Short Story Contest

The 2019 Short Story Award opened on January 1, 2019

The theme is  Animal Stories,
broadly interpreted.
Stories of 2,000 words or fewer
about

WILD ANIMALS, PETS, or IMAGINARY BEASTS

are welcome
(so long as an animal is an important
character or element of the story)
The winner will receive $200 
and may be offered publication in BWG’s upcoming anthology,

Fur, Feathers & Scales
Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales.

The 2019 Guest Judge: Best-Selling Author John Grogan

John Grogan is an American journalist and author. As the former, he has written for the South Florida Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, serving as metropolitan columnist. In 1999, he moved to Pennsylvania to take the role of managing editor of Organic Gardening magazine at Rodale Publishing. He joined The Philadelphia Inquirer as a columnist in 2002. 

When, in 2003, his dog, Marley, died at age thirteen, Grogan wrote a column in the Inquirer honoring him, and received overwhelming reader response. Grogan realized that he had more to say about the “World’s Worst Dog,” and “owed it to Marley to tell the rest of the story.” Released in 2005, his book Marley & Me was an international bestseller, selling millions of copies worldwide and spending twenty-three weeks in the top spot of the New York Times bestseller list. The book was adapted into a popular film starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. Grogan wrote several spin-off children’s books, including Bad Dog, Marley, A Very Marley Christmas, and Marley Goes to School.

In addition, in 2008 Grogan published a coming-of-age memoir, The Longest Trip Home, revolving around the theme of “powerful love of family.”He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  

For more information or to enter the contest go to The 2019 Short Story Award.