Each year, NOWW runs an Annual Writing Contest. Please take a look at some of our previous contest winners.
2023 WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
Poetry:
3rd Place Carmen Kinniburgh of Thunder Bay for her poem Wild Rose.
2nd Place Chantel Daniels of Peterborough for her three poems Purgatory is Earwigs in Basement Apartments, Carnie, and Empty Roll.
1st Place Elizabeth Pszczolko of Thunder Bay for her three poems Waking, Winter Poem, and I Am Happy.
Creative Nonfiction:
3rd place Denarii Peters of Lincolnshire, England for her story Only One Man Died.
2nd place Celia Chandler of Toronto for her story Why.
1st place Tanis MacDonald of the Grand River Region for her story Perfectly Good.
Literary Critical Writing:
3rd place J.F. Foulds of Thunder Bay for Gateway to ReconciliAtion: a Review of Richard Wagamese’s Keeper ’n Me.
2 place John Pringle of Atikokan for his review of the book The Passenger by Cormic McCarthy.
1st place Brenda Fisk for her review of the work of Graham G. Harris.
Short Fiction:
(only one prize awarded)
1st place Defne Suman of Athens, Greece, for her story Hitchhiker.
Short Crime Fiction:
3rd place JE Crossman of southwest England for her
story The Gamble.
2nd place Willow Healy of California for her story One Hundred Million Shades of Colour.
1st place John Pringle of Atikokan for his story Sunflowers.
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (fiction set in NWO)
(only two prizes awarded)
2nd place Irene McCuaig of Kenora for her story Unfettered.
1st place Jack Shedden of Thunder Bay for his story Dickie Birds.
2022 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Billy-Ray Belcourt
1st Place Samantha Martin-Bird - ciimaan & sacrilegious
2nd Place Ruth Daniell - Lucy’s Warbler
3rd Place Jennifer Krag - Home Invasion
Short Fiction
Judge: Casey Plett
1st Place Ellie Sawatzky - Majestic
2nd Place August C. Bourré - Mark Jarvis, Prophet
3rd Place Sue Blott - When the Clock Stopped
BIPOC Personal Essay
Judge: Chelene Knight
No awards given
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Sierra Skye Gemma
1st Place Cindy Matthews - Law of Averages
2nd Place Sue Blott - No Straight Lines: A Memoir
3rd Place Sally Basmajian - Spring Melt, 1972
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: John Elizabeth Stintzi
1st Place Sue Blott - Stay True
2021 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Sheri-D Wilson
1st Place Siobhan Farrell - Winter Thoughts
2nd Place Morgan Thomas - Histrionics
3rd Place (tie) Kevin Bezanson, Tanis MacDonald
Short Fiction
Judge: Emily St. John Mandel
1st Place Sue Blott - Pretending
2nd Place Tina Petrick - Escape from Slugbrook Academy
3rd Place Cindy Matthews - The Roach Family
Haiku
Judge: K.J. Munro
1st Place Sue Blott - Relationship
2nd Place Sue Blott - Nature
3rd Place Michael Dudley - Untitled
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Niigan Sinclair
1st Place Cindy Matthews - Lost Innocence
2nd Place Robyn Stronge - What If
3rd Place Vera Constantineau - He and I
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction)
Judge: Waub Rice
1st Place JF Foulds - Beyond Tears
2nd Place Sue Blott - Kin
3rd Place Dorothea Belanger - Signs
2020 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Gwen Benaway
1st Place Kim Fahner - Three Poems for Persephone
2nd Place Debbie Metzler - Homeless Series
3rd Place Siobhan Farrell - Mexican Skies
Short Fiction
Judge: Madeleine Thien
1st Place John Pringle - Heart Blood
2nd Place Tina Petrick - You Must Stay Put
3rd Place Mo Markham - Island
Art Review
Judge: Steven Beattie
1st Place John Pringle - Blood on the Tracks
2nd Place Sue Blott - Still I Rise
3rd Place Jennifer Sharpe - The Jane Austin Project
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Russell Smith
1st Place Susan Eldridge-Vautour - Chasing Bubbles
2nd Place Marlene Elder - Routine Traffic Stop
3rd Place Cindy Matthews - Threadbare Smile
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: Amy Jones
1st Place James Simpson - Kenogamisis River Moose Hunt, 1981
2nd Place Debbie Metzler - Granny’s Garden
3rd Place John Pringle - The Boreal Spirit
2019 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Jane Munro
1st Place Sherri Lankinen - Butterfly, Dementia, Real Time
2nd Place Sue Blott - Woman Strong
3rd Place Kevin Brooks - Yoga on the Dock, 50, The Tides of Lake Superior
Short Fiction
Judge: Guy Vanderhaeghe
1st Place Sue Blott - The Painter and the Pin Up
2nd Place Mark Munger - Brule River, Minnesota
3rd Place Jane Crossman - Deadman’s Sandwiches
Middle Grade Novel Excerpt
Judge: Eric Walters
1st Place Donna White - Dust
2nd Place Glenn Ponka - The Silver Ring
3rd Place John Pringle - The Man in the Moon
Creative Nonfiction
Judge: M.G. Vassanji
1st Place Bruce McCallum - Just Like Frank Mahovlich
2nd Place Margie Taylor - You Can Lie Down When You’re Dead
3rd Place Siobhan Farrell - Fearless
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction)
Judge: Diane Schoemperlen
1st Place Sue Blott - Reading the Leaves
2nd Place John Pringle - Listening
3rd Place Cecil Burns - The Bambi Syndrome
2018 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: George Elliott Clarke
1st Place Holly Haggarty - Poems from the Season of Paradise
2nd Place Siobhan Farrell - Snow on Cedars
3rd Place Shannon Anderson - Angry Young Woman
Short Fiction
Judge: Heather O’Neill
1st Place Kirsti Salmi - Fifty Fifty
2nd Place Doug Diaczuk - I want to tell you about Danny
3rd Place Jacob McEachern - The Meat King
Historical Fiction
Judge: Ross King
1st Place Doug Diaczuk - The Snap of a Bird’s Wing
2nd Place Jane Crossman - Golden Lotus
3rd Place Joan M. Baril - The Northern Lights
Creative Nonfiction
Judge: Helen Humphreys
1st Place Brenda Fisk - The Right Thing
2nd Place Susan Rogers - The Locker Room
3rd Place Sue Blott - The Penpal: A Memoir
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: Michael Christie
1st Place Joan M. Baril - Currents
2nd Place E. B. Page - Morning Musings on a Road Well Travelled
3rd Place Michael Ward - Where the Highway Ends
2017 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Liz Howard
1st Place Robert Y. Lem - Never Forgotten
2nd Place Holly Haggarty - River, Tree, Sky
3rd Place Noah Cain - home at three ages
Short Fiction
Judge: Ann-Marie MacDonald
1st Place Kirsti Salmi - Shag Tickets and Other Debris
2nd Place Alyssa Foulkes - The Memories of Brothers
3rd Place Julio Heleno-Gomes - The Teacher’s Gift
Novel Excerpt Speculative Fiction
Judge: Jayne Barnard
1st Place John Pringle - The Education of Allan Wodruff
2nd Place Jack Shedden - Counting Sol
3rd Place Timothy Gwyn - Bandits
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Stephen Kimber
1st Place Cindy Matthews - Nesting
2nd Place Susan Rogers - No Sidewalks
3rd Place Olivia Mater - It’s Canada 150. I’m Not Celebrating
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction)
Judge: Jane Urquhart
Winner Kevin Baker - Ogoki Post
2016 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Molly Peacock
1st Place Siobhan Farrell - Seeing Orange and other poems
2nd Place Holly Haggarty - Principles of Non-Contradiction
3rd Place Sherri Lankinen
Honorable Mention Sallee Dick - Creek Jump and other poems
Short Fiction
Judge: Carliegh Baker
1st Place Joan M. Baril - The Sisterhood
2nd Place Doug Diaczuk - Frogs Don’t Swim
Novel Excerpt
Judge: Terry Fallis
1st Place Tessa Soderberg - Home Service
2nd Place Jim Creighton - Walter Boychuk
3rd Place Tessa Soderberg - Summer Wages
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Rilla Friesen
1st Place Sue Blott - One Man’s Love: A Memoir
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Start with a Shovel
3rd Place Jack Shedden - Visits to the Wastelands
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: Charles Wilkins
Winner Roy Blomstrom - Elna and Sven
2015 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Rob McLennan
1st Place Sue Blott - Interludes
2nd Place Tristan Khan - The Cruelty of Nearness
3rd Place Sharon Irvine - Shirts on the Clothesline
Fiction
Judge: Paul Carlucci
1st Place Joan M. Baril - Still Life with Baby
2nd Place John Pringle - Connections
3rd Place Heather L. Dickson - The Boy Who Wasn’t There
Young Adult Fiction
Judge: Emily Pohl-Weary
1st Place Sue Blott - Roundabout
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Fashion Show
3rd Place Sue Blott - Best Friends Forever
Creative Nonfiction
Judge: Amanda Leduc
1st Place Susan Rogers - Confessions in the Time of Social Media
2nd Place Sharon Irvine - Out to Lunch
3rd Place Cindy Matthews - Ringo
2014 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Roger Nash
1st Place Mary Frost - Frisbee
2nd Place Sherri Lankinen - For Dear Life
3rd Place Vera Constantineau - Happy Birthday Dad
Fiction
Judge: Ania Szado
1st Place John Pringle - A Good Boy
2nd Place Mike Laverty - Indians are from India
3rd Place Sue Blott - My Thin People
Speculative Fiction
Judge: Robert J. Sawyer
1st Place Tim Armstrong - Fermi High
2nd Place John Pringle - A New Bell
3rd Place Sue Blott - Memory Sticks
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: J.J. Lee
1st Place Susan Rogers - Bayswater Revisited
2nd Place Judith Johanson - Hired Girl
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - Mould Beneath
2013 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Susan Glickman
1st Place Sue Blott - Shades of Yellow
2nd Place Francis Koning - The Bush Girl
3rd Place Gail Linklater - Death by HIV/AIDS: Anonymous, Disenfranchised, & Unacknowledged
Short Fiction
Judge: Angie Abdou
1st Place Jayne Barnard - Trail of the Wolf
2nd Place John Pringle - Over the Curve
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - At the Root of the Family Tree
Mystery
Judge: Louise Penny
1st Place Sue Blott - Whittling Time
2nd Place Chelle Martin - Cracking the Case of Humpty Dumpty
3rd Place Sharon Irvine - Dead Dreams
Personal Essay
Judge: Jake MacDonald
1st Place Joan Baril - The Origin of Love
2nd Place J.F. (Jim) Foulds - My Mother’s Pact with God
3rd Place Elena Kerkelova - Why I Moved to Canada
2012 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Dennis Cooley
1st Place Holly Haggarty - Life-Songs
2nd Place Heather Mesich
3rd Place Sue Blott
Short Fiction
Judge: Matthew J. Trafford
1st Place Jane Crossman - Coney Island
2nd Place Vania Selvaggi
3rd Place Jane Crossman
Children’s Story
Judge: Richard Scrimger
1st Place Heather Mesich - What is Owed
2nd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante
3rd Place John Pringle
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Leilah Nadir
1st Place Krista Montelpare - Roast Turkey
2nd Place Vania Selvaggi
3rd Place Sue Blott
2011 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Dr. Anne Compton
1st Place Roy Blomstrom - Quartet
2nd Place Rebekah Skochinski - Untitled
3rd Place Sue Blott - Whatever the Weather
Short Fiction
Judge: Fred Stenson
1st Place Deborah de Bakker - Blasto
2nd Place John Pringle - Northern Mallards
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - Abberations
Scriptwriting
Judge: Dave Carley
1st Place John Pringle - The Goodness Inside of You
2nd Place Jack Shedden - In the Locker-room
3rd Place John Pringle - Details
2010 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Betsy Struthers
1st Place Holly Haggarty - Three Speech Acts
2nd Place Elizabeth Creith - The Wheel of the Year – Four Sonnets
3rd Place Elizabeth Pszczolko - Winter Bones
Fiction
Judge: Lynn Coady
1st Place John Pringle - Fresh Snow
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Polly
3rd Place Roy Blomstrom - Last Game of Hearts
Children’s Story
Judge: Gordon Korman
1st Place Judith Johanson - Picker’s Kid
2nd Place Eleanor Albanese - Nonno’s Nickel
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - The Amida Tree
Flash Fiction
Judge: Pasha Malla
1st Place Elizabeth Creith - Dark Chocolate
2nd Place Jack Shedden - Dreaming in Black
3rd Place Sue Blott - Stan, My Man
Memoir
Judge: Anne Coleman
1st Place Elizabeth Campbell - Bedrock
2nd Place Jim Foulds - I Never Got to Work for My Father
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - Frog and Snake
2009 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Karen Solie
1st Place Mary Frost - South-Facing Window
2nd Place Clay Breiland - Three Poems
3rd Place Marianne Jones - Five Poems
Short Fiction
Judge: John Geddes
1st Place Mike Bryan - Away from Yourself
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Minotaur
3rd Place Mike Bryan - Unhooked
Children’s Story
Judge: Sheree Fitch
1st Place John Pringle - The Wild Flowers of Bugwander
2nd Place John Pringle - Wilbur’s Favourite Plant
3rd Place Jim Foulds - The Goaltender
Flash Fiction
Judge: John Gould
1st Place Mike Bryan - Shimmer
2nd Place Amy Louise Ells - The Missing Piece
3rd Place Sue Blott - Night Terrors
Memoir
Judge: Summerhayes Cariou
1st Place Heather McLeod - Ella
2nd Place David Welby - Rite of Passage
3rd Place Sharon Irvine - Once Upon a Shoe
2008 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Molly Peacock
1st Place Erin Steward
2nd Place Sherri Lankinen
Sue Blott
3rd Place Mary Frost
Short Fiction
Judge: Kim Moritsugu
1st Place Mike Bryan
2nd Place Jennifer Morrow
3rd Place Michelle Mylyaho
Children’s Story
Judge: Sharon E. MacKay
1st Place Roy Blomstrom
2nd Place Paul Mandziuk
3rd Place Kelly Greer
Flash Fiction
Judge: Michelle Berry
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place John Pringle
3rd Place Jennifer Morrow
Memoir
Judge: Roy MacGregor
1st Place Sharon Irvine
2nd Place June Bland
3rd Place John Pringle
2007 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Cathy Carroll
2nd Place Marianne Jones
3rd Place Cathy Carroll
Short Fiction
1st Place Peter Powell
2nd Place Kathy Toivonen
3rd Place Jim Foulds
Children’s Story
1st Place Holly Haggarty
2nd Place Debbie Metzler
3rd Place Holly Haggarty
Humour
1st Place Janie McDaid
2nd Place Holly Haggarty
3rd Place Paul Mandziuk
Memoir
1st Place Holly Haggarty
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom
3rd Place Sue Blott
2006 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Cathy Carroll
2nd Place Brian P.H. Green
3rd Place Roy Blomstrom
Short Fiction
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Jack Shedden
3rd Place Sue Blott
Children’s Story
1st Place Holly Haggarty
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom
3rd Place Sue Blott
Humour
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Lynn Kowal
3rd Place Jean E. Pendziwol
Memoir
1st Place Jennifer Morrow
2nd Place Holly Haggarty
3rd Place John Pringle
2005 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Open Category
1st Place Roy Blomstrom
2nd Place Sue Blott
3rd Place Glenn Ponka
Emerging Writers
1st Place Penny Petrone
2nd Place Cathy Moreau
3rd Place Greg Drysdale
High School
1st Place Karyn Bailey
2nd Place Taylor Bishop
3rd Place Ian Connor
2004 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Marianne Jones
2nd Place Nancy Bjorgo
3rd Place Brian Green
Short Fiction
1st Place Nancy Bjorgo
2nd Place Peter Powell
Children’s Story
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Sue Blott
Personal Essay
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Dorothy Colby
Humour
1st Place John Pringle
2003 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Marianne Jones
2nd Place Douglas Livingston
Taina Chahal
Children’s Story
1st Place Jean E. Penziwol
2nd Place Holly Haggarty
Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Twyla Carolan
Mystery/Thriller
1st Place Jim Foulds
2nd Place Michael Lehto
Jane Crossman
Romance
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Carol Parker
2002 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Fiction
1st Place Deborah de Bakker
2nd Place Twyla Carolan
Quatrains
1st Place Nancy Bjorgo
2nd Place Nancy Bjorgo
3rd Place Debbie Metzler
Non-Fiction
1st Place Jack Shedden
2nd Place Jim Foulds
2001 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Open Category
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Glenn Ponka
Dramatic Monologue
1st Place Jack Shedden
2nd Place John Pringle
Haiku
1st Place
2nd Place
2000 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Open category
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Sherri Lankinen
Volunteer Your Fiction
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Jim Foulds (as Andrew James)
2023 WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
Poetry:
3rd Place Carmen Kinniburgh of Thunder Bay for her poem Wild Rose.
2nd Place Chantel Daniels of Peterborough for her three poems Purgatory is Earwigs in Basement Apartments, Carnie, and Empty Roll.
1st Place Elizabeth Pszczolko of Thunder Bay for her three poems Waking, Winter Poem, and I Am Happy.
Creative Nonfiction:
3rd place Denarii Peters of Lincolnshire, England for her story Only One Man Died.
2nd place Celia Chandler of Toronto for her story Why.
1st place Tanis MacDonald of the Grand River Region for her story Perfectly Good.
Literary Critical Writing:
3rd place J.F. Foulds of Thunder Bay for Gateway to ReconciliAtion: a Review of Richard Wagamese’s Keeper ’n Me.
2 place John Pringle of Atikokan for his review of the book The Passenger by Cormic McCarthy.
1st place Brenda Fisk for her review of the work of Graham G. Harris.
Short Fiction:
(only one prize awarded)
1st place Defne Suman of Athens, Greece, for her story Hitchhiker.
Short Crime Fiction:
3rd place JE Crossman of southwest England for her
story The Gamble.
2nd place Willow Healy of California for her story One Hundred Million Shades of Colour.
1st place John Pringle of Atikokan for his story Sunflowers.
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (fiction set in NWO)
(only two prizes awarded)
2nd place Irene McCuaig of Kenora for her story Unfettered.
1st place Jack Shedden of Thunder Bay for his story Dickie Birds.
2022 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Billy-Ray Belcourt
1st Place Samantha Martin-Bird - ciimaan & sacrilegious
2nd Place Ruth Daniell - Lucy’s Warbler
3rd Place Jennifer Krag - Home Invasion
Short Fiction
Judge: Casey Plett
1st Place Ellie Sawatzky - Majestic
2nd Place August C. Bourré - Mark Jarvis, Prophet
3rd Place Sue Blott - When the Clock Stopped
BIPOC Personal Essay
Judge: Chelene Knight
No awards given
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Sierra Skye Gemma
1st Place Cindy Matthews - Law of Averages
2nd Place Sue Blott - No Straight Lines: A Memoir
3rd Place Sally Basmajian - Spring Melt, 1972
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: John Elizabeth Stintzi
1st Place Sue Blott - Stay True
2021 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Sheri-D Wilson
1st Place Siobhan Farrell - Winter Thoughts
2nd Place Morgan Thomas - Histrionics
3rd Place (tie) Kevin Bezanson, Tanis MacDonald
Short Fiction
Judge: Emily St. John Mandel
1st Place Sue Blott - Pretending
2nd Place Tina Petrick - Escape from Slugbrook Academy
3rd Place Cindy Matthews - The Roach Family
Haiku
Judge: K.J. Munro
1st Place Sue Blott - Relationship
2nd Place Sue Blott - Nature
3rd Place Michael Dudley - Untitled
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Niigan Sinclair
1st Place Cindy Matthews - Lost Innocence
2nd Place Robyn Stronge - What If
3rd Place Vera Constantineau - He and I
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction)
Judge: Waub Rice
1st Place JF Foulds - Beyond Tears
2nd Place Sue Blott - Kin
3rd Place Dorothea Belanger - Signs
2020 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Gwen Benaway
1st Place Kim Fahner - Three Poems for Persephone
2nd Place Debbie Metzler - Homeless Series
3rd Place Siobhan Farrell - Mexican Skies
Short Fiction
Judge: Madeleine Thien
1st Place John Pringle - Heart Blood
2nd Place Tina Petrick - You Must Stay Put
3rd Place Mo Markham - Island
Art Review
Judge: Steven Beattie
1st Place John Pringle - Blood on the Tracks
2nd Place Sue Blott - Still I Rise
3rd Place Jennifer Sharpe - The Jane Austin Project
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Russell Smith
1st Place Susan Eldridge-Vautour - Chasing Bubbles
2nd Place Marlene Elder - Routine Traffic Stop
3rd Place Cindy Matthews - Threadbare Smile
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: Amy Jones
1st Place James Simpson - Kenogamisis River Moose Hunt, 1981
2nd Place Debbie Metzler - Granny’s Garden
3rd Place John Pringle - The Boreal Spirit
2019 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Jane Munro
1st Place Sherri Lankinen - Butterfly, Dementia, Real Time
2nd Place Sue Blott - Woman Strong
3rd Place Kevin Brooks - Yoga on the Dock, 50, The Tides of Lake Superior
Short Fiction
Judge: Guy Vanderhaeghe
1st Place Sue Blott - The Painter and the Pin Up
2nd Place Mark Munger - Brule River, Minnesota
3rd Place Jane Crossman - Deadman’s Sandwiches
Middle Grade Novel Excerpt
Judge: Eric Walters
1st Place Donna White - Dust
2nd Place Glenn Ponka - The Silver Ring
3rd Place John Pringle - The Man in the Moon
Creative Nonfiction
Judge: M.G. Vassanji
1st Place Bruce McCallum - Just Like Frank Mahovlich
2nd Place Margie Taylor - You Can Lie Down When You’re Dead
3rd Place Siobhan Farrell - Fearless
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction)
Judge: Diane Schoemperlen
1st Place Sue Blott - Reading the Leaves
2nd Place John Pringle - Listening
3rd Place Cecil Burns - The Bambi Syndrome
2018 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: George Elliott Clarke
1st Place Holly Haggarty - Poems from the Season of Paradise
2nd Place Siobhan Farrell - Snow on Cedars
3rd Place Shannon Anderson - Angry Young Woman
Short Fiction
Judge: Heather O’Neill
1st Place Kirsti Salmi - Fifty Fifty
2nd Place Doug Diaczuk - I want to tell you about Danny
3rd Place Jacob McEachern - The Meat King
Historical Fiction
Judge: Ross King
1st Place Doug Diaczuk - The Snap of a Bird’s Wing
2nd Place Jane Crossman - Golden Lotus
3rd Place Joan M. Baril - The Northern Lights
Creative Nonfiction
Judge: Helen Humphreys
1st Place Brenda Fisk - The Right Thing
2nd Place Susan Rogers - The Locker Room
3rd Place Sue Blott - The Penpal: A Memoir
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: Michael Christie
1st Place Joan M. Baril - Currents
2nd Place E. B. Page - Morning Musings on a Road Well Travelled
3rd Place Michael Ward - Where the Highway Ends
2017 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Liz Howard
1st Place Robert Y. Lem - Never Forgotten
2nd Place Holly Haggarty - River, Tree, Sky
3rd Place Noah Cain - home at three ages
Short Fiction
Judge: Ann-Marie MacDonald
1st Place Kirsti Salmi - Shag Tickets and Other Debris
2nd Place Alyssa Foulkes - The Memories of Brothers
3rd Place Julio Heleno-Gomes - The Teacher’s Gift
Novel Excerpt Speculative Fiction
Judge: Jayne Barnard
1st Place John Pringle - The Education of Allan Wodruff
2nd Place Jack Shedden - Counting Sol
3rd Place Timothy Gwyn - Bandits
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Stephen Kimber
1st Place Cindy Matthews - Nesting
2nd Place Susan Rogers - No Sidewalks
3rd Place Olivia Mater - It’s Canada 150. I’m Not Celebrating
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction)
Judge: Jane Urquhart
Winner Kevin Baker - Ogoki Post
2016 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Molly Peacock
1st Place Siobhan Farrell - Seeing Orange and other poems
2nd Place Holly Haggarty - Principles of Non-Contradiction
3rd Place Sherri Lankinen
Honorable Mention Sallee Dick - Creek Jump and other poems
Short Fiction
Judge: Carliegh Baker
1st Place Joan M. Baril - The Sisterhood
2nd Place Doug Diaczuk - Frogs Don’t Swim
Novel Excerpt
Judge: Terry Fallis
1st Place Tessa Soderberg - Home Service
2nd Place Jim Creighton - Walter Boychuk
3rd Place Tessa Soderberg - Summer Wages
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Rilla Friesen
1st Place Sue Blott - One Man’s Love: A Memoir
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Start with a Shovel
3rd Place Jack Shedden - Visits to the Wastelands
Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Non-Fiction)
Judge: Charles Wilkins
Winner Roy Blomstrom - Elna and Sven
2015 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Rob McLennan
1st Place Sue Blott - Interludes
2nd Place Tristan Khan - The Cruelty of Nearness
3rd Place Sharon Irvine - Shirts on the Clothesline
Fiction
Judge: Paul Carlucci
1st Place Joan M. Baril - Still Life with Baby
2nd Place John Pringle - Connections
3rd Place Heather L. Dickson - The Boy Who Wasn’t There
Young Adult Fiction
Judge: Emily Pohl-Weary
1st Place Sue Blott - Roundabout
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Fashion Show
3rd Place Sue Blott - Best Friends Forever
Creative Nonfiction
Judge: Amanda Leduc
1st Place Susan Rogers - Confessions in the Time of Social Media
2nd Place Sharon Irvine - Out to Lunch
3rd Place Cindy Matthews - Ringo
2014 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Roger Nash
1st Place Mary Frost - Frisbee
2nd Place Sherri Lankinen - For Dear Life
3rd Place Vera Constantineau - Happy Birthday Dad
Fiction
Judge: Ania Szado
1st Place John Pringle - A Good Boy
2nd Place Mike Laverty - Indians are from India
3rd Place Sue Blott - My Thin People
Speculative Fiction
Judge: Robert J. Sawyer
1st Place Tim Armstrong - Fermi High
2nd Place John Pringle - A New Bell
3rd Place Sue Blott - Memory Sticks
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: J.J. Lee
1st Place Susan Rogers - Bayswater Revisited
2nd Place Judith Johanson - Hired Girl
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - Mould Beneath
2013 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Susan Glickman
1st Place Sue Blott - Shades of Yellow
2nd Place Francis Koning - The Bush Girl
3rd Place Gail Linklater - Death by HIV/AIDS: Anonymous, Disenfranchised, & Unacknowledged
Short Fiction
Judge: Angie Abdou
1st Place Jayne Barnard - Trail of the Wolf
2nd Place John Pringle - Over the Curve
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - At the Root of the Family Tree
Mystery
Judge: Louise Penny
1st Place Sue Blott - Whittling Time
2nd Place Chelle Martin - Cracking the Case of Humpty Dumpty
3rd Place Sharon Irvine - Dead Dreams
Personal Essay
Judge: Jake MacDonald
1st Place Joan Baril - The Origin of Love
2nd Place J.F. (Jim) Foulds - My Mother’s Pact with God
3rd Place Elena Kerkelova - Why I Moved to Canada
2012 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Dennis Cooley
1st Place Holly Haggarty - Life-Songs
2nd Place Heather Mesich
3rd Place Sue Blott
Short Fiction
Judge: Matthew J. Trafford
1st Place Jane Crossman - Coney Island
2nd Place Vania Selvaggi
3rd Place Jane Crossman
Children’s Story
Judge: Richard Scrimger
1st Place Heather Mesich - What is Owed
2nd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante
3rd Place John Pringle
Creative Non-Fiction
Judge: Leilah Nadir
1st Place Krista Montelpare - Roast Turkey
2nd Place Vania Selvaggi
3rd Place Sue Blott
2011 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Dr. Anne Compton
1st Place Roy Blomstrom - Quartet
2nd Place Rebekah Skochinski - Untitled
3rd Place Sue Blott - Whatever the Weather
Short Fiction
Judge: Fred Stenson
1st Place Deborah de Bakker - Blasto
2nd Place John Pringle - Northern Mallards
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - Abberations
Scriptwriting
Judge: Dave Carley
1st Place John Pringle - The Goodness Inside of You
2nd Place Jack Shedden - In the Locker-room
3rd Place John Pringle - Details
2010 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Betsy Struthers
1st Place Holly Haggarty - Three Speech Acts
2nd Place Elizabeth Creith - The Wheel of the Year – Four Sonnets
3rd Place Elizabeth Pszczolko - Winter Bones
Fiction
Judge: Lynn Coady
1st Place John Pringle - Fresh Snow
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Polly
3rd Place Roy Blomstrom - Last Game of Hearts
Children’s Story
Judge: Gordon Korman
1st Place Judith Johanson - Picker’s Kid
2nd Place Eleanor Albanese - Nonno’s Nickel
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - The Amida Tree
Flash Fiction
Judge: Pasha Malla
1st Place Elizabeth Creith - Dark Chocolate
2nd Place Jack Shedden - Dreaming in Black
3rd Place Sue Blott - Stan, My Man
Memoir
Judge: Anne Coleman
1st Place Elizabeth Campbell - Bedrock
2nd Place Jim Foulds - I Never Got to Work for My Father
3rd Place Bonnie Tittaferrante - Frog and Snake
2009 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Karen Solie
1st Place Mary Frost - South-Facing Window
2nd Place Clay Breiland - Three Poems
3rd Place Marianne Jones - Five Poems
Short Fiction
Judge: John Geddes
1st Place Mike Bryan - Away from Yourself
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom - Minotaur
3rd Place Mike Bryan - Unhooked
Children’s Story
Judge: Sheree Fitch
1st Place John Pringle - The Wild Flowers of Bugwander
2nd Place John Pringle - Wilbur’s Favourite Plant
3rd Place Jim Foulds - The Goaltender
Flash Fiction
Judge: John Gould
1st Place Mike Bryan - Shimmer
2nd Place Amy Louise Ells - The Missing Piece
3rd Place Sue Blott - Night Terrors
Memoir
Judge: Summerhayes Cariou
1st Place Heather McLeod - Ella
2nd Place David Welby - Rite of Passage
3rd Place Sharon Irvine - Once Upon a Shoe
2008 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
Judge: Molly Peacock
1st Place Erin Steward
2nd Place Sherri Lankinen
Sue Blott
3rd Place Mary Frost
Short Fiction
Judge: Kim Moritsugu
1st Place Mike Bryan
2nd Place Jennifer Morrow
3rd Place Michelle Mylyaho
Children’s Story
Judge: Sharon E. MacKay
1st Place Roy Blomstrom
2nd Place Paul Mandziuk
3rd Place Kelly Greer
Flash Fiction
Judge: Michelle Berry
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place John Pringle
3rd Place Jennifer Morrow
Memoir
Judge: Roy MacGregor
1st Place Sharon Irvine
2nd Place June Bland
3rd Place John Pringle
2007 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Cathy Carroll
2nd Place Marianne Jones
3rd Place Cathy Carroll
Short Fiction
1st Place Peter Powell
2nd Place Kathy Toivonen
3rd Place Jim Foulds
Children’s Story
1st Place Holly Haggarty
2nd Place Debbie Metzler
3rd Place Holly Haggarty
Humour
1st Place Janie McDaid
2nd Place Holly Haggarty
3rd Place Paul Mandziuk
Memoir
1st Place Holly Haggarty
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom
3rd Place Sue Blott
2006 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Cathy Carroll
2nd Place Brian P.H. Green
3rd Place Roy Blomstrom
Short Fiction
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Jack Shedden
3rd Place Sue Blott
Children’s Story
1st Place Holly Haggarty
2nd Place Roy Blomstrom
3rd Place Sue Blott
Humour
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Lynn Kowal
3rd Place Jean E. Pendziwol
Memoir
1st Place Jennifer Morrow
2nd Place Holly Haggarty
3rd Place John Pringle
2005 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Open Category
1st Place Roy Blomstrom
2nd Place Sue Blott
3rd Place Glenn Ponka
Emerging Writers
1st Place Penny Petrone
2nd Place Cathy Moreau
3rd Place Greg Drysdale
High School
1st Place Karyn Bailey
2nd Place Taylor Bishop
3rd Place Ian Connor
2004 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Marianne Jones
2nd Place Nancy Bjorgo
3rd Place Brian Green
Short Fiction
1st Place Nancy Bjorgo
2nd Place Peter Powell
Children’s Story
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Sue Blott
Personal Essay
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Dorothy Colby
Humour
1st Place John Pringle
2003 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Poetry
1st Place Marianne Jones
2nd Place Douglas Livingston
Taina Chahal
Children’s Story
1st Place Jean E. Penziwol
2nd Place Holly Haggarty
Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Twyla Carolan
Mystery/Thriller
1st Place Jim Foulds
2nd Place Michael Lehto
Jane Crossman
Romance
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Carol Parker
2002 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Fiction
1st Place Deborah de Bakker
2nd Place Twyla Carolan
Quatrains
1st Place Nancy Bjorgo
2nd Place Nancy Bjorgo
3rd Place Debbie Metzler
Non-Fiction
1st Place Jack Shedden
2nd Place Jim Foulds
2001 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Open Category
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Glenn Ponka
Dramatic Monologue
1st Place Jack Shedden
2nd Place John Pringle
Haiku
1st Place
2nd Place
2000 NOWW International Writing Contest Winners
Open category
1st Place John Pringle
2nd Place Sherri Lankinen
Volunteer Your Fiction
1st Place Sue Blott
2nd Place Jim Foulds (as Andrew James)