ORGANIZER OF THE SHORT STORY CONTEST
Caroline Bock is the author of Carry Her Home, winner of the Fiction Award from the Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and Lie and Before My Eyes, young adult novels from St. Martin’s Press. She is the co-president/editor at the Washington Writers’ Publishing House, a nonprofit literary press that’s celebrating 50 years of publishing DMV writers. For the past several years, she’s been the organizer and a judge for the Adult and High School Short Story contests, and loves reading the entries and meeting the winners. She lives with her family in Potomac.
ADULT SHORT STORY CONTEST JUDGES
Therese Doucet wroteThe Prisoner of the Castle of Enlightenment, a historical novel with magical realist elements that was published by D.X. Varos in 2020. She is a former Fulbright fellow and fellow of the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She lives in the Cathedral Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Lisa K. Friedman is an award-winning essayist, author and educator. Her titles include three novels and eight nonfiction books. Her latest novel, Hello Wife, will be released this year. She has judged the Washington Writers’ Publishing House writing contest and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She lives in Washington, D.C.
Piérre Ramon Thomas is the author of creative work that can be seen in WWPH Writes, BlueInk and The Nomadic Poet: A Collection of Poetry & Prose. He’s simultaneously working on a memoir and his second collection of poetry and prose. Thomas resides in Northern Virginia.
HIGH SCHOOL SHORT STORY CONTEST JUDGES
Amy Freeman, aresident of Montgomery County, has bylines and upcoming work in The Washington Post, Parents.com, HuffPost, Taco Bell Quarterly and many other publications and anthologies. She also serves as development director for The Writer’s Center, Washington, D.C.’s premier literary organization. You can see her full portfolio at amylfreeman.com.
Kelsea Johnson is a co-founder of indie publishing house Stirred Stories, which has been recognized by the Children’s Book Council, Reading Is Fundamental and The Washington Post for its diverse collection of books and refreshing approach to publishing. A native and current resident of Washington, D.C., she is committed to using storytelling as a tool for positive social change.
Vonetta Young is a writer and strategy consultant based in Washington, D.C. Her essays and fiction have appeared in Indiana Review, Barrelhouse, Lunch Ticket, Catapult and CosmonautsAvenue, among others. She is twice a graduate of Georgetown University. Follow her on Instagram @VonettaWrites.
ESSAY CONTEST JUDGES
Julia Tagliere is a writer whose work has appeared in Gargoyle, Washington Independent Review of Books and elsewhere. A past winner of the William Faulkner Literary Competition for Best Short Story and the Nancy Zafris Short Story Fellowship, Julia recently won the 2023 Alternating Current Press’ Electric Book Award for her forthcoming collection, Reliance: Stories & Essays. She completed her M.A. in Writing at Johns Hopkins University and founded/hosts the MoCo Underground Writers Showcase. She serves as an editor with The Baltimore Review and is a recipient of a 2022 Independent Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. Find her at justscribbling.com.
Eric Weiner is a philosophical traveler, “recovering malcontent” and bestselling author. His books include The Geography of Bliss (now a docuseries on NBC/Peacock) and The Geography of Genius, as well as Man Seeks God and The Socrates Express. His work has been translated into more than 24 languages. A former foreign correspondent for NPR, his writing has appeared in The Atlantic, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal and the anthology The Best American Travel Writing. His new book, Ben & Me: In Search of a Founder’s Formula for a Long and Useful Life, will be published by Simon & Schuster in June. He lives in Silver Spring, with his family and a menagerie of animals.
Claudia Wair is a writer and editor from Virginia. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Pithead Chapel, Astrolabe, Tangled Locks Journal, JMWW and elsewhere. Her fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction and Best of the Net. Read more at claudiawair.com.
