SOUTH FLORIDA
writers association
Monthly Writing Contests
SFWA encourages members with a current
membership to enter the monthly writing contests.
We are pleased and excited to announce that we have a new Contest Director: Niurka Castaneda.
Niurka Castaneda is a U.S. Army veteran, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of AMOR Umbrella, a mission-driven media company
dedicated to storytelling that restores hope—particularly within the veteran and underserved communities. Niurka also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Umbrella Splash Magazine and hosts the Umbrellas of Hope TV show. As contest director, she’s looking for stories with heart, originality, and emotional resonance—stories that leave the reader with something to hold onto long after the final line. Winners will be announced at the monthly meetings and will receive a certificate.
First place winners can also claim reimbursement from SFWA for up to $25 towards entering that winning entry in a national contest of the author’s choosing but must make this claim within 60 days of winning. For this reason, we publish only the titles and the winners’ names, but not the winning entries themselves, in the Author’s Voice, to preserve a work’s “unpublished” status and allow the member to submit it elsewhere for publication.
Prompt/Theme for November:
“Echoes of Thanks and Unspoken Grace”
This theme invites writers to explore the many forms gratitude can take — from the words we say aloud to the gestures, memories, and silences that express what cannot easily be spoken. It’s about the echoes of appreciation that linger long after the feast is over, and the quiet ways we give, receive, and remember.
Prompt ideas to spark creativity:
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A moment of gratitude that arrived too late — or just in time.
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The meal that brought everyone together (or tore them apart).
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A letter of thanks that was never sent — but changed everything anyway.
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What if gratitude itself could speak — what would it say?
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The unspoken grace in a shared glance, an old photograph, or an empty chair at the table.
Length limit: 1,000 words max
Deadline for submissions: November 28th
Submissions will be blindly judged.
September 2025 Winner
Theme: Hope
POEM
pending
August 2025:
Theme: Echoes of Home
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: C.V. Shaw for Like Home, But Different
March 2025:
Theme: An Oil Painting
POETRY:
1st Prize: Swati Bagga for The Oil Painting
2nd Prize: Walter Harris for My Cats
MEMOIR:
No Submission
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: C.V. Shaw for Ghosts in the Attic
SPECIAL MERIT AWARD WITH SILVER SHILLING goes to C.V. Shaw for Ghosts in the Attic
February 2025:
Theme: Food
POETRY:
1st Prize: Swati Bagga for Holding my Harvest in Hand
2nd Prize: Joanna Sherry Mitchell for Cooking
MEMOIR:
1st Prize: Ricki Dorn for Manners Big Boy
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: Jo Avent for A Piece of Meat
2nd Prize: Jonathan Rose for Breakfast at Wolfie's
3rd Prize: Dale Alan Young for You Must Be a Yankee
SPECIAL MERIT AWARD WITH SILVER SHILLING goes to Jo Avent for A Piece of Meat
December 2024/January 2025 Combined:
December: Holidays Past and Present
January: Unexpected New Beginnings
POETRY:
1st Prize: Connie Goodman-Milone for A New Beginning
2nd Prize: Joanne Sherry Mitchell for Drinking Became a Habit
3rd Prize: Jonathan Rose for A Familiar Story
MEMOIR:
1st Prize: Leslie Rowe for The Gift
2nd Prize: Rita Morrissey for New Beginning
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: Arlene Sacks for Travels with Sam
SPECIAL MERIT AWARD WITH SILVER SHILLING goes to Leslie Rowe for The Gift
November 2024:
Death, The Dead, or Dying.
POETRY:
1st Prize: Marlene McLeary Graham for Absolute Truth”
2nd Prize: Swati Bagga, for Buddha Under Bodhi Tree
3rd Prize: Joanne Sherry Mitchell for Death.
MEMOIR:
1st Prize: Pat Bonner Milone for Traces of Diego
2nd Prize: Javier Castano for Can’t Count No More Dead
NOVEL (Chapter):
1st Prize: Lele (How Innocence Died In a Burlap Sack)
SPECIAL MERIT AWARD WITH SILVER SHILLING goes to Pat Bonner Milone for Traces of Diego
October 2024 Theme:
For October, Jeffrey is giving a "Free Month."
Choose your own topic! Anything Goes!
POETRY:
1st Prize: Jonathan Rose, for Don't You Remember Me?
2nd Prize: Walter Harris, for Infinite Reflections
3rd Prize: Swati Bagga, for Dandelions
Honorable Mention: J. C. Ledakis for Lemon Lozenge Moon
MEMOIR:
1st Prize: Walter Harris: My First Encounter
2nd Prize: Rita Morrissey for Emergency!
3rd Prize: Walter Harris for My First Drag
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: Don Daniels: Writers Block,
Explained.
2nd Prize: Mark Lew for Hallowe'en
3rd Prize: Amy Nicole Naim for The Polka Dot Bag
HISTORICAL FICTION:
1st Prize: Jo Avent for Osbert and the Cathedral
SPECIAL MERIT AWARD WITH SILVER SHILLING goes to Don Daniels, for Writers Block, Explained.
September 2024:
Theme:
A magical place which, once visited, may not ever be visited again. (Or, perhaps it may!)
Examples:
Shangri-La, Brigadoon, Treasure Island, The House At Pooh Corner
September Winners!
August Winners:
POETRY:
1st Prize: Jonathan Rose, for Disloyal;
2nd Prize: Swati Bagga, for Inner Circle
3rd Prize: Javier Castano, for Nine Long Aprils
MEMOIR:
1st Prize: Javier Castano for The Chain and the Box
SPECIAL MERIT AWARD SILVER SHILLING GOES TO:
Javier Castano for The Chain and the Box
August 2024:
The theme for August must include a mirror, looking glass, or any reflective surface.
August Winners:
POETRY:
1st Prize: Javier Castano, for Plastic Mirror
2nd Prize: Jonathan Rose, for Frying Pan
3rd Prize: Rita Morrissey, for Mirror Reflections of Years Gone By.
Honorable Mention, Rita Morrissey for Reflections In A Mirror
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: Jo Avent for The Big Spoon
SPECIAL MERIT AWARD SILVER SHILLING GOES TO:
Jo Avent, for The Big Spoon
July 2024 Topic:
"An article of clothing must be the critical element of your entry." It can be a crown, a ring, a pair of glasses, a suit of armor; or even a mask, or a wig or a shroud. Or a dog's collar.
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: Mark Lew; Blind Spot
2nd Prize:
Javier Castano: Long Pants, Button-down Shirt, and Shiny Shoes
MEMOIR:
1st Prize:
Gail Tucker-Griffith: The Signet Ring
2nd Prize: Rita Morrissey:
Little Black Book
3rd Prize:
Beverly Melasi-Haag:
The Crown That I Wear
POETRY:
1st Prize: Javier Castano: The Slides
2nd Prize: Joanne Sherry Mitchell
The Joy Of Pajamas
3rd Prize: Anita Mitchell
Best $29 I Ever Spent
NOVEL;
1st Prize: Javier Castano:
Black Hawk Blues, From "Leather."
The Special Merit Award goes to Mark Lew for "Blind Spot"
June 2024:
An exotic plant received as a gift changes someone's life.
SHORT STORY:
1st Prize: Beverly Melasi-Haag; The Enchanted Blossom
2nd Prize: Carla Albano: Saviors Come In All Forms
3rd Prize: Robert Jacober: A Gift From A Stranger
MEMOIR:
1st Prize: Ricki Dorn: Once Upon A
Jade Plant
POETRY:
1st Prize: Swati Bagga:The Rudraksha Tree
The Special Merit Award goes to Beverly Melasi-Haag for The Enchanted Blossom.
May 2024:
Good or bad advice given by a (non-human) animal.
Short Story:
1st Prize: Javier Castano, Tom The Cat. A Prison Story,
Javier also wins this month's Special Merit Silver English shilling award.
Memoir:
1st Prize: Jonathan Rose: Polly, the Parrot, and Me
Poetry:
1st Prize: Swati Bagga: Blue Buddha Of Water.
April 2024
A person, when grown up, realized that their parent is not who they thought they were.
Short Story:
1st Prize: Jo Avent, A Son's Reflection,
Jo Avent also wins this month's Special Merit Silver English shilling award.
2nd Prize: Pat Bonner Milone: Marlena's Secret
Memoir:
1st Prize: Beverly Melasi-Haag The Truth About Grandma
2nd Prize: Ricki Dorn, What A Surprise!
3rd Prize: Javier Castano (Jay Cano): Discernment
Poetry:
1st Prize: Javier Castano (Jay Cano) Good Bye, My Dear Old Father
2nd Prize: Carla Albano, The Math Teacher
Novel: Javier Castano (Jay Cano): Chapter 27.
Additional Publishing Opportunities
The Poets & Writers Magazine and Writers Digest Contest are good sources to find grants, contests and tips.