Subscriber News: November 2021
Recent Honors
Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's lyric essay "Titanic Heart" won Honorable Mention in Midway Journal's 2021 "-1000 Below" Flash Prose and Poetry Contest judged by Tiana Clark, and was published in Vol. 15, Issue 4. In other news, their poem "when people look at me I want them to think, there's one of those people" was published in ArLiJo #153 (October 2021), the literary journal of Gival Press, as a semifinaist for the 2021 Oscar Wilde Prize. The poem takes its title from a quote by Lou Sullivan, a gay trans man who was an activist for LGBTQ rights in the 1980s.
Congratulations to Chris Stark. Her second novel, Carnival Lights, was published by Modern History Press in June. Set in Minneapolis in 1969, Carnival Lights is the story of two Ojibwe teen girls who run away from home after a series of losses and changes in their family. Read an excerpt and author statement at Minnesota Women's Press.
Congratulations to Lesléa Newman. Her latest books for children are the board books A-B-C Cats and 1-2-3 Cats, both illustrated by Isabella Kung and published by Candlewick Press; and the picture book As Babies Dream, illustrated by Taia Morley and published by Magination Press. Visit Lesléa's website for purchasing information and a list of all her books for kids and adults.
Congratulations to Samantha Terrell. Her poetry chapbook Keeping Afloat will be published by JC Studio Press in Glasgow. Her poetry collection Vision, and Other Things We Hide From was published in March by Potter's Grove Press, and is available in paperback and Kindle editions. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Visit her website for more of her work.
Congratulations to Kelli Simpson, B.J. Buckley, and Mary Beth Hines. They won first through third place, respectively, in the 24th annual Poetry Super Highway Poetry Contest. Winners received a percentage of entry fees, and all contestants received books donated by literary sponsors. Read the winning poems here.
Congratulations to Rebecca Hart Olander. Her poetry collection Uncertain Acrobats was published this month by CavanKerry Press. From the book blurb: "Uncertain Acrobats evokes unraveling within its tightly woven narrative, the central concern of which is the death of a parent and the fumbling for balance a dying father and his adult daughter share...These poems arc across a terrain of divorce, family, childhood, coming of age, mortality, and deep, abiding love, always landing with a foothold in the genuine." Rebecca is the editor/director of Perugia Press, a nonprofit feminist press publishing first and second full-length books of poetry by women, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Watch the YouTube video of her book launch reading with CavanKerry author Cindy Veach (Her Kind).
Congratulations to Gary Beck. Cyberwit recently published his translations of Four Plays by Molière. Beck says of these adaptations that he directed: "The plays were translated for the stage, then presented Off-Broadway and on tour to colleges, public spaces and culturally deprived communities. The scripts respect the originals and were rehearsed many times to ensure the language on stage was clean, funny and dramatic." Gary's poetry collection Turbulence is also out now from Cyberwit.
Congratulations to Jessica Pegis. Her novel The God Painter was recently published by Stone Table Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock. This work of speculative fiction, which explores questions of gender and theology, is set in the year 2035 after aliens with mysterious motives have rescued humanity from a lethal solar flare.
Recent Publications
Joseph Stanton's 11-poem sequence "Nights on B Street", with photos of artist Adam LeBlanc's urban dioramas created in conjunction with the poems, can be seen in the University of Hawai'i's online journal Vice-Versa (Summer 2021).
Dan Klefstad's vampire novel Fiona's Guardians was adapted by Artists' Ensemble Theater for their Mysterious Journey podcast.
Elaine Chekich's story "Brainzapping on the Metro" was published in July in IHRAF Publishes, the online journal of the International Human Rights Art Festival. Elaine says, "I am a huge fan of WinningWriters.com. I turn other writers on to it as often as I can!"
The Poet Spiel a/k/a Tom W. Taylor's artwork is now available as fabric designs at Spoonflower. Described as "visions of rhythm in nature," the designs feature boldly colored, kaleidoscopic renditions of animals and fruit.
Phyllis Klein's poem "In the Empire of the Invisible" was published in the "Crone Power" issue of Gyroscope Review (Fall 2021). Scroll down to pg.76 to read it.
Duane L. Herrmann has several publications to report. Dead Mule School of Southern Lit accepted his story "Naked in America" for publication in February 2022. WolfSinger Publications accepted the story "Suspicious Words" for publication in US/THEM, to be released in November 2021. Two poems appeared in Nature 2020/2021. Ten poems, in two batches, were posted on the Page and Spine website.
Yvonne's piece "Second Thoughts" was published in the drama anthology Rushing Thru the Dark from Choeofpleirn Press.
Gail Thomas was interviewed on the Perugia Press blog in October for their feature "The Story of My Book". Her poetry collection Finding the Bear was the first book published by this literary press for emerging women poets, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021.
Published: November 9, 2021
