NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Aug. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its 23rd annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest.
Robert Garnham of Paignton, Devon (UK) won first prize and $2,000 for his comedic poem “Torquay, 2 – The Other Team, 2″, narrated by a genially befuddled queer man trying to understand his straight mate’s “culture” by attending a British football match. Mr. Garnham also received a two-year gift certificate (value $100) from Duotrope, co-sponsor of the contest. 6,846 poets participated from around the world, a new record.
Second prize of $500 went to Abbie Loosemore of Wisbech St Mary, Cambridgeshire (UK) for “Gregg’s First Pizza Hut”, a fantasy date with MasterChef television presenter Gregg Wallace that ends in disappointment when he’s more impressed with the ice-cream machine than her seductive overtures.
Third prize of $250 went to Tim Eberle of Brooklyn, NY for “RoboBurger or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Tech”, a skilled work of formal light verse that urges humanity to focus on more crowd-pleasing inventions than weapons and AI-generated propaganda.
Jendi Reiter, final judge of the Wergle Flomp contest, said, “Our entrants creatively mangled many entertaining topics. The difference between finalists and award-winners came down to the tightness of the poem and whether it had layers of meaning beyond the obvious main joke. We liked how the winning poems went beyond silliness to say something insightful about relationships.” Lauren Singer assisted with the judging.
Twelve honorable mentions of $100 went to Caitlin C. Baker, Christy Hartman, John Hodgen, Jim Landwehr, A.J. Layague, Hailey Leithauser, Luisa Muradyan, Connor Paris, Eric Roy, Levi Stallings, Jennifer Stephenson, and Tyler Vale. The top 15 poems and the judges’ comments are published online at Winning Writers.
The 2025 contest is open now through April 1, 2025. $3,750 will be awarded. Entry remains free. See the guidelines and submit online.
In addition to the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, Winning Writers also sponsors the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, and the North Street Book Prize. Winning Writers has been named as one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” by Writer’s Digest in 2024.
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SOURCE Winning Writers
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