Announcing the 14th Annual Popular Fiction Awards Winners
See the full list of winners of the Writer’s Digest 14th Annual Popular Fiction Awards.
Congratulations to the winners of the 14th Annual Writers Digest Popular Fiction Awards! Out of more than 1,200 entries, the Writers Digest team chose a grand prize winner as well as a first place winner and honorable mentions in each category: science fiction/fantasy, thriller/suspense, horror, young adult, romance and mystery/crime.
To read the best in genre fiction, follow the links provided to read the grand prize entry and first place winner in each category. For complete coverage of the competition, check out out the May/June 2019 issue of Writer's Digest. Click here for an extended interview with the grand prize winner.
Grand Prize
"Night Surf" by David Burns (Read Here)
Science Fiction/Fantasy
First Place
“Alterity” by Emily M. Dietrich (Read Here)
Honorable Mentions
“Bus Stops” by John Biggs
“Living the Dream on the Final Frontier” by Daniel Elliot
“Soar” by Michele Roberts-Bonn
“The Copper Warning” by Ruth Simon
Thriller/Suspense
First Place
“Some Pig” by Thomas Gutierrez (Read Here)
Honorable Mentions
“Brother Henry” by Peter Figur
“Hearts Beat” by Lynsley Grady
“Lawyer at the Gates of Hell” by Hank Rowland
“Momma, I Gotta Go” by Julie Anton
Horror
First Place
“The Unexpected Guest” by Connie White (Read Here)
Honorable Mentions
“Milk Teeth” by Mackenzie Hurlbert
“Needle and Knife” by L.J. Longo
“Radiant Suns and Elephant Ears” by Shevon Porter
“The New Guy” by Erin Chavis
Young Adult
First Place
“Eighteen” by Sandi Ward (Read Here)
Honorable Mentions
“A Pill Between” by JoAnna Rowe
“Crows Fly at Dawn” by Charlie S. Quinn
“Herself” by Laura Todd Carns
“Red, Right…” by Lara Morello
Romance
First Place
“Fragments” by Kevin Hogg (Read Here)
Honorable Mentions
“Everywhere a Sign” by Richard Leist
“Letting Go” by Raquel Levitt
“Some Kinda Hat” by Margaret (Rita) Smith
“The Ghost of Arabelle Vale” by Michelle Lindsey
Mystery/Crime
First Place
“The Schuyler Diamonds” by Benjamin Fine (Read Here)
Honorable Mentions
“Exodus” by Jillian Shoichet
“The Adventurer” by Jeff Siebold
“The Bet” by William Mueller
“Town Watch” by Carol Kohn
About Cassandra Lipp
Cassandra Lipp is managing editor of Writer's Digest. She is the author of Queen City Records, which tells the stories behind the indie record shops of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Her work has appeared in Greener Pastures, The Belladonna, Little Old Lady, Points in Case, and Ohio's Best Emerging Poets 2019. Follow her on Twitter @Cassie000000.
