Subscriber News: July 2018
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Mallory M. O'Connor. Her debut novel, American River: Tributaries, won first prize in the fiction category in the 2018 Northern California Publishers and Authors Book Awards. The most recent deadline for this contest, which honors books in various genres that were published or self-published in the preceding calendar year, was February 15; the next contest opens July 1. See the 2018 winners' list here. Tributaries is the first book in the American River trilogy, which follows the interwoven stories of three California families as the descendants of Irish, Japanese, and Mexican immigrants embark on unique journeys to pursue their dreams in the unsettled world of the 1960s. Visit the author's website to learn more.
Congratulations to Diane G. Martin. Her essay "Arabian Night" won the Summer/Fall 2018 Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction and will be published in Lunch Ticket, the literary journal of Antioch University Los Angeles. The next submission period for this twice-yearly $250 prize is August 1-31.
Congratulations to Jeff Walt. His poem "The World is Ending on the East Coast" won first prize in the 2018 Frank O'Hara Prize from the Worcester County Poetry Association, judged this year by Regie Gibson. This contest gives prizes up to $100 for poems by WCPA members or residents, students, or employees in Worcester County, MA; the most recent deadline was April 1. Visit Jeff's website to learn more about his award-winning poetry. This year he is also the judge and contest coordinator of the Kowit Prize, a $1,000 poetry award sponsored by San Diego Entertainment + Arts Guild, with a deadline of October 15.
Congratulations to Barbara de la Cuesta. Her poetry chapbook On the River This Morning will be released August 10 by Finishing Line Press and is now available for pre-order. She kindly shares a sample poem here.
Congratulations to Joan Gelfand. Her book You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C's Approach to Author Success was published July 15 by Mango, an independent press in Florida specializing in innovative self-help and business books. (Not affiliated with our WinningWriters site.)
Congratulations to Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Her poetry book Imperfect Echoes: Writing Truth and Justice with Capital Letters, lie and oppression with Small was one of two honorable mention winners in the poetry category of the 2018 Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Jim Cox, Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Book Review, called this book "articulate, gifted, insightful, iconoclastic, and a truly impressive literary talent." The 2019 contest deadline was June 4, 2018. See all Writer's Digest contests on their website. In other news, Carolyn's poem "The Writing Woman" will be published in the next issue of FLARE: The Flagler Review, the literary journal of Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. The poem is excerpted from her unpublished chapbook Nushu and Other Silenced Voices, and describes similarities and solidarity among oppressed women in different countries.
Congratulations to Gary Beck. His poetry chapbook Voices of War is now available from Atlantean Publishing, a British literary press. Voices of War "examines different periods of war from the perspective of the foot soldier who rises in the ranks through bravery and daring. Like most wars, these do not end well for the warriors who strive with all their might to prevail, but in the end fail." In other news, his full-length poetry book Blunt Force was recently released by Wordcatcher Publishing, an independent press in Wales. This collection "takes aim at capitalist greed, corporate ruthlessness, and the decay of the American dream."
Congratulations to Emily Rose Cole. Her poetry manuscript Thunderhead was a semi-finalist for the 2018 Berkshire Prize for a First or Second Book of Poetry, judged by Carl Phillips. This prestigious award gives $3,000 and publication by Tupelo Press; the most recent submission period was January 1-April 30. Tupelo Press is currently open to poetry manuscript submissions through July 31.
Recent Publications
Janet Garber's story about meeting her second husband, Shelly, and remarrying at age 50, "Desperately Seeking Soul Mate", has just been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Miracle of Love edition. Visit her Amazon page for more of her award-winning writing.
Lisa Ciarfella's story "Karmic Catastrophe" appeared in Flash Fiction Offensive in April. Her story "Last Night's Lift" was published in Near to the Knuckle, also in April.
R. Bremner's poem "To the Two Nicoles" was published in Gone Lawn, Issue #27 (Winter 2018). He also recently had four poems published in Soft Cartel, four poems in Cultura Colectiva, two poems in The Ekphrastic Review, and six poems in And So Yeah.
Laurel Blossom's poems "After the Explosion", "(Because of how)", and "Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent" were published in Los Angeles Review.
Ellaraine Lockie's poetry chapbook Wild as in Familiar (Finishing Line Press, 2011) is available as an audio download on Amazon, with original background music by Heather Lockie. Listen to sample poems "Saying Goodbye", "Drawing Breath", and "Wings Clipped" on YouTube.
Published: July 9, 2018
