This year’s NFPW At-Large Professional Contest had 173 eligible entries compete across many categories in our contest. Without further ado, here are the winners!! Congratulations to all who entered, and we look forward to another contest next year!!!
Lailee Bakhtiar
Second Place
Writing - Books, Stories, Verse - Creative Verse - Single Poem - Art’s Empire
Carol Baxter
Third Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Children’s Book - Fiction - Oblee Ollie Olee's Roly-Poly Rally Race
Laney Katz Becker
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Fiction for Adult Readers - Novels (More than 40,000 Words) - In the Family Way
Dianne Beeaff
Second Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Autobiography or Memoir - Infinite Paradise, Witnessing the Wild
Bobbie Bennett
Third Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Autobiography or Memoir - Widowhood: The Next Chapter, I'm Still Here-Now What?
Becky Berreth
Second Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Religion - Our earthly journey toward heaven
Johanna Billings
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Autobiography or Memoir - The Meaning of Love
Web and Social Media - Social Media Presence - Corporate or For-Profit - The Lily Cat: North Woods Antiques and Buttons
Cris Blackstone
First Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Green/environmental - Poison Ivy: Shape Shifting Sorceress
Second Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Style (fashion, interior design, furniture, architecture, landscaping, home economics) - Nighttime Lighting in Our Landscapes
Writing - Specialty Articles - Health (mental, emotional and physical health, fitness, diet, healthy lifestyle) - Midsummer Reminders About Heat Related Illnesses
Writing - Specialty Articles - Reviews - Learning What Your Customers are Talking About
Third Place
Writing - Personality Profile - More than 750 words - All Because of a Calculus Class
Emily Bontrager
First Place
Collegiate / Education - Writing - News - Religious Education Program may be offered at Oak Hill
Honorable Mention
Collegiate / Education - Writing - News - IWU Womens Volleyball recognized at City Council meeting
Emily Bontrager, Reilly Gaunt, Mya McNew, Andrew Scalf
Second Place
Collegiate / Education - Writing - Features - A shared voice across the Sea: Northern Ireland and Grant County
Seth Bos
Second Place
Collegiate / Education - Art and Design - Design (print or electronic) - Caesura Cover
Anne Brash
Third Place
Writing - Feature Story - Magazine, newsletter/other publication - Saved But Not Forgotten
Donna Bryson
First Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Arts & entertainment - Coogler's 'Sinners' brings cinematic spotlight to Clarksdale, Mississippi
Writing - Specialty Articles - Travel - Denver like a local
Third Place
Web and Social Media - Blog - Personal - Sinners
Heather Buchanan
Second Place
Writing - Columns - Humorous - Kiss & Tell: The "She Used To Be Hot" Syndrome
Jan Cleere
Third Place
Writing - Third Place - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Biography or History - 100 Western Women: The Bold, Brave, Gutsy Women of Arizona's Past
Dan Cohen
Second Place
Web and Social Media - Podcast - Awakenings In Real Life - Sami Steigmann
Sarah Cortez
Third Place
Writing - Specialty articles - Arts and entertainment - Clorinda Bell Paints the Temporal to Reach the Eternal
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Creative verse - Single Poem - O Good and Great God
Honorable Mention
Writing - Feature Story - Print-based newspaper - Sacred art contest spotlights young Catholic school artists
Katie Cottingham
First Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - History - How one chihuahua proved to be a link to the ancient dogs that moved to Latin America with the spread of agriculture
Writing - Specialty Articles - Agriculture (agribusiness, aquaculture) - Removing off-flavors from soy
Writing - Specialty Articles - Health (mental, emotional and physical health, fitness, diet, healthy lifestyle) - How pregnancy changes the brain
Writing - Specialty Articles - Science and technology - Highly concentrated laundry detergents get the job done on Earth and beyond
Third Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Food - Sourdough rises to take on food challenges
Mary C. Curtis
First Place
Web and Social Media - Podcast - Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis: 'Accidental activists,' the local heroes who expose government secrecy
Writing > Columns > Personal opinion (bylined, not editorial) - American individualism, but only for some Americans
Mary Jo David
First Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Food - Community cookbooks are full of surprises and tasty treats, like this month’s ‘Pumpkin Crunch Cake’
Second Place
Writing - In-depth reporting - Passing or not passing the public safety millages in Unadilla will come with a price tag
Ysabel de la Rosa
Second Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Creative Verse - Book of poetry (written by entrant and published in book form, including electronic books) - Life on Interior Plains
Christy Doherty
Third Place
Writing - Columns - Personal opinion (bylined, not editorial) - The Love Remains
Writing - Specialty Articles - Health (mental, emotional and physical health, fitness, diet, healthy lifestyle) - Finding Happiness through Time with Goats
Writing - Specialty Articles - Personal essay (article from author's perspective with single thesis, supporting statements and conclusion) - I wasn’t having the best day…
Marie Fasano
Third Place
Writing - Personality Profiles - 750 words or fewer - Wright Brothers Master Flight Award
Honorable Mention
Writing - News story - Print-based newspaper - Temporary Tower at Payson Airport
Writing - Feature Story - Print-based newspaper - Students Achieve the Gift of Flight
Karen Feld
First Place
Writing - Feature Story - Online Publication - Still Kicking—literally—on NY’s Cabaret Stage
Writing - Specialty Articles - Reviews (any subject, must express a personal opinion) - Playwright Karen Zacarias How Arena Stages Age of Innocence Speaks to Today’s Gilded Age
Writing - Specialty Articles - Personal essay (article from author's perspective with single thesis, supporting statements and conclusion) - Gossip to Gospel: When Is It News?
Web and Social Media - Blog - Personal - Karen Feld’s Capital Connections®
Second Place
Writing - Personality Profile - 750 Words - Michael Tuohey Reflects on 9/11, the day his life changed forever
Writing - Specialty Articles - Arts and entertainment - Ken Ludwig: DC Lawyer’s Path to Award-Winning Playwright
Writing - Specialty Articles- Social issues - DC Nonagenarian Exhibits Art Created by Her Students—All Prison Inmates
Third Place
Web and Social Media - Personal Website - www.karenfeld.com
Honorable Mention
Writing - Specialty Articles - Obituary (expanded from a regular obituary) - Remembering Chita Rivera on What Would Have Been Her 92nd Birthday
Jane Fitzgerald
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Short Form literature - Single short story - Footsteps Overhead
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Short Form literature - Single poem - Summer Porch
Robin Franzke
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Children’s book - Non-fiction - Grandma’s Bucket of Mercy
Karen Galatz
First Place
Writing - Columns - General - Medical ageism: don't live with it
Second Place
Writing - Columns - Personal opinion (bylined, not editorial) - After a friend’s assisted death, I wonder: Is there a ‘right’ way to die?
Third Place
Writing - Columns - Humorous - Halal and back
Jessica Glynn
First Place
Writing - Personality Profile - More than 750 words - Canney's Gambit
Honorable Mention
Writing - Personality Profile - More than 750 words - 'Me Against the World'
Laurie Hallstrom
First Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Sports - June fishing tournament is going to be a whopper
Third Place
Writing - News Story - Print-based newspaper - Nigerian violence hit home — send prayers
Linda Hass, David Van Hoof
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Biography or History - Revolutionary War Patriots of Jackson County Michigan
Nancy Henderson
Honorable Mention
Writing - Personality Profile - More than 750 words - The Master of Negotiation
D.W. Hirsch
Third Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Creative Verse - Book of poetry (written by entrant and published in book form, including electronic books) - Writing Haiku In the Life Of You: Family, Friends and Falling In Love
Natalie Hoefer
First Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Social Issues - New program would ‘change the whole paradigm’ for those released from prison
Writing Specialty Articles - Religion - New Albany Deanery’s Summer Daze program helps youths ‘live out the faith’
Photography - Photographer-writer - Contributions to staff coverage of National Catholic Youth Conference”
Second Place
Writing - Feature Story - Print-based newspaper - Madison shop leads to blessings paid forward and ‘Holy Spirit moments’
Sallie Rose Hollis
Honorable Mention
Writing - Columns - Personal opinion (bylined, not editorial) - Camp memories echo amid flood's grief
Writing - Columns - Personal opinion (bylined, not editorial) - Going home in song and spirit
Janis Johnston
Second Place
Web and Social Media - Blog - Nonprofit, government or educational - Library Perils and Pearls
Arjun Kothari
First Place
Graphics and Design - Page Design - Newspaper - Congratulations Class of 2025!
Web and Social Media - Website Edited or Managed by Entrant - Corporate or for-profit - IvyBound Consulting Website: College Admissions Made Affordable
Second Place
Web and Social Media - Social Media Presence - Corporate or for-profit - Ivybound Consulting Instagram Account
Third Place
Editing for Print or Online Publications - Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant - Newspaper - The Riverdale Review: Issue 2 Vol. 111, October 2025
Nancy Krier
Second Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - History - Suffragist Susan B. Anthony Visited Olympia in 1871 to Address Territorial Legislature, Declared One Local Supporter ‘Splendid’
Honorable Mention
Writing - Personality Profile- More than 750 words - People in Public Service: Jerry Miller
Nancy Marshall
Second Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Biography or History - Six Who Stopped the Steal
Jo Ann Mathews
Second Place
Photography - Photographer-writer - Happy Face
Writing - Feature Story - Online publication - Words on the Wind
Third Place
Writing - Feature Story - Online publication - Fun Day, The Perkins Way
Julie McGue
Second Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Personal essay (article from author's perspective with single thesis, supporting statements and conclusion) - Why I Decided To Write A Memoir And How I Did It
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Children’s book - Non-fiction - Jack and Lulu Go To The Tree Farm
Third Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Essay, Chapter, or Section in a Book - Planting Tulips
Writing - Specialty Articles - Personal essay (article from author's perspective with single thesis, supporting statements and conclusion) - How a Medium Informed My Memoir
Honorable Mention
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Autobiography or Memoir - Twice the Family, A Memoir of Love Loss and Sisterhood
Writing > Columns > Personal opinion (bylined, not editorial) - Sunday Letters
Julia Medeiros Coad
First Place
Writing - News Story - Online publication - Island Community Explores Pathways To Strengthen Energy Reliability
Honorable Mention
Writing - Personality Profile - More than 750 words - A Career Built on Helping Others: Cory Chovanec's Journey in Weatherization
Melissa McPherson
First Place
Writing - In-depth reporting - Understanding changes to Stockbridge area transportation services: Making sense of the transportation alphabet soup
Diane Moore
Second Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Fiction for Adult Readers - Novellas (40,000 words or fewer) - Another Day
Linda Neal Reising
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Creative Verse - Book of poetry (written by entrant and published in book form, including electronic books) - Navigation
Valerie Ormond
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Essay, Chapter, or Section in a Book - Connecting the Dots
Editing for Print or Online Publications - Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant - Newsletter/other publication - non-profit, government or educational - Dispatches - Summer 2025
Honorable Mention
Writing - Specialty Articles - Arts and entertainment - Song Lyrics - Risky Business
Alexis Podgers
Third Place
Collegiate / Education - Writing - News - Local airport hosts 34th Annual Fly-In Cruise-In in Marion
Paola Ramos
First Place
Writing - Feature Story - Magazine, newsletter/other publication - The Great Reverse Migration
Maggie Rhodes
First Place
Collegiate / Education - Writing - Features - Conservative Stays Rooted in Liberal Area After School Board Recall
Third Place
Collegiate / Education - Writing - Features - Volunteers target Anacostia River pollution through clean-up efforts
Rita Robison
First Place
Writing - Editorial/Op-Ed - "It’s Inauguration Day: The foxes are in the henhouse"
Writing - Specialty Articles - Business - "Bankers ask Trump to dump consumer protections and his regulators begin to do his bidding"
Writing - Specialty Articles - Government or politics - "Trump’s executive order to reduce prices is worthless"
Writing - Specialty Articles - Style (fashion, interior design, furniture, architecture, landscaping, home economics) - “How to buy a sofa”
Second Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Food - "How to eat and cook with fewer eggs"
Writing - Specialty Articles - Green/environmental - "How to plant a garden"
Honorable Mention
Web and Social Media - Blog - Nonprofit, government or educational - It is difficult to celebrate National Consumer Protection Week when the Trump administration is gutting and shuttering federal consumer protection agencies
Web and Social Media - Electronic newsletter - Nonprofit, government, or educational - Helpful Money Tips for You
Dorothy Rosby
First Place
Writing - Columns - Humorous - Quietly in Favor of Downsizing
Leonie Rosenstiel
First Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - General Nonfiction - They're Coming for Your Elders and Your Inheritance: Ways to Protect Your Family, Mitigate the Damage, and Change the System
Speeches - Speech - AI Revisited–Should We Be Very Afraid?
Second Place
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Essay, Chapter, or Section in a Book - Mama’s Stories
Honorable Mention
Writing - Specialty Articles - Personal essay (article from author's perspective with single thesis, supporting statements and conclusion) - Unwarranted secrecy surrounds adult guardianship
Vivian Sade
Second Place
Web and Social Media - Electronic Newsletter - Corporate or for-profit - Blackburn Romey electronic newsletter
Third Place
Web and Social Media - Electronic Newsletter - Nonprofit, government, or educational - Woman's Press Club of Indiana
Andrew Scalf
First Place
Collegiate / Education - Prepared Report for Radio/Television Student Media - Television - Mississinewa 1812 report
Second Place
Collegiate / Education - Writing - News - Lakeview Wesleyan and The River become one
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Second Place
Writing - Publications Regularly Edited by Entrant - Newsletter/other publication, corporate or for-profit - June Newsletter from the Hoosier Gardener
Mara Soloway
Honorable Mention
Writing - Specialty Articles - Personal essay (article from author's perspective with single thesis, supporting statements and conclusion) - A Lesson in Gaining My Sense of Balance
Kerry Tomlinson
First Place
Web and Social Media - Video for Web - Web reporting, single news or feature story - Inside the scam: Atlanta woman loses $500k to love scammers
Fawzia Tung
Honorable Mention
Writing - Books, Short Stories, Verse - Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers - Autobiography or Memoir - Mirror in the Sand
Isaac Wolf, Bright Kari, Andrew Scalf
Second Place
Collegiate / Education - Prepared Report for Radio/Television Student Media - Television - Wildcat Week S8E2 - Football feat. Isaiah Courtois and Wade Melanson
Judith Zaffirini
First Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Education - Dean Senator Zaffirini Champions Texas Education
Writing - News Story - Print-based newspaper - Dean Senator Zaffirini Strengthens Texas' Judicial System
Writing - Publications Regularly Edited by Entrant - Newsletter/other publication, nonprofit, government or educational - Senator Judith Zaffirini Reports to the Families of District 21
Graphics and Design - Page Design - Newsletter/other publication - Dean Senator Zaffirini eNewsletter. April 17, 2025
Web and Social Media - Social Media Presence - Nonprofit, government or educational - Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini Facebook Page
Web and Social Media - Electronic Newsletter - Nonprofit, government or educational - Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini eNewsletter
Web and Social Media - Video for Web - Video for nonprofit or government organization - Carrizo Springs 160th Anniversary Video
Web and Social Media - Video for Web - Special interest video - Texas Exes Laredo Chapter UT29 Send-Off Video
Advertising - Advertising Campaign - Judith Zaffirini, Dean of the Texas Senate, Ask Us Advertising Campaign 2025
Advertising - Advertising Poster, Billboard or Banner - Senator Judith Zaffirini Billboard
Communications Programs and Campaigns - Public Relations Campaign - External Communications - Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini Outlook 2025
Public Relations Materials - Brochure - Nonprofit, government or educational - HOW TO Testify Effectively at a Texas Senate Hearing
Public Relations Materials - Catalog, Manual, or Handbook - Welcome to the Texas Senate! This is where I work (and how I got there)
Information for the Media - News or Feature Release - Single Release - Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini Casts 75,000th Consecutive Vote
Photography - Single Photograph - General photo (open competition on any subject) - Boo-Berry Muffins
Second Place
Writing - Columns - General - Capitol Flavors with Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini
Writing - Specialty Articles - Government or politics - Dean Senator Zaffirini Works to Improve State, Local Government
Photography - Single Photograph - General photo (open competition on any subject) - BLT Chicken Salad
Web and Social Media - Social Media Campaign - Nonprofit, government or educational - Dean Senator Zaffirini Recipes Social Media Campaign
Speeches - Speech - 2025 Mr. South Texas Scholarship Presentation Speech
Third Place
Writing - Specialty Articles - Social Issues - New Laws Mean Progress for Zapata
Photography - Photographer-writer - Capital Flavors DVINO December Issue
Speeches - Speech - Esther G. Buckley Early College High School Dedication Ceremony Speech
Honorable Mention
Writing - Headlines - Zaffirini eNewsletter and Press Release Headlines
Photography - Photographer-writer - Capital Flavors DVINO October Issue
Graphics and Design - Page Design - Newsletter/other publication - Senator Judith Zaffirini Reports to the Families of District 21
Speeches - Speech - State Loop 195 Groundbreaking (Rio Grande City) Speech
