Dear Writers and Readers:
After an overdue change in nomenclature we are now in line with most other literary competitions, where the “Short List” is the list from which the winner and runners-up are selected, with the “Short List” itself selected from the list of “Finalists.”  Starting with the lists for this year, those we used to call “Finalists” will now be on the “Short List.” Those  who used to be listed on the “Short List” will be called “Finalists.”

Long story short, we submitted the 2015 Short List for each category judges, who have selected their winners from these Short Lists. The judges and their categories are:

Elise Blackwell, novelist, for the Novel category.
Bret Lott, novelist and narrative non-fiction author, for the Non-Fiction Book category.
Robin Black, prize-winning short fiction writer and novelist for the Novella category.
John Biguenet, short fiction author, novelist, poet, playright, and literary translator for the Short Story category.
Julie Smith, Edgar-winning novelist and publisher, for the
Novel-in-Progress category.
Roy Blount, Jr., author of 23 books of non-fiction, for the Essay Category.
Darrell Bourque, former Louisana Poet Laureate for the Poetry Category.
Patty Friedmann, novelist and humorist, for the High School Short Story Competition.

The judges have completed their judging and we are pleased to announce their results below.  They will be presenting their winners during Words & Music, 2015, which opens October 29 and runs through November.

Winners announced on William Faulkner’s Birthday, September 25th will be presented formally at Faulkner for All, the Society’s gala black tie annual meeting on October 31st.  Because this year’s dates for Words & Music are Halloween weekend, always a fun time in New Orleans, rivaled only by Mardi Gras, this year’s annual meeting will be a fancy dress affair with costumes depicting a literary character or black tie de rigeur.  There will be prizes for the best costumes in addition to our awards to winners of the competition and our ALIHOT (A Legend in His/Her Own Time) awards.

Novel
2015 Winner
The Colonel’s Son, Daniel Castro, Miami, FL and New Orleans, LA

2015 Runners-up

Horace Edgecomb’s Civil War, Jacob Appel, New York, NY
Of Light and Violence, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Others on the 2015 Short List

A Good Girl, Johnnie Bernhard, Ocean Springs, MS
Fire on the Island, Timothy J. Smith, Paris, France
Gradle Bird, Jana Sasser, Edisto Island, SC
Hitchhiking in the Graveyard, Bram Kincheloe, New York, NY
Thanksgiving, Mary Arno, Clarence Center, NY
The Truth Project, Tad Bartlett, New Orleans, and J. Ed Marston,
Chattanooga, TN

Other 2015 Finalists
A Delicate Dance, Austin Gary, Las Vegas, NV
All War is Hope, T. M. Townsend
A Prayer for Lost Things, Carolyn Wolf-Gould, Oneonta, NY
A Several Tale, Elizabeth Dubus, Baton Rouge, LA
Burned Time, Jason Martin, Folsom, CA
City of Paris, Martha L. Burns, La Luz, NM
Cul de Sac, Douglas Moore, Los Angeles, CA
Dixiana, James D. McCallister, Columbia, SC
For One Thing She Did, Lise Brody, Pepperell, MA
Future Perfect Tense, Sarah Harris Wallman, New Haven, CT
Jake’s Hand, Peggy Peden, Nashville, TN
McDowell, William Coles, Salt Lake City, UT
My Early Years, Josephine McKendry, Brookline, MA
Original Sins, Charles Holdefer, Brussels Belgium
Private Mommies Society, Valerie Zane, Malvern, IA
Provenance, Amanda Frost, Washington, DC
Remembrance of Blue Roses, Yukihisa Yorker Kageyama,
New York, NY
Ridgeland, Paul Byall, Savannah, GA
Rising to the Occasion, Charles Swenson, San Anselmo, CA
Socrates is Dead, Nancy Dafoe, Homer, NY
Stumbling Through Heather, Frances Pearce, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Talking in Layers, Susie Slosberg, Bronxville, NY
Tears of the Foot Guards, Tim Osner, Melvin Village, NH
The Coat, Celia Wood, Crystal Springs, MS
The Camera’s Eye, Judith Kirscht, Anacortes, WA
The Devil Orders Takeout, Bill Brier, Thousand Oaks, CA
The End of Innocence, Russell Trautwig, Copiague, NY
The Girl in the Bathtub, Robert Raymer, Sarawak, Malaysia
The Estonian Cartographer, Joel Freiburger, Glen Ellyn, IL
The Invention of Violet, Amy Boutell, Santa Barbara, CA
The Khirbe Digger, Frances Burke, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The Last Newsreel, Lou Dischler, Spartanburg, SC
The Pig Rider, William Walsh, Atlanta, GA
The Playlist of My Life, Effie Dominguez, St. Petersburg, FL
The Poppy Field, Caroline Kellems Godoy, Guatemala City, Guatemala
The Sea-Change Years, David Blum, Washington, DC
The Wind of the World’s Anger, Michael Ditchfield,
Edgartown, MA
The Women of Dauphine, Deb Jannerson, New Orleans, LA
They Are Taken, D. M. Gordan, Leeds, MA
Tipping Time, Lane Cunningham, Hillsborough, NC
Tricking Elephant, Bilinda Straight, Portage, MI
Tupelo Honey, Lis Anna-Langston, Pittsburgh, PA
Virtues of a Sport, Christopher Rosales, Denver, CO
Winterhill, Christopher Fahy, Thomaston, ME

2015 Semi-Finalists
A Ladder in the Dark, Greg Jones, Orinda, CA
All the Heights of Life, Helen Archiris, Newark, NJ
Andrew Jackson and Major Ridge, Linda Buxbaum, Hall, MT
A Vampire in My Farm Town Utopia, Maggie Collins, New Orleans, LA
Borne from the Cutoff, Virginia Tell, Baton Rouge, LA
Celeta’s Secrets, Lottie Brent Boggan, Jackson, MS
Dachau, My Love, Ron Ebest, University City, MO
Death Cues, David Pierson, Metairie, LA
Descamisados, Anita Crocus, Bellevue, WA
Do Not Go On, Bryan Furuness, Indianapolis, IN
Dream Castles, Sheila Koster
Fishwife, Leslie Tall Manning, New Bern, NC
For Love of Sugar, Bernard Smith, Mandeville, LA
For the Duration, Sarah Spence, Mandeville, LA
Gateway, Shane Manthei, Baton Rouge, LA
Hammer Time, Peter Learn, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Hatchetfish, Brian Donnelly, Greenwich, CT
Hold These Fears, Scott Archer Jones, Angel Fire, NM
Hot Sauce, Michael Hinman, Covington, LA
Inland Passages, Jean Carr, Tuscon, AZ
I Should Go Mad, Lou Dischler, Spartanburg, SC
Island in the Sky, Dana Kroos, Houston, TX
Jangle-Boom, Robert Morgan Fisher, Woodland Hills, CA
Jellyfish Dreaming, Deborah McCutchen, Shelburne Falls, MA
John Smith, Jeff Moffett, Ocean Springs, MS
Juggling Chain Saws, Steve Bensinger, Sierra Madre, CA
Kylie’s Ark, Rita Welty Bourke, Nashville, TN
Last Words, William Alton, Portland, OR
Little Robe, Robin Luce Martin, Brooklyn, NY
Loeffler, Martha Moffett, Bloomfield, NJ
Love and Hurricanes, Rosary O’Neill, New York, NY
Mind Shadows, Cheryl Schleuss, Covington, LA
Mist, Mist, Avi Wrobel, Los Angeles, CA
Mountain Moonshine, Janet Taylor-Perry, Ridgeland, MS
My Road, Gregory Friedlander, Mobile, AL
Nostalgia’s Eternal Serenade, Nishith Singh, Lafayette, IN
Paradise Undone, Annie Dawid, Monument, CO
Prom Date, Henry Massie, Berkeley, CA
Promises, Lance Storm, Brooklyn Park, Australia
Quench the Smoldering Wick, Gordon Peter Wilson,
New Orleans, LA
Reaching Beyond the Stars, Douglas Barton, Danville, CA
Return to Taylor’s Crossing, Janie Dempsey Watts, Ringgold, GA
Rice Water, Moonbeams, Christine Wang, Davis, CA
The Devil on the Deep Blue Sea, Charles Swenson, San Anselmo, CA
Rhymes With Peelings, Cindy McCraw Dircks, Larchmont, NY
Silo, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Something in the Water, Kaye Park Hinkley, Dothan, AL
Split Rock, Holly Hodder Eger , Portola Valley, CA
Stage Memory, Kyle Carraher, Philadelphia, PA
Stories From a Southern Porch and Some Darned Old Yankee Places, Mal King, Santa Paula, CA
Struggling to Survive, Sylvia Brandon, Brookline, MA
Success, Carolyn Jack, Danbury, CT
Take Away, Dawn Abeita, Atlanta, GA
The Blend, Keith Collins, Collex, Switzerland
The Ex-Mom, Ellen T. McKnight, Riverwods, IL
The Long Trample, Robert Morgan Fisher, Woodland Hills, CA
The Morning of Their Departure, Johanna DeBiase, Taos, NM
The Myth of Wile E., Colleen DeMaio, Van Nuys, CA
The Oracle, Jillian Blume, New York, NY
The Prince of Foul Weather, John Henry Fleming, Tampa, FL
The Ramona Diary, Scott Russell Duncan, Oakland, CA
The Watchers of Moniah, Barbara V. Evers, Greer, SC
Titanic Lifeboat Number Four, Louella Bryant, Lincoln, VE
Waking the Dead, Dana Brantley-Seiders, Nashville, TN
We Live Here, Mary Ames, Ann Arbor, MI
What Would Rose Do?, Melissa Hintz, Shaker Heights, OH

Narrative Non-Fiction Book

2015 Winner
Off the Grid, Randy Denmon, Monroe, LA
2015 Runner-up
My Mother‘s House, David Armand, Hammond, LA

Others on The 2015 Short List

Against the Wind, Frances Burke, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Cumberland Island: A Love Story, Rita Welty Bourke,
Nashville, TN
Cusichaca Moonshine, Jeremy Schneider, Ellenville, NY
Degas in New Orleans, Rosary O’Neill, Rhinecliff, NY
Shake That Cream, Ellen Black, Scottsdale, AZ
Waterlines, Katheryn Krotzer Laborde, Metairie, LA

Other Finalists
Boundaries, Leslie Anne Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Brooklyn Bodhisattva, David Allyn, Brooklyn, NY
Losing Glynis, Roz Kuehn, Wilmington, DE
Memories of a Louisiana Girlhood, Elizabeth Dubus, Baton Rouge, LA
Seven to Forever, Matthew Chabin, Uwabukita, Japan
The Voyage of Steppenwolf: A Journey to Changi Prison and Back, Becky Stirling Bishop,

Semi-Finalists
A Friend Named Hope, Heather McLain Harris, Metairie, LA
Into the Grim, Jesse Bartel, Eastport, NY
Out of the Woods, Debra Walker Pratt, Sun City, AZ
Playing With Dynamite, Sharon Harrigan,
The Raven: Boy Without Hate, Gary Navoy
Tracking the Wolf, Matthew Chabin, Uwabukita, Japan
Holding On To Right Side Up, Pat Gallant, New York, NY

Novella

The 2015 Winner
The Virginal Grip, Paul Negri, Clifton, NJ
The 2015 Equal Runners-up
Apple Tree, Michael Caleb Tasker, Cairns North, QLD, Australia
Breeding in Stockholm, Stan Kempton, New Orleans, LA
Mrs. Rossi’s Dream, Khanh Ha, Silver Spring, MD

Others on The 2015 SHORT LIST
Caged, Steve Weinst, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Further, Deb Jannerson, New Orleans, LA
Marchers’ Season, Tad Bartlett, New Orleans, LA
Remembrance, Sudy Vance Leavy, Athens, GA
Sojourner, Tazio Koelb, New York, NY
Terminal, Andy Plattner, Atlanta, GA
The Jane, Mary Hutchins Reed, Chicago, IL
With Cards, Daniel Bishop, Nashville, TN

Other Finalists
A Cautionary Tale, Philip Erickson, St. Paul, MN
A Debtor’s Diary, Lisa K. Buchanan, San Francisco, CA
Cavtina for Passenger X, Joan Frank, Santa Rosa, CA
Eight O Five, Glen Allen, Baltimore, MD
Geometric Cemetery, Robert Clinton Lawson, Peterborough, NH
Mrs. Jim Jones: One Possible Biography, Annie Dawid, Monument, CO
Newborn, Augustin Maes, Oakland, CA
The Plunge, Peter Anderson, Sherman, TX

Semi-Finalists
Dark Matter, Catherine Noonan, Fuquay Varina, NC
If Rivers of Blood Flow, James Cantrell, Germantown, TN
Kodak Park, Marta Rose, Philadelphia, PA
Le Club despot, Wayne Greenwell, West Tilsbury, MA
Pearl’s Valley, Harley Mazuk, Boyd’s, MD
Negotiating the Narrows, Mike Tuohy & Susan Zimmerman, Jefferson, GA
Plotlines, Beth Anderson, Olympia, WA
Responsibilities of Being a Man, Jeff Goelz, Pineville, LA
Selah, Rowena de Shields, Easton, MD
The Man and His Dream, Bud Barrier, Dickinson, TX
The Parlance of Golf, Mike Karpa, San Francisco, CA
The 19th Largest Lake in the World is in Nicaragua, Emily Franklin, Newton, MA
Upside Down, P. A. Jackson, Littleton, CO

Short Story
2015 Winner

Clean Getaway, Teddy Jones, Friona, TX

2015 Runner-Up

My Best Shot, Paul Negri, Clifton, NJ

Others on 2015 Short List

After the Laughter, Michael Tasker, Cairns North, QLD, Australia
Bad Eye, M. Tyler Russell, New Orleans, LA
Bright Fruit, Jill Richards, Tempe, AZ
By the Light of the Moon, Rachel Stolzman, Brooklyn, NY
Castle for a Parasite, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Cotton, Nancy Brock, Columbia, SC
Euclid Alone, Paul Negri, Clifton, NJ
Happiest Animal, Stephen Pett, Ames, IA
Indian Ocean, Baird Harper, Oak Park, IL
Nicanor, Mario Beruvides & Maria O’Connell, Lubbock, TX
One Speed: Life Lessons from Elvis and the Zippin Pippin,
Brendan Minihan, Jr., New Orleans, LA
Paint the World, Mark Havlik, Huntersville, NC
Purgatorio, John Baird Rogers, Golden Valley, MN
Sinking, Amy Zipperer, Milledgeville, GA
Speaking of the Dead, William Coles, Salt Lake City, UT
The Interrogator, Nicole Idar, Washington, DC
The Racist’s Wife, Dawn Ruth Wilson, New Orleans, LA
The Serious People of New York State, Dan Turtel, New York, NY

Other 2015 Finalists
A Closer Walk, G. Bernhard Smith, Burnsville, MN
A Portrait for Beatrice, Noreh Millar, St. Louis, MO
Background, Harry Bruns, Covington, LA
Birds of Paradise, Lisa Morris-Andrews, Kingston, ON, Canada
Buried Alive, Laurel Schwartz, Stamford, CT
By Invitation Only, Mike Tuohy and Celeste Woody, Jefferson, GA
Comfort, Nicole Idar, Washington, DC
Defending Eris, Kim Kolarich, Chicago, IL
De Schoone Heuvel, Robert Fox, Willis, MI
Differential Calculus, David Allyn, Brooklyn, NY
Farrakeet, Rachel Stolzman, Brooklyn, NY
From A Given Healer’s Journey – Ask and Ye Shall Receive, Liv Evensen, Oslo, Norway
Home Remedies, Alex B. Johnson, New Orleans, LA
Like Manna from Heaven, Mary Hutchings Reed, Chicago, IL
Lucky Duck, Nancy H. R. Baker, Eustis, FL
Lump of Clay, Valerie Keiser Norris, Simpsonville, SC
Mick, James Cantrell, Germantown, TN
Milk, Stan Kempton, New Orleans, LA
Next Time, John Bradshaw, Norman, OK
Offerings, Patricia Ljutic, Pinole, CA
On Halifax Island, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Pretty on Christmas, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Property With Beach Privileges, Sheila Koster
Rope, Barbara Yost, Phoenix, AZ
Search for Missing Girl Continues, J. Ed Marston, Chatanooga, TN
Shooting Cats, Russell Reece, Bethel, DE
Sometimes Crazy Works, Carol Allen, New Orleans, LA
Sparks in the Dark, Kathryn Brackett, Spartanburg, SC
Stormy Southern Surf, Jamie Spirito, Carlsbad, CA
Stolen Boy, Nancy J. Allen, Dallas, TX
Sunk, Cara Bayles, Oakland, CA
The Clockmaker, Anna Savelyeva, Austin, TX
The End of the Beginning of the End, Paul Negri, Clifton, NJ
The Food Thief, RL Peterson, Escondido, CA
The Kitchen Door, Anita Rozas, Baton Rouge, LA
The Perpetual Messiah, Mal King, Santa Paula, CA
The Secret Agent’s Daughter, Teddy Jones, Friona, TX
The Shoe Box, Emily Bissel, Covington, LA
The Tournament, Brandi Bradley, Marietta, GA

2015 Semi-Finalists
A Little Song, A Little Dance, Michael Tasker, Cairns North, QLD, Australia
A Portrait for Beatrice, Norah Millar, St. Louis, MO
Ask And Ye Shall Receive, Liv Evensen, Oslo, Norway
Babsie Finds a Friend, Cindy McCraw Dircks, Larchmont, NY
Baked Alaska, Juliet Faithfull, Cambridge, MA
Bearing Up, Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch, CO
Bedazzling, Lottie Brent Bogan, Jackson, MS
Blood for Blood in the Heartland, Alex B. Johnson, New Orleans, LA
Bones of the Earth, Bonnie Roop Bowles, Roanoke, VA
Crash Test Dummy, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE
Death by Blowfish, Bruce Wexler, Elmhurst, IL
Doo-dle, Da-dle, Dee-dle, Susie Slosberg, Bronxville, NY
End of the World, Jacqueline Guidry, Kansas City, MO
English Toffee from Middlebury, Pascha Brown, Pachuta, MS
Far As Anybody Might Get Out, Lori Isbell, Prescott, AZ
Finds a Friend, Cindy McCraw Dircks, Larchmont, NY
Fixation of the Past, Becky Browder, Jacksonville, AL
Forgettin, PA Jackson, Littleton, Co
Gas, Dorian Randall, Jackson, MS
Golden, Then Gone, Jacqueline Guidry, Kansas City, MO
Hot Water, Elaine Crauder, Havertown, PA
I Know Yer in Dat Wall, Rosen, Jacqueline Summers, Narberth, PA
It’s Been Quite a Ride, Mary Holem, Ocean Springs, MS
Jake the Snake and the Great Python Hunt, Brian Ward Zimmerman, Boone, NC
Mable Disabled, Mary Kuykendall-Weber, Middle Grove, NY
Modern Faith, William Thrift, Columbia, SC
Nemesis, William Coles, Salt Lake City, UT
Nightfall, Thomas Andes, New Orleans, LA
Not All the Angels Are in the Choir, S. M. Caruthers, Auburn, CA
Old Stopgap, Josie Sigler, Portland OR
Oswald, Tim Rice, Covington, LA
Prayers for Bethany, Barbara Evers, Greer, SC
Prep, Alexander Chesnut, New Orleans, LA
Porter, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Pulled Punches, Julia Carey, New Orleans, LA
Pulling Together, Joe Bryak, San Pablo, CA
Reflection, Debra Nicholson, Bowling Green, OH
Saying No, J. Ed Marston, Chattanooga, TN
Single Red Feather, Jacqueline Guidry, Kansas City, MO
Swing Time, Lucas Carpenter, Conyers, GA
The Man in the Bushes, Archie Hovanesian, New Orleans, LA
The Moon is Our Witness, Mina Musvieski
The Nautilus Mind of Ryscher Roy, Lindsey Barrett, Bellevue, WA
The Perfect Man, Joyce Davis, Northbrook, IL
The Woman on the Road, Robert Oldshue, Jamaica Plain, MA
Undone, Elaine Crauder, Havertown, PA
Untouched by Time, Anna Savelyeva, Austin, TX
Were You In A War, Son, Joseph Crossen, Dover, DE
Will’s Power, Sam Gridley, Philadelphia, PA

Novel-in-Progress

2015 Winner
Search a Dark and Empty Space, Emily Capdeville,
New Orleans, LA
2015 Runner-Up
An Inventory of Lunatics, Jacob Apple, New York, NY
2015 Honorable Mentions
Castaway in Kingdom Come, Robert Hambling Davis,
Newark, DE
Exodia, Dan Turtel, New York, NY

Others on the 2015 Short List
Cora’s Kitchen, Kimberly Garrett Brown, Roswell, GA
Don’t Try Me, Dixon Hearne, Sterlington, LA
Harmony’s Peace and Joy, Mary Hutchins Reed, Chicago, IL
Identity Shattered, Julie Ann Candoli, Austin, TX
Press Play, Joyce Miller, Cincinnati, OH
The Bone Trench, Ellen Morris Prewitt, Memphis, TN
The Last Days of Oscar Wilde, John Vanderslice, Conway, AR
The Perfect Son, George Wen, New York, NY
The Rogue, G. L. Dearman, Monticello, FL
The Sound of Falling Darkness, Lyn Di Ioria, New York, NY
Trencadis, Paul Byall, Savannah, GA

Other 2015 Finalists

Alabama Blue-Eyed Devil, Becky Browder, Jacksonville, AL
Alicia’s Long Game, Peggy Peden, Nashville, TN
A Need to Know, Brenda Horrigan, Vineyard Haven, MA
Endurance, Emily Raboteau, New York, NY
Gospel of Treacherous Night, Chris Fahy, Thomaston, ME
Inundation, Deborah Green, Placitas, NM
Invisible Hand, Laura Catherine Brown, New York, NY
Jamestown, Cristina Bryan, Port Republic, MD
Jesse Sings, Victor Hess, Slidell, LA
Knowing Marjorie Thane, Julie Weary, Presque Isle, WI
Lessons from Elephants, Katelynn Marie Nicholson,
Shinnston, WV
My Days and Nights at the Rocket Factory, Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch, CO
Savage Sister, Lindsey Barrett, Bellvue, WA
Save Me, Geoff Schutt, Salem, MA
See No Evil, Leslie Anne Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Standing Beside Love, Annie Dawid, Monument Heights, CO
Stein, Stained, Hal Ackerman, Brooklyn, NY
Stranger and Friend, Marion Barnwell, Jackson, MS
The Adulterers’ Club, Laura Brodie, Lexington, VA
The Babysitters, Suzanne Burns, Bend, OR
The Butcherbird and the Mothers of Bee Hut, Linda Wendling, Jamaica Bay, FL
The Child, Rachel Stolzman, Brooklyn, NY
The Miser, Shane Finklestein, New Orleans, LA
Tofu Mafia, Robert L. Fox, Willis, MI
Underwhelmed, Paula Yoo, Los Angeles, CA
Worn, Sally Pla, Encinitas, CA

2015 Semi-Finalists
A River of Stars, Vanessa Hua, Orinda, CA
Birds of Passage, Harvey Grossinger, Bethesda, MA
Blue, Melissa Crytzer Fry, Mammoth, AZ
Bone Dancer, John Blair, San Marcos, TX
Eating the Ox, Joanne Godley, Kahului, HI
Flight of the Ipangi, Susan Marshall Carruthers, Auburn, CA
Forespoken, Susi Franco, West Kinston, RI
Garden of Lies, Mindy Halleck, Mukilteo, WA
Gods and Children – Ain’t No Mountain, Janet Taylor-Perry, Ridgeland, MS
Going Through the Change, Kathleen Crichton, New Orleans, LA
Heart Pine Road, Jennifer Boddicker, Lake Worth, FL
Hearts Rising, Mary Brent Cantarutti, San Rafael, CA
In The Hands of the Wolf, Raymond Gustavson, Sebastian, FL
Into the Middle Distance, Geoff Gardner, Ashville, NC
Juxtaposition, John S. Bradshaw, Norman, OK
Marianne’s War, Douglas D. Hall, Rockport, MA
Mercutio and Juliet, James Braziel, Remlap, AL
More Devils Than Heaven Can Hold, Chris Tusa, New Orleans
Mothers, Lies, and Spies, Melissa Hintz, Shaker Heights, OH
Okefenokee, Jude Whelchel, Ashville, NC
One Man’s Trash, Nancy Antle, New Haven, CT
On the Island of Sugar and Secrets, Gail Chehab, Bend, OR
Rhymes with Peelings, Cindy McCraw Dircks, Larchmont, NY
Sam’s War, Driscoll Horton, Atlanta, GA
Shu Wei and the Mulberry Dance, Jackson Fahnestock, San Francisco, CA
Silencing Cypress County, A. K. Beninghofen, Ashville, NC
Spring’s Hope, Beverly Blasingame, Iowa City, IA
Stay, Madonna Ball, Omaha, NE
The Robber Girl’s Tale, Carlen Arnett, Port Jefferson, NY
The Shepherd and The Hunter, A’Dora Phillips, Cincinnati, OH
The Unrestful, Celia Andresen, Baton Rouge, LA
Thornhill Veterans Hospital, Barbara Duffey, Sparta, GA
Through the Tibetan Mirror, Nitya Prema,
Two If By Chocolate, Elaine Crauder, Havertown, PA
Two Muslim Women, Caleb Powell, Edmonds, WA
When Owls Rise Up at Sundown, A’Dora Phillips, Cincinnati, OH

Essay

2015 Winner
What My Bikini Concealed, Penelope Dane, Baton Rouge, LA
2015 Runner-up

Dangerous Fish Days, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE

2015 Honorable Mention

What is Fear? (Serial No. 2): A Squirrel Touches my Buttocks,
Peter Tattersall, New Orleans, LA

Others on the 2015 Short list
Attack of the Cotton Ball, Cathy Lepik, Atlanta, GA
A White Mother Looks at the NYPD Through the Eyes of Her Black Godson, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Nature’s Cure, Mary Kuykendall-Weber, Middle Grove, NY
The Infinite Gentleness of Cats, Alexis Mohr, Bedford Hills, NY
Memoir of a French Quarter Flower Girl, Janice Kazmier, New Orleans, LA
Watcher by Water, Nancy Brock, Columbia, SC

Other 2015 Finalists
America’s Pastime, John S. Bradshaw, Norman, OK
Beyond Fear, Tania Amochev, San Francisco, CA
Blow That House Down, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Eyes Closed, Karen Eberle, New Orleans, LA
Get Rhythm, D. Gilson, Washington, DC
I Killed Someone Today, Torie Amarie Dale, Taylors, SC
I Know Astronauts, Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch, CO
I’m Sorry, Mr. Kerouac /I Didn’t Know, Ruth Moon Kempher, St. Augustine, FL
Music is Painting Sound, Christian Hugo Salinas,
Pillow Talk, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Raining Poets: We Need Them, Nancy Dafoe
The Joyful Mysteries, Marie Massei-Rosato, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Well Morked, Lucie Barron Eggleston, Columbia, SC
Witching the World, Roz Spafford, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2015 Semi-finalists
About Your Father, Mark Havlik, Huntersville, NC
Barbeque: Spelled with an Oink, Nancy Brock, Columbia, SC
Christmas Gift, Lottie Brent Bogan, Jackson, MS
Correspondence with Brian, Brian Alexander, Metairie, LA
Dearlies Departing, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Getting to Guruhood, David Allyn, Brooklyn, NY
Grief Takes No Prisoners, Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch, CO
It’s Been a Great Ride, Mary Hollem, Ocean Springs, MS
Krissy, Katie Burke, San Francisco, CA
Loving an Inappropriate Man, Angela Campbell, Salem, MA
Nell Maiden, Linda Behrend, Knoxville, TN
Rebirth and Racism, Anne Marie Falcone, Cleveland Heights, OH
The Enduring Power of Hope, Beth Shankle Anderson,
Tallahassee, FL
The Green-Eyed Mommy Monster, Cathy Lepik, Atlanta, GA
The Nature of Our Discontent, Obert Fittje, Tallahassee, FL
Theo and Me, Irene Mosvold, Lexington, KY
Two Teachers, Lexa Lee, New Orleans, LA
Witches and Feminism in the Wizard of Oz, Kathleen Greishaber, Metairie, LA

Poetry

2015 Winner
Through the Pane, Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch, CO
2015 Runners-up
The Visible Human Project, Bilinda Straight, Portage, MI
Streets of Mid-City, Beau Boudreaux, New Orleans, LA
Work in Progress, Christopher Shaw, Culver City, CA

Others on the 2015 Short List

A Parable, Carly T. Flynn, La Place, LA
A Poetic Triad: Where the Sea Joins the Mountains,
Edward Larkin Greer, New York, NY
Battleship Gray, Jaymes Bullet, New Orleans, LA
Chance, Joseph S. Rice, Jr., Columbia, SC
Cow, Ben Aleshire, New Orleans, LA
Gray Horse Watching, D. M. Gordon, Leeds, MA
Honeymooning, Chad Foret, Hammond, LA
Intéres/Interest, Mario Beruvides and Maria O’Connell, Lubbuck, TX
On Margaret Filled With Smoke, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
The Disappearing Mother, Jacqueline Summer, Narbeth, PA
Yet, Jacob Appel, New York, NY
Other 2015 Finalists
After Day an Abysmal Night, Nancy Dafoe
A Most Amazing Tree, Gordon Walmsley, Copenhagen, Denmark
Boo Radley’s House, Amy Trussell, Santa Rosa, CA
By Chance, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Father, Sara Flinn, Austin, TX
Float, Jaymes Bullet, New Orleans, LA
If You Live Near Water, Nancy Dafoe
La Belle Orleanna, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
Naming Our Storms, Julie Fowler, Newtown, PA
No One Ever Tells You, Maria Ribault, Washington, DC
Satellites, Anna Savelyeva, Austin, TX
Sunset Haven, Jacqueline Summer, Narbeth, PA
To A Bride Growing Thin, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Too Many Moons, D. M. Gordon, Leeds, MA
Ulysses on the Stoop, J. Ed Marston, Chatanooga, TN
With a Passion, Christopher Shaw, Culver City, CA

2015 Semi-Finalists
Ah Woman, Helen Archiris, New York, NY
Drenched, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
From My Kitchen, Christopher Shaw, Culver City, CA
Girls of Adolescent Fantasy, Stephen Thomas Roberts, Lagrangeville, NY Gris, Gris, Parker Bauman, West Hartford, CT
Here Lies Ellie, Jacqueline Summer
I Fear to Write a Word, Christopher Shaw, Culver City, CA
In the Interest of Transparency, Jean Carr, Tuscon, AZ
Laughing and Dying, Christopher Shaw, Culver City, CA
Lies, Patrick Cavanaugh, Spicewood, TX
More Light: Goethe’s Last Words, Andrew H. Oerke, Miami, FL
My City Wonderland, Heather McLain Harris, Metairie, LA
My Inner Child, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
My Last Night, Christopher Shaw, Culver City, CA
Ode to Phillip Bullard, S. M. Caruthers, Auburn, CA
Shattered, Katya, Ehresman, Austin, TX
Storm, Kanisha Mitra, Austin, TX
That Day, Edward Larkin Greer, New York, NY
The Day After Twelth Night, Lisa Jay, Houston, TX
The Fires at Yellowstone, Jean Carr, Tucson, AZ
The Question, Duane Duradd, El Prado, NM
The Shadow Fowl, Andrew Gregory Krzack, Chicago, IL
The Story Remains, Olivia Cashman, Amherst, NH
The Tovarisch Express, Stephen Thomas Roberts, Lagrangeville, NY
We Must Fight to Survive, Jannick Abullarade, Austin, TX

Short Story by a High School Student

2015 Winner
Milk, Maggie Bradley, Madisonville, LA
2015 Runners-up
Requiem, Sophie Evans, New Orleans, LA
The Man on the Wires, Felicity Lartique, Marrero, LA
Others on the 2015 Short List

A Coaxing, Alexandra Hendon, Mandeville, LA
Clean Getaway, Short List, Teddy Jones, Friona, TX
Darkest, Renee Brittigan, Manassas, VA
Dusting, Dorie Thompson, New Orleans, LA
Ghost, Helen Lovett, New Orleans, LA
Guardian Angel, Lukas Koelbel, New Orleans, LA
Like Dominos, Mirabella Miller, Slidell, LA
Mud, Henry Wietfeldt, New Orleans, LA
Navigating My Dreams, McColl Simons, Metairie, LA
Peach, Nicola Preuss, New Orleans, LA
Reunion, Beatrice Zhang, New Orleans, LA
Rosa, Alexandra Gulden, New Orleans, LA
Smoke, Claudia Leger, New Orleans, LA
Survivor, Madeline Cox, Asheville, NC
The Chicken, Emily Trinh, New Orleans, LA
The Unremitting Stairs, Leah Bordlee, New Orleans, LA
The Weatherman, Brian Ju, Austin, TX
Tom and the Curious Bird, Adia Heisser, New Orleans, LA
Town Square, Ruoss Morgan, New Orleans, LA
Turbines, Cypress Oliphant, New Orleans, LA
Water Birth, Kimberly Pollard, Belle Chasse, LA
Wet, Luis Bermudez Ham, Idylwild, CA
What We Would Have Written, Sidney Thompson, Idylwild, CA
Why We Eat Fried Presidents, Julia Simon, New Orleans, LA

Other 2015 Finalists

Alma, Sophie Evans, New Orleans, LA
An Afternoon in Jail, Caleb Obregon, Austin, TX
Aphex Twin, Clara Souvignier, New Orleans, LA
Brotherhood of Man, Florent Marchais, Austin, TX
Cain, Genevieve Lovern, Abita Springs, LA
Chocolate and Suicide, Rebecca Brzostoski, Barnardsville, NC
Daedalus, Elizabeth Phillips, El Dorado, AR
Désir, Le Plaisir, Le Regret, Darius Christianson, New Orleans, LA
Girl Parts, Callie Levan, Cleveland Heights, OH
How I Learned to See in Color, Ania Lacritz, Los Angeles, CA
Imani, Crayton Taylor, New Orleans, LA
Impromptu, Angela Yin, Danville, CA
Indepencia, Mark Harrison, Austin, TX
Introduction to Anatomy of a Drunkard, Sarah Rolinski, Covington, LA
Lion Rift, Jordan Blanchard, New Orleans
 Listening, Aly Ruiz, Austin, TX
Louise, Madeline LeCesne, New Orleans, LA
Marco Polo, Ming Ying, West Roxbury, MA
Meander, Robert Webster, New Orleans, LA
Property, Alexandra Gulden, New Orleans, LA
Roots, Caroline Aung, Idylwild, CA
Skeleton, Danae Elfstrom Devine, Idylwild, CA
Take Care, Lillian Lechler, Metairie, LA
Ten, Madeline Yates, New Orleans, LA
The Companion of Innocence, Matthew Hammond, Austin, TX
The Eye, Gabrielle Gomez, New Orleans, LA
The First Spider Web, Jones Smith, New Orleans, LA
The Mantle Clock, Kyle Knight, Austin, TX
The Oracle’s Pool, Eric To, Austin, TX
The Park, Betsy Hogan, New Orleans, LA
The Secret Agent’s Daughter, Teddy Jones, Friona, TX
The Words I Never Said, Maddie Leger, Metairie, LA

2015 Semi-Finalists

 Affliction, SF, Jeremy Nguyen, Austin, TX
Artemis by the Sea, Ariadne Makridakis, New Orleans, LA
Breaking News, Kyle Cronk, Austin, TX
Cain, Genevieve Lovern, Abita Springs, LA
Control, Holly Smith, Metairie, LA
Elsewhere, Leigh Hickman, Metairie, LA
Heart, Caroline Aung, Idylwild, CA
Interview with a Millionaire, Linnea Zagaeski, Idlewild, CA
I Only Know What I Don’t Know, Teagan Betori, Austin, TX
Life Goes On, John Wagner, New Orleans, LA
Marbles, Gabrielle Gomez, New Orleans, LA
March to Your Own Rhythm, Caitlin Strickert, Austin, TX
Mechanization, Jeff Owens, II, East Syracuse, NY
Night Blooming, Kayla Reado, River Ridge, LA
Paroxym in My World, David Pena, New Orleans, LA
Television, Grace Morse, New Orleans, LA
The Berkley House, Jordan Grulke, Austin, TX
The Bridge, Jones Smith, New Orleans, LA
The Everlasting Fountain, Kiara Dietze, Austin, TX
The Festival, Layne Kieschnick, New Orleans, LA
The Golden Girl, Natasha Fisher, Austin, TX
The Greatest Show on Earth, Martin Ezekiel, New Orleans, LA