

More information available 1/1/2023
Showcase Awards (For a pdf. click here)
1. Grand Showcase Award - 3 Prizes ($300/$100/$50)
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Short story or essay. Limit 2500 words.
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Sponsor: Ozark Creative Writers Board of Directors.
2. Oxbow Award in Memory of Dusty & Pat Richards - 3 Prizes ($200/$100/$50)
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Western short story. First Place Winner will be published in Saddlebag Dispatches Magazine.
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Limit: 3000 words.
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Sponsor: OGHMA Creative Media.
3. Founding Member Award in Memory of Arkansas Poet Laureate Peggy Vining - 1 Prize ($150)
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Poem about change, any style. Limit: 24 lines.
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Sponsor: Ozark Creative Writers Board of Directors.
4. Mike Willis Inspiration Award - 1 Prize ($150)
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An inspirational short story about growing up or family life. Limit: 2000 words.
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Sponsor: Chrissy Willis in memory of her late husband, Mike Willis
Grand Conference Awards- 3 Prizes ($50/$30/$20)
5. Search for Excellence Award
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Nonfiction memoir or essay. Limit: 2500 words.
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Sponsor: Leon Combs
6. Native American Short Story Award
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Short story with Native American theme. Limit: 2500 words.
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Sponsor: Clouse Literary Arts and Theater
7. Flash Fiction
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Must have a beginning, middle, and end. Limit: 99 words.
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Sponsor: David Kirkland
8. Urrey-Hightower Award
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Write a story with a hint of suspense and a surprise ending (No slasher, horror, occult). Word limit: 2000.
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Sponsor: Chrissy Willis in memory of her mother, Clarice Hightower, and her grandmother, Clara Urrey Brown.
9. A Fish Out of Water Tale
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A short story that includes someone or something in unusual surroundings. Examples: A 12-year-old enrolls at Harvard, a wolf finds himself appointed king of a lost colony of highly intelligent rabbits, a car mechanic travels back or forward in time, a New Yorker is stranded at the Midland/Odessa airport, etc. Make it zany or believable but write to entertain.
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Limit: 1000 words.
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Sponsor: Micki Fuhrman
10. Bowled Over Contest
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A short story about high school sweethearts who have been out of touch for 25 years. The two, both now single, accidentally come together at the bowling alley while competing in a tournament.
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Limit: 1500-2000 words.
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Sponsor: Ozark Romance Authors, Springfield, MO
11. "Steamy" Romance Contest
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Write a steamy romance. Must use the words escape and delicious.
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Limit: 1000-4000 words
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Sponsor: Delicious Escape Publications
12. Sleuth's Ink Contest
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The US President goes missing at a summit with foreign dignitaries. Must include a crime.
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Limit: 1500 words
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Sponsor: Sleuth's Ink, Springfield, Mo
Conference Awards- 3 Prizes ($25/$15/$10)
13. Goddesses of Poetic License Challenge
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Write a short story, any genre including all the following words: comorbidity, prescription, hedgehog, rabbit, and clock.
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Limit: 1000 words.
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Sponsor: The Goddesses of Poetic License (Linda Apple, Chrissy Willis & Ruth Weeks)
14. Senior Moments
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Write a story, any genre, where the protagonist is over 50. Limit: 1500 words.
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Sponsor: Betsy Gray
15. A Scream in the Night
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A horror short story. Limit: 3000 words.
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Sponsor: Tahlequah Writers
16. Life Along the Mississippi (Historical Fiction)
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Short Story, set in the Nineteenth Century (1800-1899) along the Mississippi River. Limit: 500 words.
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Sponsor: Coffee and Critique Writers of O’Fallon, MO
17. Middle-Grade Fiction for Boys Ages 9-12
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Write a story that will appeal to boys. Limit: 1500-2500 words.
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Sponsor: Renee LaViness
18. Paranormal Western Contest
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Paranormal western short story. Limit: 3000 words.
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Sponsors: The Deadline Dames (Joy Keeney & Rhonda Harvey)
19. Hometown Newspaper Column
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Write a nostalgic article about the Ozarks that is suitable for a newspaper column. The article should have a headline (title) and give your column a name. Limit: 500-1000 words.
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Sponsor: Lonnie Whitaker
20. Give Us The Best of Friends
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A light-hearted humorous short story about best friends. Must include the words Arkansas and Tennessee.
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Limit: 1500 words.
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Sponsors: Joni Cogbill and Betsy Gray
21. Repurpose a Quote
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Repurpose a famous quote from a movie or a book using it in a way that is totally unrelated to its original context.
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Incorporate it into a short story or poem. Limit: 500 words (short story) or Up to 60 lines (poem).
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Sponsor: Marcia Gaye
22. Space Journey
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Science fiction genre in the style of 50’s Sci-Fi movies. Limit: 2000 words.
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Sponsor: Tahlequah Writers
23. Traditions Contest
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Creative nonfiction essay on your favorite family traditions. Limit: 500 words.
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Sponsor: Linda Apple
24. Travel Article
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Write it as if you were sending it to a reputable magazine. No photos, please. Limit: 1500 words.
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Sponsor: Johnny D. Boggs
25. Things That Go Bump In The Night!
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Paranormal short story (No Horror). Limit: 3000 words.
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Sponsor: Ruth Weeks
26. My Favorite Day in Nature
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Free Verse Poem
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Sponsor: Linda Sartin in memory of her late husband, Gary
27. Hook Us with your Best First Paragraph
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Hook us with your best first paragraph from a novel or short story.
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Sponsors: Margarite Stever and Bonnie Tesh
28. No, No Ebeneezer Award!
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Write a memoir about something you did as a child or young adult that got you into trouble and what you learned from the experience. Limit: 1000 words.
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Sponsor: Ebeneezer Longfellow
29. Creative Non-Fiction Award
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Make the ordinary seem extraordinary. Limit: 1500-2000 words.
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Sponsor: Little Red Writing Hood
30. Cross-Genre Contest
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Must include at least two genres (Examples: romantic/thriller, fantasy/horror, western/paranormal).
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Limit: 2000 words.
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Sponsor: Author's Anonymous 2.0
31. The Rainbolt Children's Book Award
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Children's book. Limit 750 words.
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Suitable for a child between 3-7 years old
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Sponsor: Doris Jean Shaw
32. On-The-Spot Contest- One Prize $25
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Open only to those attending the OCW Conference in October
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Details to be announced at the conference
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Entries are due by noon Saturday
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Must be present at Awards Banquet Saturday Evening to win