Subscriber News: September 2015
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Anne Kaylor. Her poetry collection Unwilling to Laugh Alone will be published in November by Main Street Rag. Pre-order now for only $7.50 plus tax and shipping, a discount off the cover price of $14. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Anne is the editor of moonShine Review, a journal of prose and photography.
Congratulations to Mary Lou Taylor. Her second book, Bringing Home the Moon: New and Selected Poems, was published in July by Aldrich Press, an imprint of Kelsay Books that specializes in free verse by mid-career poets. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Critic Grace Cavalieri says of this collection: "Great poetic decisions are made when Mary Lou Taylor registers the things she loves—we anticipate emotions in the line before they are felt, so that each page has its own trajectory of discovery." Visit the author's website to find out more.
Congratulations to C. Hope Clark. Her novels Palmetto Poison and Murder on Edisto have been nominated for Silver Falchion Readers Choice Awards by the Killer Nashville mystery writers' conference, in the Cozy/Traditional and Police Procedural categories, respectively. To vote, visit their website.
Congratulations to Cathy Bryant. Her book How to Win Writing Competitions (and Make Money) was published this summer by Puppywolf. Cathy is a multiple award-winning poet, short story writer, novelist, and the brains behind the popular Cathy's Comps and Calls writing opportunities website. She says, "I've used Winning Writers many times to find free writing competitions, and I'm very grateful."
Congratulations to Robert Joe Stout. His poetry collection Monkey Screams was recently published by FutureCycle Press. He kindly shares a sample poem here. From the publisher's press release: "Through these poems, Stout thrusts the horrors, the idiosyncrasies, the fallacies of the War in Vietnam into the vividly personal reactions of participants whose fears, accomplishments and shame burst forth in descriptions that surpass journalism or propaganda...In similar fashion the second section of these poetical narratives reflects the anxieties, conflicts, resolutions of the succeeding generation: life as it is contrasted with what life could or should be. Telephone linemen, football coaches, foreign-born account clerks wrestle limitations imposed by laws and society, proud of their achievements yet poignantly aware of what is missing in their lives. The third and final section pushes into the present through the eyes, thoughts and imaginings of a journalist nearing the end of his career."
Congratulations to Fathima E.V. Her poem "Ringed" won an honorable mention in the 2015 Rhyme On! Poetry Writing Contest, a free contest sponsored by Loudon County Public Library. The most recent submission period for this $200 prize was March 1-April 15. "Ringed" is an ekphrastic poem inspired by Matisse's painting "Dance". She kindly shares it with us here.
Congratulations to Leland James. His book-length poem Animal Land: An Allegorical Fable was published earlier this year by Little Red Tree Publishing. Illustrated by Anne Zimanski, the book re-tells the international conflict of World War II with a cast of animal characters who must decide whether to negotiate or fight with invading monsters. The story is accessible to both middle-grade and adult readers.
Recent Publications
Winning Writers contest judge Ellaraine Lockie's latest poetry chapbook, Where the Meadowlark Sings (Encircle Publications, 2014), was favorably reviewed by Julie Demoff-Larson in Blotterature. "Beauty, struggle, duty, admiration, and strength in [her] work embody all that I want and all that I don't want," the reviewer concludes.
Bracha Nechama Bomze and Kim Morales will be the featured readers at the Women's & Trans' Poetry Jam & Open Mike at Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen Street, New York City, on Tuesday, September 29, from 7-9 PM. Writers who identify as female or transgender are invited to sign up for the open mike before 7 PM. Bluestockings is a legendary lesbian-feminist bookstore on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. From the press release: "Kim Morales writes poetry centered around the struggle for fundamental social change. Through her work, she hopes to empower working class women of color. Bracha Nechama Bomze's Love Justice is a book-length poem depicting the streams of ancestry, politics, and history that feed the river of her 32-year love affair with another woman. From the Triangle Fire to the post-Stonewall era, from Liberty Bell chimes to chimes of marriage equality, Bomze's lyrical call to love justice, including the call for love-justice, inspires and emboldens us to resonate with those ethics we cherish most."
Joan Gelfand's essay "The Key" was accepted for the inspirational anthology Chicken Soup for the Dreamer's Soul, forthcoming September 21. Visit her website to learn about her fiction and poetry books and reading tour dates. Her latest poetry collection is The Long Blue Room (Benicia Literary Arts, 2014).
R.T. Castleberry's poems "Adventure Story" and "Something About the Truth" appeared in Right Hand Pointing, Issue #90.
Victor Colantonio's essay "Journal Entry September 11, 2001", which won the 2013 Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest at Winning Writers, was featured in an exhibit at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York City. An excerpt from the essay was installed on the memorial wall at the entry to the room with the pictures and biographies of those lost that day.
Published: September 8, 2015
