Thank you to all our associates who entered our second annual Round Up For Writers Contest! We were blown away by the incredible talent showcased in their submissions. We are truly honored to have them on our store teams!

Thanks to your support, we have raised over $100k for the largest nonprofit literary organization, Poets & Writers. On behalf of Terry Finley, Books-A-Million CEO, and our selection committee led by Margaret Terwey, our Fiction Expert, we are proud to announce the four winners, in no particular order: Emilee MacGregor, Evan Cressoine, Thomas Padgett, and Reagan McBryar.

Read excerpts from their winning submissions below!

‍Emilee MacGregor from Lima, OH Books-A-Million‍

Here is an excerpt from Emilee’s winning entry, "Untitled":

"Reading could be a mirror for me reflecting back both the good and the bad I had experienced. Through this unique point of view I can clearly see the growth and hope in the person I’ve become."

Wanting more? Check out the full version of "Untitled" here.                            

Evan Cressoine from Houma, LA 2nd & Charles

Here is an excerpt from Evan’s winning entry, "The Book Phoenix":

"As I grew, I read my own bedtime stories as well as morning stories, midday stories, early evening stories. I found myself in books the way most people found themselves at birth: alive and breathing for the first time."

Wanting more? Check out the full version of "The Book Phoenix" here.

Thomas Padgett from Opelika, AL Books-A-Million

Here is an excerpt from Thomas’ winning entry, "The Margins of Memory":

“To read was to weave and be woven with others. It was a million seemingly insignificant moments between people that shaped who they were or who they would become. To read and to carry a story with you is to be a part of something larger than oneself. It meant being connected to not just the one telling the story, but to everyone who read it. To simultaneously tip the dominoes and to be tipped. To paint and be painted.”

Wanting more? Check out the full version of "The Margins of Memory" here.

Reagan McBryar from Chattanooga, TN 2nd & Charles

Here is an excerpt from Reagan’s winning entry, "Untitled (Turn the Page)":

"Chevaliers decked in glittering armor atop giant war horses crest the overlooking hill and charge down like a living waterfall, pikes and halberds poised and ready to strike. Death abounds.

Turn the page.”

Wanting more? Check out the full version of "Untitled (Turn the Page)" here.

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A special congratulations to our Honorable Mentions for their incredible entries:

Macalib Clark, “Voiceless Child”
Canon Spriggs, “I Am Canon”
Tegan Emery, “Thoughts”
Sarah Taylor, “Untitled”
Shamya Point, “Today Is a Good Day”
Skylar Costello, “Untitled”
Alexandria Shiflet, “Through My Eyes, And Out of My Head”
Tera Hooper, “Untitled”
Wolfgang Maggard, “A Steady Stream of Syllables”
Jennifer Lewis, “Haiku-ish”

Congratulations again to our winners and all of the associates that entered our Round Up For Writers Contest! We're greatly looking forward to next year!