I Won the AWAI Barefoot Writer‘s Monthly Essay Contest!

Ahhhh, my persistence paid off (again)! In my last posting, I said I had a special announcement coming soon. Well, it took an extra week. They finally posted my winning essay called “Persistence – The Cornerstone of Writing” for the AWAI Barefoot Writer Magazine monthly contest for January 2020. It’s now up on the AWAI website for all to see. I can share the entry with family, friends, and fellow Barefoot Writer Magazine readers through this post and link. Click here to see a PDF version  I created of the entry. I hope everyone enjoys the essay.

The Back Story

Sherman set the way-back machine to two weeks ago. I was informed via email that I had won the AWAI Barefoot Writer’s Monthly Essay Contest for January 2021. They asked for a photo. I sent a digital photo-painting (what else J).

When the magazine was published lasts Friday, I went directly to the monthly contest page. There were my name and picture saying I was a co-winner, Beatrice Bruno.

The magazine included a link to the “winning” entry page. Clicking on the link, I found Beatrice Bruno winning entry, but not mine.

I contact Rachael L. Kraft, one of the editors through Facebook Messenger (multiple times) – she knows of my persistence first hand. She contacted the administrator. It took a week, but yesterday I checked and found the essay on the website.

A Huge Accomplishment

I can’t tell you how proud I am and the joy I feel to have won the AWAI Barefoot Writer’s Monthly Essay Contest for January 2021. It validates all the long hours and hard work sitting at the computer, trying to write something that magazine editors want to publish in their newspaper, magazine, and online publication. Winning a contest or getting an article published is a great feeling of satisfaction. Persistence keeps me going on those days when nothing feels right and getting the words right is a challenge.

The joy of it all is my entry shows that if I can write a winning essay, anyone can.r