Tilia Klebenov Jacobs Religious Essay Prize
First Prize: $100
Second Prize: $50
Third Prize: $25
Category Details
We want to hear from everyone: Jews, Hindus, Wiccans, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, atheists, and more. We want the voices of preachers and parishioners, rabbis and rabble-rousers: we want every glittering piece of the glorious kaleidoscope that is the experience of religion. In short, we want to hear from you. Our rules are simple: no preaching, no proselytizing, no explaining why your religion is right and everyone else’s is wrong. Yes to thoughtful writing about any of the following: religion in everyday life; approachable explications of religious texts; stories that fill in the gaps in Biblical and other religious narratives. Up to 3,000 words, double-spaced.
About Judge/Sponsor
TILIA KLEBENOV JACOBS (Framingham, MA) holds a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a BA in Religion and English from Oberlin College. Her short fiction appears in the anthologies When a Stranger Comes to Town (Hanover Square Press 2021) and Deadly Nightshade: Best New England Crime Stories (Crime Spell Books 2022). HarperCollins calls Tilia “one of crime fiction’s top authors.” Tilia’s nonfiction appears in The Jewish Magazine as well as the anthologies Phoenix Rising and The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie 2012). Her first novel, Wrong Place, Wrong Time, was an Amazon bestseller, and won the Beverly Hills Book award for Best Thriller. Her most recent book, Casper and Jasper and the Terrible Tyrant, won Runner-Up in the New York Book Festival. Tilia has taught middle school, high school, and college. At present she teachers writing classes for prison inmates. She serves on the board of Mystery Writers of America-New England, and is a reviewer for IndieReader.com. Tilia lives near Boston with her husband, two children, and a pleasantly neurotic standard poodle.
Judge’s Website
2021 Winners
- First Prize: Karen Marker of Oakland, CA
“Ruth in the Redwoods” - Second Prize: Gail McCormick of Seattle, WA
“Finding Mary” - Third Prize: Evie Groch of El Cerrito, CA
“When Does a House Become a Home?”
2021 Honorable Mention
Marjorie Bluestein of Boston, MA for “Road Trip: Crestone”
Karen Marker of Oakland, CA for “A Season of Joy: Following the Moon at Muir Beach”
Katherine Hauswirth of Deep River, CT for “Circuits and the Sacred: A Beginner’s Translation”
Shelly Gill Murray of Minneapolis, MN for “Real ID”