Winners

 (The year shown is when the winners were announced. The contest opens in the prior year.)

2022

  1. Chestnut Mountain by John Cloyd Miller, Fairview NC
  2. Big Table by Timothy Scott, St Simons Island, GA
  3. Near Miss by Martha Trachtenberg, Huntington Station, NY

2021

  1. Richmond by John Lowell, Livingston, MT
  2. If They Could Put That in a Bottle by Dan Whitener, Matawan, NJ
  3. If I’d Only Tried by Bill McKay, Laramie, WY

2020

  1. God Leaves the Light On by David Morris, Gaithersburg, MD
  2. Dancing in the Rain by Carley Arrowood, Union Mills, NC
  3. Give Me Grace by Jane Fallon, Dunedin, FL

2019

  1. Elakala by Lee Leanders, Auburn, AL
  2. Gonna Love Anyway by Louisa Branscomb, White, GA and Jennifer Zapolnik, Grand Rapids, MI
  3. Ballad of Zona Abston by Anya Hinkle, Asheville, NC

2018

  1. Ashes to Ashes by William McKay, Laramie, WY
  2. Never Green by Corrina Rose Logston Stephens, Whites Creek, TN
  3. In This Dirt by Jeff McClellan, Kingsport, TN

2017

  1. All the Old Men Are Gone – Pam Gadd, Joelton, TN
  2. Friend and a Friend – Korby Lenker and Molly Tuttle, Nashville, TN
  3. Looking for Sunshine – Gina Clowes, Winchester, VA

2016

  1. Weeping Willows by Talia Segal, Brighton, MA
  2. Turn and Burn by David Morris, Gaithersburg, MD; Dave Adkins, Elkhorn City, KY; and Dawn Kenney, Waltham, MA
  3. My Brother Paul and Me by Ronnie King, Paint Lick, KY

2015

  1. Say What You Mean by Gary A. Ferguson, Alexandria, VA
  2. Midnight Flight by Nancy Cardwell Erdos, Madison, TN
  3. Weeds Where The Flowers Of Love Once Grew by David Morris, Gaithersburg, MD and Chris Dockins, Burke, VA

Honorable Mentions

2021

  • Keep The River On Your Right, Kristin Grainger, Salem, OR
  • Jesus The Refugee, Kevin Slick, Louisville, CO
  • Chicken Wing Song, Buddy Guido, Mohawk, NY

2020

  • Harvester by John Bolten, Catonsville, MD
  • Allegheny Town by Missy Raines, Nashville, TN
  • You Come Around by Kris Grainger, Salem, OR

2019

  • Hand That Holds the Stone by Michelle Canning, David Morris, and Dawn Kenney, Nashville, TN
  • Let Me Be the Dove by David Morris and Mary Eichler, Gaithersburg, MD
  • Goodbye Blues by John Bolten, Catonsville, MD

2018

  • Love is a Lighthouse by David Morris, Amanda Fields, and Dawn Kenney
  • The Moon is Gonna Crash into the Earth by Dan Whitener

2017

  • Jesus Drive the Train by Carley Arrowood, Union Mills, NC and Becky Buller, Manchester, TN
  • Ain’t No Good Goodbye by Louisa Branscomb, White, GA and Teresa Neal, Austin, TX
  • Carolina by Bruce Jepson, Warren, NJ

2016

  • Oceans by Casey Penn and Rodger King
  • Blue Ridge Mountain Home by Hunter and Suzy Owens
  • I’ll Take Love by Louisa Branscomb

2015

  • Baltimore Immigrants by Karen Collins, Takoma Park, MD
  • Tenth Day Of September by David Morris, Gaithersburg, MD and John Miller, Knoxville, TN
  • Barre Angel 1918 by Tracy O’Connell, Newburyport, MA

Judges

2021 – Alice Gerrard, Joe Newberry, Peter Rowan

2020 – Milan Miller, Rick Lang, Mary Doub

2019 -Becky Buller, Evan Murphy, and Chris Teskey

2018 – Walt Michael, Sally Truitt, and KC Groves

2017 – Jim Hurst, Carl Jackson, and Claire Lynch

2016 – Bob Lucas, Lee Michael Demsey, and Wayne Taylor

2015 – John Starling, Dudley Connell, and Dede Wyland