black the winners are

GCWA 2025 Writing Contest Winners:

Congratulations to the 2025 GCWA writing contest winners.

Poetry Winners:

FIRST PLACE: The Puzzle Piece, Suzie Eisinger, Marco Island, FL
SECOND PLACE: I am Nobody, Matthew Collins, Salem, NH
THIRD PLACE: Purgatory, Geneva Kelly, N. Fort Myers, FL

Fiction Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Twenty Minutes Until Showtime, Linda Saether, Cape Coral, FL
SECOND PLACE: The Nightingale Sang On, Dave Williams, Prosper, TX
THIRD PLACE: Harvest of Death, Marilyn Seguin, Akron, OH

NonFiction Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Impressions of India, Roger Baker, Naples, FL
SECOND PLACE: Tommy, Thea Stuart, Des Moines, Iowa
THIRD PLACE: Other Side of the Mountain, Patti Walsh, Fort Myers, FL

Honorable Mentions

Poetry: A Jewel in the Sun by Jeanne Meeks, Hey Nineteen by Karen Vazquez, Waltzing Wild
West by Amy Pontius.

Fiction: Cold Feet in Shoetown by Lenea Howe, Peter Hamilton by Mary Charles, Judged by
Richard Drummer.

Nonfiction: I’m a Walker by Jenean Roth, Knee Replacement from a Woman’s Perspective by
Ginger Wakem, The Gate Opens by Monica Wright.

Thanks to all who participated. Judging is difficult and inevitably somewhat subjective.
We enjoyed reading your work. You made 2025 the largest and most competitive
contest to date. Write on.

GCWA 2024 Writing Contest Winners:

Congratulations to the 2024 Gulf Coast Writers Association writing contest winners.

Poetry Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Maracaibo Melodies, Daniel Moreschi, Wales, U.K.
SECOND PLACE: The Last Decoy, Ed Sessa, Fort Myers, FL
THIRD PLACE: Illogical Imaginings, Amelie Flagler, Raleigh, NC

Fiction Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Prey For Me, Richard Drummer, Bonita Springs, FL
SECOND PLACE: My Whiffenpoof, Bradley Burt, Fort Myers, FL
THIRD PLACE: Woman in the Adidas Shirt, Linda Saether, Cape Coral, FL

Non-Fiction Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Between the Heat and the Bugs, Patti Walsh, Fort Myers, FL
SECOND PLACE: What I Learned About Grief, Sheryl Stillman, Fort Myers, FL
THIRD PLACE: Down the Rabbit Hole, April James, Fort Myers, FL

The 2023 and 2022 contest winners will be posted on this page very soon. Thank you for your patience.

GCWA 2023 Writing Contest Winners:

Poetry Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Snowflake, Sandy Dahlhofer, Lake Placid, FL
SECOND PLACE: Moon Dance – Amy Pontius, Ft. Myers, FL/East Fairfield, VT
THIRD PLACE: The Land Before This – Grace Brendel, Cape Coral, FL

Fiction Winners:

FIRST PLACE: But He Didn’t, Brad Burt-Ft. Myers, FL/Ontario, Canada
SECOND PLACE: Ghosts of Clothlines Past, Patti M. Walsh, Ft. Myers, FL
THIRD PLACE: Somewhere in England, 1952, Pauline Hayton, Naples, FL

Non-Fiction Winners:

FIRST PLACE: A Picute of Hell, Pamela Pohlman, Ft. Myers, FL
SECOND PLACE: Searching For Me, Patricia Sheehy, Estero, FL
THIRD PLACE: Audrey Hepburn and Me, MaryLou Williams, Ft. Myers, FL

GCWA 2022 Writing Contest Winners:

Poetry Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Maritime Muse, Megan Dalziel
SECOND PLACE: Bayou Sunset, Debbie Watz
THIRD PLACE: Minimum Wage-Brianna, Paul Anthony

Fiction/Children’s Stories Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Terror in December,  Leah Miller (Children’s Stories)
SECOND PLACE: Counterculture, Mary Charles (Fiction)
THIRD PLACE: Susie Spider Looks for a Friend, Nancy Leake (Children’s Stories)

Non-Fiction Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Dream Your Ink, Deborah Burghardt
SECOND PLACE:  A Slip of the Scalpel, Diane Parnell
THIRD PLACE: The Field, Sally Basmajian

cELEBRATE AS A MEMBER: LEARN MORE
Facebook