Subscriber News: August 2015
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Bracha Nechama Bomze. Her book-length poem Love Justice (3Ring Press, 2015) was shortlisted for the 2015 International Rubery Book Award. This British contest awards 1,000 pounds for the best small press or self-published book; the most recent deadline was April 30. The judges said, "These are poems from a vulnerable, Jewish lesbian with an attitude and a lot to say about it—poems almost like a story about her loves, her Jewish ancestors, about 9/11, her 'unnatural' birth, all portrayed with strong imagery."
Congratulations to Diana Anhalt. Her collection of new and selected poems, because there is no return, was recently published by Passager Books. Many of the poems were inspired by her life as an expatriate in Mexico for several decades. She kindly shares a sample poem here. In other news, her poem "How to Ride La Bestia" placed first in the members' category of the 2015 Georgia Poetry Society annual contest and will be published in their anthology The Reach of Song. The most recent submission period for this contest, with prizes up to $75, was September 1-November 15.
Congratulations to Robert Morgan Fisher. His short story "Vox Rex" was the runner-up in the Prose category of the 2015 Missouri Review Audio Prize. Listen to it here. The most recent deadline for this $1,000 award for audio and video literary performances was March 29.
Congratulations to Linda Heuring. Her short story "Breaking Point" was a finalist for the 2014 Rash Awards and was published in Broad River Review. Named for well-known author Ron Rash, this contest gives $500 prizes for poetry and fiction; the most recent submission period was August 15-November 15.
Congratulations to David W. Berner. He was named the Ernest Hemingway Writer-in-Residence for 2015-2016. He will be afforded writing time and space at the Hemingway birthplace home in Oak Park, Illinois and will offer writing workshops and seminars. In other news, his memoir Any Road Will Take You There was shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. Visit his website to find out more.
Congratulations to John A. Brennan. His book Don't Die With Regrets: Ireland and the Lessons My Father Taught Me tied for first prize in the memoir category of the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The 2016 contest, with prizes up to $1,500 for small press and self-published books with 2014-16 publication dates, is open now through February 12. Visit the author's Amazon page to learn more.
Congratulations to Christine Benedict. Her novel Anonymous won first runner-up for e-book fiction in the 2015 Eric Hoffer Book Awards sponsored by Hopewell Publications. The most recent deadline for this $2,000 prize for small press and self-published books was January 21. Anonymous was also a finalist for Hopewell's 2015 First Horizon Book Award for debut authors and the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The novel is about a young woman who confronts the fear of inheriting mental illness when her husband moves her into a hundred-year-old farmhouse that is rumored to be haunted. Her new friend confronts the fear of a stalker when perverted anonymous letters arrive in the mail. Their stories merge as their friendship grows. All the letters in the novel are actual letters from the man who stalked the author. He remains anonymous to this day.
Congratulations to Barbara Brockway. Her story "Devil's Night" won an honorable mention in the 2015 White Pine Writing Contest and was published in the Maine Review. This contest offers $100 top prizes for poetry and short fiction; the most recent deadline was February 10. Barbara says, "I am a new subscriber to your newsletter. It is a wealth of information!"
Congratulations to Janet Ruth Heller. Her book The Passover Surprise, a chapter book for children aged 8-12, was recently published by Fictive Press. The story takes place around 1960 and portrays a Jewish family celebrating Sabbath and Passover, as well as the experiences of American soldiers during World War II and the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. It includes a glossary and discussion guide for parents and teachers. In other news, Janet's poem "Wild Turkeys in Mississippi, May 16, 1863", inspired by a visit to a Civil War battlefield, won first prize in the 2015 Crucible Poetry and Fiction Competition and was published in the Spring 2015 issue. The most recent deadline for this $150 prize from Barton College's literary journal was May 1. Her poems "Inheritance (for Oma)" and "Policing My Apartment" were published in Old Northwest Review, a journal of literature from the Midwest.
Congratulations to Ruth Hill. Her poems "Wentletrap", "Blue Blue", "Dream Overlays", and "Alex the Artiste" won honorable mentions in the 2015 Pennsylvania Poetry Society Contest. The most recent deadline was January 15 for this contest with prizes up to $100 in various themed categories. Her poem "Cascadia" won third prize at the 2015 Cascadia Poetry Festival in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Her poems "Pas de Deux", "Cast in Bronze", "All Wild", "Growing Up Wild", and "Heather Explores Her Ancestral Homeland" were published in the Summer 2015 issue of PoetryMagazine.com. Her poem "Who's There?" was published in Issue #3 of Perfume River Review, which had a theme of "Night Terrors". Her poems "Marie" and "Reversing the Lens" won prizes in two of the themed categories of the 2015 Poetry Society of Virginia Contest. The most recent deadline for this contest, with prizes up to $100, was January 19. Her poem "Craquelure" was published in the April 2015 newsletter of Voices Israel. Her poem "A Pedicure for Vieux Montreal" was published in Confrontation.
Congratulations to Elizabet Stevens. Her first picture book for children, Pamela Pollock's Perilous Adventure, with illustrations by Robert Lyon, was published this spring by Four East Publications, a small press focused on the history and culture of Nova Scotia. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, hosted her book launch party.
Congratulations to James Osborne. His thriller The Ultimate Threat was recently published by Endeavour Press, a British e-book publisher. A print edition is also available. The novel is based on the spread of terrorism in recent years across the Middle East, and in Africa and Europe, but superimposed onto real settings in American cities. Visit his website to read his award-winning short stories and purchase his other mystery/thriller novels.
Recent Publications
Winning Writers Contest Judge Ellaraine Lockie's latest poetry chapbook, Where the Meadowlark Sings (Encircle Publications, 2015), was favorably reviewed by Sarah W. Bartlett at Mom Egg Review. Bartlett writes, "I deeply appreciate the voice of this collection of poems. Not only do they paint a vivid picture of Big Sky country, where I have visited in awe of its spaciousness and grandeur. They also portray an intimate portrait of lives lived big and bold as the space they occupy...The scope of her topics is as sweeping as the endless prairie and as particular as the mouse skeleton in the cabin wall. She brings the reader with her into memory and leaves us rich with details of home, its soil still clinging to the roots."
Robin Coste Lewis's poem "Summer" was the poem of the day for July 31 on the Academy of American Poets website.
Susan Tepper and Matt Potter will be co-hosting a Pure Slush Authors' Reading on Friday, September 4, from 7:00-9:00 PM at KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th Street, New York City. All authors published in Pure Slush, a print and online journal of flash prose, are welcome to participate. Visit their website for other reading dates and venues in their On the Road with Pure Slush international reading series.
Charlie Bondhus's poem "George Zimmerman Signs Autographs at a Florida Gun Show" was published in Clockhouse, Vol. 3 (2015). Scroll halfway down the webpage to read this poem.
Published: August 8, 2015
