Subscriber News: September 2025
Recent Honors
Winning Writers critique specialist Cheryl J. Fish will have an expanded edition of her poetry collection Crater and Tower released by Shanti Arts this month to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The book juxtaposes this event with the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. She kindly shares a sample poem here.
Congratulations to Julie Novak-McSweeney. Her poem "We Discover Fire: Elkhart Indiana 1962" was awarded Honorable Mention in the Non-rhyming Poetry category of the 94th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. This contest, with prizes up to $5,000, received nearly 3,800 entries across all categories; the most recent deadline was June 3. In other news, her poem "Optik/The Optician" was published in the September issue of Fish Barrel Review. Julie says to Winning Writers, "Love the work you're doing...keep going!"
Congratulations to Tom Ball. His story "Eleanor" won first prize in the "General Fiction - 2,500 to 5,000 Words" category of the 2025 Next Generation Short Story Awards. The 2026 contest is now open through February 26, with a grand prize of $500 (all genres compete together) and top prizes of $75 in each category.
Congratulations to Noah Berlatsky. Goose Ears, his poetry chapbook inspired by Gertrude Stein, was published as a free downloadable e-book by LJMcD Communications.
Congratulations to Atar Hadari. His suite of poems about former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Arik and Company, was published as a chapbook by Ben Yehuda Press. Alicia Ostriker says that this collection "reads like a masterly biography magically transformed into vital poetry. Was Ariel Sharon a hero? Was he a monster? The force of a strong and twisting narrative spine, fleshed out in earthy interior monologues and dialogues, brings both the man and the era to inescapable life." Three poems from this project received an Honorable Mention in our 2008 War Poetry Contest; read them here.
Recent Publications
Robert L. Giron was interviewed in Potomac Review about his writing, his family history, and his work as the founding editor of Gival Press.
Louisa Prince's flash fiction story "Made for walking" was published online by Certain Age Magazine on July 16.
CM Pickard's poems "Bittersweet Reunion", "The Pulse", and "Discovering Hope" were published online by The Poetry Lighthouse in August 2025. Her poem "Vacant Corner" was published in Scribeworth, Vol. 1, #2 (Summer 2025). Read the issue online here; her poem is on page 45.
Charles Sartorius' horror story "New Construction" was published in MetaStellar.
Published: September 7, 2025
