333/33 Writing Contest: This month, February 2026, SloNightwriters is having a short-form writing contest. Donate $5 using the Donate tab to enter. It is called 333/33 because there will be two winners: Prose, fiction, or non-fiction (must be 333 words or less) or Poetry (must be 33 words or less). Your piece must include the word “green” somewhere in the text. Deadline 3/1/2026 midnight. Winners announced and read at the March general meeting. After donating $5, or just prior to donating, email your entry to info@slonightwriters.org. Looking forward to reading your submissions! Open to members and non-members alike. Questions? Email SloNightwritersVP@gmail.com for answers! Enter as many times as you want!
The 2026 Golden Quill Writing Contest opens spring 2026!
The winter 2025/2026 issue of The NightWriter Review is coming soon!
In the meantime, please check out the 2025 winners and judges.
2025 GOLDEN QUILL WRITING CONTEST
CONTEST WINNERS!
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 Golden Quill Writing Contest! Winners will receive a cash prize and publication in 2025 issue of The NightWriter Review. With the large number of submissions we received and the high quality of the work, our decisions were incredibly difficult to make.
We will celebrate the contest winners with a reading at the next general meeting of the SLONightWriters on September 9th at 6:30 p.m. There will be cake! SLO NightWriters members are also invited to attend our online celebration via Zoom on Wednesday, September 17th, at noon Pacific Time. Please visit the SLO NightWriters website for more information.
Congratulations to this years winners, as determined by our outside judges, Juliet McDaniel (fiction), Deanne Stillman (nonfiction), and Caleb Nichols (poetry). Thank you so much to these judges for their commitment to literary citizenship and for contributing their time to read the finalists and select the winning entries.
FICTION:
First Place: “The Amateur’s Guide to Renovating Your Haunted House” by Molly Powers
Second Place: “Eating in Darkness” by Bobby Sorensen
Third Place: “Give Me Liberty … Or, At Least ‘Plan C’” by Zaslow Crane
NONFICTION:
First Place: “Mardi Gras” by Rob Rogers
Second Place: “Navigating Mauretania” by Dawn Smith
Third Place (tie):
“Risky Rewards” by Dean Thompson
“Moth to a Flame” by Katy Bonello
POETRY:
First place: “To Vulnerability” by Carolyn Chilton
Second place: “Through the Desert” by Emily Niebuhr
Third place: “Is This His Way of Counting Coup?” by Andréa Gannon
The first, second, and third place winners will be featured in the 2025 issue of The NightWriter Review, coming soon. If your entry wasn’t named a winner, it is currently still under consideration for publication in 2025 issue of The NightWriter Review. Decisions will be made and notifications sent out shortly.
Thank you for trusting us with your work. We wish you continued success with your writing.
Sincerely,
Harvey Ardman
Golden Quill Writing Contest Director
Editor-in-Chief, The NightWriter Review