Category 1: President’s Prize – Fiction
Sponsor(s): Green River Writers | Judge(s): Green River Writers
1st Place, Rebecca Crouse, The Trail Through, Rathdrum, ID
2nd Place, C. G. Thompson, A Little Shakespeare, Greenville, NC
3rd Place, Chris James Bayer, Lost You in a Dream, Louisville, KY
Honorable Mention, Jarrett Kaufman, What the Cold May Bring, Lafayette, LA
Honorable Mention, Rebecca S. Lindsay, Passing the Shovel, Crestview Hills, KY
Honorable Mention, Terry Cobb, I’m Jacqueline Kennedy, Harris, MO
Category 2: Green River Grande – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Green River Writers | Judge(s): Green River Writers
1st Place, Linda Neal Reising, The Keeping, Poseyville, IN
2nd Place, Chris James Bayer, Somehow Worth It, Louisville, KY
3rd Place, Hilary Parker, To Catch a Raccoon, Louisville, KY
Honorable Mention, Jennifer Cronk, Mama’s Biscuits, Cincinnati, OH
Honorable Mention, Jennifer Cronk, My Father’s Hands, Cincinnati, OH
Honorable Mention, Nick Sweet, Decent/Descent, Shepherd, TX
Category 3: Novel First Chapter – Fiction
Sponsors(s): Virginia S. Anderson | Judge(s): Virginia S. Anderson
1st Place, Roger L. Collins, Cities of Glass, Cincinnati, OH
2nd Place, Linda Hudson Hoagland, Dangerous Memories, North Tazewell, VA
3rd Place, Phil Gladden, Bob, Paris, KY
Honorable Mention, Damian C. Beach, Crying, Frankfort, KY
Category 4: Rubye Fowler Prize – Creative Nonfiction
Sponsors(s): Elaine Fowler Palencia | Judge(s): Elaine Fowler Palencia
1st Place, Steve Reynolds, Lincoln Park, Normal, IL
2nd Place, Hilary Parker, One Night, Louisville, KY
3rd Place, Nancy L Brown, How My Dentist Saved My Life, Oxford, ME
Honorable Mention, Beth Staas, American Melting Pot, Oak Brook, IL
Honorable Mention, Nick Sweet, Varrone, Shepherd, TX
Honorable Mention, Sheryl Clough, Letter to a Death Star, Clinton, WA
Category 5: Suzanne Suddeth Memorial Prize – Children’s Prose
Sponsors(s): Charles Suddeth | Judge(s): Charles Suddeth
1st Place, Rebecca S. Lindsay, The Uncertain Future of Margaret Wenger, Crestview Hills, KY
2nd Place, Linda Hudson Hoagland, Snooping Can Be Regrettable, North Tazewell, VA
Honorable Mention, Sara Gipson, Crime and Punishment, Scott, AR
Category 6: Jim O’Dell Memorial – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Mary O’Dell | Judge(s): Mary O’Dell
1st Place, Don Fleming, The Urologist’s Nurse, Crescent Springs, KY
2nd Place, Rebecca S. Lindsay, An Elderly Seamstress, Crestview Hills, KY
3rd Place, Don Fleming, Tit for Tat, Crescent Springs, KY
Honorable Mention, Becky Alexander, I know of a loud boorish ass, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Honorable Mention, Don Fleming, Cleaning he Basement, Crescent Springs, KY
Honorable Mention, Sara Gipson, Stock Forecast, Scott, AR
Category 7: The Virginia Opry’s Legends of Country Music – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Apalfolks of America Association | Judge(s): Charlotte Ivy of the Virginia Opry
1st Place, Jerri Hardesty, Charley’s Pride, Brierfield, AL
2nd Place, Sara Gipson, Cash, Scott, AR
3rd Place, Dena K. Skees, Glen Campbell’s Credo, Prospect, KY
Category 8: Lists – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Judy Milford & Terri Alekzander | Judge(s): Judy Milford & Terri Alekzander
1st Place, Linda Neal Reising, I Miss Barns, Poseyville, IN
2nd Place, Don Fleming, On the Use of Fences, Crescent Springs, KY
3rd Place, Don Fleming, Six Degrees of Biological Separation, Crescent Springs, KY
Honorable Mention, C. G. Thompson, Little Horse You Showed Your Love for Me in So Many Ways, Greenville, NC
Honorable Mention, Linda Neal Reising, Women’s March on Washington, Poseyville, IN
Honorable Mention, Rebecca S. Lindsay, To Be List, Crestview Hills, KY
Category 9: The Power of Myth – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Pam Hirschler | Judge(s): Pam Hirschler
1st Place, Jerri Hardesty, The Collectors, Brierfield, AL
2nd Place, Becky Alexander, This Stuff of Myth, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
3rd Place, Becky Alexander, Iris, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Honorable Mention, M. Ray Allen, Forerunner of Tesla, Clifton Forge, VA
Category 10: The Thing Under the Bed – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Christine Strevinsky | Judge(s): Gail Chandler
1st Place, M. Ray Allen, The Music Box, Clifton Forge, VA
2nd Place, M. Ray Allen, The Aquarium, Clifton Forge, VA
3rd Place, Jerri Hardesty, Here Abide Monsters, Brierfield, AL
Category 11: Here There Be Dragons – Poetry
Sponsors(s): The Thursday Poets | Judge(s): The Thursday Poets
1st Place, Billie Holladay Skelley, Everyday Dragons, Joplin, MO
2nd Place, Rebecca S. Lindsay, Editor’s Caveat, Crestview Hills, KY
3rd Place, Chris Helvey, I’d Rather Be a Statue, Frankfort, KY
Honorable Mention, Dena K. Skees, For My Next Song, Prospect, KY
Honorable Mention, Dena K. Skees, Provocative and Promising Thesis, Prospect, KY
Honorable Mention, Jerri Hardesty, Infestation, Brierfield, AL
Category 12: Praise in Other Words – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Jean Tucker | Judge(s): Jean Tucker
1st Place, Linda Neal Reising, Crazy Quilts, Poseyville, IN
2nd Place, Becky Alexander, Seeds, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Honorable Mention, Rebecca S. Lindsay, Anthem with Anaphora, Crestview Hills, KY
Honorable Mention, Sheryl Clough, Rosemary’s Garden, Clinton, WA
Category 13: The Sue Bayes Memorial – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Barroom Bards | Judge(s): Barroom Bards
1st Place, Becky Alexander, Sunshine Days, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
2nd Place, Jerri Hardesty, My Addiction, Brierfield, AL
3rd Place, Ellaraine Lockie, Flashbacks in a Bottle, Sunnyvale, CA
Honorable Mention, Chris Helvey, Delivering to the Gentry House, Frankfort, KY
Honorable Mention, M. Ray Allen, Beyond Star Bottom, Clifton Forge, VA
Honorable Mention, Sheryl Clough, Scattering on Lummi Bay, Clinton, WA
Category 14: Free Style Verse – Poetry
Sponsors(s): Rebecca Eliot | Judge(s): Rebecca Eliot
1st Place, Ellaraine Lockie, Solvitur Ambulando, Sunnyvale, CA
2nd Place, Linda Neal Reising, Totality, Poseyville, IN
Honorable Mention, Becky Alexander, The Old Post Office, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Honorable Mention, Ellaraine Lockie, The Photograph, Sunnyvale, CA
Honorable Mention, Kathie Clarke, Stage Address, Clifton Force, VA
2018 Contest Winners