A Q&A with Session Six 2026 Lyric Contest Winner Zion Williams

Zion Williams won first place in Session Six of the 2026 American Songwriter Lyric Contest with “Heaven’s Front Porch”. He says the song grew from imagining life without his great-grandmother, Jerry Goodwin, and offers a way to express the grief he felt when she was unwell.

Williams spent much of his childhood at Goodwin’s home, where she played piano by ear and he began trying out tunes. He wrote the song on acoustic guitar in a country style, drawing on memories of her porch; Goodwin turned 101 in March and is still alive. Williams is completing his first semester at Belmont University, where he hopes to study songwriting, and credits mentors, teachers, family and friends with encouraging his development.