Non-Members
$30.00 Membership + $15.00 Contest entry
Members
$15.00
Contest entry
OWL Writing Contest Rules
Join us for another exciting year of award-winning writing. OWL members may enter as many of the adult categories for a flat fee of only $15! NON-members may pay $45 to include membership and contest entry.
You must be an OWL member to enter the contest. You are most welcome to join and submit your entry fee at the same time.
More information coming at the Spring Conference!
2021 Writing Contest (for adults) Categories
COMING SOON !
Congratulations to the 2020 OWL Writing Contest Winners!
OWL Writing Contest
President’s Award
Poetry
Haiku
Sponsor: Jan Morrill
1st Place: “Cool Rain in Late June” by Larry Wood
2nd Place: “Question of motive” by Russell Gayer
3rd Place: “Pond in Moonlight” by Margarite Stever
HM: “My Sons” by Terry McDermid
Crawford Poetry Theme: Mountains:
36Sponsor: John Crawford-
1st place: "The Mountain” by Russell Gayer
2nd place: A Week in the Mountains” by Terry McDermid
3rd place, "Call to Mato Paha" by Ronda Del Boccio
1st HM: "Rockies at Rest" by Bonnie Tesh
2nd HM "Grandfather Mountain" by Annie Smith
3rd HM: "Goodbye Mountain" by Joy Keeney
Nonfiction
Magazine Article
Sponsor: Anonymous
1st Place: “’For Pete’s Sake’: Charity Gives Cancer Patients a Needed Getaway” by Marti Attoun
2nd Place: “Datura: Toxic Beauty” by Billie Holladay Skelley
3rd Place: “Bass Reeves, U.S. Deputy Marshal” by Diana West
HM: “The Terrible McWaters” by Larry Wood
HM: “Keeping Your Leader Dog Happy and Well-adjusted During the Pandemic” by Ronda Del Boccio
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsor: Brenda Black
1st Place: “Believing in Thunder” by Ronda Del Boccio
2nd Place: “The Elephant's Whiskers” by Mary-Lane Kamberg
3rd Place: “A Little Different” by Billie Holladay Skelley
HM: "Christmas by Candlelight” by Bonnie Tesh
HM: “I Never Saw My Father Cry” by Jim Hamilton
Short Story
Paranormal Short Story (FICTION): Ghost stories, cryptid hunts, UFO sightings, and the like are all welcome in this category.
Sponsor: Ronda Del Boccio
1st Place: “The Haunted House Contest” by Terry McDermid
2nd Place: “A Prosperity Halloween” by Larry Wood
3rd Place: Lost Souls of Havenhurst” by Rhonda Harvey
Humorous Short Story
Sponsor: Russell Gayer
1st place: “Jenny’s Curtain Call” by Annie Lisenby Smith
2nd place: “Runaway Asses” by Margarite Stever
3rd place: “A Truly Bonafide Random Drawing” by Joan Banks
HM: “Food for Thought (or Idiom Schmidiom)” by Billie Holladay Skelley
Historical Romance
Sponsor: Parris Afton-Bond
1st Place: “The Lady Governess” by Annie Lisenby Smith
2nd Pace: “Out of the Blue” by Cassandra Jordan
3rd Place: “It Had to be You” by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Flash Fiction
Sponsor: Jan Wayne Fields
1st Place: “Dark Star, Bright Light” by Billie Holladay Skelley
Place: “Revenge” by Lonnie Whitaker
3rd Place: “Poverty at School” by Margarite Stever
Western Short Story
Sponsor: Duke Pennell
First Place: “The Sage Grouse and the Bandit Queen” by Billie Holladay Skelley
Second Place: “Showdown at Leadville” by Larry Wood
Third Place: “A Cowboy's Frustration in Manhood” by Michael Koch
Inspirational Story
Sponsor: Diane Yates
1st Place: “Requiem in C Sharp Minor” by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
2nd Place: “The Pear Tree” by Bonnie Tesh
Place: “A Candle in the Window by Cassandra Jordan
HM: “And I Always Will” by Ronda Del Boccio
HM: “Summer of His Life” by Larry Wood
Short Story Western Romance
Sponsor: Bud Hanks
1st Place: “Home on the Ranch” by Larry Wood
2nd Place: “Mail Order Husband” by Annie Lisenby Smith
3rd Place: “Montana Rose” by Bonnie Tesh
Short Story – O. Henry Style Story
Sponsor: Bud Hanks
1st Place: “Little Orange Lies” by Marti Attoun
2nd Place: “A Rocky Mountain Prayer” by Larry Wood
3rd Place: “ A Terrible Neighbor” by Margarite Stever
HM: “Order Up” by Ronda Del Boccio
HM: “Operation Tooth Fairy” by Annie Lisenby Smith
HM: “Annabell West” by Haley Humbird
Wilshire Short Story
Sponsors: Dr. Gil Wilshire – in memory of his parents, Professor Bruce and Donna Wilshire
1st Place: “Praying For Rain” by Joan Banks
2nd Place: “Memory Lane by Joy Keeney
3rd Place: "Untitled countdown story" by Haley Humbird
HM “Please, Jesus, Don’t Let Me Wet Myself” by Ronda Del Boccio
Book
Best First Page of a Book in Progress
Sponsors: The Prose Sisters
1st Place: “James E. Hanger and His Artificial Leg” by Mary-Lane Kamberg
2nd Place: "Walnut Creek Chronicles" by Terry McDermid
3rd Place: "Shadow Walking" by Cassandra Jordan
HM "Texas Heat" by Rhonda Harvey
Best Unpublished Book Manuscript
Sponsor: Robert Lawrence
1st Place, "Deadly Mist" by Ronda Del Boccio
2nd Place: "The I Love to Write Poetry Book" by Mary-Lane Kamberg
3rd Place: "Deadly Memories" by Larry Wood
Best Published Book of 2019-2020
Sponsor: Veda Boyd Jones
Fiction: "Where Light No Longer Shines" by H. D. Pelton
Nonfiction: "Ozarks RFD" by Jim Hamilton
HM "Missouri Innovators" by Paul W. Bass
Congratulations to the 2019 OWL Writing Contest Winners!
OWL Youth Writing Contest
OWL Writing Contest
2019 Youth Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place- “The Piano” by Addysen Garrett, Skyline High School, Urbana, MO
2nd Place- “The Words of a Writer” by Savannah Barnett, Skyline High School, Urbana, MO
3rd Place- “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Ella Dougherty, Skyline High School, Urbana, MO
Short Story
1st Place- “Evelyn and the Imp” by Harmony Ortman, Gainesville High School, Gainesville, MO
2nd Place- “The House that Creams” by Destiny Holt, Skyline High School, Urbana, MO
3rd Place- “Satisfaction” by Angelina Curtis, Skyline High School, Urbana, MO
Thanks to contest coordinator April Brock.
2019 Writing contest winners
Presidents Award
Brenda Clem Black for Black and Kiddo
Haiku
1st Place - Annie Lisenby for Puerto Rico
2nd Place - Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for Pernicious
3rd Place - April Brock for Worth It
Honorable Mention - Ronda Del Boccio for Torment
Romance
1st Place - April Brock for Love Conquers Fear
2nd Place - Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for Dearly Beloved
3rd Place - Karen Williamson for Gypsy
O. Henry Style
1st Place - Larry Wood for Blacklist
2nd Place - Joy Keeney for Desperate Call
3rd Place - Rhonda Harvey for Blind Fate
Humorous Short Story
1st Place - Sasha Ball-Rives for Harebrained Christmas
2nd Place - Larry Wood for Bowled Over
3rd Place - Annie Lisenby for Wasps!
Wilshire Short Story
1st Place - Billie Holladay Skelley for One-Two-Three
2nd Place - Sasha Ball-Rives for Riding the Waves
3rd Place - Annie Lisenby for The Listener
Crawford Poetry Prize
1st Place - Jennifer Johnson Conner for Wild Ozark Song
2nd Place - Bonnie Tesh for Belle Starr and Richey Mansion
3rd Place - Ronda Del Boccio for Branson's Haunted Railway
1st Honorable Mention - Billie Holladay Skelley for Honoring the Plant Doctor
2nd Honorable Mention - Diana West for Ozark Spook Light
3rd Honorable Mention - Larry Wood for Triolet at Carver National Park
Paranormal/Fantasy Fiction
1st Place - Joy Keeney for Hartsville Asylum
2nd Place - Jessica Carrick for Shadowland
3rd Place - Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for Day of Atonement
Honorable Mention - Jennifer Johnson Connor for Final Flight
Unpublished Manuscript
1st Place - Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for What the Heart Wants
2nd Place - Annie Lisenby for Contributing Members
3rd Place - Larry Wood for Wild in His Sorrow
WIP First Page
1st Place - Ronda Del Boccio for Hypnotic Deception
2nd Place - Rhonda Harvey for Liquid Silver
3rd Place - Billie Holladay Skelley for Manumission
1st Honorable Mention - Gary R. Hoffman for Highway 50
2nd Honrable Mention Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for Last Dance with Annie
Underdog Short Story
1st Place - Larry Wood for A Grave Situation
2nd Place - Gary R. Hoffman for Saul and Mordecai
3rd Place - Joy Keeney for Struggles of the Heart
Honorable Mention - Sasha Ball-Rives for Why We Don't Tell
Western Romance
1st Place - Billie Holladay Skelley for A Ruse for Romance
2nd Place - Rhonda Harvey for Between Sisters
3rd Place - April Brock for Bradford's Mare
Honorable Mention - Annie Lisenby for Falling Hard and Running Wild
Memoir/Creative Nonfiction
1st Place - Gary R. Hoffman for Traveling Picture Show
2nd Place - Bonnie Tesh for The Wino Goose
3rd Place - Larry Wood for Decoration Day
Honorable Mention - Jennifer Johnson Conner for The Soul of Wild Places
Best Book Award
1st Place - Brenda Clem Black for Black and Kiddo
2nd Place - Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for A Stone for the Journey
3rd Place - Ronda Del Boccio for The All Died Smiling
Honorable Mention - Larry Wood for Show-Me Atrocities