Subscriber News: September 2021
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Alan W. King. His poetry chapbook Crooked Smiling Light is now available from Plan B Press. Watch a video of his love poem "The Island of Smiles" on YouTube, and visit his website for more poetry news and videos.
Congratulations to Jennifer L. Gauthier. Her poetry chapbook Naked: Poems Inspired by Remarkable Women will be published in November by Finishing Line Press and is now available for pre-order. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Historian Natalie Zemon Davis says, "Gauthier's arresting poems recapture the spirit and hope of courageous women of the past, who sought to make our world a better place. We owe her thanks for restoring them to the historical record."
Congratulations to Elizabeth Kirschner. Her short story collection Because the Sky Is a Thousand Soft Hurts was published by Atmosphere Press in June. Toho Journal editor Jonathan Koven says of this book, "Brimming with a hallucinatory spirit, these are less stories and more poetic and metaphysical voyages. In this collection, Kirschner gives voice to the disturbed and hopeful in her characters' psyches—penetrating the repressed, thrust into the sublime." Visit Elizabeth's website to discover her other books of poetry and prose, including her memoir Waking the Bones, winner of the nonfiction first prize in our 2015 North Street Book Prize.
Congratulations to Joan Gelfand. Her debut novel, Extreme (Blue Light Press/First Worlds Publishing, 2020), a thriller about a lone female executive at a high-risk gaming startup, was a Finalist in American Book Fest's 2020 International Book Awards in the New Fiction category. The 2022 International Book Awards are now open through April 30.
Congratulations to Gloria Mindock. Her latest poetry collection, Ash (Glass Lyre Press), received the Speak Up Talk Radio Firebird Book Award in July. In his June 16 review at The Somerville Times, Michael Todd Steffen said of this book, "In Ash, along with the too-late alarms sounded and their distancing echoes of grief, we also get flashes of verbal wonder that uphold Mindock for the daring and stubbornly original poet she is." Visit her website to learn more about her books and her work as the editor of Červená Barva Press.
Congratulations to Victoria Leigh Bennett. Her collection Poems from the Northeast is forthcoming from Olympia Publishers. She kindly shares a sample poem here.
Congratulations to Mary K. O'Melveny. Her poetry collection Dispatches from the Memory Care Museum is now available from Kelsay Books. Rhina P. Espillat describes these poems as "compelling," "consoling and enriching," and "nakedly genuine." She kindly shares a sample poem here.
Congratulations to Gary Beck. His latest poetry collection, Motifs, was published by Adelaide Books in July. His chapbook Bryant Park Poems, an exploration of the decline and renewal of the Midtown Manhattan landmark, was published by Writing Knights Press.
Congratulations to Annie Dawid. Her new essay collection, Put Off My Sackcloth (The Humble Essayist Press), was a Runner-Up in the 2021 Los Angeles Book Festival's Biography/Autobiography/Memoir category, as well as receiving Honorable Mentions from the 2021 San Francisco Book Festival (Biography/Autobiography category) and the 2021 New York Book Festival (Biography/Autobiography/Memoir). Her essay "What They Call Him" was published in Fig Tree Lit, Issue #21 (August 2021), a newsletter of the American Jewish experience.
Congratulations to Jonna Laster. Her debut children's book, Nutshell Regatta, was released by Hope & Plum Publishing. Jonna says, "Nutshell Regatta is a whimsical pond-side exploration shared by a young girl and her grandmother. Nature is viewed through the lens of imagination. Let the adventure begin!"
Recent Publications
Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's poem "All Cakes Are Bastards" will be included in the 2021 Northampton Arts Council Biennial exhibit at Forbes Library in Northampton, MA, which will run through the month of October. The launch reading will take place on Saturday, October 9, at 3:00 pm. Check the library website for details. The poem first appeared in Solstice Lit Mag.
Neil Perry Gordon's novels Ötzi's Odyssey: The Troubled Soul of a Neolithic Iceman is now available. When hikers discover Ötzi's 5,000-year-old natural mummy frozen into the mountainside, the chieftain's soul goes on a journey through the realms of the afterlife to find peace. See links to all of Neil's books on his website.
Sue Gerrard's new collection, Poems from the Pandemic, is now available. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Use the contact form on her website to order this collection or her other books of poetry, fiction, and British local history. Sue says, "During the time in lockdown, I felt I wanted to keep a record of this strange and historic time and rather than keep a diary I decided to write a collection of poems... The book is written in the order of events starting with the sudden appearance of Covid, clapping on doorsteps for key workers, walks in the park and appreciation of nature, the uncertainty about what the future would hold, springtime in the pandemic and the two minutes silence of remembrance. The last poem in the book, 'Where the Wildflowers Grow', reflects the universal hope we share, that we can start living our lives to the full again."
Ndaba Sibanda's poem about climate change, "Not in Recorded History", was published online by The News Chronicle in July.
Kelli Russell Agodon's latest poetry collection, Dialogues with Rising Tides (Copper Canyon Press, 2021), was favorably reviewed by Kimberly Ann Priest in Ruminate Magazine.
Duane L. Herrmann has several publications to report. His 99-word stories "Feather Found" and "My Great Grandfather's Sister" were published at Carrot Ranch Literary Community in response to the prompts "My Hometown" and "The Old Photograph". His flash pieces "Strangers Passing Through Town", "Library Post card", and "Writing to Artemin Prime" appeared on the website of the Adirondack Center for Writing. Six of his poems were posted on the site Larry's Coffee. An essay about famed newspaper publisher William Allen White's role in a suicide was accepted for the anthology Arterial Ink. His story "Naked in America" was published by Literary Yard. Origami Poems accepted six of his poems for a micro-chapbook, Lunar Locus, forthcoming this year. Three poems appeared in Iris Literary Journal, Issue 1.4, and two more poems were accepted for an upcoming issue of Stillhouse Press. "Silvered Trees" was published in Tiny Seed Journal. "Walking Wreck" was published in the anthology Atelier of Healing. His poetry will also appear in the anthologies Finding Hope in Nature and Rising Voices.
Published: September 8, 2021
