Our 2023 Kay Snow Award Winners
The Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
First place: “She Lived with Cats” by Ruth Q. Leibowitz
Runner-up: “Once Starved, Never Full” by Rene Lytle
The Kay Snow Award for Nonfiction (with special thanks to Elizabeth Lyon)
First place: “Half Truths Spent at Slipping Rock” by Mary Sweigert
Runner-up: “Wings” by Teresa H. Janssen
Kay Snow Award for Fiction (with special thanks to C. Lill Ahrens)
First place: “How to Get a Best Friend” by Brenna Twobears
Runner-up: “Standing in Water” by Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich
The purpose of this annual writing contest, named in honor of Willamette Writers’ founder, Kay Snow, is to help writers reach professional goals in writing through a broad array of categories, and also to encourage student writers. In addition to prizes, winners are listed on the Willamette Writers website and honored at our Willamette Writers Conference held annually in August. Check out the new guidelines here.
Important: the Timberline Review and Kay Snow Awards are now working together, so if you submit to the Timberline Review, you will automatically be entered in the Kay Snow Awards. There is no separate submission for Kay Snow. You cannot submit to Kay Snow without submitting to the Timberline Review. Make sure you review our new guidelines here.
2022 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners
The Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
First Place: “On Ordinary Days the Earth and Sky Change Places,” by Madronna Holden
Second Place: “For you,” by Laura Cranehill
Third Place: “After the apocalypse,” by Anne Richardson
Fiction
First Place: “The Wandering Jew of St. Salacious,” by Ron Turker
Second Place: “Deepest Light,” by Sandra Siegienski
Third Place: “Standing Up,” by Scott Bigger
Honorable Mention: “Old Dogs and Berry Pie,” by Roni Stinger
Honorable Mention: “Blue-Eyed Devil,” by Mattie Alice Moranz
The Elizabeth Lyon Award for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: “Here’s My Heart,” by Anne Gudger
Second Place: “The Junipers,” by A. Riley
Third Place: “A Few Freak Things,” by Nyla McCarthy
Script and Screenplay
First Place: “Wickenburg,” by Sherry Lamoreaux
Second Place: “Semper I,” by Kendall Cable
Third Place: “Tru Adoration,” by Kathryn Bennett
Grades 1-5
First Place: “You Okay?” by Catalin Lozano
Second Place: “My ukulele,” by Ellie Wang
Third Place: “Trader with a ‘T’,” by Avalon Kalquist
Honorable Mention: “While The Farmer Was Away,” by Juniper McCoy
Grades 6-8
First Place: “Bronte,” by Elinor Blew
Second Place: “I’ll Give You Black,” by Olivia Tang
Third Place: “Kindergarten Train,” by Eve Ballard
Honorable Mention: “Behind Reality,” by Joeh Kim
Honorable Mention: “May Ghost Bless You,” by Claire (Sohyeon) Yoon
Honorable Mention: “Weather,” by Amelia Xie
Grades 9-12
First Place: “Mother’s Doll,” by Benjamin Choi
Second Place: “Dear God of Cats,” by Onassa Sun
Third Place: “Firefly,” by Jennifer Chiu
Honorable Mention: “A Silent Song,” by Sue Naim
2021 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners
Fiction Award
First place: “Child of the Mouth” by Laura Herbst
Second place: “The Shadow of a Decision” by Susan K. Field
Third place: “Prom Night 1961” by Jan Baross
Honorable Mention: “Unexpected Family” by Ivonne Saed
The Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
First place: “Doctrine of the Kite” by Melody Wilson
Second place: “On Visiting a Jewish Cemetery near Altengrunau, Germany 1977” by Vivienne Popperl
Third place: “summit” by Ann Farley
Honorable mention: “A New Language” by Kate Gray
Honorable mention: “Bog Butter” by Melody Wilson
Honorable mention: “Forty Six Years in the Mail” by Vivienne Popperl
Honorable mention: “Incorporeal” by Kate Gray
Honorable mention: “Lost Coast” by Leanne Hoppe
Honorable mention: “Night Watch” by Bruce Parker
The Elizabeth Lyon Award for Creative Nonfiction
First place: “The Shadow of the Mountain” by Sally Petersen
Second place: “Louis” by Hayley Stevenson McCoy
Third place: “Becoming One of the Them” by JL Lycette
Honorable mention: “Ocean Bird Woman” by Ciel Downing
Honorable mention: “The Marrow-Deep Bittersweet” by Mary Sweigert
Honorable mention: “The Dead End” by William Carpenter
Screenplay Award
First place: “AFTER THE AFTER” by Lizanne Southgate
Second place: “Mourning After” by Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich
Third place: “Lead Like a Girl” by Amy Fredericks
Honorable mention: “Portland” by Michael Weinreb
Honorable mention: “Traditions” by Katie Bennett
Grades 7-12 Award
First place: “My Mother’s Tapestry” by Angela Wei
Second place: “The Silent Nocturne” by Cynthia Yang
Third place: “Postcards” by Elizabeth Keller
Honorable mention: “Disparate Awakenings” by Anish Aradhey
Grades 1-6 Award
First place: “The Coins’ Escape” by Lucia Tang
Second place: “Zvurger and Fanskapet” by Ian Maenz
Third place: “Mischief Juice” by Grace and Lydia Radecki
Honorable mention: “Bosco” by Aditi Adiraju
Honorable mention: “One Miracle Soccer Game” by Methmi Goonetilleke
2020 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners
Fiction
First place: “Lost Souls of Leningrad” by Suzanne Parry
Second place: “How it Happens” by Rosanne Ricci
Third place: “Missouri Bogs 1940” by Mary Jane Nordgren
Honorable Mention: “Ghost of Imogene” by Victoria Henderson
Honorable Mention: “Women of Mobenga” by Laura Herbst
Non-Fiction
First place: “Junior Village” by N. R. Robinson
Second place: “The Physics of Solitude” by Barb Lachenbruch
Third place: “Shakespeare’s Pipe” by Sue Parman
Honorable Mention: “Autobiography of a Modern Woman” by Karen Howland
Honorable Mention: “Song of Grief” by Dian Greenwood
Poetry
First place: “Reincarnation” by Kelli Russell Agodon
Second place: “Metamorphosis” by Melody Wilson
Third place: “Persimmon Girl” by Tobi Park
Honorable mention: “After a Morning of Feeling Lonely, I Begin To Write Letters to the Stars” by Kelli Russell Agodon
Honorable mention: “the easier way to construct a monroe (by waveform? or otherwise?)” by Tobi Park
Honorable mention: “How To Read a Map” by Trevor Pyle
Honorable mention: “Flying the Hump” by Robert Keeler
Honorable mention: “How God catches us cheating” by Casey Killingsworth
Honorable mention: “Anonymous” by Brittany Mishra
Honorable mention: “Copernicus” by Lyall Harris
Screenplay
First place: “Blood Law” by Keith and Cassie Hayasaka
Second place: “Darryn the Bold and the Sword of Boldness” by Justin Best
Third place: “Peridot” by Amy Fredericks
Young Adult & Middle Grade
First place: “Fog” by William Cho
Second place: “We Do Not Apologize Now” by Jordan Ferdman
Third place: “The Cold Bones” by Carlie Williams
Honorable Mention: “Purple” by Cynthia Yang
1st-5th Grade
First place: “Toys” by Laurie McCoy
Second place: “Ancestors” by Sofie Dardzinski
Third place: “Corona Virus” by Cole Uhlig
6th-8th Grade
First place: “Click” by Nicolas Bambrick-Santoyo
Second place: “Terror” by Poem Schway
Third place: “The Virus” by Avah Dodson
9th-12th Grade
First place: “Spanning Res Publica” by Yejin Suh
Second place: “Desperado” by Sidney Muntean
Third place: “The Fisherman” by Teo A Lara
College
First place: “The Shadow of the Woods” by Andrew Mount
Second place: “A Study in Anxiety” by Emma Hensley
Third place: “Before Dawn” by Andi Butts
2019 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners
Fiction
First place: “Dreaming in Subtitles” by Winter Krane
Second place: “Bridge” by Jean Rover
Third place: “A Loss for Words” by Erin Zelinka
Non-fiction
First place: “Where I Was Afraid, Where I Was Out West” by Rowan Brown
Second place: “Grounded Angels” by Blythe Ayne
Third place: “At the Mortuary” by Lisa Rizzo
Poetry
First place: “Under the Bartlett Pear” by Jennifer Dorner
Second place: “Fair Art” by Jade Rosina McCutcheon
Third place: “Bones for Telling: Ode to My Mother” by Signe Land
Screenplay
First place: “The Needs of the Many” By Daniel Marsden
Second place: “Someone to Watch Over” by William Schreiber
Third place: “Lost Son” by Damon Sims
Young Adult
First place: “How Lucky We Are” by Daniel Waters
Second place: “Granby Mettle” by Kerry Duff
Third place: “Children of Origin” by Nikole Harris
1st-5th Grade
First place: “Terrors in the Night” by Hannah Fulton
Second place: “The Fallen Kings” by Joshua Steven
Third place: “Alphabet” by James Tyler
6th-8th Grade
First place: “Old Town Alexandria, VA” by Allison Xu
Second place: “My Lifeboard” by Zella Selvoy-Devan
Third place: “Mayflower Poetry Journal” by Oona Josephine Koslu
9-12th Grade
First place: “Scissors” by Vivian DeRosa
Second place: “My Soul” by Sofia Britten
Third place: “Transcript of Eve Praying to Lilith” by Aliyah Blattner
Undergraduate
First place: “The Beeper” by Nolan Capps
Second place: “Always, Always” by Addison Rizer
Graduate
First place: “Common Mistakes in Gardening & I-85” by Violet Knight
Second place: “Eclipses of Juniper (Memoir Excerpt)” by Chrys Buckley
2018 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners
The Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
First Place: Stepping Over Arizona by Ellaraine Lockie
Second Place: The New Doctor by George Perreault
Third Place: and all rain is holy water, she says by Gwendolyn Morgan
Honorable Mention: The Triumph of Deterioration over Maintenance by Roy Bentley
Honorable Mention: The Tandava by Amy Baskin
Honorable Mention: Us, in The Old Farmer’s Almanac, January 21 by Brooke Schifano
The Roland Smith Award for YA and Middle Grade Fiction
First Place: Irronweed by Maggie Adams
Second Place: I am the Stone by Sandra Siegienski
Third Place: Mirror’s Edge by Tara Lehmann
The Elizabeth Lyon Award for Nonfiction
First Place: The Angel of Kindergarten by John Hively
Second Place: The Void Left from Protecting the Environment by Tara L. Campbell
Third Place: Do not Count on Rome by Mary-Kate Mackey
Fiction
First Place: Come Snowfall by Cindy Hiday
Second Place: Big Money by Steve Theme
Third Place: Dragon’s Haunt by Elisabeth Flaum
Honorable Mention: Justice Comes to Visit by Michael Gorman
Screenplay
First Place: Arizona Moon by Patricia Santos Marcantonio
Second Place: Mystery Hill by Lynn McPherson
Third Place: Caesar’s Ring by Simon King
Honorable Mention: Maria Isabella Silvalessa by Hunter Ridgway
College
First place: Gimme the Familiars (Buzzard of the Highway) by Jessica Mehta
Second place: Just Breathe by Anika Morgan
Third place: Plum Hill by Jarrett Kaufman
Grades 1-5
First place: The Discovery of Pawcasso by Angelina Tao
Second place: Fractured Fairy Tales by Avah Dodson
Third place: The World Thru Faith’s Eyes by Kara Pierson
Grades 6-8
First place: One, Twice, Countless times by Macy Li
Second place: Black Car by Fiona Moore
Third place: Firebird by Madeleine Freedberg
Grades 9-12
First place: Akiho’s Smile by Angeles Parada
Second place: Candles of my Childhood by Haley Johnston
Third place: Jaded Act by Elisa Silverstein
Honorable Mention: The Discontinued Union by Zoey Ruzic
2017 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners
The Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
First Place: “Starlings” by Danelle Lejeune of Hinesville, Georgia
Second Place: “End Times: One Life” by Anne Richardson of Lake Oswego, Oregon
Third Place: “Seven Mourning Doves” by Gwendolyn Morgan of Vancouver, Washington
Honorable Mention: “Planting Mangroves” by Joyce Schmid of Palo Alto, California
Honorable Mention: “Spring, keeping her head down” by Laura Duerr of Vancouver, Washington
Honorable Mention: “Australian Bush Solstice” by Jade Rosina McCutcheon of Salem
Honorable Mention: “Counting Seven Crows”, Danelle Lejeune of Hinesville, Georgia
The Roland Smith Award for YA and Middle Grade Fiction
First Place: Natasha’s War (working title) by Jan Sherbin of Cincinnati, OH
Second Place: Dinosaur Guys by Meagan Macvie of Olympia, WA
Third Place: The Last of the Name by Rosanne Parry of Portland, OR
Honorable Mention: The Assassin by Kristin Burc
The Elizabeth Lyon Award for Nonfiction
First Place: Under the Shadow by Liz Asch of Portland, OR
Second Place: Choice is a Heavy Thing by Mary Underwood of Louisville, KY
Third Place: In Between by Anne Gudger of Portland OR
Fiction
First Place: The Retelling of Willa Cooper by Meagan Johanson of Corvallis, OR
Second Place: The Bears of Winter by C. A. Willis of Burien, WA
Third Place: All The Western Stars by Joel Freiburger of Glen Ellyn, IL
Screenplay
First Place: Camp Happily Ever After by Amy Fredericks of Vancouver, Washington
Second Place: The Altered by James Grimes of Forest Grove, Oregon
Third Place: Gabriel’s Daughter by Lizanne Southgate of Corvallis, Oregon
Honorable Mention: Walk On by Jennifer Wegerer
College
Drought Summer (excerpt) by Tom Hallberg
The Women in Your Life by Isabelle Pieper
The Calling: Chapter II by Eve Benjamin McAnally
Grades 1-5
Anger by Kaia Wootton
The Great Adventure by Maya Anderson
I Am Offering This Picture by Jason Chu
Grades 6-8
When I Was Eight Years Old by Maddy Barker
Deeper by Kanchan Naik
Black Brothers by Alexis Simmons
Grades 9-12
Ghosts by Jena Vallina
The Camp by Katarina Fernandez
Phoenixes by Sarah Feng
2016 Kay Snow Writing Contest
Fiction
First Prize: Herring
Lois Rosen
Salem, OR 97306-9526
Second Prize: Beaching the Hanza
William Parker
Gresham. OR 97080
Third Prize: Forever Free, Chapt 14, The Emancipation Proclamation
Paula Butterfield
Portland, OR 97219
NonFiction
First Prize: Saddest Tale
Lyzette Wanzer
San Francisco, CA 94164
Second Prize: The Race
Peter Gibb
Ashland, OR 97520
Third Prize: In the Limbs
Elizabeth Kind
Eugene, OR 97405
Adult Authors
First Prize: Willa Wild
Alisha Braatz
Second Prize: The Third Power
Katherine Hahn
Third Prize: Fakespeare
Cidney Swanson
Feature Length File
First Prize: The Glass Hive
Steve Allrich
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Second Prize: Bo Peep
Waka T. Brown
West Linn, OR 97068
Two screenplays tied for third place – both were awarded.
Third Prize: Red Devils
John Worsley
Mosier, OR 97040
Third Prize:IRL (In Real Life)
M.B. Curtis
Poetry
First Prize: NYC: The Pilgrimage
Cathy Cain
Lake Oswego, OR 97034
Second Prize: Resurrection
Peter Ludwin
Third Prize: about face
Amy Baskin
Portland, OR 97212
Grades 9-12
First Prize: Flying Kites and Shooting Stars
Meredith Megee
Edgewater Park, NJ 08010
Second Prize: Nervosa
Aisha Jitan
Holmdel New Jersey
Third Prize: Lizzy’s Symphony
Autumn Williams
Rexburg, ID 83440
Grades 6-8
First Prize: Cosmology
Juliana Castillo
Wilmington, Delaware 19805
Third Prize: The Places I Go
Emma Wenck
Troutdale, OR 97060
Third Prize: A Trip to Hong Kong
Mekella Wong
Grades 1-5
First Prize: Living Ghosts
Madeline Stabinski
Swarthmore, PA 19081
Second Prize: Ira’s Creatures
Elizabeth Keller
Vancouver, WA 98684
Third Prize: Aru Academy
Madeleine Freedberg
Washington, DC 20016
2015 Kay Snow Writing Contest
Fiction
1st Place “Marcie’s Baby, a Near-Future Fable” by Bruce Campbell
2nd Place “Fever Heights” by Michael Munro
3rd Place “Swamp Exodus” by Maggie MacLachlan
Nonfiction
1st Place “Jade Bracelet” by Vi Ho
2nd Place “On Finding Purpose” by Clara Chandler
3rd Place “Stopping Was the Problem” by Fufkin Vollmayer
Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
1st Place “Rush Hour” by Ellen Black
2nd Place “Across the Stretch of Land” by Johanna Pemble
3rd Place “Before It Melts” by Linda Golaszewski
Roland Smith Award for YA and Middle Grade Fiction
1st Place “Enter Emma” by Terri Nicholson
2nd Place “Unwrapped” by Lisa Swallow
3rd Place “Payment to the Desert” by Debbie Yasaki
Grades 1-5
1st Place: “The Shop” by Claire Lignore
2nd Place: “My Julius Caesar” by Alex Arinkin
3rd Place: “Dogs” by Alison Fitton
Grades 6-8
1st Place “Camp Sherman Snow: A Remembrance” by Katie Palka
2nd Place “The Ruins” by Emma Lickey
Third Place: “Addiction” by Aishwarya Marathe
Grades 9-12
1st Place “McDonalds and Mysophobiacs” by Rebecca Cammenga
2nd Place “Aftermath” by Alexis Caroline Brown
3rd Place “mageírema & cucina” by Lily Hart
2014 Kay Snow Writing Contest
Fiction
1st place – “Dirt” by Gayle Towell, North Plains, Oregon
2nd place – “Engines of Sephione” by Joseph Anthony, Aloha, Oregon
3rd Place – “An Empty Heart” by Michael Gettel-Gilmartin, Portland, Oregon
Non-Fiction
1st Place – “Sweet Milk, the House in the Morning” by Ruby McConnell, Eugene, Oregon
2nd Place – “Sandor’s Oregon Trail” by Sandor Lau, Eugene, Oregon
3rd Place – “Beautiful Things” by Susan Fleming, Portland, Oregon
Honorable Mention – “Mapping the Sinister” by Rebecca Jamieson, Portland, Oregon
Poetry
1st Place – “Burnt Woods Cafe” by Sue Lick, South Beach, Oregon
2nd Place – “Blast from the Past” by Nick Sweet, Shepherd, Texas
3rd Place – “On the Road After a Record Rain” by Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, California
Writing for Young Readers
1st Place – “Everyone Except Everett” by Marilyn Owen, Portland, Oregon
2nd Place – “Bella and the Umbrella” by Pearl Schwartz, Walnut Creek, California
3rd Place – “Geechen, the Ghost Warrior” by Jim Kroefpl, Denver, Colorado
Honorable Mention – “Continental Divide” by Stephanie Kroepfl, Denver, Colorado
Grades 1-5
1st Place – “The Second Shot” by Abby McFarland, Pasadena, Maryland
2nd Place – “Christy Holmes Mystery” by Madeleine Freedburg, Washington, DC
2nd Place – “How to Train Your Flying Pig” by Barron Jager, Vancouver, Washington
Grades 6-8
1st Place – “You Cannot Crown an Unwilling Queen” by Isabel Lickey, Portland, Oregon
2nd Place – “The Liquidator” by Emma Salada, Portland, Oregon
3rd Place – “All Tied Up” by Katie Lyons, Orinda, California
Grades 9-12
1st Place – “Dove” by Phoebe Morakinyo, Ilford, United Kingdom
2nd Place – “Saving My Sister” by Julie Spicer, Oroville, California
3rd Place – “The Rain” by Cayrn Blumberg, DeMossville, Kentucky
2013 Kay Snow Writing Contest
Fiction
1st place – “God is Pleased to Hear the Children Pray” by Ruby Murray
2nd place – “Coyote Calls Down the Gods” by Bruce Campbell
3rd Place – “The Bones of Pele” by Bonnie Dodge
Non-Fiction
1st Place – “Your Bed’s Too Small” by Ann Gudger
2nd Place – “Learning Chutzpah” by Diana Harris
3rd Place – “Seeing and Not Seeing” by Chrys Buckley
Poetry
1st Place – “There Are No Seekers” by Melissa Reeser Poulin
2nd Place – “Mermaid at World’s End” by Darcy Scholts
3rd Place – “Ripe Orgasmic Earth” by Kate Marsh
Honorable Mention “Our Paths” by Kristen Storer
Writing for Young Readers
1st Place – “Winter in My Heart” by Gibron Perrone
2nd Place – “Sampson Leaves Home” by Marilyn Owen
3rd Place – “Any Dreams Won’t Do” by Kelly Garrett
Screenplay
1st Place – “Love Judge” by Amy Fredericks
2nd Place – “The Kids from Nowwhere” by George Guthridge and Deborah Schildt
3rd Place “Perfect Guy for Hire” by Waka Brown
Grades 1-5
1st Place – “Getting Steve” by Joey Lieberman
2nd Place – “Down Under” by Abby Clark
3rd Place – “Cookie” by Noah Tai
Grades 6-8
1st Place – “Nowhere to Go” by Sarah Hogan
2nd Place – “A Buddy” by Deenee Freeman
3rd Place – “A Squirrel Story” by Sahalie Pittman
Grades 9-12
1st Place – “Flying Free” by Kalin Swift
2nd Place – “Wanted” by Nichole Parks
3rd Place – “Going Back” by Ana Maria Vil