Read the winning entries below
(Sandi Herron, Beverly Smith, and Kristy Ensor receive awards for their winning blog posts, at the 2022 SCWC gathering at Valley View Baptist Church in Leeds, Alabama. Credit: Novel Photos)
A highlight of the closing ceremonies each year at the Southern Christian Writers Conference is the announcement of the winners in the SCWC Writing Awards. The awards are given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in published writing from the previous calendar year.
Members of the Southern Christian Writers Conference who are attending that year's conference or have attended a SCWC event in the past three years are eligible to enter their works for consideration. Contest entries are judged by SCWC staff members and also by dedicated judges to various categories; this year's extra judges were author and publisher Chandra Sparks Splond, novelist Marilyn Turk, and blogger and book author Joe McKeever.
You can watch the winners being announced in the closing ceremonies session recorded at the SCWC; check it out HERE on YouTube.
We are so pleased to announce the following winners in our six contest categories. (Some of the winners can be found online; there is a link on the winning story's title if it's available. We'd love for you to go read the winning entries!)
Magazine article
1st: "A Common Thread makes Treasured Friends" by Laura Lee Leathers in Mississippi Christian Living
2nd: "Who Calls You Friend?" by Shelly McClanahan in Just Between Us magazine
3rd: "The Empty Tomb and Resurrection Power: A Holy Land Experience" by Vicki Creel in Anniston Gadsden Christian Magazine
Newspaper article
1st: "The love that forgives" by Tracy Riggs in The Alabama Baptist
2nd: "God takes our broken pieces, creates beauty" by Jan White in The Andalusia Star News
3rd: "Something ugly can become something beautiful" by Bill King in the Opelika Auburn News
Blog post
1st: "September--a Day to Remember" by Sandi Herron at sandiherron.com
2nd: "Playing My Daddy's Guitar Makes Me Smile" by Beverly Smith at the Auburn mom collective blog
3rd: "Simply Abide" by Kristy Ensor on The Well church blog
Honorable mention: "Substance and Evidence" by Terri Miller on the “Life is Moments’ blog
Honorable mention: "Worth the Wait" by Shannon Leech at are purposed heart blog
Letter to the editor
1st: Shirley Crowder for a letter The Baptist Paper
2nd: Grace Morgan for a letter in The Jackson County Times
3rd: Tracy Riggs for a letter in The Alabama Baptist
Poetry
1st: “Love is Being Rhyme" by Leisl Lemire on the SCWC blog
2nd: “Closer to God” by April McCay in The Cullman Tribune
3rd: “Untitled” by Susan Hester in The Write Inspiration & SCWC blog
Short story
1st: “Annie’s Gift,” by Ann Nunnally story in Gritty Southern Christmas Anthology
2nd: “The Boy Without a Coat” by Becky Alexander in Coffee and Cookies with God
3rd: "Labyrinth of Mental Illness" by Sharon Atwood in Triumph from Tragedy
Honorable mention: "Blessings in Disguise” by Karen Allen in Gritty Southern Christmas Anthology
One of the missions of the Southern Christian Writers Conference is to encourage writers along their path toward publishing success. We host two primary contests celebrating publication each year: the SCWC Writing Awards, recognized at the annual SCWC gathering in June; and SCWC Notable Book Awards, recognized each February at the Southern Christian Book Expo.
We'd love to have your work recognized next year, so continue on toward your goals of being published. We believe that God can equip you to do so if publication is one of your goals.