIDELINES:

Manuscript Format. Failure to adhere to the following format will result in disqualification.

  • DO NOT place your name anywhere on the manuscript entry
  • Only Word files (.docx) will be accepted.
  • Font: 12 pt, Black, Times New Roman
  • Margins: 1 inch
  • Line spacing: double – yes, even for poetry.
  • White background (no colors, photos, graphics or images)
  • Page size & layout: 8-1/2 x 11; Portrait
  • First page: Title and Prize Category should appear in the upper left corner

 

PAPER ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

 

SUBMISSION RULES:

Failure to adhere to any of the submission guidelines will lead to disqualification.

 

Send ONE ENTRY and the corresponding Standard Submission Form (SSF) to Contest Apprentice Tiffany R. Jansen at tiffanyrjansen@protonmail.com.

The SSF must include the following information:

Author’s Name

Prize Category

Title of Entry

Word Count (Line Count for poetry)

 

**Name your SSF document using the following template: SSF-YourTitle.docx

There is no template for the SSF itself; you create the document as instructed above and send it as a separate attachment. The entry and SSF must both be sent as attached Word documents (.docx). The SSF is used for identification purposes by Tiffany Jansen only. Judges never know the identity of any author; they see only the blind entry document.

IMPORTANT: Name the document files by title, i.e., YourTitle.docx and SSF-YourTitle.docx

Example: if the entry title is Moon Fire, the document file should be named Moon Fire.docx (this is the document that will be sent to the judges) and the SSF should be named SSF-Moon Fire.docx (this is the document that will be seen only by Tiffany Jansen).

 

Attach the entry document and your SSF document to an email addressed to Contest Apprentice Tiffany R. Jansen at tiffanyrjansen@protonmail.com.  Your EMAIL MESSAGE MUST INCLUDE:

Subject Line: AWC 2026 Writing Contest

Your name, phone number, prize category, title

Example:

Dear Tiffany,

I have attached [Title] for the [Prize Category] and the corresponding SSF.

Thank you,

[Your name] [Your phone number]