Ross Writing Contest

It’s time to submit your story for the Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction

June 1, the deadline for the 2019 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction, is quickly approaching. Your original work of fiction should be no more than 5,000 words that illuminate the role of the law and/or lawyers in modern culture. The winner will receive a prize of $3,000…

May 9, 2019 2:15 PM CDT

Ross Award winner sees the honor in public defenders’ work

Read the winner of the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jan 1, 2019 12:10 AM CST

Guardians of the Sixth Amendment

Read the winner of the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jan 1, 2019 12:10 AM CST

Still There in the Ashes

A public defender navigates her opioid-addicted clients through drug treatment court. Durham, North Carolina, lawyer Aleaha Jones was named runner-up in the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jan 1, 2019 12:05 AM CST

It’s time to enter the ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction

It's time to get creative. Entries are being accepted for the 2018 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction through 5 p.m. CDT on Friday, June 1.

May 16, 2018 12:55 PM CDT

Winning short story: ‘The Attorney Helped Clean Up The Blood’

Read the winning entry on our fourth annual Ross Writing Contest for Short Legal Fiction. Writer Linda Oatman High won the contest and received a $3,000 cash prize. The annual contest, supported by the Erskine M. Ross Trust, recognizes outstanding fiction emphasizing the role of the law and lawyers in society.

Feb 1, 2018 12:25 AM CST

About this year’s Ross Writing Contest winning story

Linda Oatman High’s “The Attorney Helped Clean Up the Blood” won the ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Short Legal Fiction and received a $3,000 cash prize.

Feb 1, 2018 12:20 AM CST

Linda Oatman High wins ABA Journal/Ross Short Legal Fiction Contest

During her 35-year career as a writer, Linda Oatman High has written more than 20 books for children and young adults, three plays and numerous feature articles and news stories. But she had never written a legal-themed piece until she saw a call for submissions to the ABA Journal/Ross Writing…

Jul 26, 2017 3:47 PM CDT

Another Shot

In this winning short story, a defense attorney and a prosecutor work together to help a criminal defendant—a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse issues—get treatment.

Jan 1, 2017 4:00 AM CST

Massachusetts lawyer wins $3K Ross prize for her fictional story ‘Another Shot’

Congratulations to Elena O. Papoulias, the winner of the 2016 ABA Journal/Ross Prize for Legal Short Fiction! Papoulias, from Centerville, Massachusetts, was among 38 entrants in this year’s short story contest. Her short story “Another Shot” will be awarded a $3,000 cash prize on Sept. 22 at a ceremony at…

Aug 26, 2016 3:30 PM CDT

Sealed Windows

Editor's note: In September, we announced the results of the third annual ABA Journal/Ross Short Legal Fiction Contest. The winner of the $3,000 prize is retired California lawyer Andy Greensfelder of San Luis Obispo. Greensfelder's story describes a lawyer whose begrudging pro bono defense against a home foreclosure leads him to question his conflicts of interest, as well as the course of his highly successful career. The annual short story competition sponsored by the ABA Journal is funded by the Erskine Ross Trust and is intended to encourage literary fiction that illuminates the role of law and lawyers in society.

Jan 1, 2016 4:20 AM CST

‘Sealed Windows’ has won the 2015 ABA Journal short story contest

Congratulations to retired lawyer Andy Greensfelder, the winner of the 2015 ABA Journal/Ross Prize for Legal Short Fiction. Greensfelder, who hails from San Luis Obispo, California, was among 60 entrants in this year’s short story contest. His short story “Sealed Windows” was awarded the $3,000 cash prize on Sept. 3…

Sep 18, 2015 2:00 PM CDT

Fiction contest winner: 'Good News, Bad News'

Good news and bad news alike arrive in the same way. In a letter, placed in a mailbox on the first floor of the office. Mailbox is a generous term. It's really a small wooden cubby with a name pasted on it using one of those label-makers grocery stores used to use. Thursday was no different; and when bad news came in, it sat there until 3:55, when I picked it out of the cubby and leafed through it in the mail room—not so much reading it as looking for the overall thrust of the decision. "Motion denied. Domestic violence order vacated." Signed and dated, Circuit Judge.

Jan 1, 2015 4:20 AM CST

Harper Lee, ABA Journal fiction prizes announced

John Grisham is a best-selling author who has seen many of his books become major Hollywood pictures. Jason Bailey is a first-time author who maintains a busy legal practice in western Colorado and only writes during his spare time. What do these two writers have in common? This year, they…

Sep 4, 2014 4:28 PM CDT

It’s Legal, There: A dead child, an old grudge, and a lawyer caught between the facts and the truth

In August, we announced the very first winner of the inaugural ABA Journal Short Fiction Contest. The winner of the $3,000 prize was Whitehall, Mich., lawyer Lance Hendrickson, whose haunting submission is published here. The annual contest, supported by the Erskine M. Ross Trust, is intended to encourage literary fiction…

Jan 1, 2014 11:30 AM CST