2020 Betty Gabehart Prizes

WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Congratulations to:

  • Marci Cornett of Morehead, Kentucky, for the short story, “The Black Veil”
  • Amanda Hawkins of Woodland, California, for “Ars Poetica” and other poems
  • Lisa Kent of Columbia, Missouri, for the essay “Death, Rock Me to Sleep”

Marci Cornett is originally from Perry County, KY, and now splits her time between Morehead, KY, where her parents live, and Cork, Ireland, where her husband is from. After going to culinary school, she worked in professional kitchens and wrote about food in her spare time. A few years ago, she became a copywriter so she could turn writing into a full-time career and creative writing into a daily practice.

Amanda Hawkins holds an M.A. in theological studies from Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, and begins her M.F.A. at UC Davis in the fall. She is a Tin House and Bread Loaf Scholar, a three time Pushcart nominee, and the winner of the Editor’s Prize for Poetry at The Florida Review. Her poetry and lyric essay can be found in Boston Review, The Cincinnati Review, The Orison Anthology, Orion, Terrain, and Tin House."

Lisa Kent is a writer, yoga teacher, musician, and passionate lover of people. Her writings muse on parenting, marriage, and the sacredness of the ordinary in everyday life. Lisa's work has appeared in the Huffington Post, The Columbia Tribune, and COMO Living Magazine. She lives in Missouri with her husband and their two youngest children.

Each year three emerging writer awards are presented by Kentucky Women Writers. The Betty Gabehart Prizes in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry recognize and support writers of exceptional talent who show potential for excellence in their literary endeavors. Winners receive:

  • $300 honorarium, which may be used to defray travel & lodging expenses for:
  • the opportunity to appear on stage to give a reading during the Kentucky Women Writers Conference on Sept. 17-20 in Lexington, and
  • full tuition support to attend the conference and enroll in one small-group writing workshop

Here are submission guidelines. You can submit online or by mail, as follows.

Online:
Online submission form

Mail-in form:
Download the entry form

Mail package with:

  • entry form
  • 2 copies of the work
  • $10 entry fee payable to KWWC

Please to:
Betty Gabehart Prize
Kentucky Women Writers Conference
University of Kentucky
232 East Maxwell Street
Lexington, KY 40506-0344

Direct inquiries to: kentuckywomenwriters@gmail.com