The Ellen J. Miller Memorial Short Story Competition was launched in 2018. Every year writers from around the world contribute original short stories that prominently feature one or more characters from Barbara Pym’s published novels, in any setting or situation the author chooses. There are cash prizes for the top three entries, which are published in our newsletter, Green Leaves, and below.
Ellen Miller single-handedly conceived and organized the Barbara Pym Society’s first North American conference in 1999, and continued to do so every year until her death in 2009. She also founded and managed the Society’s North American Chapter, set up our first official web site and served as its webmaster, and edited our newsletter, Green Leaves, from 2005 to 2009. In 2003 she co-edited a collection of essays, All This Reading: The Literary World of Barbara Pym.
2018 winners
1. “A Suitable Detachment” by Carol Novis
2. “More to Love” by Eliza Langhans
3. “All of Me” by Betsy Hanson
4. “Breaking Out” by Judith Evans
2019 winners
1. “And All Shall Winners Be” by Harriet Diller
2. “A Quiet Country Life” by Rebecca Moden
3. “Well Done” by Diane Alimena
4. “A Spring in Her Step” by Joy Douglass
2020 winners
1. “Not Scorned in Heaven, Though Little Noticed Here” by Tanya van Halset
2. “An Exhausting Number of Blessings” by Diane Alimena
3. “Featherweight” by Janet Gilbert
4. “Happy Endings” by Christina Betar
2021 winners
1. “Jelly Selves” by Heather Burt
2. “Dear Wilmet” by Camilla Zajac
3. “Breakfast Jam” by Ali Miremadi
2022 winners
1. “A Few Green Peas” by Karen Blanton Brenner
2. “Herself, Recognized” by Samuel Smith
3. “An Excellent Woman” by Ruth Taylor