Denise Gess Literary Awards
About
The competition, named in honor of the late Writing Arts Associate Professor Denise Gess, offers cash awards in poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction categories semi-annually. The awards consist of three different categories: Rowan University Award for Poetry, Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Short Fiction, and Pat B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction with cash prizes for first, second, and third place in each category and a list of honorable mentions. The award ceremonies feature brief readings from the winners, speakers, and refreshments.
The competition, named in honor of the late Writing Arts Associate Professor Denise Gess, offers cash awards in poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction categories semi-annually. The awards consist of three different categories: Rowan University Award for Poetry, Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Short Fiction, and Pat B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction with cash prizes for first, second, and third place in each category and a list of honorable mentions. The award ceremonies feature brief readings from the winners, speakers, and refreshments.
Winners
2021 Award Winners
Rowan University Prize for Poetry
First Place: Rachel Ventrella - "Sunflower Rising"
Second Place: Gina Foglia - "Sight, Self & Circumstance"
Third Place: Sophia Romano - "Pitch Pines"
Honorable Mention: Skyla Everwine - "Matriarchy"
Edward Czwartacki Prize for Fiction
First Place: Ariana Tucker - "Hollow"
Second Place: Taylor Blum - "My Mother's Flowers"
Third Place: Katelyn Sullivan - "Swan Song for a Leviathan"
Honorable Mention: Chloe Mortier - "Skipping Stones"; Dan Wash - "Little Monsters"; Chelsea Valcourt - "Moral of the Story"
Pat B. Tweedie Prize for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Zachary Short - "Fallen Silence"
Second Place: Caleigh Reed - "Countdown to Origin"
Third Place: Gina Foglia - "Donor Notes"
Honorable Mention: John Reilly - "Psychosomatic"; Rachel Ventrella - "A Letter to My 13-year-old Self on the Night of My Attempted Suicide"
First Place: Rachel Ventrella - "Sunflower Rising"
Second Place: Gina Foglia - "Sight, Self & Circumstance"
Third Place: Sophia Romano - "Pitch Pines"
Honorable Mention: Skyla Everwine - "Matriarchy"
Edward Czwartacki Prize for Fiction
First Place: Ariana Tucker - "Hollow"
Second Place: Taylor Blum - "My Mother's Flowers"
Third Place: Katelyn Sullivan - "Swan Song for a Leviathan"
Honorable Mention: Chloe Mortier - "Skipping Stones"; Dan Wash - "Little Monsters"; Chelsea Valcourt - "Moral of the Story"
Pat B. Tweedie Prize for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Zachary Short - "Fallen Silence"
Second Place: Caleigh Reed - "Countdown to Origin"
Third Place: Gina Foglia - "Donor Notes"
Honorable Mention: John Reilly - "Psychosomatic"; Rachel Ventrella - "A Letter to My 13-year-old Self on the Night of My Attempted Suicide"
2018 Award Winners
Rowan University Prize for Poetry
First Place: Morgan Douglas - "Red"
Second Place: Daniel McGilloway - "Bloom and Decay"
Third Place: Vasiliki Dinoulis - "Meraki"
Honorable Mention: Tara Lonsdorf - "Procrastinators, Pyromaniacs and Other Patron Saints of Holocen"; Kylee Bagley - "Far Away Friends"; Laura Kincaid - "Ghosts I Carry"
Edward Czwartacki Prize for Fiction
First Place: Tara O’Day - "When She Asks to Go Home"
Second Place: Daniel DeLuise - "Unidentified"
Third Place: Dylann Cohn-Emery - "Strong For Us"
Honorable Mention: Daniel McGilloway - "Coulrophobia"
Pat B. Tweedie Prize for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Alex Phillips - "Caught in the Intersection"
Second Place: Rachel Barton - "Haunted"
Third Place: Emily Strauser - "Fine"
Honorable Mention: Alix McKinstry - "An Ode to an Oak Table"; Justina Addice - "Music—A Double Sided Portrait"
First Place: Morgan Douglas - "Red"
Second Place: Daniel McGilloway - "Bloom and Decay"
Third Place: Vasiliki Dinoulis - "Meraki"
Honorable Mention: Tara Lonsdorf - "Procrastinators, Pyromaniacs and Other Patron Saints of Holocen"; Kylee Bagley - "Far Away Friends"; Laura Kincaid - "Ghosts I Carry"
Edward Czwartacki Prize for Fiction
First Place: Tara O’Day - "When She Asks to Go Home"
Second Place: Daniel DeLuise - "Unidentified"
Third Place: Dylann Cohn-Emery - "Strong For Us"
Honorable Mention: Daniel McGilloway - "Coulrophobia"
Pat B. Tweedie Prize for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Alex Phillips - "Caught in the Intersection"
Second Place: Rachel Barton - "Haunted"
Third Place: Emily Strauser - "Fine"
Honorable Mention: Alix McKinstry - "An Ode to an Oak Table"; Justina Addice - "Music—A Double Sided Portrait"
2016 Award Winners
Rowan University Prize for Poetry
First Place: Robert Henhaffer - "Tuckahoe Road"
Second Place: Vasiliki Dinoulis - "Nodus Tollens"
Third Place: Jennifer Martin - "Gloucester County"
Honorable Mention: Ethan Stoetzer - "Doublethink"; Joe Jordan -- "Then Brutus Spoke of Honor"
Edward Czwartacki Prize for Fiction
First Place: Michael Comoroto -- "Fat Loser"
Second Place: Colin Boyle - "Nightmare in Suburbia"
Third Place: Stephanie Daley - "How the Seasons Changed"
Honorable Mention: Mark Ackerman - "Selene"; Joe Jordan -- "Fire Sucks"
Pat B. Tweedie Prize for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Alicia Rodriguez - "Eyes of the Storm"
Second Place: Susette Brooks - "Never Ending"
Third Place: Daniel DeLuise - "Uncle Jab and the House of Pain"
Honorable Mention: Michael Comoroto - "My Brother’s Ashes"; Liz Ditzel -- "A Perfectionist’s Playbook"; Rachel Barton -- "Calendar"; Nah’Ja Washington - "Now I Know"
First Place: Robert Henhaffer - "Tuckahoe Road"
Second Place: Vasiliki Dinoulis - "Nodus Tollens"
Third Place: Jennifer Martin - "Gloucester County"
Honorable Mention: Ethan Stoetzer - "Doublethink"; Joe Jordan -- "Then Brutus Spoke of Honor"
Edward Czwartacki Prize for Fiction
First Place: Michael Comoroto -- "Fat Loser"
Second Place: Colin Boyle - "Nightmare in Suburbia"
Third Place: Stephanie Daley - "How the Seasons Changed"
Honorable Mention: Mark Ackerman - "Selene"; Joe Jordan -- "Fire Sucks"
Pat B. Tweedie Prize for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Alicia Rodriguez - "Eyes of the Storm"
Second Place: Susette Brooks - "Never Ending"
Third Place: Daniel DeLuise - "Uncle Jab and the House of Pain"
Honorable Mention: Michael Comoroto - "My Brother’s Ashes"; Liz Ditzel -- "A Perfectionist’s Playbook"; Rachel Barton -- "Calendar"; Nah’Ja Washington - "Now I Know"
2014 Award Winners
The Rowan University Prize for Poetry (for collections)
First place: Joe Jordan - "Observations and a Cozy Chair"
Second Place: Stephanie Kohler - "Stuck on the Cusp"
Third Place: Regina McMenamin-Lloyd - "Nostaligia Poetry"
Honorable Mention (for individual poems): Ojas Patel - "How to Make Samosas" & "Mom's Grief Upon a Return to India"; Dave Vogtman - "Dishonest Abe"; Ethan Stoetzer - "The Killing Tree"; Daniel DeLuise - "Afterlife"; Laurie Toich - "How to Be a Good Parent"; Vincent Lanni - "Write in Color”
The Edward Czwartacki Award for Fiction
First Place: Katelyn Sullivan - "Harlequin"
Second Place: Regina McMenamin-Lloyd - "The Scarlett Splinter"
Third Place: Kristina Forest - "As of Yet…"
The Pat B. Tweedie Award for Nonfiction
First Place: Ojas Patel - "Your New Face"
Second Place: Joe DiCarlo - "Six Days in the Absence of Life"
Third Place: Alfred J. Dansbury, Sr. - "Making Do"
Honorable Mention: Carol Magrino - "Subscribing"
First place: Joe Jordan - "Observations and a Cozy Chair"
Second Place: Stephanie Kohler - "Stuck on the Cusp"
Third Place: Regina McMenamin-Lloyd - "Nostaligia Poetry"
Honorable Mention (for individual poems): Ojas Patel - "How to Make Samosas" & "Mom's Grief Upon a Return to India"; Dave Vogtman - "Dishonest Abe"; Ethan Stoetzer - "The Killing Tree"; Daniel DeLuise - "Afterlife"; Laurie Toich - "How to Be a Good Parent"; Vincent Lanni - "Write in Color”
The Edward Czwartacki Award for Fiction
First Place: Katelyn Sullivan - "Harlequin"
Second Place: Regina McMenamin-Lloyd - "The Scarlett Splinter"
Third Place: Kristina Forest - "As of Yet…"
The Pat B. Tweedie Award for Nonfiction
First Place: Ojas Patel - "Your New Face"
Second Place: Joe DiCarlo - "Six Days in the Absence of Life"
Third Place: Alfred J. Dansbury, Sr. - "Making Do"
Honorable Mention: Carol Magrino - "Subscribing"
2012 Award Winners
Rowan University Prize for Poetry
First Place: Joe McGee - "Have You Seen Me?"
Second Place: Samantha Brown - "The Devil We Know (and other Folklore from the Garden State)"
Third Place: Rebecca Force - "Authentic Philosophy"
Honorable Mention: Jayne Dzuback - "Carpooling to Game Night"; Regina McMenamin Lloyd - "Obsessive Love Disorder"; Meghan O’Donnell - "dream-walking"; Anita Sipala - "Resignation"
The Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Short Fiction
First Place: Katelyn Catinella - "The Incisor"
Second Place: Kristina Forest - "Cedric the Great"
Third Place: Christopher Cullen - "The Path"
Honorable Mention: Alex Grover - "The Cemetery Watchers"; Samantha Brown -- "The Couch in the Basement"
The Pat. B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Casey Otto - "Atop the Camel’s Hump"
Second Place: Lacey Bouchard - "The Bridge"
Third Place: Samantha Brown - "Hate Island"
Honorable Mention: "The Hike" - Kayla Ewing ; "The Great Blue Circle" - Natalie Busarello
First Place: Joe McGee - "Have You Seen Me?"
Second Place: Samantha Brown - "The Devil We Know (and other Folklore from the Garden State)"
Third Place: Rebecca Force - "Authentic Philosophy"
Honorable Mention: Jayne Dzuback - "Carpooling to Game Night"; Regina McMenamin Lloyd - "Obsessive Love Disorder"; Meghan O’Donnell - "dream-walking"; Anita Sipala - "Resignation"
The Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Short Fiction
First Place: Katelyn Catinella - "The Incisor"
Second Place: Kristina Forest - "Cedric the Great"
Third Place: Christopher Cullen - "The Path"
Honorable Mention: Alex Grover - "The Cemetery Watchers"; Samantha Brown -- "The Couch in the Basement"
The Pat. B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Casey Otto - "Atop the Camel’s Hump"
Second Place: Lacey Bouchard - "The Bridge"
Third Place: Samantha Brown - "Hate Island"
Honorable Mention: "The Hike" - Kayla Ewing ; "The Great Blue Circle" - Natalie Busarello
2010 Award Winners
The Rowan University Prize for Poetry
First Place: "Five Poems" - Steven Harbold
Second Place: "Stories I Tell Myself" - Katherin Fitzpatrick
Third Place: Kate Peterson - "In Stitches"; Ryan Wenzel - "The Natural World"; Jonathan Wood - "Form Studies"
Honorable Mentions (for individual poems): Samantha Brown - "Phase II"; Sarah Kasama - "Waves of Love"; Rebecca Force - "Is It Better?"; Jayne Dzuback - "Iron Oxide" & "Personal Poem #6"
The Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Fiction
First Place: Jackie Cassidy -"Hondo"
Second Place Tie: Hayley Van Amburg - "The Prize"; Bill Elenbark - "Cigarettes Will Kill You"
Third Place: Sam Dodge - "Death’s Room"
Honorable Mentions: Steve Smith - "Let the Gun Do the Talking"; Anthony Dragonetti - "You’ll Have to Learn to Love Me the Way I Love You"
The Pat B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Melanie Pauker - "Solitude"
Second Place: Bill Elenbark - "You Are a Runner, and I Am My Father’s Son"
Third Place: Justin Eric Totora - "Fear and Loathing on the Road in South Jersey: The Fall of the Heads"
Honorable Mentions: Jackie Cassidy - "Inked"; Steven Harbold - "The Homerun Heard Round the Neighborhood"; Sarah Kasama - "Accordian Bookcases"
First Place: "Five Poems" - Steven Harbold
Second Place: "Stories I Tell Myself" - Katherin Fitzpatrick
Third Place: Kate Peterson - "In Stitches"; Ryan Wenzel - "The Natural World"; Jonathan Wood - "Form Studies"
Honorable Mentions (for individual poems): Samantha Brown - "Phase II"; Sarah Kasama - "Waves of Love"; Rebecca Force - "Is It Better?"; Jayne Dzuback - "Iron Oxide" & "Personal Poem #6"
The Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Fiction
First Place: Jackie Cassidy -"Hondo"
Second Place Tie: Hayley Van Amburg - "The Prize"; Bill Elenbark - "Cigarettes Will Kill You"
Third Place: Sam Dodge - "Death’s Room"
Honorable Mentions: Steve Smith - "Let the Gun Do the Talking"; Anthony Dragonetti - "You’ll Have to Learn to Love Me the Way I Love You"
The Pat B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Melanie Pauker - "Solitude"
Second Place: Bill Elenbark - "You Are a Runner, and I Am My Father’s Son"
Third Place: Justin Eric Totora - "Fear and Loathing on the Road in South Jersey: The Fall of the Heads"
Honorable Mentions: Jackie Cassidy - "Inked"; Steven Harbold - "The Homerun Heard Round the Neighborhood"; Sarah Kasama - "Accordian Bookcases"
Rowan University Literary Awards
(Click on the links for .pdfs of the winning entries.)
The Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Fiction
2008, First Place, "Echoes," by Bill Stewart, MAW program
Second Place, "I Need a Bike," by Joe Carlough, 2009
Third Place, tie, "Translation," by George Jacob, MAW program; "Things that Can’t be Seen," by David Brennan, MAW program
Honorable Mention, "Kuwait, Briefly," by Kamala Lane, 2008; "The Heart of the Storm," by Daniel Paganelli, 2008; "Rabbi," by Steven R. Levine, 2008
The Rowan University Prize for Poetry
2008, First Place, "Snapshots from the Field," by Jonathan Guito, 2008
Second Place, "Poems 2008," by Katherin Fitzpatrick, 2010
Third Place, "The Homewrecker’s Handbook," by Justin Davis, 2010
Honorable Mention: "Hunger," "Pay to Play" by Janelle Tillman, 2010;
"Penny Arboretum," "Crystals," "Passion fruit," by Joe Carlough, 2009;
"Brother, Sister," by David Brennan, MAW program;
"Dragonflies," "Chicago," by Joan Hanna, 2009;
"Feeling 'Goodness'," by Anthony Belluscio, 2009;
"Finding Daddy," by Calley Steel, 2010
The Rowan University Prize for Nonfiction
2008, First Place, "Snuff," by Rebecca Bland, MAW program
Second Place, "Wonderland," by David Brennan, MAW program
Honorable Mention, "Never There," by Christina Weil, 2008; "Realization through Service," by Mike Breuning, 2011; "Holes in My Pockets," by Gabriel Arnold, 2011.
2008, First Place, "Echoes," by Bill Stewart, MAW program
Second Place, "I Need a Bike," by Joe Carlough, 2009
Third Place, tie, "Translation," by George Jacob, MAW program; "Things that Can’t be Seen," by David Brennan, MAW program
Honorable Mention, "Kuwait, Briefly," by Kamala Lane, 2008; "The Heart of the Storm," by Daniel Paganelli, 2008; "Rabbi," by Steven R. Levine, 2008
The Rowan University Prize for Poetry
2008, First Place, "Snapshots from the Field," by Jonathan Guito, 2008
Second Place, "Poems 2008," by Katherin Fitzpatrick, 2010
Third Place, "The Homewrecker’s Handbook," by Justin Davis, 2010
Honorable Mention: "Hunger," "Pay to Play" by Janelle Tillman, 2010;
"Penny Arboretum," "Crystals," "Passion fruit," by Joe Carlough, 2009;
"Brother, Sister," by David Brennan, MAW program;
"Dragonflies," "Chicago," by Joan Hanna, 2009;
"Feeling 'Goodness'," by Anthony Belluscio, 2009;
"Finding Daddy," by Calley Steel, 2010
The Rowan University Prize for Nonfiction
2008, First Place, "Snuff," by Rebecca Bland, MAW program
Second Place, "Wonderland," by David Brennan, MAW program
Honorable Mention, "Never There," by Christina Weil, 2008; "Realization through Service," by Mike Breuning, 2011; "Holes in My Pockets," by Gabriel Arnold, 2011.
