The overall quality of work entered in all categories of the 2025-2026 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition was good to excellent, making preliminary round judging difficult and time consuming.  There were 819 total entries in this year’s competition from 44 states and eight foreign countries.  Those who placed represent roughly 30 per cent of
the total entries.

We congratulate all writers who placed in the competition and encourage you to continue writing. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the new competition, which will open on
December 1, 2026 with a deadline of June 15, 2027. 

We are pleased to present here below the lists of works which placed as finalists and semi-finalists. To review Short Lists,
Runners-up, and Winners, CLICK HERE!

NOVEL
Finalists
Abaton, John Kearns, New York, NY
CIA Seventh Grade, Taylor Lucio, North Glenn, CO
Belvedere, John Irwin, West Boothbay Harbor, ME
Boys of Autumn, Robert Jones, Irvine, CA
Charlie and the Doing of Non-Doing, Jay Matthew Korn,
San Rafael, CA
Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming, Joseph Skibell, Atlanta, GA 
Elmer & Leonard, Linda-Raven Woods, Huntsville, AL
Elvis and the Fastback, Paul Dorrell, Kansas City, MO
It’s Always the Boyfriend, C.J. Howell, Scottsdale, AZ 
Just One More, Jonathan Byrd, Bavaria, Germany
Lost Coastlines, Graham Ungerleider, New Orleans, LA
Love, The Gypsy’s Child, Dr. Bennett Hilleman Williams, Louisville, KY
Memory Sickness, D. H. Lee, Jacksonville, FL
Minister of Color, Karima Alavi, Santa Fe, NM
Mr. Inside Washington, Benjamin Duffy, Montgomery, AL
My Unshaped Form, John Peter Learn, Alberta, Canada
Missing Diane, Martha Burns, Santa Fe, NM
Paint the Walls White, Ben Taylor, Pleasantville, NY
Perdurance, Ian Maxton, Lincoln, NE
Skin Deep, Janet Taylor-Perry, Ridgeland, MS
Smash, Emily Cavanagh, Oak Bluffs, MA
Something is Wrong with Molly, Bruce Wexler, Elmhursr, IL
Somwhere Else, Paul Byall, Savannah, GA
Striking Justice, Micheal Jimerson, Henderson, TX
That Dark Secret, Claire Fullerton, Memphis, TN
The City As It Was, Weston Clay, Savannah, GA
The Girl Who Knew, Curt Klinghoffer, Pooler, GA
The Last Will and Testament of Marlboro Patch, Michael Ditchfield, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
The Lies of Martin Ort, Claudia Hoffman, Madison Heights, MI
The Little Rescue, Minrose Gwin, Albequerque, NM
The Night They Burned Sacco and Vanzetti, Richard Di Donato, 
Ithaca, NY
The Serpent and The Wheel, Megan Baxter, Springfield, NH
Tikva, Yitzchak Francus,
To Kill A Man, Peter McDougall, San Diego, CA
US, Unbounded, Alan Steinberg, Los Angeles, CA
Walking Around Lucky, John Thomas Everett, Phoenix, MD
Whistle Me A Woman, Jon Kemp, New Orleans, LA
White Fawn, David B. Holton, New Orleans, LA
Wilson’s Way, Sean W. Murphy, Rancho de Taos, NM
Semi-Finalists
Absolutely Stupid, Murdic Jones, Summerville, SC
A Hole in the World, Lauren Harper Barrow, Virginia Beach, VA
A Short Flight to Tunis, Shay McLean, Walnut Creek, CA
A Zero Sum Game, Greg Jones, Orinda, CA
Altitude Drift, Bill Bennett, St. Johns, FL
Before the Thunder, Katherine Nelson-Born, Pensacola, FL
Crab Girl, Ellen Breck Coggeshall
Darkness, Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin, Carboro, NC
Gothic Man, Gerald Johnson, Jr., Issaqua, OR
How to Hug a Lion, Margaret Hayertz, Portland, OR
Huckleberry Jim, Adam Nelson, Long Branch, NJ
Intruder in the Garden of Vatican Hill, John R. Foley,
Rockville, MA
Leave of Absence, Julie Morin, Bothell, WA
Lonny’s Bruegelian Wall, Stephen Kash, Terre Haute, IN
Nadine and Her Mother at the Beach, Fran Schumer,
Oak Bluffs, MA
Newman’s Choice, Mark Connelly, Milwaukee, WI
Number 103, Mohammad_Reza_Hossein
Ten Buddhas Plus Two, Thomas Owen, Melbourne, FL
The Abbess, Victoria Rohner, Sturgeon Bay, WI
The Boneswood Group, Mollie Crisp-Rugila, La Plata, MD
The Days Are Evil, Todd Copeland, Waco, TX
The Featherman, Robert P. Johnson, Santa Barbara, CA
The Kids of Crossroads, Linda-Raven Woods, Huntsville, AL
The Little Rescue, Minrose Gwin, Albaquerque, NM
The Science of Seduction: Descendants, Terrence Reese, Chicago, IL
Season of the Thunderbird, Virginia Ewing Hudson,
Medanales, NM
Throw Away Wife, G. P. Sant’Angelo, Flushing, NY
When Words Become Water, Sid Johnson, Honolulu, HI
White Spots, Kelly Collamore, Cutchogue, NY

NON-FICTION BOOK
Finalists
Already Bound for a Brighter Unknown, Holly Hunt,
Hot Springs, AR
Angel Buddies, Donna Faddo Ivery, Richmond, CA
Darkness and Light, Barbara Donnolly Lane, Knoxville, TN
Sing Me Back Home, Christine Poythress, Madison, TN
The Last Ones Who Remember, Donald Hodge, Jr.
Lake Charles, LA
Semi-Finalists
Dharma Dad, T. S. Calzavara, Littleton, CO
Little Did I Know, Lisa Crumley, Lansing, MI
The Card, the Streetlight, and The Wonder Junkie, Steve Kash, Terre Haute, IN
The House That Jack Built, Megan Williams, Bellingham, WA

COLLECTIONS
Finalists
Country Squire, Ed Southern, Winston-Salem, NC
Fallen Apple, Mark Connolly, Milwaukee, WI
Little Life Stories, Richard Jespers, Lubbock, TX
Rare Earths, Patricia Warren, Sandy Springs, GA
No other entries were selected to place.
SHORT FICTION
Finalists
A Little Peace and Quiet, Allia Zobel Nolan, Norwalk, CT
Bar Tabac, Benjamin Duffy, Montgomery, AL
Chi Rho Lake Luau Album 1958, David Galef, Montclair, NJ
Conjuring Elvis, David Martin Anderson, Boerne, TX
Great Northern, Mick Schommer, Los Angeles, CA
Manchac, David Romero, New Orleans, LA
Six Silver Ponies, Amy Crawford, Hattiesburg, MS
The Boy and The Snake, Walker Jernigan, Decatur, GA
The Wedding Reception, Winifred Brown, New Orleans, LA
Ushering In October, Mary Rowen, Arlington, MA
Vote Often, David Martin Anderson, Boerne, TX
War, Peace, and Sisters, Highlands Ranch, CO
Semi-Finalists
Calling Your Name, Lottie Brent Boggan, Jackson, MS
Coasting on Fumes, Benjamin Duffy, Montgomery, AL
Concetta, Maureen D. Hall, Sandy Hook, CT
Pinnochio South, Sean W. Murphy, Ranchos de Taos, NM
Tag Sale Lady, Lynn Morrisey, Craryville, NY
The Lock Clicked Softly, David Martin Anderson, Boerne, TX

BOOK IN PROGRESS
Finalists
A Plague of Light, Alexander Shalom Joseph, Boulder, CO
A River Diverted, Linda-Raven Woods, Huntsville, AL
A Worm in the Tooth, Clayton Luz, Fort Meyers, FL
Egret, Marguerite Sheffer, New Orleans, LA
Fishy Business, Sandra Friend, Mims, FL
How to Escape, Katherine Lazarus, Burlington, VT
Incidentals, Matthew Minson, Las Vegas, NV
Lardman, Chris Jenkins, Evergreen, CO
Lots, Joyce Miller, Cincinatti, OH
Mobius, Stan Kempton, New Orleans, LA
Mother, Daughter and Holy Ghost, Jon Kemp, New Orleans, LA
Pair Bonding, Stella Joyce Krall,
Pterodactyl, Rachel Stolzman-Gullo, Brooklyn, NY
Tender Places, Megan Ferrando, New Orleans, LA
The Last Confession, Richard Meredith, Sacramento, CA
The Long End of Night, Christopher Love, Tuscaloosa, AL
The Longest Promise, Rodney Nelsestuen, Woodbury, MN
The New Acadia, Sharon LaCour, Lafayette, LA
What Belongs Together, Emily Gambone, Lakewood, CO
What Was It About Us, Lisa Porter, Tuscon, AZ
World Without Words, Pattie Welek Hall, Summerville, SC
Semi-Finalists
Dead Man’s Claim, Richard Meredith, Sacramento, CA
Esther: Let the King Come, Elizabeth Adams, Prospect, KY
Finding Charlie, Mary J. Nestor, Hilton Head, SC
From the Oak’s Shadows, Linda-Raven Woods, Huntsville, AL
Huckleberry Jim, Adam Nelson, Long Branch, NJ
Linus: Son of Apollo, John Everett Thomas, Phoenix, MD
Sugar and Silk, Jewel Williams, Elmwood, LA
The Book of Mirath, Rachel Wilhelm, Cambridge, MA

ESSAY
Finalists
California, Here I Come, Kathleen Maguire, Tybee Island, GA
Kudzu, Kathleen Maguire, Tybee Island, GA
The Chiffarobe, Madonna Ball, Omaha, NB
Semi-Finalists
No other entries were selected to place.

POETRY COLLECTION
No other entries were selected to place.

INDIVIDUAL POEM
Finalists
Dixie Elegy, Jack Stillwaggon, Hamilton, NY
Happy Clamor, Patrick Reardon, Chicago, ILMustard Seed, Patrick Reardon, Chicago, IL
No Pasarán – They Will Not, Lynn Ditchfield,
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Saving One, Patrick Reardon, Chicago, IL
Vigil, Patricia Barone, St. Paul, MN
The Man at the Door, Rosemary Daniell, Savannah, GA
Semi-Finalists
No other entries were selected to place.