2022 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: Rose Zinnia, for “Constituting Mayhem (Derealized in the CVS),” “Look (Nonbinary),” “God Wifi Earth Ong (Nonbinary),” “Ancient Wind, Empty Skyscraper, Golden Bear (Nonbinary)” (judge: Anthony Cody)
Honorable mentions:
Rennie Ament, for “In America”
Heather Lang-Cassera, for “Upon Knowing Swan Song as Myth”
Creative Nonfiction: Jodie Noel Vinson, for "Self-portrait after Covid-19" (judge: Emily Pittinos)
Honorable mentions:
Nicole Graev Lipson, for “Shake Zone”
Jason Brown, for “Character Witness”
Megan Rich, for “Reproduction”
Fiction: Carly Rae Zent, for “The Girl Boss” (judge: Isle McElroy)
Honorable mention: Stephanie Mullings, for “Many of Many Tenths”
Ekphrastic Poetry Contest
Winner: Jeanette Lynes, for "1979"
Honorable Mention: Jacques Rancourt, for "Crossed Signals"
Finalists:
Joshua Garcia, for "Self-Portrait as Three Archetypal Media Images"
torrin a. greathouse, for "Bondage Device: Cross"
Brett Hanley, for "Bondage Device: Meat Hoist
2021 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: torrin a. greathouse, for “On Possession,” “T4T”, and “As My English Class Debates the Legality of Gay Marriage I Daydream of the Boy I Am Beginning to Fall in Love With” (judge: Tommye Blount)
Honorable mentions:
Taylor Byas, for “Shutter,” and “When I Say No, The Joker Smiles”
Kyle Carrero Lopez, for “Charge It to the Game,” and “Unmissable”
Creative Nonfiction: Laura Haugen, for "Song for the Missing" (judge: Beth Kephart)
Honorable mentions:
Kim Diaz, for “People Change Sometimes”
Ark Ramsay, for "In My Warming Body (for you, Ava)"
Fiction: Tom Howard, for “The Long Shadows” (judge: Gabriela Garcia)
Honorable mention: Alan Sincic, for “The Claim”
2020 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: Danielle Williams, for “A Walk on June 19,” “fa’ñague /fuh-nyah-ghee/”, and “Gospel” (judge: Jennifer Givhan)
Honorable mentions:
Cate Lycurgus, for “Better & Worse,” “[I cannot bear]” and “Some Days”
Patrick Wilcox, for “What We Talk About,” “North Bay Village,” “What We Once Knew,” “Cellar Door,” and “One Last Odd Song”
Creative Nonfiction: Anna Winham, for “my mother // itch” (judge: Steve Tomasula)
Honorable mentions:
Michelle LaCrosse, for “Sacrifice”
Emi Nietfeld, for "My Economist"
Stephanie Pushaw, for “A Really Good Place”
Erica Stern, for “The Soft Parts”
Joseph Truscello, for “Fantasy Land”
Fiction: Alida Dean, for “The Off Season” (judge: Kimberly King Parsons)
Honorable mention: Tom Howard, for “Disappearing Act”
2019 Literary Award Winners
Fiction: Stephanie Wong Ken, for "Beating Heart" (Judge: Kristen Arnett)
Poetry: John Sibley Williams, for "Dark Tourist"; and "The Drowning House" (Judge: R. A. Villanueva)
Honorable Mentions: Shawn Fawson, for "Spring" and Jared Harel, for "Final Kindness"
Creative Nonfiction: Maddie Norris, for "Still Hearts" (Judge: Anna Leahy)
Honorable Mentions: Rhianna Brandt, for "Bottle, Beloved, and Book"; Michael William Palmer, for "The Archivists"; and
Courtney Kersten, for "The Ergonomics of Loss"
2018 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: Zachary Hester, "Variations on a Theme by Oppenheimer"; Coda Atop Wells-Fargo, Over the Bronze Mountain Lion in Boulder, CO"; and "Priscilla Huggable Atomic Mushroom" (Judge: Sam Sax)
Honorable Mention: Garrett Sanford, "O. unilateralis" and Teresa Dzieglewicz, "By the Numbers: 1"
Fiction: Pascha Sotolongo Stevenson, "The Moth" (Judge: Michele Morano)
Honorable Mention: Amina Gautier, "Love Me Through a Hurricane" and Chetna Maroo, "Father's Work"
Creative Nonfiction: Ashley Farmer, "Animal Hours" (Judge: Elissa Washuta)
Catina Bacote, "Up North
2017 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: Erin Rodoni, "Lullaby with Fireflies and Rising Seas" (Judge: Lo Kwa Mei-en)
Runner up: Shawn Fawson, "Cloudlands"
Fiction: Cady Vishniac, "Drill" (Judge: Rachel Cantor)
Runner up: Micah Dean Hicks, "Missing in the City of the Wind"
Runner up: Gwen Cullen, "The Little Sisters of the Dissent"
Creative Nonfiction: Ellyn Gaydos, "Summer of Love" (Judge: Kathleen Rooney)
Runner up: Nina Yun, "Half Speak"
2016 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: Brandon Rushton, Five Poems (Judge: Tarfia Faizullah)
Honorable Mentions: Jim Whiteside, Anne Champion
Fiction: Megan Cummins, "The Beast" (Judge: Roy Kesey)
Creative Nonfiction: Anna Leahy, "Marrying Absurd" (Judge: Sue William Silverman)
2015 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: Corey Van Landingham, "In the Year of No Sleep" (Judge: Kathy Fagan)
Runners Up: Rachael E. Katz, "All About Flash"
Monica Sok, "Here Is Your Name"
Fiction: Kristen N. Arnett, "See also: A history of glassmaking" (Judge: Jac Jemc)
Runner Up: Zach Vandezande, "Status Updates"
Creative Nonfiction: Michael Gracey, "My Own Good Daemon" (Judge: Matthew Gavin Frank)
Runner Up: Julie Marie Wade, "The Regulars"
2014 Literary Award Winners
Poetry: Anders Carlson-Wee, "The Low Passions" and "Dynamite" (Judge: Traci Brimhall)
Fiction: Rachel Goldman, "Steps" (Judge: Matt Bell)
Literature in Translation: Nansorhon Ho, "Poem Given to a Nun While Staying in a Taoist Monastery" translated by Ian Haight (Judge: G. J. Racz)
Creative Nonfiction: Nicholas Neely, "The Book of Agate" (Judge: Ander Monson) (download the pdf)
2013 Literary Award Winners
poetry: R. A. Villanueva, "Aftermaths" and "Sacrum" (Judge: G. C. Waldrep)
Fiction: Caitlin O'Neill, "The Change Over Day" (Judge: Margot Livesey)
Literature in Translation: Shen Wei, A Dictionary of Xinjiang (excerpt), translated by Eleanor Goodman (Judge: Alexis Levitin
Creative Nonfiction: Jessica Wilbanks, "On the Far Side of the Fire" (Judge: Lia Purpura)