2025 OWL Adult Writing Contest
Rules and Categories

Over $2,000 in prize money!

Welcome to another exciting year of award-winning writing.

OWL members may enter as many of the adult categories for a flat fee of only $15 ($16 by PayPal)! You MUST be a member to enter any OWL adult contest.

     • High School STUDENTS: $30 includes membership and contest entry fee.

Not a member yet? You are most welcome to join and submit your entry fee at the same time by check for $45 or $46 via the PayPal button.

Gratitude and Appreciation

First things first: We sincerely thank all our contest sponsors. Every category you see is here because a generous person or group donated the prize money. There would be no writing contests without YOU! Sponsors are listed with their categories.

What You Get for Your $15 Contest Entry Fee:

1. A chance at a cash prize!

2. You may enter as many categories as you like, making it much more affordable than others that charge you per category or include an expensive three-figure conference!

3. You get motivation to WRITE.

4. The categories and themes give you some guidance, so you're not staring clueless at a blank screen.

5. You can use your entries in other contests or submit for publication afterwards.

6. Since we are a regional group and not a national one, your odds of winning something are higher!

7. Winning any prize, even an honorable mention, empowers you to use the brag-worthy accolade of "award-winning author" and a credit to add to your portfolio.

How to pay the contest entry fee:

You may pay online or via check.

Online: Use our handy PayPal buttons. Please note: There is a $1 charge to cover the PayPal processing fees for the contest fee and another $1 charge for fees for the membership.

Membership + Contest Fee ($47.00)	Contest Fee only: ($16.00)
Student Membership +Contest Fee ($32.00)

Snail Mail Send $15 if you're a member, or $45 to include annual membership and contest fee ($30 for student membership plus entry) to:

OWL Treasurer
c/o Duke Pennell
12 W. Dickson St. #4455
Fayetteville, AR 72702

Please note: This address is ONLY for the contest/annual membership fee. Contest entries sent to this address will be discarded.

General Guidelines

• No gratuitous or graphic violence or sex. Let's keep it clean.

• Only one entry per category is allowed.

• You may only enter a manuscript in ONE category.

• EVERY piece needs a title, except haiku. If your haiku has no title, use the first line as the title for identification purposes.

• All entries must abide by the rules, including manuscript and submission expectations. Any deviation, such as a wrong font or font size, lack of a title, or missing author information, will result in disqualification of that piece.

• Physical entries (Best Book) must be sent to the contest coordinator. Contest entries mailed to the treasurer or anyone else in OWL will be disqualified.

• All entries, with the obvious exception of Best Published Book, must be UNPUBLISHED at the time of submission, and be the original work of the writer. (If your entry has appeared in any written form, such as in a blog, website [like Wattpad], or other electronic outlet, it is considered published and ineligible for entry in any OWL contest.)

• Best Fiction and Best Nonfiction Book of 2024 are just that. Any book with a publication date other than 2024 is disqualified.

• Both Best Book categories require an ISBN or they will be disqualified.

• Submit all entries except PRINT versions of Best Fiction Book or Best Nonfiction Book entry categories via email to "adult.writing@OzarksWritersLeague.com". Note the dot after the word "adult." See Special Exceptions for print categories.

• Payment of contest entry fee will be verified by the Contest Facilitator. No entry fee, no entry.

• Once published at the opening of the contest period, these rules are fixed and final.

• Improperly formatted manuscripts will be disqualified. You should know your word processor's settings. If you do not understand how to set your margins, change your font to the standard, add a header, or set the line spacing to double, look it up (on a YouTube tutorial, for instance) and get it right before submission.

• TITLE: Be sure to give your piece a title! First line can serve as the title for a haiku.

• WORD COUNT: Word limit means just what you'd expect: the number of words in your piece. The title does not count toward your word count.

• FILE TYPE: All files EXCEPT for Best Published Book (fiction or nonfiction) must be in some normal file type (like .rtf, .doc, .docx, or .docs).

• STANDARD FORMATTING: Use standard submission format and rules: Times New Roman, 12-point, double-spaced (except for poetry), and 1" margins.

• FIRST LINE: Put the contest ID and word count flush left on the first line. Example: N2 Memoir, 1200 words. Categories with no word count designation, such as haiku, poetry, and first page of a WIP, do not need a word count.

• HEADER: If your entry is more than 1 page long, you should have page numbers on the right.

• EBOOKS: Ebook entry for Best Published Fiction Book and/or Best Published Nonfiction Book must be attached to an email as either .PDF, .doc, .docx, .mobi or .epub formats. Full author information must be in the body of the email.

• FILE ATTACHMENTS: The attached submission file(s) must have NO author identification details, but each MUST have the contest identifier (like B1, S31) and a TITLE.

1. The BODY of your email must have FULL AUTHOR CONTACT Information and SUBMISSION INFORMATION. That means:
     • Name
     • Pseudonym, if applicable
     • Mailing Address
     • Phone
     • Email
     • Submission ID, title and word count where applicable

     EXAMPLES:
     • B1 – My Amazing First Page
     • N1 – Remembering Momma

YOUR FILES MUST INCLUDE THE TITLE IN THE FILENAME. Please label each file as follows: Contest Designation (like N1) – Title
     EXAMPLE filename: B1 – Best Book Ever Written

2. Suggestion for your sanity's sake: Put all your contest files into a folder on your computer and write the file names as follows: Contest ID, title. Example: "P1 – MountainPoem."

3. Email digital entries to "adult.writing@OzarksWritersLeague.com".

Special Rules: Best Book Categories

• MAIL your Best Book Award entries to the contest coordinator. We must have books by August 1.

Mail to:
     Linda Runnebaum
     821 6th Street
     Boonville, MO 65233

The Rest of the Fine Print:

• You must be an OWL member to enter the contest. If you're not, you may pay the $30 membership dues plus $15 contest entry fee for a total of $45 in order to participate. Your membership includes information-packed conferences plus other benefits.

• Neither OWL nor the Contest Coordinator is responsible for misdirected or lost entries. You will receive an email to confirm receipt.

• DISQUALIFICATION: Late entries or those breaking any rule are disqualified.

• No electronic entries will be returned, and all will be deleted after judging is final.

• Those entering Best Fiction and/or Best Nonfiction Book Award may have the book returned if a mailer AND sufficient postage is sent with the entry. Otherwise, they will be donated.

• Qualified judges will conduct blind judging.

• Judges and sponsors, if OWL members, may not enter the category they judge or sponsor, but may enter other categories.

• Even if we receive three or fewer entries in a category, those will still be judged and awarded prizes.

• First Place winners may not enter that manuscript in any future OWL writing contest.

NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, prizes are a certificate of achievement plus 1st $50, 2nd $30, 3rd $20. Honorable Mentions, if granted, receive a certificate.

Questions?
First, read carefully. Everything you need is in here. Part of entering contests is reading and following the guidelines carefully.

C1 – Book Cover
     • Title of your choice.
     • Photography or Hand Artwork for full cover, including front, spine, and back cover.
Sponsor: Rose Heaser
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10, 1st HM $5

S1 – Humorous Short Story
Go ahead, make me laugh but do it fast!
Limit: 3,000 words
Sponsor: Russell Gayer

S2 – Flash Fiction Story — Exactly 100 Words
Tell a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end inspired by the photo prompt in precisely 100 words.
Limit: Exactly 100 words.

Sponsors: Rochelle Wisoff-Fields and Jan Fields

S3 – Inspirational Romance Story.
Write an inspirational romance, set in any time period. Story must have the essentials of a romance, including a Happily Ever After ending.
Limit: 2,000 words
Sponsor: Diane Yates

S4 – "I didn't see that coming!" O. Henry Style Story
Write a story that concludes with a "Wow, I didn't see that coming" ending.
Check out O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" for inspiration.
Limit: 2,500 words.
Sponsor: eMerge Magazine

S5 – Western Short Story
Write a Western short story with a beginning, middle, and end. Must be set in America, on the frontier, before 1900.
Limit: 3,000 words
Sponsor: Duke Pennell

S6 – Historical Fiction
Write a historical tale set before 1970 with an ordinary person (your fictionalized character) reacting to a historical event or encountering a well-known person from that time period. For example: A boy and his dog watch tea thrown into Boston Harbor or a little girl encounters Sitting Bull at a Wild West show.
Limit 2,000 words.
Sponsor: Anonymous

S7 – The Family Reunion
Write a humorous invitation to your family reunion using the following words: Ma & Pa Kettle, Muscovy duck, Washboard, Baldknobber, Squirrel mulligan, Trackhoe, Paganini, Graverobbers.
Limit: 500 words
Sponsors: Richard and Bonnie Tesh
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

S8 – Ghostly Surprise (Paranormal Short Story):
Tell a fictional ghost story with a twist! Your tale can be funny, romantic, touching, chilling — or some combination of any of these. Make sure there's something that surprises the judges.
Limit: 3000 words.
Sponsor: Ronda Del Boccio

S9 – Romantic Short Story
Write a story about finding unexpected romance on a planned adventure, whether it's fishing on a local pond or skiing in the Swiss Alps. There's a whole world out there. Have fun.
Limit: 2000 words
Sponsor: Anonymous

S10 – Juvenile Short Story – Fiction
A fictional story targeted toward young readers ages 9–12. The subject matter may be informative but should also be entertaining and feature themes of interest to youth.
Limit: 2,500 words
Sponsor: eMerge Magazine
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

S11 – A Spoof About Writing
In no more than 500 words, begin story with "A funny thing . . . " and end with "I wrote it". Judging with be based on humor and creativity.
Limit: 500 words
Sponsor: Michael Don Fess

S12 – Humorous Memoir
Write a short story of a humorous memoir.
Limit: 3,000 words
Sponsor: Rose Heaser
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10, and Honorable Mention $5

S13 – Whodunit?
Write a murder mystery. Can be any genre . . . crime, paranormal, cozy, historical, fantasy, etc.
Limit: no more than 2,000 words
Sponsor: Linda Runnebaum
Prizes: 1st $30, 2nd $20, 3rd $10

N1 – Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
An interesting true story or essay of something you have experienced or witnessed.
Limit: 3,000 words.
Sponsor: Writers Guild of Arkansas

N2 – Travel Article
Take me somewhere I've never been or make me want to go back. Can be about any destination, locale, or worldwide.
Limit: 1,200 words.
Sponsor: Joplin Writers Guild
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

N3 – Gene Andereck Short Story
About Gene Andereck: Gene Andereck was a Springfield attorney and novelist who died in Republic, MO, in 2004. He was an avid OWL member for many years, savoring the friendships and mentorships found within its diverse membership. As an author, most of Gene's novels were set in the Northwoods and Gunflint Trail area of Minnesota. These adventure books of Indian boys, fur trappers and voyagers were the inspiration for his best-known work, Trial at Grand Marais, now in its second printing.

Criteria - Memoir
Personal memories related to specific moments or experiences in the author's life. Told from the author's perspective and written in first person point of view. Focus is on the author's relationship to and feelings about his or her own memories.

     • Written in 1st person POV from the perspective of the author
     • Less formal writing style is quite acceptable
     • Narrow in scope of timeline
     • Focused more on feelings and memories than facts
     • Flexibility to change or enhance the facts for literary effect

Limit: 1,000 words or less
Sponsor: Kim Andereck of San Antonio, TX (Gene's son)
Prizes: 1st $300, 2nd $200, 3rd $100

N4 – Hometown Newspaper Column
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: 500–1,000 words.
Sponsor: Lonnie Whitaker
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

N5 – Creative Nonfiction: My Favorite Hobby
Through your prose, make me want to take up your hobby, whether it's golf, gardening, cooking, sewing, or tinkering on car engines. Make me see it, feel it, taste it, smell it, or hear it, whatever is appropriate to your hobby.
Limit: 1,000 words
Sponsor: Linda Apple
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

N6 – Ozarks Article
Write an article about some aspect of the Ozarks. It can be historical, travel related, or a profile of an interesting person, as long as it pertains to the Ozarks.
Limit: 1,200 words
Sponsor: Larry Wood

N7 – Growing Up Rural
Write a personal experience essay about growing up in a rural area.
Limit: 1,200 words
Sponsor: Carolyn Hall
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

N8 – Creative Nonfiction: "What I Left Behind"
Write a personal experience of leaving home for college or a new job. Tell about your fear or anxiety and excitement. Talk about the family and friends you missed, the food from home you couldn't get and the different climate. Tell who you wrote and called. Were you able to take a pet? Make me wonder if you stayed.
Limit: 1,500 words
Sponsor: Julie James
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

P1 – 2025 Poetry Contest
Entries should be no more than one page long. Verse, free verse, adult, juvenile, humorous, serious, etc. is up to the poet. Sponsor is looking for poems that make him glad he read them.
Limit: no more than 1 page in length
Sponsor: David Harrison

P2 – Haiku
Set a vivid scene while making me feel something. Five-seven-five format.
Limit: 17 syllables
Sponsor: Jan Morrill Vanek
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

P3 – Magical Ozarks Moments
Bring a magical Ozarks moment to life in 300 words or less of poetry or prose.
Limit: 300 words
Sponsor: Ozarks Writers League

P4 – Poetic Malfeasance
An invitation to map America's political follies in verse, where the poetry reflects the state of the state and because sometimes the union is laugh-out-loud absurd!
     • Poems must engage with current or recent/political/governmental events in the United States—no decade too recent, no scandal too small
     • Entries should demonstrate a deep understanding of the subject matter and a clever, original perspective
     • Satire should aim for wit over ridicule and insight over insult
     • Open to U.S. based poets or those with a keen observational eye and sense of humor
     • No party-line parroting and/or recycled rants
     • Will be judged on originality and literary mischief
     • Will be judged on originality and literary mischief

     • All entries will be eligible for publication in eMerge
     • All prize winners will be featured on eMerge social media posts
     • The top three will be considered for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize

Limit: 60 lines. All forms welcome: formal, free, or spoken word
Sponsor: eMerge Magazine
Prizes: 1st $50, 2nd $30, 3rd $20, Honorable Mention $10 each (3)

B1 – Best First Page of a Fiction Book in Progress
Share the first page of your WIP (work in progress) and be sure to pull us into the story. You can start near the top of the page. Be sure to give the book a title.
Limit: 1 page
Sponsors: Margarite Stever and Bonnie Tesh
Prizes: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10

B2 – Best Published Fiction Book of 2024
Best fictional book in hardcover, paperback or e-book published during the calendar year of 2024 (book must show a copyright date of 2024 and have an ISBN).
Sponsor: Billie Holladay Skelley
1 prize of $100

B3 – Best Published Nonfiction Book of 2024
Best nonfiction book in hardcover, paperback or ebook published during the calendar year of 2024 (book must show a copyright date of 2024 and have an ISBN).
Sponsor: Veda Boyd Jones
1 prize of $100