Subscriber News: July 2020
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Phyllis Klein. Her debut poetry collection, The Full Moon Herald, was published in June by Grayson Books. From the book blurb: "Formatted in sections similar to those found in a newspaper, Phyllis Klein's book offers insightful poems about contemporary life in and beyond America's borders." Poet Jack Ridl says: "Her determination to see and name what we are afraid to face powers the headlines of this startling debut collection." She kindly shares a sample poem here.
Congratulations to Joshua Corwin. His debut poetry collection, Becoming Vulnerable, was published by Baxter Daniels Ink Press/International Word Bank in April. Becoming Vulnerable is about his experiences with autism, addiction, sobriety and spirituality. He kindly shares a sample poem here. Visit the author's website and read a review at RavenAmbition's Asperger's Blog.
Congratulations to Steven Mayfield. His novel Treasure of the Blue Whale was published in April by Regal House Publishing. Kirkus Reviews said, "Mayfield's novel has a wonderful tall tale quality, matched perfectly with its semi-fantastic, semi-believable pre-World War II American setting." Visit his website to learn more.
Congratulations to Lesléa Newman. Her poem "The First Time We Visit" won an honorable mention in the 2020 Robinson Jeffers Tor House Poetry Prize and was published on their website. The most recent deadline for this contest, with prizes up to $1,000, was March 14.
Congratulations to Neal Owens. His debut novel Mirrors of Life won a Silver Award in the 2020 Literary Titan Book Awards. From the book blurb: "An African-American woman guides her children to avoid the pitfalls of their hardship environment and leap over the systematic roadblocks that confine many to juvenile delinquency. This riveting tale of faith and perseverance leads to intrigue when her spiritually inclined and ambitious son, Derrick, attempts to build a civic-minded conglomerate that undercuts the retail and gas prices set by a group of avaricious businessmen."
Congratulations to Gigi Berardi. Her book FoodWISE: A Whole Systems Guide to Sustainable and Delicious Food Choices was published in January by North Atlantic Books. She is a professor at Western Washington University, teaching courses on writing, ecology, and sustainable agriculture. Visit her blog for more information.
Recent Publications
Winning Writers contest judge Soma Mei Sheng Frazier's essay "Any Old Patient" was published in Hyphen Magazine in June.
Yossi Faybish had six flash fiction pieces accepted at The Centifictionist: "Blood Ties", "Metals", "Yellow Dust", "Isaac", "Liberation", and "Job". This international literary journal specializes in stories that are 100 words maximum. The editors said, "This is an unprecedented and possibly never repeated move for The Centifictionist; we've never accepted six microfiction stories from one author ever before (and possibly never will again). Your stories are well-written, powerful, compelling, and memorable, just the sort of writing we are looking for (and an example of the power of what can be done with microfiction, and of how much story can be packed into a tiny amount of words; we couldn't imagine declining any of your stories.)"
Abigail Keam's mystery novel Murder Under a Wolf Moon, the fifth entry in her Mona Moon series, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books. Mona Moon is a cartographer and explorer during the Great Depression. In this story, "Mona attends an elegant party given by Elspeth Hopper, the daughter of a world-renowned English archaeologist. Not long afterwards, Elspeth’s maid is found murdered, and the local sheriff considers Mona a suspect."
Lisa Dordal's poem "Broken Arm" was the poem of the week at Narrative Magazine for June 7.
R.T. Castleberry's poem "Allegiance" was published in March at January Review. His poem "No Good Decisions" was published in April at The Rye Whiskey Review. "Down Cold Lanes" appeared in As It Ought To Be Magazine. Five of his poems appeared in Fleas on the Dog, Issue 6 (May 2020): "Clearing Out", "Impressions of the Sick House", "Called By Name", "Death Is in the Conversation", and "The Moon Reminds". "July, Roadhouse Dinner" was published in K'in, Issue 5. "Stole My Coat Blues" appeared at Anti-Heroin Chic in June. "Role Play" and "The Healthier Resolution" were published in Misfit Magazine #30.
R. Bremner's poem "It comes" was published in Spillwords. "Simon says" was published in The Pangolin Review, COVID-19 Issue (April 2020). "Jim at Père Lachaise" appeared in Foreign Literary Journal, Issue #3. His poem "Monk sweeps in the window" appeared in Jerry Jazz Musician (Spring 2020). His stories "The Cats of Roma", "Raccoons", and "Once the Sky Is Broken, It Cannot Be Mended" were published in Flash Boulevard in February. His poems "Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 2009" and "On a teardrop island" were published in the "War and Battle" issue of The Poet (Spring 2020). An erasure poem generated from Rabindranath Tagore's "I will not let you leave" appeared in Unlost: Journal of Found Poetry and Art, Issue #21.
David Kherdian's memoir Becoming a Writer is now available on Amazon. From the book blurb: "Kherdian was the first writer to come out of his hometown, Racine, Wisconsin, a backward, Rust Belt city of the 30's-70's, where Kherdian's people had arrived from out of the Armenian genocide, to work in the factories, freed at last of the past, along with others who were also fleeing religious persecution and intolerance in their own lands...The esteemed author of his mother’s survival of the genocide, The Road From Home, now tells us in Becoming a Writer, how he grew up to become a spokesman and chronicler of his hometown." David also published Pandemic, a book of poetry, in June. "Writing from his home in the hills of Black Mountain, poet David Kherdian shares his thoughts on the pandemic of 2020 through simple, unobtrusive verses—providing grace, prayer, and deliverance for all those in need."
Yvonne has several poetry publications to report. "Ballad of the Arthur and Edith Lee House" was included in Home: An Anthology of Minnesota Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry (Flexible Press). She kindly shares it with us here. Proceeds from the sale of this book support Alliance Housing, a Minneapolis nonprofit dedicated to affordable housing for all. "Gertrude on Olympiad Drive" was published in Horror USA: California (Soteira Press). "Behind Closed Doors: The Lena O. Smith House" appeared in Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. V, No. 2 (Spring 2020). "Ghost Map" and "The Last Restaurant" were published in Event, Issue 49.1. "Disconnected" and "Procession" were published in Dappled Things, Vol. 14, Issue 4. "The Gables" and "Erased, 1962" appeared in Metonym Literary Journal, Vol. X (Spring 2020). "Being There" and "Trading Partners" were published in Colere, Issue 19 (2019), the literary journal of Coe College. Her poem "Malcolm X Park" was chosen by Rattle for Poets Respond, their weekly feature of poetry inspired by current events.
J Brooke's lyric essay "Kaden has Covid" was published in Beyond Words Magazine, Issue 4 (June 2020).
Betty Chambers' poetry collections On the Inspirational Side of Poetry, Book I and Book II are available on Amazon.
Published: July 8, 2020
