When I was discouraged about my first novel I submitted a chapter to the Willamette Writers Kay Snow Contest and won a prize. That award gave me just the boost I needed to start a new novel... It gave me credibility, enough credibility to convince quite a few agents to take a look at my next novel. ...I believe submitting one’s best work to contests is well worth the effort." - Member Maryka Biaggio, author of Parlor Games (Doubleday, 2013)

Kay Snow Awards submissions are now closed for 2021! Thank you to those who submitted.

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.

General Submission Guidelines

Submissions failing to meet all guidelines below will be disqualified.

Text Formatting:

Submissions are anonymous: Do not include name or contact information on your attachment. Any identifying information in a submission results in immediate disqualification.

Font: Times New Roman

Size: 12 pt.
Spacing: 1.5 line spacing for prose; single space for poetry
Margins: 1 inch left/right and top/bottom
Headers/Footers: Not necessary. Please check that your name is not in the header or footer.
Title of Work: Only at the top of the first page.
File Formatting: Documents must be in .doc, or .docx. Digital images must be in tif, gif, or jpeg, with a resolution of 300+ dpi

File Name: Only the title of the piece. (NOT your name and title)

Word and Page Limits:
Fiction, Non-fiction: 3,500 words.
Drama: Up to 10 pages
Screenplay: Up to 10 pages
Poetry: Up to 3 poems; maximum of 10 pages total.

Genre-Specific Guidelines

Follow genre-specific formatting anywhere the genre-specific formatting conflicts with the general text formatting.

POETRY: All poems must be single spaced. If you have specific spacing within the poem, please explain in a note at the end of the poem.
DRAMA: Screenplays or dramatic writing must follow standard text formats (though, please, no page numbers): Modern Play Format, or the screenwriting programs “Final Draft” or “Movie Magic Screenwriter.” Please save as a .doc or docx file.
Reprints & Simultaneous Submissions: We do not accept reprints. Previously produced or performed drama and performance poetry is welcome as long as it has not appeared in print elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions are always welcome, but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please make sure to inform us right away.

Prizes

Winning entries in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplay are awarded:

First prize: $100 and one-day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference
Second prize: $50 and one-day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference
Third Prize: $25 and one-day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference

Winning entries in each of the two grade divisions of the student category are awarded:

First prize: $50
Second prize: $20
Third Prize: $10

Winners of the Kay Snow Awards will be honored at the Willamette Writers Conference

Congratulations to our 2020 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners!

Fiction Category

Judged by C. Lill Ahrens

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 Category

Judged by Elizabeth Lyon

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 Category

Judged by Paulann Petersen

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 Category

Judged by Scott Myers

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 Category

Judged by Benjamin Gorman

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 Category

Judged by Heather Ransom

First place: "Toys" by Laurie McCoy

Second place: "Ancestors" by Sofie Dardzinski

Third place: "Corona Virus" by Cole Uhlig

6th-8th Grade Category

Judged by Suzy Vitello

First place: "Click" by Nicolas Bambrick-Santoyo

Second place: "Terror" by Poem Schway

Third place: "The Virus" by Avah Dodson

9-12th Grade Category

Judged by Mikko Azul

First place: "Spanning Res Publica" by Yejin Suh

Second place: "Desperado" by Sidney Muntean

Third place: "The Fisherman" by Teo A Lara

College Category

Judged by Debby Dodds

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

Background

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 will be listed on the Willamette Writers website and honored at our Willamette Writers Conference held annually in August.

Congratulations to our 2018 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners!

The Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
Judge: Paulann Petersen

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
Judges: Benjamin Gorman and Mikko Azul

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
Judge: Elizabeth Lyon

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

Award for Fiction
Judge: C. Lill Ahrens

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

Award for Screenplay
Judge: Victoria Rau

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

Award for Entries by College Student
Judge Debby Dodds

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

Awards for Student in Grades 1-5
Judge Bart King

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

Awards for Student in Grades 6-8
Judge Heather Ransom

First place: One, Twice, Countless times by Macy Li

Second place: Black Car by Fiona Moore

Third place: Firebird by Madeleine Freedberg

Awards for Student in Grades 9-12
Judge C.B. Bernard

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

Our 2017 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners!

The Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry
Judge: Paulann Petersen

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
Judges: Ben Gorman of “Not A Pipe” publishing and Matthew Swihart

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 Burchell

The Elizabeth Lyon Award for Nonfiction
Judge: Elizabeth Lyon

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

Award for Fiction
Judge: C. Lill Ahrens

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

Award for Screenplay
Judge: Waka Brown

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

Award for Entries by College Student
Judge Debby Dodds

Drought Summer (excerpt) by Tom Hallberg

The Women in Your Life by Isabelle Pieper

The Calling: Chapter II by Eve Benjamin McAnally

Awards for Student in Three Grade Divisions
Judge Heidi Schulz

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

Congratulations to our 2016 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners!

Fiction, C. Lill Ahrens, Judge:

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, Elizabeth Lyon, judge:

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 of MG & YA, Roland Smith, judge:

First Prize: Willa Wild
Alisha Braatz

Second Prize: The Third Power
Katherine Hahn

Third Prize: Fakespeare
Cidney Swanson

Feature Length Film, Joan & Blythe, judges:

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, Paulann Peterson, judge:

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
Student Categories, Heidi Schulz, judge:

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

Congratulations to our 2015 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners!

Fiction

Judge: Laura Whitcomb
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

Judge: Elizabeth Lyon
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

Judge: Paulann Petersen
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

Judge: Roland Smith
1st Place "Enter Emma" by Terri Nicholson
2nd Place "Unwrapped" by Lisa Swallow
3rd Place "Payment to the Desert" by Debbie Yasaki

Student Awards

Judge: Teresa Klepinger

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 Winners:

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

Sue Lick, winner of the Kay Snow poetry award. Photo by Malcolm Manness.

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

Students, Grades 1-5

Emma Salada, winner of the Kay Snow Writing Award for Students, grades 6-8, and Willamette Writers' president Jenny Schrader

Emma Salada, winner of the Kay Snow Writing Award for Students, grades 6 - 8. Photo by Malcolm Manness.

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

Students, 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

Students, 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

The winners of the 2013 Kay Snow Writing Contest are:

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

Student Awards

Students, Grades 1-5

1st Place - "Getting Steve" by Joey Lieberman

2nd Place - "Down Under" by Abby Clark

3rd Place - "Cookie" by Noah Tai

Students, 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

Students, Grades 9-12

1st Place - "Flying Free" by Kalin Swift

2nd Place - "Wanted" by Nichole Parks

3rd Place - "Going Back" by Ana Maria Villaveces

Awards

Winning entries in each of the six categories of fiction, nonfiction, YA/MG, poetry, screenplay, college student, and graduate student are awarded:
- First prize: $100 and one day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference
- Second prize: $25 and one day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference
- Third prize: $50
Winning entries in each of the three grade divisions of the student category are awarded:
- First prize: $50
- Second prize: $20
- Third prize: $10
Winners of the Kay Snow contest will be honored at the annual Willamette Writers Conference.

Entries:

$10 for Willamette Writers members
$15 for general public
Entries in the college student category are $10 each
Entries in the student category in the three grade divisions are free

For further information, please contact us.

Congratulations to our 2019 Kay Snow Writing Contest Winners!

Fiction Category

Judged by C. Lill Ahrens

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 Category

Judged by Elizabeth Lyon

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 Category

Judged by Paulann Petersen

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 Category

Judged by Scott Myers

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 Category

Judged by LeeAnn McLennan

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 Category

Judged by Mikko Azul and Benjamin Gorman

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 Category

Judged by Mikko Azul and Benjamin Gorman

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 Category

Judged by Mikko Azul and Benjamin Gorman

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 Category

Judged by Debby Dodds

First place: “The Beeper” by Nolan Capps

Second place: “Always, Always” by Addison Rizer

Graduate Category

Judged by Suzy Vitello

First place: “Common Mistakes in Gardening & I-85” by Violet Knight

Second place: “Eclipses of Juniper (Memoir Excerpt)” by Chrys Buckley