NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Aug. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its 24th annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. 5,060 poets participated from around the world.
Jeff Carter of Evere, Belgium won first prize and $2,000 for his comedic poem “There Was an Old Woman”, which retells the plot of the nursery rhyme as an epic in the style of Paradise Lost, complete with footnotes citing imaginary scholarly sources to explain its supposed deep meanings. He also received a two-year gift certificate (value $100) from Duotrope, co-sponsor of the contest.
Jeff Carter, Julia Lichtblau, and AJ Layague won the top prizes in the 2025 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest.
The Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest is sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope.
Second prize of $500 went to Julia Lichtblau of Brooklyn, NY for “The Dictionary of Occupational Titles, 1939 (Revised)”, a compendium of quirky and suggestive work specialties from a bygone era, whose practitioners are united in their resistance to being made obsolete by management.
Third prize of $250 went to AJ Layague of Laguna Niguel, CA for “The Three Muscatels Go to the Races”, about three madcap, liquor-loving old ladies who break out of their nursing home and have a run-in with a mobster who’s doping the ponies.
Jendi Reiter, final judge of the Wergle Flomp contest, said, “It’s a popular technique among our entrants to wring humor from the incongruity between banal subject matter and flowery language, like a plastic toothpick embellished with diamonds. The winning poems stood out for having a strong central concept and following it through with focus and skill.” Lauren Singer assisted with the judging.
Twelve honorable mentions of $100 went to Stephen Dotson Dale, Sophie Develyn, Eddie Elizabeth, Madi Himelfarb, Kim Keough, Susan Kinsolving, Molly Lanzarotta, Jon D. Lee, Phil Maund, Mandy Shunnarah, Lynn Tan, and Carol Whitney Ward. $3,950 was awarded in all. The top 15 poems and the judges’ comments are published online at Winning Writers.
The 2026 contest is open now through April 1, 2026. 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 2025.
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SOURCE Winning Writers