Story Contest Winners

I enjoyed reading all the entries. But it was a hard job to help the judges come up with the winners. The real pang, of course, is that we can't acknowledge all the fine stories that just missed out.
The first prize in each category is $100. Winners, runners-up, and honorable mentions all receive attractive certificates.
I hope all of you who took part in these contests will take the time to read these fine stories. I think they'll inspire you to keep working at your craft. Maybe next year the winner will be you!
And, if you didn't take part in the contest this year, consider trying your hand at it next year. To learn how click here .

2011 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY

Mary McIntosh--Christmas Breakfast in the Himalayas

RUNNER-UP (Tie)

Renee C. Johnson--What Is It About Paris?

Mary McIntosh--Along The Khyber Pass

HONORABLE MENTION

Nayanna Chakrbarty--The Himalayan Rhapsody

Ellis S. Thomas--Ramblin' Through Saranac

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION

Megan Cooper--Shadow of Death

RUNNER-UP:

Gayle Thawley--If Only

HONORABLE MENTION:

Andrea Bowyer--Fear Transformed

Robert Flournoy--I Still Remember Tony

Steven Hunley--Two Stories (Martians in our Kitchen and Christmas 1952)

Lauren Jaworski--An Unexpected Gift

2010 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY

Charlotte Houde Quimby--Burying Andrew

RUNNER-UP (Tie)

Mary McIntosh--SNAFU

Lowell Harp--Above the Rocks and Beneath the Stars

HONORABLE MENTION

Meredith Hodges-Boos--Given Names

Laurie Levinger--Mikvah

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION (Tie)

Valerie Fee--Mr. Wrong

Peter Merkl--A Parent's Trilogy

RUNNER-UP:

Mary McIntosh--Piano Lessons

HONORABLE MENTION:

Laurie Levinger--Coach

Janis LeForge--The Awakening

2009 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION

John Poole--Outstanding Debts

RUNNER-UP

Dody Johnson--The Doctor Is Ready To See You

HONORABLE MENTION

Jason Brooks--Waffle House

Pam Mathews--A Walk With My Father

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY

Jasmine Maharisi--Reconnecting: Oaxaca, Mexico

RUNNER-UP:

Jane Adams--Ni Hao (Talking Our Way Through China)

HONORABLE MENTION:

Hira Ayub Silat--Tsukuba Travel

Susy Kelly--Two Days in Memphis

Birgit Starmanns--Three - Tres - Trois Encounters

2008 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION

Kay Harper Sons--When I Went to the Moon With a Wink and a Prayer

RUNNER-UP

Patricia Sheasley Sicilia--A Yankee in a Southern Karaoke Bar

HONORABLE MENTION

Gayle Thawley--A Confederate In the Cemetery

Megan Anderson--Mom 101

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY

Mary McIntosh--My Serendipity Travels

RUNNER-UP (Tie):

Carol Kloskowski--Back To Nature

Rich Conley--Fraternity and Neruda at Lake Llanquihue

HONORABLE MENTION:

Vanessa Stoffel--Lucky Drunk

Haila Eggleton-MacKay--Remembrance in Wool

2007 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION

Lance Wills--Two Tigers

RUNNER-UP

Mary McIntosh--An Empty Envelope

HONORABLE MENTION

Kelley Maroules--The Visit

Samuel Ngomba Njume--For the Love of Sarah

Kamela Jordan--Fried Locusts

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY

Eric Roman--Medelite Mambuella

RUNNER-UP:

Nancy Hatten--Traveling With An Adult

HONORABLE MENTION:

Haila Eggleton-MacKay--Sea Storm

Nikoo Yahyazadeh--An October Weekend in Queens

Carol Ryan--The Textbook Tibetan Trip

Robin Ruddy--Living A Dream

2006 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION

Joni Bour--What I Learned at Twenty-Three

RUNNER-UP

Judy Wirzberger--Fried Bologna and Forgiveness

HONORABLE MENTION

Anna G. Joujan--Once Upon A Story

OTHER FINALISTS

Celeste Leon--A Lucky Man

Emily Feldman--Truths Revealed about Family, Love, and Life on Easter Morning

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY

Sonja Herbert--Peace In The Valley

RUNNER-UP:

Robin Lentz--Fitenenana

HONORABLE MENTION:

Derek Tober--Plum Blossom

OTHER FINALISTS:

Mary E. Whitsell--No, We Are Not In The Japanese Red Army

Joel Carillet--Touched By Strangers

2005 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION

Elaine Greensmith Jordan--California, 1942

RUNNER-UP (Tie)

Desire Aquirre--The Last Hellacious Ride

Paula Gramlich--Reading Between The Lines

HONORABLE MENTION

Misheel Chuluun-- Mongolian Memories

Pearl Watley Mitchell--Teaching Your Skeletons To Dance

OTHER FINALISTS

Kristin K. Fouquet-- Artist Unknown

Carol Greenberg--Benny, If You Read This, Write

Kate Robinson--Natural Soul

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY (Tie)

Lise Charlebois--Corsican Nights

Laurie Levinger--Teaching English In Guatemala

RUNNER-UP:

Michael Crisafi--The Nevada Highway

HONORABLE MENTION:

Anita Marie Colbert--A Trip Of Hope

Meredith Hodges-Boos-- Japanese Grits

Pearl Watley Mitchell-- Jamaica, Land Of Beauty And Poverty

OTHER FINALISTS:

Maurine Dodge--Amsterdam du Paris au Velo

Esther Jones--River Raft Jungle Adventure

Mamta Murthy--A Tale Of Two Cities - Hardwar and Rishikesh

2004 Winners

FIRST PRIZE--GENERAL NONFICTION

Ehichoya Ekozilen--A Positive Adjournment

RUNNER-UP:

Paula Gramlich--Dressing The Dead

HONORABLE MENTION

Cindy-Lou Dale--Where Angels Fear To Tread

Shikha Choudhuri--A Final Reckoning

OTHER FINALISTS:

Hilary Finchum-Sung--Mammaw's Visit

Nayanna Chakrbarty--Trapped In The Moment

Caroline Kramer--An Ode To Tea

FIRST PRIZE--NONFICTION TRAVEL STORY

Tracy Koret--Diplomacy As A Second Language

RUNNER-UP:

Karen Ferrick-Roman--Freedom Smells Like A Peach

HONORABLE MENTION:

Becky Coffield--Second Thoughts

Cristal Thomas--Atonement In Ghana

Donna Russett--Mekong Memories

OTHER FINALISTS:

Sheila Sowder--Italian Lessons

Pamela Hamilton--Living The Journey