Women of Ohio

The Judging Is Complete – Winners Selected!

We’re thrilled to announce that the judging for the Women of Ohio Prize has officially concluded!

We now have a list of winning entries in both the poetry and visual art categories—each one a powerful tribute to the women who inspire us across generations and communities. Although the poets and artists on our list already know who has won, we won’t be revealing final placements (1st, 2nd, etc.) just yet. We want to congratulate all our selected winners and commended contributors for their extraordinary work.

The official announcement of placements will take place during our Winner Showcase event at the Columbus Book Festival:

📅 Date: Saturday, July 12th
🕛 Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
📍 Location: Gatehouse Stage, Columbus Book Festival

The winners are:

Winning and Commended Artists

(Listed in alphabetical order – placement to be revealed at BookFest)

• McKenzie Gilbert – The Grass is Greener
• Marcus Jackson – Livestream
• Gail Joyce – Fury
• Rob Jones – The Flower Lady of Mount Vernon, Study of Edna Bryce
• Emily Morgan – Ghosts 2
• Nia Nyabinghi – Nancy Wilson Song
• Marcia Shubert – Mary Ann rescued an owl from the belfry of an old church in Amesville, OH
• Julie York – MyHomeMyLand

Winning and Commended Poets

(Listed in alphabetical order – placement to be revealed at BookFest)

• Ariane Bolduc – The Last Memorial
• Diane Callahan – What is Missing
• Darren Demaree – A Poem for the Aunts and Grandmothers on Livingston Avenue
• Kellie Kirksey – I Wish (After Toni Morrison and Aminah Robinson)
• Sarah McHatton – Wild and Free
• Emily Patterson – Land : Water : Memory
• Angela Romines Smith – Granny Gatewood
• Rose Smith – General Admission
• Esther Sadoff – On Leaving and Coming

We hope you’ll join us to celebrate these remarkable voices and visions. Stay tuned to womenofohio.com and our social media for more updates—and thank you to everyone who shared their work and their stories with us. This project is only possible because of you.