Subscriber News: December 2020
Recent Honors
Congratulations to X.H. Collins. Her debut novel, Flowing Water, Falling Flowers, was published in October by MWC Press, the literary publishing arm of the Midwest Writing Center. This historical novel features two intertwined storylines separated by a century. When she loses her job and lover in one fell swoop, art history professor Rose Ming accompanies her mother on a visit to her Chinese hometown of Three Rivers, where she solves the family mystery and unearths an unutterable tragedy of the Han, Wang, and Fang families, hidden for over a hundred years. Visit the author's website to learn more.
Congratulations to Ana Reisens and Jerome Gagnon. Her poem "The Gathering" won first prize, and his poem "In the Cool of Morning" won honorable mention, in the adult category of the 2020 Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards. Read their winning poems on the contest website. This contest sponsored by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation gives prizes up to $1,000 for poems that illustrate positive visions of peace and the human spirit. The current contest is open through July 1, 2021.
Congratulations to Susan Stinson. Her novel Martha Moody, first published in 1995 by Spinsters Ink, is being re-issued by Small Beer Press and is now available for pre-order. From the book blurb: "At once a love story and a lush comic masterpiece, Martha Moody is a speculative western which embraces the ordinary and gritty details—as well as the magic—of women's lives in the Old West." Read Sally Bellerose's interview with her in Lambda Literary.
Congratulations to Tony Zurlo and John A. Long. Their poems "When the Angels Call" and "Distant Candles", respectively, were the joint first-prize winners in Conceit Magazine's 12th annual "Light of the Stars" Poetry Contest 2019, receiving $45 each. Subscriber C. David Hay and Christine Xu shared second prize, and Kaye Abikhaled and Margaret Worley shared third. The 2020 deadline was October 31. Prizes are a percentage of fees collected.
Congratulations to Kelli Russell Agodon. Her fourth poetry collection, Dialogues with Rising Tides, will be published by Copper Canyon Press in April and is available for pre-order. She kindly shares a sample poem here. From the book blurb: "Each poem facilitates a humane and honest conversation with the forces that threaten to take us under. The anxieties and heartbreaks of life―including environmental collapse, cruel politics, and the persistent specter of suicide―are met with emotional vulnerability and darkly sparkling humor."
Congratulations to Darrell Lindsey. His haiku collection Spectrum was recently published by Cyberwit. He also won a Haiku in English Award for Excellence in the 9th annual Setouchi-Matsuyama International Photo-Haiku Contest (2020).
Congratulations to Joan Gelfand. Her poems "The Blues" and "Pivot" won first and third prize, respectively, in the first annual Effie Lee Morris Writing Awards from the Women's National Book Association. She kindly shares "The Blues" here. The 2021 contest is now open through March 31, with prizes up to $200 for poetry, fiction, and essays (all genres compete together).
Recent Publications
Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's poem "Puzzling Prayer to St. Anthony" was published on the 30 Poems in November blog of the Center for New Americans, an immigrant literacy and job-training nonprofit in Northampton, MA. Donate to Jendi's poem-a-day fundraiser for CNAM here. In other news, Jendi's poem "Made Man" was nominated for a 2021 Pushcart Prize by ArLiJo, the literary journal of Gival Press. This poem appeared in ArLiJo Issue #140. Jendi was also interviewed on the blog of Lonely Cryptid Media as a contributor to their Fireweed: Stories from the Revolution anthology.
John Smistad's story collection Sliced Lives is now available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon. Visit John's blog The Quick Flick Critic for movie reviews.
Amy King's essays about poetry and capitalism, "A Poetics of the Zeitgeist" and "Poets Don't Owe Us", were published in Jacket2.
Yvonne has several poetry publications to report. "No U-Turn" was published in Contemporary Verse 2, Vol. 43 No. 2 (Fall 2020). The theme of this issue was "Hope or Do We Have One: Poetry for Uncertain Times". Her poem "Billie in West Philly" appeared in GEEZ, Issue 58 (Fall 2020), a Canadian journal of faith and progressive politics. "2672 South Deacon Street, Detroit" was included in Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest (Belt Publishing, 2020). "Brooklyn and Me, 1966-1995" was published at New World Writing. "Yellow Canary B1769" and "Candy Dish" were published at The Sunlight Press.
Duane L. Herrmann's poem "Water Cycling" was accepted for inclusion in Wards Lit Mag, Issue #6. In October, the Adirondack Center for Writing published three of his pieces on their website that were written in response to their weekly prompts, and his flash fiction piece "Never Forget...What?" was featured on their site for November 30. His poem "Wild Night Adventure" was published at Tiny Seed Literary Journal in October, and "Spring Burning" (accompanied by a photo of his prairie burning) appeared there on November 29. He was a featured Poet of the Week at Poetry Super Highway for December 7-13 with his poem "Pizza Faced". His work has also appeared in Dreamers Creative Writing, The Short of It, and in several themed writing challenges on Christopher Fielden's blog: 180-word story based on the news (#95), 175-word story using all five senses (#283), and 81-word story (#935).
J.C. Todd's poem "Orison" was published in the Baltimore Review (Fall 2020). Her poem "Particles" was published in The Night Heron Barks (Fall 2020).
Neil Perry Gordon's historical romance Sadie's Sin: The Zwi Migdal's Reign of Terror is now available in print and e-book editions. Set in the 1920s, the novel is about a young Jewish woman from Poland who is trafficked to an organized-crime syndicate in Argentina.
Jesse James Doty's poem "Stay silent—stay unnoticed" was accepted for publication in Haight Ashbury Literary Journal.
The Poet Spiel had work published in Misfit Magazine and Quora Poetry & Short Stories. Misfit Magazine editor Alan Catlin says of Spiel's new collection, Softly and Tenderly Home: The Peril of Duty (2020 limited edition, contact author for copies): "Empathy is the key to Spiel’s book. He inhabits the minds and bodies of those affected [by war], wives, children, soldiers and speaks their words. His arresting use of the vernacular, unintentional puns, double meanings, and fractured syntax is unlike any other you are likely to read anywhere."
Published: December 8, 2020
