The Golden Nib, started in 2005, is the Virginia Writers Club (VWC) annual writing competition in three categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. The contest has two tiers. CBW first place winners receive a cash prize and go on to compete in the VWC state-wide contest with cash prizes.
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The contest has two levels. Submissions must be made at the local level. The first place in each of the three categories will then move on to the state level. But the rules of formatting, length, and cover information are all the same.
Golden Nib Winners 2025
CBW - Local Level
FICTION:
1st place: Donna-Lin Pratt - Bittermarsh- Chapter One
2nd place: Patti Gaustad Procopi - Summer in the Old South
3rd place: Sandy Hicks - Gallus Domesticus
NON-FICTION:
1st place: Patti Gaustad Procopi-The Osprey
2nd place: Timothy Blair - Self is all of me - and all I have!
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POETRY:
1st place: Sandy Hicks - The Storm
2nd place: Timothy Blair - Memories of You
3rd place: Patti Gaustad Procopi - Remembrance
VWC - State Level
FICTION:
1st place: Donna-Lin Pratt - Bittermarsh
2nd place: Marilynn Deane Mendel - I Did Everything
3rd place: Ben East - Down on Jupiter
NON-FICTION:
1st place: Ben East - Mr. Mediocrity's Great American Novel
2nd place: Francesca Flood - Passages
3rd place: Emily Walls Ray - Southern Neighbors
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POETRY:
1st place: Dottie Ward-Wimmer - Birth
2nd place: Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt - Mindsetting
3rd place: Mark Fryburg - The Queen of Steam
Golden Nib Winners 2024
CBW - Local Level
Fiction
1st place: Andrew Zhou - A Warm Welcome
2nd place: Bradley Harper- Ghost Writer
3rd place: Amy Voltaire- The Japanese Maple
Non-Fiction
1st place: Denise DeVries Water and Lith – reflections on “Cabrini”
2nd place: Patti Procopi - Atlantis
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Poetry
1st place: Denise DeVries - Metroplex of Counterpane
2nd place: Chris Green- Unrest
3rd place: Diana Caron - Looking Back
VWC - State Level
Fiction
1st place: Linda Kay Simmons - Harry's Taxi Service
2nd place: Maryel Stone - Vapor Trail
3rd Place: Roger Hammons - Bloom
Non-fiction
1st place: Caroline Crocker - If the Tree Could Speak
2nd place: Deborah A. Burghardt - We Lived Lives
3rd place: Andrea Yarbough -Lost and Found
Poetry
1st place: Sage Cohen - Where the Light Enters
2nd place: Joe Sissler - Southern Breeze
3rd place: Denise DeVries - Metroplex of Counterpane
Golden Nib Winners 2023
Chesapeake Bay Writers- Local Winners
Virginia Writers Club - State Winners
2022
FICTION
Donna Lin-Pratt
Peter Stipe
Robert Webb
POETRY
Norma Cofresi
Denise Devries
Sharon Dorsey
NON-FICTION
Diana Farrar Caron
Sharon Dorsey
2021
FICTION
Ronald Munro *
Ann Eichenmuller
Andrew Ball
POETRY
Andrew Ball
Christian Pascale
Peggy Newcomb
NON-FICTION
Terry Cox-Joseph
Dayna Hutson
Ellen Dugan
2020
FICTION
Sarah C. Honenberger
Ann Eichenmuller
Andrew Ball
POETRY
Sarah C. Honenberger
Ellen Dugan
Sharon Dorsey
NON-FICTION
Sharon Dorsey
Cindy Freeman
2019
FICTION
Patti Procopi
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POETRY
Sharon Dorsey
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NON-FICTION
Cindy L. Freeman
2018
FICTION
Julie Leverenz
Ann M. Skelton
Susan Williamson
POETRY
Ann M. Skelton
Sharon Dorsey
Carol Bova
NON-FICTION
Peggy Newcomb
Peter Stipe
Sharon Dorsey
2017
FICTION
Ann Eichenmuller *
Vic Brown
Sharon Dorsey
POETRY
Ellen Dugan
Paul Stimson
Sharon Dorsey
NON-FICTION
Cindy Freeman
Carol Bova
Paul Stimson