C1 Book Cover

• 1st Evelyn Smith “Life of Nancy Dale”
• 2nd Jen Kenning “Steered Wrong”
• 3rd Trish Copeland “Healing Touch”
• HM Ronda Del Boccio “Empath Empowerment”

S1 Humorous Short Story

• 1st Kevin Brown “In the Doghouse”
• 2nd Ron Smith “Beanstalk – The Part They Never Published”
• 3rd Kim Vernon “B. Free Bail Bonding and Beauty Parlor”
• HM Rose Heaser “A Beary Unforgettable Morning”

S2 Flash Fiction

• 1st Kevin Brown “An Endless Dead End”
• 2nd Christina Williamson “The Keys”
• 3rd Mary Rowe “The Silver Lining”

S3 Inspirational Romance Story

• 1st Bobbie Roshone “Timber and Riverlight”
• 2nd Ron Smith “Enemy at the Window”
• 3rd Mary Cambron-Collard “The Ugly Duckling”
• 1st HM Joy Ross “Love Survivors”
• 2nd HM Trish Copeland “Night Out”
• 3rd HM April Gordon “Worth Living For”

S4 O’Henry Style Story

• 1st Penny Richards “Thicker Than Water”
• 2nd Mary Cambron-Collard “Mistake”
• 3rd Gene La Viness “Small Town Circles”
• 1st HM Patsy Young “Things are Not as They Seem”
• 2nd HM Ron Smith “A Letter from Blackbird Jones”

S5 Western Short Story

• 1st Kim Vernon “The Rustler’s Repentance”
• 2nd Gary Rodgers “Betrayer of Outlaws”
• 3rd Gene La Viness “Sure Shot Sam”
• 1st HM Ron Smith “The Osage Lodger”
• 2nd HM Ronda Del Boccio “Somebody Special to Me”
• 3rd HM Joy Ross “The Persistent Cowboy”

S6 Historical Fiction

• 1st Kevin Brown “Lost to Lore”
• 2nd Kim Vernon “Mount Pelee and the Prisoner”
• 3rd Rose Heaser “The Mare Who Knew the River”
• HM Renee La Viness “Sultana Stowaways”

S7 The Family Reunion

• 1st Ron Smith “Summertime Get-Together on Highway 19”
• 2nd Ronda Del Boccio “Reunion Time!”
• 3rd Kelly Reddin “Duck & Cover Reunion”

S8 Ghostly Surprise

• 1st Candy Simonson “Path to Immortality”
• 2nd Rose Heaser “The Field Beyond”
• 3rd April Gordon “The Unexpected Ride”
• 1st HM Joy Ross “Safe to Move On”
• 2nd HM Kevin Brown “A Haunting of Sorrow”

S9 Romance Short Story

• 1st Margarite Stever “The Love Yacht”
• 2nd Marti Attoun “Love Wins the Bid”
• 3rd Renee La Viness “A Big Adjustment”

S10 Juvenile Short Story

• 1st Ron Smith “Franklin’s Flock”
• 2nd Gary Rodgers “Pirate Island”
• 3rd April Gordon “Don’t Tell Mom There’s a Monster Under the Bed”
• HM Candy Simonson “Night Goblins”

S11 A Spoof About Writing

• 1st Rose Heaser “Sneakily Sentimental”
• 2nd Kelly Reddin “Texting, Oops”
• 3rd Gary Rodgers “Mid-Flight Fame”

S12 Humorous Memoir

• 1st Carolyn Hall “Before you Plant that Goodnight Kiss”
• 2nd Kelly Reddin “Major in Business; Minor in Monkey Business”
• 3rd Ron Smith “The New Baritone”
• 1st HM Russell Gayer “Sleeping Ugly”
• 2nd HM Lauri Mays “Doggone Drugs”

S13 Whodunit?

• 1st April Gordon “Bailey Jenkins and the Case of the Interrupted Act”
• 2nd Ron Smith “The Secret of McNatt Mills”
• 3rd Christine Richardson “The Drunkard’s Path: A Quilt Trail Mystery”
• HM Gary Rodgers “Lucy Takes a Dive”

N1 Memoir & Creative Nonfiction

• 1st Diana West “Entangled in the Welfare Web”
• 2nd Russell Gayer “Canoe Cheeks”
• 3rd Margarite Stever “Swamp Potatoes”
• 1st HM Candy Simonson “The Visitor: Sometimes…We Entertain Angels”
• 2nd HM Terry McDermid “From a Child’s View”

N2 Travel Article

• 1st Rose Heaser “Courting Gentoo Penguins of the Falkland Island”
• 2nd Evan Baker “Lake It or Leave It: Your Ultimate Tahoe Experience”
• 3rd Diane West “Galena, Illinois (The Town that Time Forgot, But You Will Not)”

N3 Gene Andereck Short Story

• 1st Ron Smith “Miss Abbey’s Front Porch”
• 2nd Bonnie Hinman “Hiking as a Life Lesson”
• 3rd Ronda Del Boccio “Thunder, Forward!”

N4 Hometown Newspaper Column

• 1st Ron Smith “Be Careful What You Wish For”
• 2nd Ronda Del Boccio “The Promise of Progress: The Story of the Kimberling City Bridge”
• 3rd Evan Baker “A Hidden Jewel”
• HM Mary Rowe “Grand Old Dames”

N5 Creative Nonfiction – My Favorite Hobby

• 1st Ron Smith “Remembering Green Bean Week”
• 2nd Ronda Del Boccio “Collecting Misfits”
• 3rd Kelly Reddin “Being Nana Claus”
• 1st HM Candy Simonson “I Eat Weeds: Foraging for Fun”
• 2nd HM Rose Heaser “Crafting the World, One Port at a Time”
• 3rd HM Christine Richardson “Drawing with Light – The Art of Photography”

N6 Ozarks Article

• 1st Diana West “Gone, But Not Forgotten”
• 2nd Rose Heaser “Strings Across the Hills”
• 3rd Ronda Del Boccio “Beneath the Waters: The Hidden History of Table Rock Lake”
• HM Kevin Brown – “Memory of a Mentor”

N7 Growing Up Rural

• 1st Patsy Young “Television Comes to the Country”
• 2nd Christine Richardson “One Summer Day”
• 3rd Diana West “A Hick from the Sticks”
• HM Ron Smith “The Snackette Diner”

N8 Creative Non-Fiction “What I Left Behind”

• 1st Evan Baker “Caribbean Escapade: Bridging Paradise and Poverty”
• 2nd Margarite Stever “Growing Pains”
• 3rd Judy Stiles “Oklahoma Is, OK?”
• HM Diana West “Goodbye and Good Riddance! I Think…”

P1 2025 Poetry Contest

• 1st Carolyn Hall “Farm Family Communion”
• 2nd Casey Bazyk “Maybe I Should Have Known Better”
• 3rd Candy Simonson “Far Off Distant Land”

P2 Haiku

• 1st Kim Vernon “Hummingbirds Bombard”
• 2nd Ronda Del Boccio “The Long Good-Bye”
• 3rd Mary Rowe “Chocolate Eyes Shine”

P3 Magical Ozarks Moments

• 1st Kevin Brown “A Firsthand Folktale”
• 2nd Jennifer Clark “Twinkling Twilight”
• 3rd Mary Rowe “Christmas Lights”
• 1st HM Candy Simonson “The Noisy Ozarks”
• 2nd HM Andrea Reynolds “Winter Morning”
• 3rd HM Kelly Reddin “Beautiful Day”
• 4th HM Ronda Del Boccio “Jemma’s Best Day EVER!”
• 5th HM Trish Copeland “Family Fun in the Ozarks”

P4 Poetic Malfeasance

• 1st Kevin Brown “If…”
• 2nd Ronda Del Boccio “A Declaration of Gender Independence”
• 3rd Jennifer Clark “Lady Liberty’s Makeover”
• 1st HM Kelly Reddin “Our Nation”
• 2nd HM Evan Baker – “Donkeys and Elephants”

B1 Best First Page of Fiction Book in Progress

• 1st Ronda Del Boccio “Rise of the Lost Sanctuary”
• 2nd Bonnie Hinman “The Sure-Fire Never-Fail Plan”
• 3rd Renee La Viness “Buried Alive”

B2 Best Published Fiction Book of 2024

• Robb Grindstaff – “Bones of Dead Man’s Bluff”