Winners Circle Contests

The Winners Circle membership is composed of writers who have won first prize in any of our previous contests.  We began this in the 2019 contest year. The idea was to have a separate contest for these excellent writers so that newer and less experienced writers would stand a better chance of winning one of our four regular contests.  So, although these writers can't compete in regular contests, the winning of the Winners Circle contest is quite a feat, since the competition consists of our finest writers.  

Names in italics and underlined are known to have passed on

A question mark after a name means we have lost contact.  Please let us know if you have their contact information

2024
Winners Circle - Open Nonfiction (closed February 29, 2024)
2023

Winners Circle -Open Nonfiction

2022

Winners Circle -Open Nonfiction

2021
Winners Circle--Open Nonfiction

Winner

Doug Sherr--A Conventional Riot

2020

Winners Circle--Biographical Nonfiction

Winner

Nancy Massand--Not Your Mother's Pumpkin Patch

Winners Circle--General Nonfiction

Winner

Kathryn Lynch--The Lady Who Wears Dead Foxes

2019 - (Winners Circle Contest Begins)

Open Nonfiction

Isabel Bearman Bucher--My Maisie

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Regular Contest Winners And The Stories That Got Them Into The Winners Circle

2023

2022

Travel Nonfiction

Winner

 Rose Jakubasek--Road Trappin'

Biographical Nonfiction (closed August 31, 2022)

Winner

 Fredrick Hudgin --Ha

General Nonfiction (closed June 30, 2022) Animal Nonfiction (closed April 30, 2022)
2021

Animal Nonfiction

Thomas Turman--Cookie

General Nonfiction

Tom Carroll--9-11: An Alaskan Guide's Tale

Biographical Nonfiction

Stephanie Wilder--Birthdays Behind Bars

Travel Nonfiction

Giles Ryan--El Viejo

2020

Travel Nonfiction

Linda Dougherty--Once Upon a Mountain

General Nonfiction

Diya Sabharwal--Hairetical: A Historical of Hair in my Sikh Family

Biographical Nonfiction

Maureen Moynihan--The Catcher in the Rye

Animal Nonfiction

Bonnie Crandall--The Bird Can't Find The Sky

2019

General Nonfiction

Anne Organista--Not Just Another History Lesson

Travel (tie)

Douglas Holub--Air Adventure

Charleine Sell--Two Years In Kadugli

Biographical

Doug Sherr--Another Little Christmas Tale

Animal Story 

Don Shook--Five Pounder

2018

Animal Story

Bill Cox--The Hill

Biographical

Kathryn Lynch--The Wailing Sound

General  

Sara Etgen-Baker--The Stranger in the Box

Travel

Albert Vetere Lannon--Me and Ishkabibble and the Wild Places

2017

General (tie)

Karen Treanor--Ravin' Mad 

Joni Bour—The Man and the Moon

Biographical

William Larsen--Sanctuary

Travel

Evan Balkan--A Beautiful and Haunted Tune

2016

General

James Sclater--Hosing down Lootie Seton 

Biographical

Karen Treanor--Our Garden Goes To Pot

Travel

Charles Hartley--Norwegian Nightmare

2015 

General

Shivaji Moitra--Divine Connections 

Biographical

Carl Winderl--A Half-Empty Mayonnaise Jar

Travel

Karen Radford Treanor--The Trip of a Lifetime

2014

General

Nancy Loera--Grandpa's Time Machine

Biographical

Carl Winderl--The Girl on the Cover of Seventeen

Travel

Frank Mann--Jungle Cruise From Hell

2013 

General

Nancy Massand--This is a Public Bus

Biographical

L. Rehfuss--He's Coming For Me

Travel (tie)

Dick Miller--My First Road Trip

Isabel Bearman Bucher--Happy Birthday To Me

2012

Travel

Isabel Bearman Bucher--The Stream

General

Nancy Massand--Mechanics and Spelling

2011

Travel

Mary McIntosh--Christmas Breakfast in the Himalayas

General

Megan Cooper--Shadow of Death

2010

Travel

Charlotte Houde Quimby--Burying Andrew (?)

General (tie)

Valerie Byron--Mr. Wrong 

Peter Merkl--A Parent's Trilogy (?)

2009

General

John Poole--Outstanding Debts (?)

Travel

Jasmine Maharisi--Reconnecting: Oaxaca, Mexico

2008

General

Kay Harper--When I Went to the Moon With a Wink and a Prayer

Travel

Mary McIntosh--My Serendipity Travels

2007

General

Lance Wills--Two Tigers

Travel

Eric Roman--Medelite Mambuella

2006

General

Joni Bour--What I Learned at Twenty-Three

Travel

Sonja Herbert--Peace In The Valley (?)

2005

General

Elaine Greensmith Jordan--California, 1942  (?)

Travel (tie)

Lise Charlebois--Corsican Nights (?)

Laurie Levinger--Teaching English In Guatemala (?)

2004

General

Ehichoya Ekozilen--A Positive Adjournment (?)

Travel

Tracy Koret--Diplomacy As A Second Language (?)

2003

General

Judith Nakken--American Patch

Travel

Alana Semuels--The Hands That Grab In Tangier (?)

2002

General (tie)

K. S. Anthony--Lockhart's Bar: A Love Story 

Peter Lamb--Tippi Hedren And The Pointy Tree (?)

Travel (tie)

Francesca Rheannon --The Sheep's Blessing (?)

Linda Zespy--The Winds of Patagonia (?)

2001

Nonfiction

Travis Humphreys--Flowers In My Garden

2000

Nonfiction

Ann Beckham—Zadie

Fiction (tie)

Christina Cimino--The Carwash

Ali Hurley--Never—Never Take The Easy Way Out (?)

1999

Open Nonfiction

Wally Hoffman--We Get Our Feet Wet

Short Nonfiction

M. Sandra Babcock--Confronting The Evil (?)

Open Fiction

Rick Sorensen--The Rosebush and Other Tales from Billy's Bar (?) 

Short Fiction

Jamie Winpenny--Meet Wally (?)

1998

Open Fiction (tie)

Dante Cinelli--Too Many Brass Rings 

Barbara Herrick--A Sign (?)

Short Nonfiction

Frank Mann--A Resurrection To Remember

Open Nonfiction (3 way tie)

Wally Hoffman—Reality

Dante Cinelli--Alba Of The Mountains 

Renie Burghard--Refugee Camp Princess (?)

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