Arizona Authors Assocation Literary Contest Winners
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2026 Arizona Authors Literary Awards Contest
Finalists and
Honorable Mentions
Congratulations to our finalists and honorable mentions in the 2026 Arizona Authors Literary Contest. This was a tough year with many entries in all categories, and they managed to shine!
We will announce the cash prize winners at the Awards Brunch held at the Musical Instruments Museum in Phoenix on November 28, 2026, from 11:30-3pm. Combo tickets (buffet brunch and museum admission included) are available here:
One Ticket:
https://www.arizonaauthors.org/_paylink/AZ-PTUS6
Two Tickets:
https://www.arizonaauthors.org/_paylink/K28mo6lDOVtN
You may purchase as many tickets as you like in combinations of one or two. If you have guests coming from out of town, consider purchasing tickets and bringing them along for a fun day. You can all eat together, and then they can stay for the awards event or they can enjoy the museum while you attend the event. Fun for the whole family!
Finalists Vying for a Cash Prize, which will be announced on November 28 are listed here. All cash prizes will be awarded at the event, or for those not attending, will be mailed to them afterward. They will also be honored in our Arizona Authors Literary Magazine, on our website, and in the Arizona Authors Digest.
Ariosto, David
Bayer, Greg
Benton, Fraser
Bonn, Patricia A.
Cape, Darin S.
Cassino, Kip
Hersel, Irma
Holland, S. Marie
Hudson, Virginia Ewing
Korkidis, Dr. Katherine
Krockey, Al
Lennon, Tim
Liu, Tongyu
Marshall, Nancy Hicks
Molony, Janelle
Olsen, Cynthia
Reams, Olin
Russell, Dennis Eugene
Weitzenkorn, Steve
White, Dr. Timothy
Williams, V.C.
Wrenn, Jennifer
Honorable Mentions, though no cash prize is attached, will still be honored at the event, on the website, in the Arizona Authors Digest, and in the Arizona Authors Literary Magazine for their excellent work.
Adelman, Charlotte and Blomquist, Mala
Anderson, John
Baldwin, Dan
Beachboard, Martine
Cantrell, Caren
Graber, Brad
Hudson, Virginia Ewing
Jimi's Shadow
Kurak, Jessie
Moul, Kevin
Noble, Rick
Sefton, Michelle
Smetek, Hannah
Taylor, Portia Lily
Trejo, Terrilyn
Walker, M.S.V.
White, Ray
Wrenn, Jennifer
Note: Some authors are on both lists due to multiple entries.
$500 Grand Prize Winner:
Retreat From The Precipice by Duke Southard
Published Category Winners:
$200 First Place:
At What Cost, Silence? by Karen Lynn Klink
$125 Second Place:
Infinite Paradise: Witnessing the Wild by Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
$75 Third Place Three-Way Tie:
Old Dogs by Kip Cassino
The Risk of Sorrow: Intimate Conversations with a Holocaust Survivor by Valerie Foster
Feathered Canyons by Jeannette Hanby
$50 Fourth Place Two-Way Tie:
Hiding for my Life: Being Gay in the Navy by Karen Solt
Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird by Mike Stark
$25 Best of Category Published Fiction Two-Way Tie:
Cut the Tent by Elizabeth Fackler
Finding Zachariah in a Community Garden by Nancy Hicks Marshall
$25 Best of Category Nonfiction Two-Way Tie:
Write the Memoir You're Afraid to Write by Patricia L. Brooks
Tales of a Pet Vet: Stories from the Clinic and House Calls by Dr. Dawn Filos
$25 Best of Category Oldie But Goldie Fiction:
Out Stealing Water by Roxanne Doty
$25 Best of Category Oldie But Goldie Nonfiction Two-Way Tie:
Super Man's Resume: A Beginner's Guide to Resume Writing by Linda Bierwagen
Women Who Push the Limits Presents 50 Life Lessons from Inspiring Women by Lynn W. Murphy
Published Youth Category Winners:
$200 First Place:
Where Nopalitos Grow by Irma Hersel
$125 Second Place Two-Way Tie:
Calvin the Christmas Tree by Stephen G. Bowling
The Weight of Tomorrow by Ranjit Chandra Nair
$75 Third Place:
Big Ears Jack and His Friends by Earl Vincent de Berge
$50 Fourth Place:
Maya and the Turtle by John Stickler and Soma Han
$25 Best of Category Children Under 12:
Lili's Quilt: A Tale of Immigration by Gale Hall
$25 Best of Category Youth 12 -18
Santa by David Swift
$25 Best of Category Oldie But Goldie Youth
Welcome to Harmony by Dan O'Mahoney
Unpublished Category Winners:
$200 First Place:
On the Road Again by Jennifer Wrenn
$125 Second Place:
Cloudy Skies by Lisa Eaton
$75 Third Place:
Shadow and Light by Choi Bi -Gyeol
$50 Fourth Place Two -Way Tie:
Birch Tree: The Tree That Makes Love by Choi Bi -Gyeol
Remembrance by Kate Atwell Herbert
$25 Best of Category Poetry:
Life Lessons of Late by Natalie Hillerson
$25 Best of Category Unpublished Short Fiction:
The Offrenda at the Dealership by Jodie Snyder
$25 Best of Category Unpublished Short Nonfiction:
In the Time of Polio by David Wight
$25 Best of Category Unpublished Novel/Novellas:
Hattie by Rainey Hall
Congratulations to our 2025 Winners
ARIZONA AUTHORS PAST AWARDS LUNCHEONS
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