Blue Ridge Writers
THE BLUE RIDGE WRITERS
BLUE NIB WRITING CONTEST
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Blue Ridge Writers (BRW) serves aspiring and published writers in Central Virginia. The annual Blue Nib Writing Contest accepts submissions from BRW members in three categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry.
Volunteer judges select first, second, and third place winners in each category, and winners receive the following cash prizes:
$30 (first place), $20 (second place), and $10 (third place).
BRW hosts an annual, open-to-the-public "Social to Honor Blue Nib Contest Winners." In addition, the submissions from first place Blue Nib winners are entered into the annual Virginia Writers Club Golden Nib Contest, where participants compete for the following cash prizes:
$150, $100, and $75 (first, second, and third place winners, respectively).
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The 2025 Blue Nib Writers Contest Winners
Congratulations!
Fiction:
1st Place - Francesca Flood, "Two Lives—One Soul"
2nd Place - Douglas Forness, "The Unlikely Happy Childhood of the Posthumously Published Poet"
3rd Place - Lillian Connor, "The Calm, the Anxious and the Exuberant"
Judge: Louise Mitchell
Nonfiction:
1st Place - Francesca Flood, "Passages"
2nd Place - Diane Hernon Chavis, "Memory Within a Memory"
3rd Place - Lillian Connor, "The Pact: Anna, Margit and Xander"
Judge: Barbara Fuhrman
Poetry:
1st Place - Douglas Forness, "The Hand of the Muse"
2nd Place - Joy Merritt Krystosek, "Nascent Sensation of Indulgent Pleasure"
3rd Place - Al Mirmelstein, "Tsunami"
Judge: Deborah Brooks
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News and Events
The Important Stuff
Upcoming Events
Invitation to Blue Ridge Writers (BRW) Holiday Social
The BRW Board invites BRW Members and their families and friends to join us on
Saturday, December 6, 2025
2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
At the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Northside Branch
705 Rio Road,
Charlottesville, VA 22901
Please R.S.V.P attendance by December 4th to
Gerry Kruger at gerrykruger@comcast.net or text (or call) 434 960-1465
Enjoy open-mike from Blue Ridge Writers members reading from their holiday-related fiction, nonfiction, and poetry!* We’ll have lively games; conversations with BRW members and friends, both old and new; and light refreshments, including beverages, mouthwatering cookies, and a holiday cake to celebrate BRW and its members! Hope to see you there!
*Please call Lillian Connor at (434) 996-0764 no later than December 4th if you would like to read. Time allotted to each reader will depend upon the number of reader requests received.