Announcing the 2026 SCWC Writing Award Winners

We are always so pleased to get to recognize Christian writers for their outstanding published work, and each year the SCWC Writing Awards give us that opportunity.

The following writers were recognized at the recent Southern Christian Writers Conference (held June 19-20 in Birmingham, Alabama) for their award-winning published pieces from the prior year. The awards are given out during the closing session at each year's annual SCWC gathering and recognize outstanding published work in the categories of magazine article, newspaper article, short fiction, poetry, blog post, and devotion.

Congratulations to this year's winners:

** click on the link to see the pieces online if available **

Magazine Article
1st place: Marla Price, "More than Meets the Eye," Talegate Magazine
2nd place: Doug Smith, "Kids and Chatbots: How dissenting views got me disinvited," Mind Matters
3rd place: Deborah Malone, "Red Dirt People," Georgia Backroads
Honorable mention: Vanessa Jones, "Role Reversal," Home Life
Honorable mention: Laura Lee Leathers, "A checkup from the neck up," Mississippi Christian Living

Newspaper Article
1st place: Solomon Crenshaw Jr., "From Selma to Montgomery, Alabama marches for civil rights once again," The Handbasket
2nd place: Tracy Riggs Frontz, "Ady’s BIG army helping those with disabilities make ‘beautiful things’," The Alabama Baptist
3rd place: April McCay, "Dad and me at the Vietnam Veteran Ceremony," The Blount Countian

Short Fiction
1st place: Carole Lehr Johnson, "Heritage of Faith," Semiquincentennial: A Collection of Diverse Short Stories
2nd place: Susan Poole, "Here Comes the Sun: Laurel's Story," Songs of the Heart
3rd place: Cindy Pye, "On a Skate and a Prayer," Love for Keeps

Poetry
1st place: Kelly Mize, "A Guest Unseen," Anchored Magazine
2nd place: Bill King, "His Name is Jesus," This Little Line of Mine: Lyrics, Lines, and Rhymes
3rd place: Eddie Burchfield, "To Be Kind is the Right Kind," Chelsea Magazine
Honorable mention: Rebecca Lusk, "The Stations of the Cross," A Collection (East Side Writer’s Group)

Blog Post
1st place: Billy Ready, "Listening Well, Loving Well," Living by Design
2nd place: Susan Poole, "Splashing," Susan Poole blog
3rd place: Cindy Pye, "Beauty in Difficulty," Cindy Pye blog
Honorable mention: Shea Pirtle, "His Signs," Carissa Lovvorn blog

Devotion
1st place: Kelly Mize, "A Whisper of Peace," Arise Daily Devotions
2nd place: Mark Wainwright, "He is Risen!" Go! Magazine
3rd place: Carissa Lovvorn, "Name in the Sky," Coffee with God, Vol. 6

Honorable mention: Alice Murray, "New Chapter, New Perspective," All Things New

Winners who were in attendance at the 2026 Southern Christian Writers Conference received recognition for their awards Pictured here are (l-r): Carrissa Lovvorn, Solomon Crenshaw Jr., Deborah Malone Susan Poole, Kelly Mize, Alice Murray, Eddie Burchfield, Tracy Frontz, Vanessa Jones, Marla Price, Billy Ready, and Shea Pirtle. The SCWC took place at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.

Congratulations to all of these writers on their publication achievements during the last year, and congratulations also to everyone who entered the contest. We received many submissions in each category and while we couldn't recognize everyone, we love knowing that so many of you strived after and achieved publication. That's no small feat, and we are proud of your hard work.

The Southern Christian Writers Conference continues to provide its members with opportunities to get published and to be recognized for their work. We hold monthly writing challenges (announced here on the blog and in the community's Facebook group) and also have the Notable Book Awards (which are open to submissions each October); publication opportunities also come through Anchored Magazine and through paperback anthologies open to SCWC attendees. Anyone interested in learning more can email us at scwritersconference@gmail.com.