NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its 25th annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest.
Tim Loveday of Melbourne, Australia won first prize and $2,000 for his humor poem “Dog Act(or)”, which ponders the important philosophical question: is a dog on-screen playing a dog, or being a dog? 4,825 poets participated from around the world.
Second Prize of $500 went to Annah Chiedza Hodhera of Harare, Zimbabwe for the John Keats parody “Ode on a Grecian Takeout Container”, which continues the original’s theme of transient human endeavors by mocking our degradation of classical imagery as decoration for disposable consumer products.
Third Prize of $250 went to Cal Hunter of Belfast, Northern Ireland for “Ink?”, a humorous rant about the end stage of consumer capitalism, in which we actually own nothing, because some crucial component is merely licensed by a company that can revoke it on a whim.
Jendi Reiter, final judge of the Wergle Flomp contest, said, “Our poets continued to be preoccupied with technological change and social media. Watching, being watched, or being forgotten, we stare into the abyss of the Internet, and the abyss not only stares back but posts a selfie.”
Eleven honorable mentions of $100 went to Emily Cho, Eddie Elizabeth, Chad Frame, Matthew Goldberg, Uzma Kadri, Christopher Lessick, Stacey Lounsberry, SP Mulroy, Esme Seaborne, Kazuto Tonari, and Andy Young. All the winning poems are published online at Winning Writers. Additional benefits were also awarded by contest co-sponsors Duotrope and Chill Subs.
The 2027 contest is open now through April 1, 2027. Entry remains free while the prize pool has been upgraded from $3,750 to $5,100. This is one of the largest free contests for individual poems in the world. 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. All of these contests are recommended by Reedsy. Winning Writers has also been named one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” by Writer’s Digest, most recently in 2026.
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Adam Cohen
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SOURCE Winning Writers
