Writing Awards 58
Pamela Dillon of Ontario, Canada for “The Visitation”
Pamela Dillon’s writings have been featured in various literary websites and print journals. Her short story, “Murmuration,” appeared in The New Quarterly in 2020, and an excerpt from her novel, Harvest, won the Humber Literary Review’s Emerging Writer’s contest that June. In 2023, her essay “How to Settle an Old Dog” was shortlisted for gritLit, and her story “If You Are Not Coming Home by Sea” was longlisted for the New Quarterly’s 2024 Peter Hinchliffe Award.
kerry rawlinson of Peachland, Canada for “Tomorrow, a Different Universe
kerry rawlinson is a mental nomad & bloody-minded optimist who wandered from her Zambian upbringing to Canada. Recipient of 2024’s Princemere and Canterbury Poetry Prizes, and long/shortlisted for others, e.g. Bridport; Foster; Canterbury; Palette; her recent acceptances include: PrimeNumber; Pinhole; filling Station; IceFloe; Grain. kerry’s enthralled with the gore, music, brutality, and beauty of the world, exploring its edges and depths. She wanders barefoot through dislocation and belonging—and still drinks too much (tea). kerryrawlinson.com; @kerryrawli
Caitlin A. Quinn of Pacifica, California for “In Enemy Territory”
Caitlin A. Quinn’s short fiction has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Identity Theory, Meat for Tea, Fiction on the Web, and A Thin Slice of Anxiety. She is an alumna of Stony Brook University’s BookEnds novel fellowship program, where she worked under the mentorship of Meg Wolitzer, Susan Scarf Merrell, and Stephanie Gangi. She lives in Northern California with her partner and two badly behaved Airedale terriers. Website: caitlinaquinnwriter.
Jaime Gill of Phnom Penh, Cambodia for “Diablo”
Jaime Gill is a queer, British-born writer happily exiled in Cambodia, where he works for non-profits across Southeast Asia. He reads, writes, boxes, travels, and occasionally socializes. His stories have appeared in publications including Trampset, Orca, Litro, Blue Earth, Good Life Review, and Underscore, and won awards including a Bridport Prize and the 2024 Honeybee Literature Prize. He’s currently Pushcart-nominated and working on a novel, a script, and too many stories. More at www.jaimegill.com.
— FINALISTS —
POETRY
Jessica Barksdale
Vancouver, Washington
“Horoscope”
Kevin Stuart Brodie
Old Saybrook, Connecticut
“Relics”
Wes Civilz
Alstead, New Hampshire
“On the True & Possible Forms of the Soul”
Dale Cottingham
Redmond, Oklahoma
“Near Edmond, Oklahoma: August”
John Davis
Visalia, California
“Blood in the Water”
Allan Ebert
Washington, DC
“Erasing Peace”
Jomil Ebro
Golden, Colorado
“Suits of A(r)mor and Other Superstitions”
Julie Esther Fisher
Hawley, Massachusetts
“Dark Matter”
Elizabeth Hill
New York, New York
“The Debate”
Rick Hilles
Carrboro, North Carolina
“Tell Me”
Kurt Luchs
Kalamazoo, Michigan
“Entropy”
Alison Luterman
Oakland, California
“The Silence”
Oak Morse
Houston, Texas
“Peacock”
Damen O’Brien
Queensland, Australia
“briefly, the world”
LeeAnn Pickrell
Richmond, California
“A Moment in Maui”
Palline Plum
Richmond, Indiana
“Objects in Your Mouth”
Gwen North Reiss
New Canaan, Connecticut
“Broken Cup”
Molly Scott
Charlemont, Massachusetts
“Two Girls, Woodpile”
Miel Sloan
St. Louis, Missouri
“My Son in the Underworld”
Deig Sullivan
New York, New York
“new girl”
FICTION
Joseph Dark
Staten Island, New York
“The Girl Beneath the Mirror”
Mary Grimm
Cleveland, Ohio
“Sprite or Bird”
David Gurman
Seattle, Washington
“The Planet of Love”
Enid Harlow
Brooklyn, New York
“Happiness”
Katie Harms
Chelsea, Michigan
“Trick or Treat”
James Hartman
York, Pennsylvania
“See”
Jamie Hennick
Durham, Connecticut
“Alleviation”
Linda Hewitt
Cohasset, Massachusetts
“Captives”
Sarah Honenberger
Tappahannock, Virginia
“The Serengeti of the Heart”
Tamar Jacobs
Ardmore, Pennsylvania
“Anything Could Happen at Any Second”
Solomon Jessie
Edinburgh, Great Britain
“Sliverfish”
Ashish Kaul
Navi Mumbai, India
“On the Teary Banks of the Neelum”
Mal King
Santa Paula
“An Invincible Summer”
Jill Koenigsdorf
Sonoma, California
“Body Scroll”
Susan Land
Bethesda, Maryland
“My Maid of Honorhood”
Jackie Davis Martin
San Francisco, California
“Leveling Miss Lutz”
Victor McConnell
Golden, Colorado
“Older Than You”
Gabriella Navas
Columbus, Ohio
“Nieta / Neyta”
Chloe Onorato
New Milford, Connecticut
“The Entomologist”
Wendy Wilkins
Los Angeles, California
“Mark Time Move”
FLASH FICTION
Austin Alexis
New York, New York
“Inauguration Day”
Kay Anderson
Carwoola, Australia
“Climbing Mountains”
Benjamin Armstrong
Hermiston, Oregon
“The Cut”
Mark Connelly
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“The First Stone”
Anne Marie Garcia
Bend, Oregon
“Saving My Small World”
Vanessa Gray
Ferndale, California
“Condolences and Casseroles”
James Gyure
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
“Notes for a Winter Watercolor”
Susan Haar
New York, New York
“Heartbeat”
Edgar Lavoie
Thunder Bay, Ontario
“Where the Sidewalk Ends”
Christina Lieffring
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
“He Tries to Haunt Me”
Lawrence Needham
Oberlin, Ohio
“Peacemaker”
Sara Pauff
Watkinsville, Georgia
“Sugar Baby”
Agnes Raines
Wheaton, Illinois
“Split the Lark”
Ben Raterman
Fredericksburg, Virginia
“Waiting for the Man”
Clare Rolens
San Diego, California
“Tina”
Abby Alten Schwartz
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
“We Never Got to Watch Carol Brady Grow Older”
Dirk Slice
Crescent City, California
“Scorched Earth
Frances Strickler
Franklin, Kentucky
“The Perfect Wife”
Vanessa Tamm
Santa Monica, California
“Blood-Related”
Nathaniel Tok
Redmond, Washington
“Mother”
NONFICTION
Ellen Birell
Santa Paula, California
“An Elemental Place”
Michael F. Burke Sr.
Chicago, Illinois
“On Altruism”
Serena Burman
Eastsound, WA
“Take Care”
Jeff Connally
Austin, Texas
“Munchkin Climber”
Olivia Gault
Roseville, Minnesota
“My Brother’s House, Again”
Roberta George
Valdosta, Georgia
“A Servant to Servants”
Ben Graffam
Lakeland, Florida
“Reimagining Reproductive Rights”
Hosanna Greene
Trumpington, Great Britain
“Getting Dressed”
Marina Hatsopoulos
Boston, Massachusetts
“Oxygen to the Brain”
Kristin Kovacic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
“On Power”
Elina Kumra
Sunnyvale, California
“Dear Trans”
Sharon LE
West Chester, Pennsylvania
“The Way I Bleed”
Amy Lipton
Huntington Station, New York
“Vive la Différence”
Karen Lucas
Wake Forest, North Carolina
“What Changes, What Remains the Same”
Kurt Luchs
Kalamazoo, Michigan
“The Secret History of Bernard Herrmann and the Beatles”
Cecile Mazzucco-Than
Port Jefferson, New York
“Breath”
Emma Neale
Otago, New Zealand
“The Nick of Time”
Marlon Paine
Venice, California
“Some Things Just Take Time”
Siavash Saadlou
Coquitlam, Canada
“The Enemy”
Marilynn Talal
New York, New York
“The Explanation”
— Honorable Mentions —
POETRY
Mandi Bibbins
Arlington, Virginia
“Break off one piece.”
Elaine Blanchard
Memphis, Tennessee
“The Opening”
Patrick Cox
Birmingham, Alabama
“The Good”
Chris “The Poetic Genius” Green
Gloucester, Virginia
“Breaking Myth”
James Hall
Wayne, Maine
“Scythe”
Deaundra Jackson
Rex, Georgia
“Motherland Black”
Marilyn E. Johnston
Bloomfield, Connecticut
“Receipt of a Certificate of Deposit”
Sandy Longley
Provincetown, Massachusetts
“Amor Mundi”
Giancarlo Malchiodi
Brooklyn, New York
“The Feet I Been”
Ted McMahon
Seattle, Washington
“Pilgrimage”
Lauren Oertel
Austin, Texas
“How to Confront Noisy Hotel Neighbors”
John Simonds
Honolulu, Hawaii
“Of Dogs and Docs and Daredevil Drugs”
Kailah Trice
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
“Coconut Macaroons”
Pam Vap
Sun City, Arizona
“The Reason”
Randy Williams
Greensboro, North Carolina
“I, Barbarian”
FICTION
Richard Abramson
Mt. Selena, California
“On the Subway to Brooklyn”
G.G. Andrew
Katy, Texas
“Everything Left Unsaid”
Vrinda Baliga
Hyderabad, India
“Everything Left Unsaid”
Edward Carthew
Charlestown, Australia
“Graupelmen”
Sohrab Homi Fracis
Jacksonville, Florida
“Living with Persia”
Baird Harper
Oak Park, Illinois
“My First Body”
Malachy Harris
Belfast, Northern Ireland
“Unbecome”
Annalena La Porte
Ridgewood, New York
“Juliet’s Dream Yacht”
Deirdra McAfee
Baltimore, Maryland
“Year of the Dragon”
Hugh Notman
Canmore, Canada
“Erosion”
Hannah Scott-Ravikumar
St. Louis, Missouri
“Fissures”
Chuck Spresser
Bend, Oregon
“Bonheur”
Robert Temple
Talking Rock, Georgia
“Miami in the Depths”
Santiago Vaquera-Vásquez
Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Sometimes a Slow, Steady Light”
Rebecca Wolf
Teaneck, New Jersey
“Two Hearts”
FLASH FICTION
Jon Bell
Working, Great Britain
“The Interview”
Debra Fairchild
Pasadena, Texas
“The 3AM Phone Call”
Steven Fraccaro
New York, New York
“Lucille and Metamorphoses”
Sandra Grayson
Port Washington, Wisconsin
“Paradox”
Galina Hitching
Lake Wales, Florida
“Florida Air”
Jordan Hofbauer
Los Angeles, California
“Boyhood”
Dorothy Hp
Charlotte, North Carolina
“Almost 50”
Camille Javal
Melbourne, Australia
“Highlands”
Jen Knox
Reynoldsburg, Ohio
“What They Can’t See”
Rebecca Lapidus
New York, New York
“The Visit”
Brenda Shoshanna Lukeman
New York, New York
“The Blizzard on Route Six Eighty Four”
Michael Sakoda
Pleasant Hill, California
“Ghosts”
Michael Serby
New York, New York
“The Message”
Madeline Terlep
Elizabeth, Colorado
“The Ghost in the Reflection”
Emma Wells
Beccles, Great Britain
“Stitched”
NONFICTION
Maya Autret
South Holland, Netherlands
“Michael: A Layered Love Story”
Terry Connell
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“One of Eleven”
Enid Edwards
Orlando, Florida
“Taking Flight”
Cathy Gilbert
East Peoria, Illinois
“When We Crashed”
Krista Hanley
Lakewood, Colorado
“Downshift”
Jen Knox
Reynoldsburg, Ohio
“Apologies”
George Lister
San Fransico, California
“The Beer Place”
Margarita Meyendorff
High Falls, New York
“Cuba, Part One”
Lisa C. Peterson
Evergreen, Colorado
“Separation Anxiety”
Michael Pritchett
Kansas City, Missouri
“The Hottest Thought”
Mary Elizabeth Raines
Sedona, Arizona
“The Movie Star Who Wanted Me and How I Was Saved by Communism”
Amy Rubin
Hudson, New York
“Ten Digits to Experience”
Annita Sawyer
Northampton, Massachusetts
“Hope in a Coffee Can”
Noelle Wall
Loudonville, New York
“The Concert”
Donna Aza Weir-Soley
Miami, Florida
“What Senator Lauren Book and I Have in Common”