2021 Winners
While the Society did not stage person to person events during COVID and its aftermath, the Faulkner – Wisdom Competition has continued and the winners for the 2021 are announced here. They were presented with winners from the 2020 competition on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at Happy Birthday, Mr. Faulkner! The black tie gala took place at the historic Ursuline Convent in the Vieux Carre of New Orleans. All winners were our invited guests for all events of the Faulkner Festival weekend, September 22 – 2025, 2023.
NOVEL
Winner
Rogues & Sinners: A Story of Beginnings
Victoria Ryan, New Orleans, Louisiana
Equal Runners-Up:
Requital, Frank Porter, Cambridge, MA
The Air Between Our Tubs, Justin Swingle, West Hollywood, CA
The Invention of Violet, Amy Boutell, Springfield, OR
Others on the Short List
After You’ve Gone, Walter McCloskey, New Orleans, LA
Like Water, Peter McDougal, Atlanta, GA
The Water House, Nneoma Ike-Njoku, Athens, GA
NON-FICTION BOOK
Winner
Small Altars
Justin Gardiner, Hamilton, GA
Equal Runners-Up
A Road Less Traveled, Randy Denmon, Monroe, LA
Stalwarts, David J. Kennedy, Bronx, NY
Others on the Short list
Diary of a Recovering Doormat, Christine Poythress, Madison, TN
Full Circle: A Hands On Affair with the First Ferrari GTO,
Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch, CO
Killing Closet, V. L. Brunskill, Richmond Hill, GA
NOVELLA
Winner
Test Dogs
Benjamin Duffy, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Runner-up
Hugger, David L. Anderson, Boerne, TX
Others on the Short list
Posey’s Ghost, Marilyn Moriarty, Roanoke, VA
Storyteller, Frank S. Johnson, Greenfield, MO
SHORT STORY
Winner
Quiet Men
Jean-Marc Duplantier, New Orleans, LA
Runner-Up
Uncle Edgar and the Tintinnabulation of the Bells, S.A. Slosberg,
New Rochelle, NY
Others on the Short List
Baby Doll,
Belle’s Homecoming,
Confessions of a Horse Renderer, David L. Anderson, Boerne, TX
Didn’t Want to Say I Told You So
Great American Scream Machine
Hotel Queenie
Mississippi
Thanks for Stopping
The Coming Out Table
The Double Doodle Mantra, S. A. Slosberg, New Rochelle, NY
Who am I now?
NOVEL-IN-PROGRESS
Winner
The House by the Water
Victor Wei Ke Yang, Lexington, KY
Runner-up:
The Petrova Project, Brenda L. Horrigan, Vineyard Haven, MA
Others on the Short List
American Heroine, Katherine Lim, London, UK
ESSAY
Winner
There’s a Yankee in My Garden
Jane Kahramanidis, New Orleans, LA
Equal Runners-up
Stuck in Lo Debar, Julie Klein, Desmoines, IA
One Writer’s Beginnings, Circa,1955, Rosemary Daniell, Savannah, GA
What to Pack in a Hospital Bag, Janine DeBaise, Kirkville, NY
Others on the Short list
Belly of the Armadilla. Lottie Brent Bogan, Jackson, MS
Crypto Mining, M. D. Veritas, New Orleans, LA
Roots in the Inquisition, Lynn Ditchfield, Edgartown, MA
Synchronicity, Karen Foresti Hempson, Skaneateles, NY
That Cute Laughing Girl, S. A. Slosberg, New Rochelle, NY
POETRY COLLECTION
Winner
Phaeton’s Wheels
Dennis Fomento, Slidell, LA
Equal Runners-up
Pre-owned Odyssey and Rented Rooms, Lawrence Rhu, Columbia, SC
Memories Lounge, Ujjvala Bagal Rahn, Savannah, GA
Others on the Short List
Leave-Taking, Camille Carter, Chinook, MT
Touch, Gynn O’Gara, Sebastopol, CA
INDIVIDUAL POEM
Winner
Superman Sarajevo
Laura Joyce-Hubbard, Highland Park, IL
Equal Runners Up:
Duplicity, Tina D. C. Hayes, Lexington, KY
Say his Name, Too, Terry Edmonds, New York, NY
Solid Jackson, Dennis Fomento, Slidell, LA
Others On Short List
These Crowded Streets, Kristen Hipke Schorp, New Orleans, LA
Interior Design, Christine Poythress, Madison, TN
SHORT STORY BY
A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
Equal Winners
Father’s Joy
Julie Chou, Beijing, China
Trinkets for the Dead
Sidne Gard, New Orleans, LA
Equal Runners-Up
A Mouthful of Bloody Teeth, Deja Robinson, New Orleans, LA
Our Days with Nicollete Jones, Maya Wandrei, New Orleans, LA
Potomu, Sonja Mehta, Dublin, OH
Others on the Short List
A Thousand Sons, Lochlan Krupa, Port Townsend, WA
Last Chance, Sonja Mehta, Dublin, OH
For a list of others who placed, click on:
2021 Competition Continued
For a list of the 2020 Winner, click on:
2020 Winners