Books on Bosque Writing Contest Winners
POSTED: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Congratulations to the winners in our 5th Annual Writing Contest for Books on the Bosque!
We offer our deepest thanks to Dr. Moumin Quazi and Dr. Walt Moore for serving as contest judges and conference speakers. The two also led the awards ceremony and lingered to answer questions and give feedback to various writers.
Great thanks go to our generous sponsors, without whom we would not be able to award such nice prizes:
FIRST SECURITY STATE BANK
STEVE & LESLIE MCCONNICO
ROLAND & JOYCE JONES
2026 Winners
$1,000 Jones Best of the West Award
“What the Stones Remember” by Angela Moore, Essay
OPEN ESSAY
First Place
“In a Certain Light” by Todd Copeland
Second Place
“What the Stones Remember” by Angela Moore
Third Place
“Riggs” by Candace Smith Ingram
Honorable Mention
“Losing One of the Herd” by Lynne Schmidt
Honorable Mention
“Texas Cowboy English” by George Wilhite
OPEN POETRY
First Place
“That Night in the Davis Mountains” by Kathryn Jones
Second Place
“Nightfall on the Edge of the West” by Kathryn Jones
Third Place
“I See You” by Candace Smith Ingram
Honorable Mention
“Trigger” by Kari Stanley
Honorable Mention
“On Halloween I Rearrange My Spice Rack” by Katharyn Howd Machan
OPEN SHORT STORY
First Place
“Body” by Miles Wilson
Second Place
“Left on Read” by Laura Bowman
Third Place
“Does Heaven Have Clouds” by Laura Bowman
Honorable Mention
“They Are Called Graw” by Katharyn Howd Machan
Honorable Mention
“No Such Thing as Brownies” by Bryan Bowman
HIGH SCHOOL POETRY
First Place
“Drowning” by Kendall Houser
Second Place
“The Wise Witness” by Ella Grace Smith
Third Place
“The Yearn of a Lonely Heart” by Adeline Clark
HIGH SCHOOL PROSE
First Place
“Fly Back to Me” by Adeline Clark, Short Story
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