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2011 Mainstream Fiction Writing Winners

Writer's Digest would like to congratulate the 100 Mainstream Fiction Writing winners of the 80th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition!

Writer's Digest would like to congratulate the 100 Mainstream Fiction Writing winners of the 80th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition!

First Place Winner:

Erik Hoel
Madison WI

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The Top 100

Erik Hoel
Madison WI Jerrianne Hayslett
South Milwaukee WI Alan Black
Albany CA Siamak Vossoughi
San Francisco CA Bonnie S. Linder
Fairfax VA Linda Byrd Kilian
Clinton MS Sandra Hunter
Woodland Hills CA Frederic Townsend
Lake Bluff IL Raymond Ku
Naperville IL Tova Dian Dean
San Jose CA John T. Biggs
Oklahoma City OK Jan Stinchcomb
Austin TX Teresa Stores
West Hartford CT Erin Flaaen
Glendale AZ Millie Ledford Lee
Portland OR Susan Anderson
Prospect Heights IL Tara Mitchell
Singapore Other Carol Johnson
Tulsa OK Sherie Fox Schmauder
Incline Village NV Julia Fulton
La Jolla CA Adnan Mahmutovic
Stockholm Other William Shih
Flushing NY Robert Mundy
Omaha NE Alaric Lejano
Jersey City NJ Colleen M. Story
Idaho Falls ID Christian Riley
New York NY Kevin Hart
Brooklyn NY John Salick
Middletown CA Madeleine Hart
L'Amable ON Chloe Bolan
Chicago IL C. M. Lo
Scarsdale NY John Salick
Middletown CA Lisa Douglass
Los Angeles CA Cynthia Gregory
Portland OR Joyce Finn
Bluffton SC Clif Webb
Houston, TX Mick Ransford
Dublin 24 Other Holly Rizzuto Palker
London Other M.R. Lovgren
Chico CA Elaine Costanzo
New Concord OH William Doonan
Sacramento CA Campbell Cloar
Greeneville TN Adrian Ruiz
Tempe AZ Jennifer Celani
Elizabeth City NC Gregory Schieffer
Lakewood CO Abbe Rolnick
Sedro Woolley WA mary beth leymaster matteo
Lancaster PA R.C. Neighbors
Bryan TX Katie Smith
Cranston RI Jennifer Hritz
Austin TX

Charles Frode
Eagle ID Cameron Coursey
Defiance MO Charles Frode
Eagle ID Donna L. Turello
Staten Island NY Cain Azar
Orefield PA B.G. Armstrong
Avondale Estates GA M.R. Lovgren
Chico CA Kate Belcher
Toronto ON Leon Hess
Hot Springs AR April Rubasch
Vail AZ Carla Petree
Montara CA James L. Milne
Oak Harbor WA Mary Hutchings Reed
Chicago IL Roger Real Drouin
Delray Beach FL Lindsey Armstrong
London Other Patryk Zielonka
Cranford NJ Rebecca Ashcraft
Kansas City MO A.M. LoGerfo
Seattle WA Brendan Thompson
Astoria NY Helen Sedwick
Santa Rosa CA Kennebrew Surant
Clinton Township MI B. Phillips
Inverness FL T.J. Knightly
Tulare CA B.J. Spamer
Kansas City MO Robert Larry Specht
Washington DC Robert Smit
Wyoming MI Vanessa Fabiano
Madrid , Spain Rebecca Ashcraft
Kansas City MO B.K Barrett
Salem OR Gabrielle Mandel
Brooklyn NY Scott Mesrobian
Champlin MN Joseph M. Williams
Normal IL Joyce Finn
Bluffton SC Karen Kachra
Oakville ON Julianne McCullagh
Flower Mound TX Ewing Eugene Baldwin
Skokie IL Daisy Kate
Melbourne Other Ian Blake Newhem
Mountain Dale NY Donna L. Turello
Staten Island NY John Gorman
LIC NY Christine Peters
Mill Valley CA Todd D. Reppert
New York NY Alethea Black
Holmes NY Michael Lundy
Riverton IA Denise Ganley
Mesa AZ Ericka Clay
Corpus Christi TX Hays McCormick
Manassas VA John Patrick Legry
Portland OR Britney Hope
Toronto ON Hannah Jones
Eagan MN

Didn't quite make the cut? Try one of our mainstream fiction products to help prepare you for next year!

What the Death Card Revealed About My Writing Career, by Megan Tady

What the Death Card Revealed About My Writing Career

Award-winning author Megan Tady shares how receiving the death card in relation to her future as an author created new opportunities, including six new habits to protect her mental health.

T.J. English: Making Bad Choices Makes for Great Drama

T.J. English: Making Bad Choices Makes for Great Drama

In this interview, author T.J. English discusses how he needed to know more about the subject before agreeing to write his new true-crime book, The Last Kilo.

Holiday Fight Scene Helper (FightWrite™)

Holiday Fight Scene Helper (FightWrite™)

This month, trained fighter and author Carla Hoch gives the gift of helping you with your fight scenes with this list of fight-related questions to get your creative wheels turning.

One Piece of Advice From 7 Horror Authors in 2024

One Piece of Advice From 7 Horror Authors in 2024

Collected here is one piece of advice for writers from seven different horror authors featured in our author spotlight series in 2024, including C. J. Cooke, Stuart Neville, Del Sandeen, Vincent Ralph, and more.

How to Make a Crazy Story Idea Land for Readers: Bringing Believability to Your Premise, by Daniel Aleman

How to Make a Crazy Story Idea Land for Readers: Bringing Believability to Your Premise

Award-winning author Daniel Aleman shares four tips on how to make a crazy story idea land for readers by bringing believability to your wild premise.

Why I Write: From Sartre to Recovery and Back Again, by Henriette Ivanans

Why I Write: From Sartre to Recovery and Back Again

Author Henriette Ivanans gets existential, practical, and inspirational while sharing why she writes, why she really writes.

5 Tips for Exploring Mental Health in Your Fiction, by Lisa Williamson Rosenberg

5 Tips for Exploring Mental Health in Your Fiction

Author Lisa Williamson Rosenberg shares her top five tips for exploring mental health in your fiction and how that connects to emotion.

Chelsea Iversen: Follow Your Instincts

Chelsea Iversen: Follow Your Instincts

In this interview, author Chelsea Iversen discusses the question she asks herself when writing a character-driven story, and her new historical fantasy novel, The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt.

Your Story #134

Your Story #134

Write a short story of 650 words or fewer based on the photo prompt. You can be poignant, funny, witty, etc.; it is, after all, your story.