The Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction

View the Current Winners & Finalists

About the Award

Lunch Ticket is honored to serve as the host for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction.

Author Diana Woods exuded unwavering intellectual curiosity, pursuing and receiving secondary degrees in law, social work, political science, and most recently, creative writing. She received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles in 2011 at the age of 70.

Diana was born on May 31, 1941 in Long Beach, California and passed on November 2, 2012 at the age of 71 from a recurrent battle with ovarian cancer. She is survived by her son Brian, his wife Emily, their son Benjamin, as well as her daughter Rani and Rani’s fiancée Sonia. When asked how she wanted to be remembered, Diana wrote, “I had so many goals and too little time.” Her passion for exploration of place, self, and identity remains timeless. Diana wrote and published regularly throughout the last decade of her life.

The Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction was established in Diana’s memory by her family, friends, and the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA community. Diana Woods Memorial Award serves as a special opportunity for authors worldwide to be published in the literary journal Lunch Ticket. Launched in the spring of 2012, Lunch Ticket is produced by the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA program, an innovative creative writing graduate program devoted to the education of literary artists, community engagement, and the pursuit of social justice.

Twice each year an author of a work of creative nonfiction will be selected for the Diana Woods Memorial Award award by a special guest judge. One author will be chosen for the Summer/Fall issue of Lunch Ticket and one in the Winter/Spring issue. The winning submissions will be published in Lunch Ticket and the recipient will receive $250.

How to Submit

Creative nonfiction authors are invited to submit an essay of up to 3,500 words on the subject of their choice to be considered for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction. Winners will receive $250 and their work will be featured in the next issue of Lunch Ticket. Each award recipient must submit a 100-word biography, current photo, and send a brief note of thanks to the Woods family.

To submit, please click on the button called “Submit to Lunch Ticket” above, and choose the category called “Diana Woods Memorial Award.”

The reading period for the award is the month of February for the issue that publishes in June, and the month of August for the issue that publishes in December. Please note that previously published work will not be accepted.

All submissions for the award will be considered for publication in Lunch Ticket.

Our Policy

The Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction is dedicated to upholding the Council of Literary Magazines & Presses code of ethics, defined as such:

CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

Additionally: friends, family, and associates of the judges are not eligible for consideration for the award.