Sue Granzella Humor Prize Category
First Prize: $100
Second Prize: $50
Third Prize: $25
Category Details
One piece per entry, up to 3,000 words. Make me laugh out loud! Any form is fine—prose, poetry, a scene from a play, a list—as long as what you send feels complete in itself. For example, choose that funny short story with a satisfying arc over the excerpt that would leave me hanging. But above all, choose the piece that will make me surrender to glorious laughter.
About Judge/Sponsor
Sue Granzella (San Leandro, CA) teaches third grade in a Bay Area public school. A classic example of “It’s never too late,” Sue started writing in 2010 after being inspired during a chance conversation with a New England artist. Since then, her creative nonfiction has been recognized as Notable in Best American Essays. She has won the Naomi Rodden Essay Award and a Memoirs Ink contest, as well as numerous awards in the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition. Sue’s work has been extensively published in literary magazines, including McSweeney’s, The Masters Review, Full Grown People, Gravel, Ascent, Citron Review, Hippocampus, Night Shift Radio, and many others.
Most of Sue’s writing has centered on her ethnically diverse young students, and once the world slips back into its orbit, she plans to write about the surreal experience of teaching eight-year-olds on line during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. These days, she finds herself inspired by children’s capacity to embrace diversity, and to forgive. Sue is very active in the leadership of her teachers’ union, and takes pride in being labeled a “union ninja.” She loves baseball, stand-up comedy, hiking, road trips, and reading the writing of 8- and 9-year-olds.
Sue recently completed a collection of essays about teaching, and is searching for a publisher. Interested parties may contact her directly.
Judge’s Websites
- Author Website
- Sue’s Humor piece in McSweeney’s
- Sue’s essay in Ascent
2021 Winners
- First Prize: Larry Hartley of Carbon, IL
“The Blink of an Eye” - Second Prize: Porter Huddleston of Fort Collins, CO
“Tillamooky” - Third Prize: Roderick Dwyer of Tappahannock, VA
“Oscar and the Squirrel”
2021 Honorable Mentions
Kim Alan Bigelow of Edmond, OK for “Pink Champagne”
Melissa Chin of San Francisco, CA for “The Vegetable Garden”
Kristen Frederick of North Mankato, MN for “Crossing Grandma Frances”
Marsha Porter of Sacramento, CA for “Shortcut to Disaster”
Maxine Rose Schur of San Rafael, CA for “”How I Came to Fear French Doors”
Porter Huddleston of Fort Collins, CO for “Probably My Butt”
Louise Moises of Richmond, CA for “Pretty Bird”