The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society is pleased to announce the results of the William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.
Novel
The Faulkner Society was pleased but somewhat overwhelmed with the number of entries we received in 2017 for the Novel Category. There were a total of 502 novels entered, a record for the competition, with 80 per cent of these entries arriving in the last 48 hours prior to the deadline. Of the 502 entries, 51 entries were from New Orleans writers with another 112 entries from other areas of Louisiana. We received 65 entries from writers working in English but who are either natives of or residing in ten other countries. 274 entries were received from other states and U. S. territories, with every state represented. 92 writers placed as finalists, with 12 of those finalists selected for the Short List from which the winner and runner-up will be selected by Curtis-Brown literary agent, Katherine Fausett.
Winner
Fire on the Islandby Timothy Jay Smith, Nice, France
Runner-up
Carrying Independence, Karen A. Chase, Richmond, VA
Others on the Short List
The Explosive and Fiery Death of an Art Critic, Adam Falik, New Orleans, LA
Appointment in Moscow, Barnes Carr, Houston, T
Exposures, Carole Burns, Cardiff, Wales, UK
It Doesn’t Have to be That Way, Mary Rowen, Arlington, MA
Magdalena, Candi Sary, Costa Mesa, CA
The Adulterers’ Club, Laura Brodie, Lexington, VA
The Bootlegger’s Husband, Susan Isaak Lolis, Macon, GA
The Last Days of Oscar Wilde, John Vanderslice, Conway, AR
The Queen of Paris, Pamela Ewen, Mandeville, LA
Where Ocean Meets the Country, Dan Turtel, New York,
Finalists:
A Different Past, Martha Burns, La Luz, NM
After Elise, Denise Pattiz Bogard, Creve Coeur, MO
A House on the Spit, Frances Haysman Burke, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
A Responsible Adult, Jenny Whorton, London, UK
A Twist in the Tail, Neslihan Stamboli, Istanbul, Turkey
American Sfumato, Vojislav Pejovic, Evanston, IL
A Model Earth, Michael Zapata, New Orleans, LA
Annals of Sally May Smith, Adjie Hendeson, Brooklyn, NY
Blackbeard’s Head, Cary Holladay, Memphis, TN
Boomerang Mattress, William Walsh, Atlanta, GA
By the Handle or the Blade, Alison Grifa Ismaili, Baton Rouge, LA
Call It Murder, Bonnie K. Kidd, Ocean Springs, MS
Canticle of the Fruit, James L. Hall, Wilmette,
Changing the Laws of Paradise, David Fuller Cook, Durham, NC
Coast, Deb Perry, San Francisco, CA
Crushing the Red Flowers, Jennifer Voigt Kaplan, Chatham, NC
Desert’s End, Susan Fox, New York, NY
Excellence in Advertising, Chelsea Lowe, Brookline, MA
Finding Napoleon, Margaret Rodenberg, Reston, VA
Forbidden: Permit Required, Emily Capdeville, New Orleans, LA
For Want of a Gun, Jerome J. Dobson, Atlanta, GA
Frankie, Mark Brandi, Brunswick East, Victoria, Australia
Getting to Know William Langley, Elizabeth England, New York, NY
Glass Mountains, John Blair, San Marcos. TX
Hard Cash, Marion Barnwell, Jackson, MS
Hang Me the Moon, Kate Bullard Adams, Charleston, SC
Harmony’s Peace and Joy, Mary Hutchins Reed, Chicago, IL
Holy Crap! The World is Ending!, Anna-Marie Abell, San Marcos, CA
Holy Water, Amy Conner, New Orleans, LA
How We Came to Be, Johnnie Bernhard, Ocean Springs, MS
Hybrid, James Marshall Smith, Braselton, GA
I Fennne, Jill Nwajiaku, Richmond, VA
Jack and Billy, Darren Bulhak, New York, NY
Neon Labyrinth, Caroline Cleveland, Charleston, SC
Land of Lost Souls, Jody Hadlock, Colleyville, TX
Lost Boy, T. G. Hess, Milton, MA
Mad World, Jeff Hannes, New Windsor, NY
Making It Home, Teddy Jones, Friona, TX
Martha Unraveled, Peggy Peden, Nashville, TN
Me and Grandpa, George Wall, Tigard, OR
Midlife, Jonathan Liebson, Brooklyn, NY
Miss Austen’s Mistake, San Anselmo, CA
Miss Lujzy, William Orem, Newton, MA
Moby’s Dick, Jeni Decker, Reed City, MI
Neighbors, Rodney Nelsestuen, Woodbury, MN
Neon Labyrinth, Carolyn Cleveland, Charleston, SC
Outsider Art, Patricia Grace King, Durham, England, UK
Over the Hills of Green, Cate Hendrickson, New York, NY
Parting, Ward Brian Zimmerman, Boone, NC
Papio, Gwen Strauss, Paris, France
Pro Bono Publica, John Breerwood, Winthrop, ME
Resurrection of Gracie MacDougal, Linda Buxbaum, Hall, MT
Ruthie’s Town, Lisa Lipkind Leibow, Vienna, VA
Small World, Kusama Haile, La Crescenta, CA
Skin and Bones, Chris Morrow, Webb City, Mo
Spore Girl, Missy Wilkinson, New Orleans, LA
Squeaky Wheel, Suzanne Kamata, Tokumei City, Japan
Specimens, Rosanne Daryl Thomas, Montague, MA
Taking the Expat Exit, Robert Raymer, Sarawak, Malaysia
The Accidental Hero of the City of Brotherly Love, Richard J. O’Brien, Havertown, PA
The Ant, Craig Miles Miller, Champaign, ILzzz
The Dollar a Year Man, James Sisk, Traverse City, MI
The Jazz Garden, Larkin Edwin Greer, New York, NY
The Lake, Marcia Ross, Cambridge, MA
The Madness of Bill Henry, Lou Dischler, Spartanburg, SC
The Meadow, Scott Winkler, Casco, WI
The Migration of Birds, Michael Zimecki, Pittsburgh, PA
The Order of Things, Christy Quinto, Alabany, CA
The Ponce Factor, J. D. Crawford, Winter Garden, FL
The Second Look, Wendy Simons, Stevensville, MI
The Talking Drum, Lisa Braxton, Weymouth, MA
The Trouble with Grits, Phyllis Pittman, Fairhope, AL
The World Does Not Know, Mark Fabiano, Alexandria, VA
The Worthier Memories of Franklin Wainwright, III, Claudia Hoffman, Madison Heights, MI
The Unabridged Obituary of Abner Cardozo, Thorne Clark, Brooklyn, NY
Trying to Find Julie, Benjamin Heim Shepard, Brooklyn, NY
Water Bodies, Jeffrey Perso, Milwaukee, WI
Wimmera, Mark Brandi, Brunswick East, Victoria, Australia
Wiregrass, Lawrence Wells, Oxford, MS
Woman in Eclipse, Michael Ditchfield, Edgartown, MA
Semi-Finalists
Ang Kumot Kot, Bill Dougherty, Jacksonville, FL
A Bloodline of Kings, Gregory Burns, Lynnwood, WA
Academy of Reality, Steve Putnam, Southwick, MA
A Darker Providence, Susie Langenkamp, Charlottesville, VA
Ad Nauseum, Wayne Van Ry, Dunmurry, Northern Ireland
Advancing on Chaos, Michael Tusa, Jr., Abita Springs, LA
A God Without Us, Luke W. Woodcock, Hampstead, NJ
A Heart at Peace, Micheal E. Jimmerson, Henderson, TX
Ain’t No Mountain, Janet Taylor-Perry, Ridgeland, MS
A Limb of the Sweet Tree, Marriah K. Nissen, Alburquerque, NM
Angel Falls, Shelby Riley, Glennmore, PA
A Perfect Day, Joseph Allen Boone, Los Angeles, CA
An Unexpected Gift from a Growling Fool, Robert Raymer, Sarawak, Malaysia
A Voice in the Night, Elaine Stiernon, Ann Arbor, MI
Awake the God of Day, Glen Wood, Hixson, TX
Awakening Life from the Moors, Helen Argers, Newark, NJ
BackWords, Lisa Foster, Goose Creek, SC
Best of Friends, Charles Harper Webb, Glendale, CA
Big Jim’s Boy, Joe Samuel Starnes, Haddon Township, NJ
Billie Rose, Darlin’ Neal, Indiatlantic, FL
Black Tiger, C. J. Montgomery, Wichita Falls, TX
Blood Mother: Berkshire Noir, Robert Begiebing, Newfields, NH
Bluebird, Michael Smith, Salt Lake City, UT
Blue Hours, Daphne Kalotay, Somerville, MA
Blue Sky Burning, Sean Towey, Tallahassee, FL
Bojangles, the Bambino, and the Birth of the Curse, Kevin King, Brentwood, NH
Bomber, Marian Palaia, San Francisco, CA
Boy at Sea, St. Leger Joynes, Boone, NC
Bourrée Fantasque, Lev Olsen, New York, NY
Breasts Like Fawns That Feed Among the Lilies, John Foley, Rockville, MD
Bristlecone Falls, Joseph S. Rice, Jr., Columbia, SC
Cardinal Theft, Brendan Moran, Naples, FL
Castaway in Kingdom Come, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE
Cataclysm Epoch, Paul Heingarten, Metairie, LA
Church of the Graveyard Saints, C. Joseph Greaves, Cortez, CO
Club Tropicana, Andrea St. Amand, Charleston, SC
Confesssion, J. Scott Smith, Winnetka, IL
Crone’s Confession, Jean Ann Pollard, Winslow, ME
Daniel’s Wager, George Gier, Saint Charles, IL
Darkest Light, David Theis, Houston, TX
Deep Fried, Mark Doyon, Winchester, VA
Dervish Lessons, Necee Regi, Boston MA
Desertion, Michael Aloysious O’Reilly, Chapel Hill, NC
Drifting, Falling: Diary of a Call Girl Suicide, A. J. Ullman, Blue Ash, OH
Einstein in Flamingoland, George Brinner, Sun City West, AZ
Dreams on Our Shore: Mukta’s Story, Rakesh, Jobanputra, Chatham, NJ
Ellen and the Three Predictions, Elizabeth England, New York, NY
Emily and Henry, Helen Mantague Foster, Richmond, VA
Family History, Susan Scutti, Atlanta, GA
Fatal Score, John Baird Rogers, Golden Valley, MN
Fellow Man, Brian Smolensky, Los Angeles, CA
Feral Maril and Her Little Brother Carol, Leslie Tall Manning New Bern, NC
Finally Home, Kelly Bargabos, La Mesa, CA
Gameness, Vukasin Streker, Queens, NY
Getting to Know William Langley, Elizabeth England, New York, NY
Glint, J. D. Harper, Signal Mountain, TN
Gloam, Averil Drummond, Brunkerville, NSW, Australia
GoodHeart, Derek Kamal, Marietta, GA
Graveyard Saints, Joseph Greaves, Cortez, CO
Growing Up Cowgirl, Dianne Dugaw, Eugene, OR
Haircuts for the Dead, William Walsh, Atlanta, GA
Half the Child, William J. McGee, Milford, CT
Hatch, Michael Conn, Santa Fe, NM
Heather Finch, Jenny Benjamin, Milwaukee, WI
High Dive, Elizabeth Amon, Seattle, WA
House of Smoke and Solace, Julie Morin, Tucson, AZ
How to Heal the Sick in Three Easy Steps, David Joshua Hayes, Bristol, CT
Immortals, Henry Wise, Oxford, MS
Island of Cards, Lori Yarotsky, New York, NY
I Want You To Know, Sandy Speers Markwart, Hanover, MA
Jayi’s Tales, Anna Marie Catoir, Covington, LA
Juggling Fire, Love & Immigrant Dreams in New Orleans,
José Torres-Tama, New Orleans, LA
Just Daisy, Tena Russ, Lake Forest, IL
Katy Bomb, Katy Bomb, Evelyn Somers, Boonville, MO
Kiss Me Quick, Mark Brandi, Brunswick East, Victoria, Australia
Knock of the Ravenmocker, Mary Lou Northern, Louisville, KY
Lady Killer, Jeff Richards, Tokoma Park, MD
Lisbeth, Marina Brown, Tallahassee, FL
Lonnie’s Wall, Stephen Kash, Terre Haute, IN
Losing Sophie Timm, John Lauricella, Ithaca, NY
Lost, Stolen, or Strayed, Amy Conner, New Orleans, LA
Love, The Gypy’s Child, Hillsman Williams, Louisville, KY
Mad World, Jeffrey Hannes, New Windsor, NY
Malheur August, Nancy Judd Minor, Lake Oswego, OR
Melanie Bell & The Story Salon, Clyde Always, San Francisco, CA
Mexico Beach, D. E. Lee, Jacksonville, FL
Missionaries of a Secular Faith, Greg Jones, Orinda, CA
Missouri, Matthew Gildea, Cincinnati, OH
Moon, Rush Leaming, Columbia, SC
Mothers and Lies, Lovers and Spires, Melissa Hintz, Shaker Heights, OH
Mourning Dove, Claire Fullerton, Malibu, CA
My Name Was Greer, Joan Mora, Irving,TX
Mystery & Pirating Perils, Mark Mitchell, Greenville, SC
New Pirates of the South Seas, John Lavelle, Palm Bay, FL
No Haven Here, Marney McNall, Charleston, SC
No Rest, Brad Fox, New York, NY
Notes on Venus, Gregory Friedlander, Mobile, AL
Not the Same River, Patricia Barone, Fridley, MN
On a Rush of Silent Wings, Laine Cunningham, Hillsborough, NC
Only Human, C. E. Smith, Nashville, TN
Only the Lover Sings, Daniel S. Fitzpatrick, Hot Springs, AR
On Flooding Lands, Virginia Tell, Dallas, TX
Outermark, Jason Brown, Eugene, OR
Out of Ireland Have We Come, Kaye Park Hinckley, Dothan, AL
Pelsaert’s Nightmare, Gregory Warwick Hansen, Port Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia
Peculiar Savage Beauty, Jessica McCann, Scottsdale, AZ
Play Through the Pain, Stephanie Dominguez,
PM, Jon Gaynor, Ellsworth, ME
Quiet Desperation, Rodney Nelsestuen, Woodbury, MN
Raj-Tan, Thomas Zuzich, Chicago, IL
Rites of Passage, Jonathan Taylor, San Francisco, CA
Road Back to the Studio, Brenden Wysocki, Chicago, IL
Ross Who Is Also a Ras, Clyde Derrick, Claremont, CA
Sammastianu, Marco Rafala, Brooklyn, NY
Saving Peter, Tracey Lange, Bend, OR
Shades of God, Wayne Johnson, Tampa, FL
Shadowlight, Lisa Morriss-Andrews, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Sheltering Angel, A Titanic Steward’s Survival, Louella Bryant, Lincoln, VT
Shirtless Men, Dwaine Rieves, Washington, DC
Shivah, Lisa Solod, Savannah, GA
Somnolent, Mitzy Andrews, Columbus, OH
Still Come Home, Katey Schultz, Burnsville, N
Sweet Not Enough, Anne Randolph, Denver, CO
Sybelia Drive, Karin Cecile Davidson, Columbus, OH
Talking in Layers, Susie Slosberg, Bronxville, NY
Ten Most Common Stains, Barbara Yost, Phoenix, AZ
The Age of Light, Whitney Scharer, Arlington, MA
The American Dream, Lorelei Brush, McLean, VA
The Banshee of Machrae, Sonje Condit, Taylor, SC
The Bears of Winter, C. A. Willis, Burien, WA
The Blackest Crow, Joseph Argo, Anderson, SC
The Chelsea Fix, Richard Sambasivam, Princeton, NJ
The Cure for Hopeless Causes, Kali Van Baale, Bondurant, IA
The Delusionist, Colwill Brown, Boston, MA
The Diamond Thief, Lesley Hardy, Oxford, OH
This Disharmony of Silence, Linda Rosen, Fair Lawn, NJ
The English Fox, Kat Montagu, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The Good Burden, Angela Hamilton, St. Louis, MO
The Imperfects, Douglas Goodman, Brooklyn, NY
The Jericho Kid, John Mort, Springfield, MO
The Legend of King Odum, Cowan Amaye-Obu, Fort Washington, MD
The Long Trample, Robert Morgan Fisher, Woodland Hills, CA
The Martial Artist, Garry Craig Powell, Barreiro, Fontão, Portugal
The Moth Orchid, Linda Gorelova, Dublin, OH
The Phoenix and The Dragon, Celia Wood, Crystal Spring, MS
The Rabies Tree, Ellen Breck Coggeshall, Barnstable, MA
The Red Tin Chocolate Box, Ann H. Howell, Asheville, NC
The Road to Santiago, Alison McMahan, Pompano Beach, FL
The Second Son, Susan G. Hatch, Twin Falls, ID
The Serene Kingdom of Piedmont, Gregory Lee Sullivan, Winston-Salem, NC
The Slug Ride, Karen Bennett, Baltimore, MD
The Sound of Bells, Susan Beckham Zurendo, Spartanburg, SC
The Sound of Falling Darkness, Lyn Di Lorio, New York, NY
The Mother City, Starner Jones, Houston, TX
The Phoenix and The Dragon, Celia Wood, Crystal Springs, MS
The Plight of Weathered Roots, Steven Petite, Amite, LA
The Queen of Madagascar, José Toledo, Coral Gables, FL
The Red Tin Chocolate Box, Ann H. Howell, Asheville, NC
The Rhineland Cowboy, Benjamin Duffy, Poquoson, VA
The Second Son, Susan Hatch, Twin Falls, ID
The Serpent Papers, Jeff Schnader, Norfolk, VA
The Tenth Avatar, Kanchen Joshi, San Marcos, CA
The Torch Betrayal, Glenn Dyer, Park City, UT
The Vixen Amber Halloway, Carol LaHines, New York, NY
The Way Home, Morgan Smith, Garrett Park, MD
The Way of the Honey Badger, Stuart Rose, Missoula, MT
The Waystation, Laurie Jameson, Norco, CAThe Wolf Tone, Christy Stillwell, Bozeman, MT
The Year of the Mad Jaq, Jonathan Slator, Taos, NM
Thirty Years of Immortality, Annie Sheppard, Cottage Grove, OR
Trencadis, Paul Byall, Savannah, GA
Thresholds and Crossroads, Helen Feinstein, Gibsonia, PA
Timir, Nishith Singh, Novato, CA
To Know Our Self, Alan Steinberg, M.D., Encino, CA
Tomorrow’s End, Geoffrey Morris, Napa, CA
Under the Humming Tide, Karen DeGroot Carter, Lone Tree, CO
Under the Terebinth Tree, a Baptism of Desire, James Hamilton, Everett, WA
Walking on Thunder, Larkin Edwin Greer, New York, NY
Waiting for You at Midnight, Vicki Salloum, New Orleans, LA
Weavers Gold, Janice Todd, Homer, AK
What Happened in the Woods, Joy Lanzendorfer, Petaluma, CA
When She Kills, Tracey S. Phillips, Verona, WI
Whistling Girls, Misty Smith, Decatur, MS
Within the Walls of Grace, Loreen Niewenhuis, Traverse City, MI
Wolf Tone, Christy Stillwell, Bozeman, MT
Work on Paper, Megan Greene, Oak Park, IL
Worthy of Zero, David “Barry” DeLozier, Birmingham, AL
Wounded Sparrows, Kathryn A. Brackett, Spartanburg, SC
Yet Wilderness Grey in My Heart, Cam Terwilliger, Brooklyn, NY
Zoner, Joe Van Buskirk
Narrative Non-Fiction Book
There were 139 entries total, a record for this category, with 40 entries selected to place. Preliminary judges picked 23 Finalists, of which seven were selected for the Short List. Of the total 57 entries were from New Orleans and other Louisiana communities, 19 entries were from foreign countries, while 63 entries came from other U. S. states and one U. S. territory. The Short List is being judged by bestselling biographer/historian Walter Isaacson.
Winner
Death and Folly in the Land of Broken Columns by Dave Barnette, Fairhope, AL
Runner-Up
The Gilded Cage by David Kennedy, Bronx, NY
Others on the Short List
Contemplating Traffic, Carlos Cunha, Gainesville, FL
Constellations, Carlos Cunha, Gainesville, FL
In Search of Monster Fish: Angling for a More Sustainable Planet,
Mark Spitzer, Mayflower, AR
Kinds of Love: Essays on Otherness, Natasha Sajé, Salt Lake City, UT
Queenbird, Carolyn McGrath, Ivy, VA
Finalists
Beneath the Shadow: Legacy and Longing in the Antartic, Justin Gardiner, Opelika, AL
Coca Cola Redbone, William Greenway, Ephrata, PA
How Do the Horses Know? Growing Up Cowgirl, Dianne Dugaw, Eugene, OR
Legacy, Jo Anne Nelson, Bethesda, MD
Lightning Twice, Ann Conn, Covington, LA
Love in Foreign Lands and Other Familiar Places, Julia Rold, Boston, MA
My Beautiful Tigers, Rosemary Daniell, Savanah, GA
Nail Tyme, Minh Pham, Pasadena, CA
Old Scofieldtown Road, Joe Ann Hart, Gloucester, MA
Putting My Heels Down, Kara Tatelbaum, Bronx, NY
Quest for the Marble Apple, Richard Jespers, Lubbock, TX
The Beanpickers: A Portrait of My Italian-American Immigrant Family,
Karen Foresti Hempson, Skaneateles, NY
Scrambling Back, Anne Sigmon, Lafayette, CA
Shock and Awe, Megan Williams, Philadelphia, PAThe Elegant Out, Elizabeth Bartasius, Christiansted, U. S. Virgin Islands
Until Cuba is Free, James W. Miller, Diamondhead, MS
We Believed We Were Immortal, Kathleen W. Wickham, Oxford, MS
Semi-Finalists
15 Warrington Place, Paul B. McNulty, Dublin, Ireland
A Few Minor Adjustments, Cherie Kephart, San Marcos, CA
Black Sky, William Gregory, Colleyville, TX
Bowing to Elephants, Mag Dimond, San Francisco, CA
Holding On to Right Side Up, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Life of a Seahorse, E. L. Remaley, Fairfax Station, VA
Luck, Grace Tiffany, Kalamazoo, MI
My Affair With Major Andre and Men Who Liked to Dress as Him,
Peter Neofotis, Buena Vista, VA
One Last Breath, Chelsea DeVries, Port Richey, FL
Streetlight, Stephen Kash, Terre Haute, IN
The Glider, Linda Summerton, Chapin, SC
The Heart of a Student, Douglas Whynott, Langdon, NH
The Good Southern Widow, Kathleen McGuire, Tybee Island, GA
The Question of Empathy, Carol Jeffers, Pasadena, CA
This Particular Happiness, Jackie Shannon Hollis, Aloha, OR
Through the Tibetan Mirror, Nitya Prema, Avery, CA
Two Towers, T. D. Arkenberg, Arlington Heights, IL
Novella
There were a total of 89 entries of which 29 entries were selected as finalists. From the total Finalists, 13 manuscripts were selected to place on the Short List. |There were an additional 14 manuscripts selected to place as Semi-Finalists. Of the total entries, 29 were from New Orleans and other Louisiana communities. There were six manuscripts from foreign countries. The other 54 entries came from other U. S. states. The Short List is being judged by novelist Stewart O’Nan.
Winner:
Loeffler, Martha Moffett, Bloomfield, NJ
Runner-up:
Freedom of Movement, William Torrey, Clayton, DE
Others on The Short List
Babe, Patrick T. Reardon, Chicago, IL
Eagle Beach, Jim Fairhall, Chicago, IL
Drowning Freestyle, Crystal Carey, Tulsa, OK
Locked Away, Yoruba Baltrip, New Orleans, LA,
My Father’s Lies, Ray Else, Garland, TX
Swan Song, C. Robert Holloway, New Orleans, LA
The Length of a Yard, John Vanderslice, Conway, AR
The Man in the Trees, Rachel Joseph, San Antonio, TX
The Match, Jade Rothman, New York, NY
The Odd Sea, Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch, CO
The Simple Life, William Coles, Salt Lake City, UT
Finalists
Calusa Island, Clayton Luz, Bokeelia, FL
Double Nickel Jackpot, Mike Tuohy, Jefferson, GA
Further, Deb Jannerson, New Orleans, LA
In the Briar, Cynthia Morrison, Palm Beach, FL
Made in Union, Lynn Lauber, Nyack, NY
My Bo and Me, Roberta Anthes, Fairfax, CA
Newborn, Agustin Maes, Oakland, CAOld Dog, Joseph Argo, Anderson, SC
Perish, Amina Gautier, Chicago, IL
Responsibilities of Being a Man, J. C. G. Goelz, Pineville, LA
See No Evil, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Steelydan Neely, Philip Erickson, St. Paul, MN
Ten Items or Death, Tobias Griffin, Larkspur, CA
The Interloper, Xavier McCaffrey, Chicago, IL
Understanding Fitz, Wendy Simons, Stevensville, MI
You Did Take This Job…, Mary Kuykendall, Middle Grove, NY
Semi-Finalists
Aldeen the Queen, Buck Rish, Winston Salem, NC
A Man Called Mountain, Katie Aiken Ritter, Monkton, MD
Apple Cake Rising, Elaine Crauder, Havertown, PA
ARC, Jeanette Hacker, Highland, IN
Greasy Bend, David R. Cravens, Farmington, MO
Matinee with Louis, Mark C. Shelley, Chesapeake, VA
Misadventures of the Watch, Thomas Sabino, Savannah, GA
Señora Loyola’s Girls, Benjamin Duffy, Poquoson, VA
Stormy’s Secret, John Woodward, Tallahassee, FL
The Not-So-Great Med Mystery, Missile Envy, and David and Me,
Steve Bensinger, Sierra Madre, CA
The Painter’s Wife, Candace Nadon, Durango, CO
When I Return To You, I will Be Unfed, Christopher Bowen, Mercer, PA
You Will Suffer Me, Mark J. Havlik, Huntersville, NC
Short Story
The total number of short stories entered this year was 263 of which 111 entries were head and shoulders above the remainder. Finalists selected total 64 from which the Short List of 16 was compiled. An additional 47 entries placed as semi-finalists. The entries included 105 from New Orleans and other Louisiana communities, 145 from other states and U. S. territories, and 13 from foreign countries. The Short Story Short List is being judged by Tim Gautreaux, a critically acclaimed master of the short story form.
Winner
Fortress of Solitude byAndrew Cominelli, New Orleans, LA
Runner-Up
Delinquency of Minors by John Baum, Atlanta, GA
Others on the Short List
A House for Eva, Victor Hess, Slidell, LA
Among the Porcelain, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Aunt Loretta is Dead, Floyd McLamb, Poplarville, MS
Coney Island Babies, Elizabeth Carden, Nashville, TN
Confessions of a Crash Test Dummy, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE
Interlude, Marylee MacDonald, Tempe, AZ
Keys to the Cave, Joyce Miller, Cincinnati, OH
Maggie’s Confession, Obert Fittje, Tallahassee, FL
Parvis de Saint-Gilles, T.D. Arkenberg, Arlington Heights, IL
Raindance and Moon-Eyed Mae, Catherine Moore, Franklin, TN
The Fox, Mark Brandi, Brunswick, Victoria, Australia
The Gadgetteer, Alison McMahan, Pompano Beach, FL
The Spectacle, Sarah Colombo, Baton Rouge, LA
Thousand Year Old Oak, Tad Bartlett, New Orleans, LA
Finalists
A Mindfulness Becoming Less, Wendell Mayo, Haskins, OH
Amorphous Man, Mohammad Hakima, New York, NY
Annabelle, Peter McDougal, Atlanta, GA
Black Velvet, Laura Lee, Lafayette, IN
Body Art Prison, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE
Clown or King, Susie Slosberg, Bronxvile, NY
Dirty Tiles, Barbara Donnelly Lane, Austin, TX
Dover Plains, John DeBon, Malverne, NY
Easton Woods, Lesley Hardy, Oxford, OH
Elysian Fields, Tad Bartlett, New Orleans, LA
Great Crush Collision March, Chandra Graham, Phoenix, AZ
Heartbeat, Leigh Stevenson, Columbia, SC
Heavenly Surprise, Holly W. Schwartztol, The Villages, FL
Hillside Redux, Rodney Nelsestuen, Woodbury, MN
Jake, the Snake, and the Great Python Hunt, Brian Ward Zimmeran, Boone, NC
Joe’s Legacy, Maudie Walker, Dowagiac, MI
Longer on This Earth, Emily Grelle, Chico, CA
Lost her way, Jen Knox, San Antonio, TX
Never Pick Up Hitchhikers, Mal King, Santa Paula, CA
New Testament, Jonathan Liebson, Brooklyn, NY
Nightscape Spinnings, Liv S. M. Evensen, Oslo, Norway
One Summer, Nancy Brock, Columbia, SC
Pretty Feet, John Lavelle, Palm Bay, FL
Pristine Tuna, Bruce Wexler, Elmhurst, IL
Push Play, Joyce Miller, Cincinnati, OH
Quotidian Prayers, Carol Lattines, New York, NY
Rattus, Vojislav Pejovic, Evanston, IL
Salt, Lisa Solod, Savannah, GA
Sisters, Allison Boyles, Ethel, LA
Sojourner, Sudy Vance Leavy, Athens, GA
Sprees, Hunting, Home, Andrew Cominelli, New Orleans, LA
Starry Night, Mary Hutchings Reed, Chicago, IL
Tall Ceilings, Painted Blue, Catherine Albano, Baton Rouge, LA
Ten Minutes to Race Time, David Block, Ardmore, PA
That Which He Made, Laine Cunningham, Chapel Hill, NC
The Art of Retail, Emily Cogburn, Baton Rouge, LA
The Disappearance of Bridie Coyle, Joan Kane Nichols, Philadelphia, PA
The Lash of St. Francis, Stephen Cooper, Los Angeles, CA
The Law of Karma, Michael Ditchfield, Edgartown, MA
The Window, Jenell Abram, Lancaster, PA
The Day the Guinea Pigs Went Missing, Chad V. Broughman, Harbor Springs, MI
The Gentleman in 34-B, Lucian Childs, Anchorage, AK
The Grotto, Leslee Becker, Denver, CO
Tongue Tied Cherry Stem, Jack Stillwaggon, Hamilton, NY
Unconditional, Kathryn Brown, Ramsperger, Rockville, MD
Well, yeh, Mike Russell, Kentfield, CA
Will Divide, Kim Bradley, St. Augustine, FL
Yellow Jack is Back, Carlene Singleton, Florence, MS
Semi-Finalists
Adelia of the Coliseum, Cynthia Morrison of Palm Beach, FLA
Girl Needs Spiked Shoes, Sandra Hunter, Simi Valley, CA
A Patch of Green, Nancy Rowe, New Orleans, LA
All’s Well That Ends, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Butt Shot, Janet Taylor-Perry, Ridgeland, MS
Call the Murder, Maureen M. Welch, St. Augustine, FL
Camelot Redux, Mark Havlik, Huntersville, NC
Close Range, Eric Wieman, Jackson, Wy
Delivery of a Nightmare, Tammy Euliano, Gainesville, FL
First Flame, Heather M. Harris, Metairie, LA
Five Dozen Prayers, Patricia Ljutic, Pinole, CA
For Name’s Sake, Barbara Donnelly Lane, Austin, TX
Here I Am, Nancy Antle, New Haven, C
Housewife, C. G. Garcia, Phoenix, AZ
Keeping You Good, Little Sister, Jacqueline Guidry, Kansas City, MO
Me To You, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
On Tour With Aunt Gladys, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE
Johnny Rago, Joyce Davis, Northbrook, IL
Lesser Sentinels, Mick Schommer, Brooklyn, NY
Losing My Religion, Brian Ward Zimmerman, Boone, NC
Marguerite and the Grand Sablon, T. D. Arkenberg, Arlington Heights, IL
My Karen, Tamara Pawlak, Fairbanks, AK
Mystery in the Garden, Cynthia Ramirez, Kerrville, TX
Planting Over, Lisa McCormack, Mt. Juliet, TN
Signs of the Time, Allison Boyles, Ethel, LA
Song of Someone Else, Rizwan Hassan, Kensington, MD
Surfacing, Rebecca Brams, Berkeley, CA
Testament, Mark Havlik, Huntersville, NC
The Crossing, Lottie Brent Boggan, Jackson, MS
The Barbecue Declaration, Stephen J. Gallas, Anaheim, CA
The Haunting of Tadgell Hall, Richard A. Pazasis, Belchertown, MA
The Magic of the Mountain, Barbara V. Evers, Greer, SC
The Reincarnate Word, Matthew Pitt, Fort Worth, TX
The Roll of Honor, Cynthia Morrison, Palm Beach, FL
The Unexpected Adventure of Beatrice Guernsey, Morgan Smith, Garrett Park, MD
The Zoo, Elissa Huang, Hoboken, NY
Things Go to Hell, Holly Smith, Metairie, LA
Thomas, Robert Oldshue, Jamaica Plain, MA
Thirty-Three Years, Rodney Nelsestuen, Woodbury, MN
Throne of the Third Heaven, Judith McGinn
Trouble, Melanie Malinowski, Houston, TX
Until It Thunders, Catherine Moore, Franklin, TN
Walk in Beauty, Jody Hadlock, Colleyville, TX
What’s the Damage?, James Sisk, Traverse City, MI
What Woke Nan Lingle, Donald Secreast, Radford, VA
The Witches’ Market, Alison Watkins, Port Charlotte, FL
Novel-in-Progress
As with the novel and short story categories, the Novel-in-Progress category produced a record number of entries, 313 total. Of that number 28 entries were from New Orleans and another 71 entries were from other towns in Louisiana, while 21 were from writers living in foreign countries and 193 entries were from other U. S. states and territories, with 41 states represented. There were 76 finalists, from which the Short List of 13 manuscripts was compiled. There were 91 who placed as semi-finalists. The Short List was judged by literary editor Christine Pride.
Winner
Wilson’s Way, Sean W. Murphy, Ranchos de Taos, NM
Runner-Up
Shaving with Occam, Jacob Appel, New York, NY
Others on the Short List
By Emperor and Clown, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Diary of a Young Assassin, Matthew Minson, Tomball, TX
Eleanor, Geoff Schutt, Salem, MA
Inventing the Movies, Alison McMahon, Pompano Beach, FL
The Best Offense, Julie Ann Candoli, Austin, TX
The Lady of Dien Bien Phu and the Senegalese Giant, Khanh Ha,
Silver Spring, MD
The Man From Pravda, Brenda Horrigan, Vineyard Haven, MA
The Race Caller, Andrew Plattner, Atlanta, GA
The Scientist’s Daughters, Amanda Boyden, New Orleans, LA
The Vermillion Sea, Mary Lee MacDonald, Tempe, AZ
T’Shuva, Hal Ackerman, Brooklyn, NY
Water, Nagueyalti Warren, Lithonia, GADirections for Michael Murphy Memoria
Finalists
A Bird on the Wire, Katherine Leiner, New York, NY
A Novel by Dickens, Joan Kane Nichols, Philadelphia, PA
A Perfect Day, Joseph Allen Boone, Los Angeles, CA
A Thousand Flying Things, Kathryn Brown Ramsberger, Rockville, MD?
All the Things You Are, Geoff Schutt, Salem, MA
An Invincible Summer, Mal King, Santa Paula, CA
Arkansas Gothic, Maudie Walker, Dowagiac, MI
Autumn Love, Bonnie K. Kidd, Ocean Springs, MS
Behind Me Lies the Desert, Kevin Gerard Neill, Phoenix, AZ
Bitter Magic, Nancy Hayes Kilgore, Burlington, VT
Both End in Speculation, Nancy DaFoe, Homer, NY
Centralia, Emily Grelle, Chico, CA|
Clay Memory, Penelope Dane, Clinton, NY
Concerning Those on God’s B List, John Lavelle, Palm Bay, FL
Decoys, Karen A. Chase, Richmond, VA
Drowning Freestyle, C. A. Carey, Tulsa, OK
Eli Harpo’s Adventure to the Afterlife, Eric Schlich, Tallahassee, FL
Enemy of My Enemy, Alison McMahan, Pompano Beach, FL
Fantasyland, David Anderson, Boerne, TX
Fearless, Raima Larter, Arlington, VA
Finding Moses, Jennifer Veser Besse, Mt. Gretna, PA
Glue Horse Heaven, A Rendering Pony Tale, Steve Putnam, Southwick, MA
Grace Period, Loren Niewenhuis, Travers City, MI
High Invisibility, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE
Honeymoon Homicide, Judy Quan, Quinlan, TX
How Death Changed My Life, Steve Bensinger,
Ice, D.K. McCutchen, Shelburne Falls, MA
Inventing the Movies, Alison McMahan, Pompano Beach, FL
Kip Smart is Missing, Becky Browder, Jacksonville, AL
Kiss Me Quick, Mark Brandi, Brunswick, Victoria, Australia
Land of Lost Souls, Jody Hadlock, Colleyville, TX
Light and Purple Blooms, Laine Cunningham, Hillsborough, NC
Men in Skirts, Annie Sheppard, Cottage Grove, OR
Not All Are Monsters, Wendy Reed, Birmingham, AL
Of Oceans and Ashes, Joel Freiburger, Elen Ellyn, IL
Outsider Art, Barbara Donnelly Lane, Durham, England, UK
Push Play, Joyce Miller, Cincinnati, OH
Mentor, J. R. Brant, Nashville, TN
Mother City, Starner Jones, Houston, TX
Murder on the Freedom Trail, Suellen Wedmore, Rockport, MA
Rapture Fever, Susan R. Kagan, Metairie, LA
Rocking Chair, Nancy Brock, Columbia, SC
Ship of Lost Children, S. J. MacLean, Danville, CA
Simple Lessons in Irish, Rosemary Graham, Berkeley, CA
Smith’s Protégé, Jeff Moffett, Ocean Springs, MS
Somnolent, Misty Andrews, Columbus, OH
Spore Girl, Missy Wilkinson, New Orleans, LA
Storyteller, Frank S. Johnson, Greenfield, MO
Ten Items or Death, Tobias Griffin,
The Blue Hour, George Harrar, Wayland, MA
The Fourth Courier, Timothy Jay Smith, Nice, France
The Milton Man, Xu Xi, Hong Kong, China
The Pilot Plans, Stephanie Knapp Stoecker, New Orleans, LA
The Plant, Gwen Goodkin, Cardiff, CA
The Sound of Nightfall, Amanda Boyden, New Orleans, LA
The Sialkot Literary Experiment, Caleb Powell, Edmonds, WA
The Socialite, Suzanne Kamata, Tokushima-Ken, Japan
The Unfortunate Resurrection of Lazarus, Freddy Fuentes, Lexington, VA
These Broken Places, Paula Yoo, Los Angeles, CA
This City is a Clock, Daniel Wallace, Knoxville, TN
Those on God’s B List, John F. Lavelle, Palm Bay, FL
Trust Me Now, Jacqueline Guidry, Kansas City, MO
Venice, Brent Katz, Brooklyn, NY
What We Know, Carole Burns, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Semi-finalists
Angel Falls, Shelby Riley, Glenmoore, PA
An Invincible Summer, Mal King, Santa Paula, CA
A Slight Curve, A. Molotkov, Portland, OR
Back When These Things Fazed Us, Jennifer Jones, Chatanooga, TN
Because of Dragons, Laurel Burggraf, Baltimore, MD
Beyond the Boneyard, Mary Lou Northern, Louisville, KY
Catching Olive, Hope Lugo, Oviedo, FL
Clapper Claw, Maggie Marshall, Stillwater, OK
Clio Wept, Stephanie McKinney
Critical Care, Ellen Michaelson, Portland, OR
Dark Roux, Tony LeBlanc, Austin, TX
Detour, Megan Mertz, LaVale, MD
Duty and Delight, Rebecca Rose-Langston, Florence, MA
End of Youth, Tammy Euliano, Gainesville, FL
Fellstone, Marjory Kaptanoglu, Belmont, CA
Finding Cabo Rojo, Kimberly Davis, Madisonville, TX
Flight, Kimi Cunningham Grant, Huntingdon, PA
From the Bluffs, Thea Prieto, Portland, OR
For the Love of Dope and Cattle, Rae Delbianco, Mountainside, NJ
Gem of Ohio, Mary Jean Pramik, San Francisco, CA
Get Ready to Stay Dead, James Carey Doane, Sayville, NY
Girl in the Painting, Abdullah Hassan Erikat, Glasgow, Scotland
Good Out Here, Abigail Greenbaum, Atlanta, GA
Half, Sharon Harrigan, Charlottesville, VA
Harboring Evil, Ellen Prewitt Morris, Memphis, TN
Hex Signs, Elizabeth Amon, Seattle, WA
How I Wonder, Cameron Walker, Santa Barbara, CA
Hunt, David Hernquist, Smyrna, GA
In Each Other’s Shadow, Rachel Blackney Tepper, Omaha, NE
In His Mind, Jenny Benjamin, Milwaukee, WI
Innundation, Deborah Green, Placitas, NM
Invasion, Ellen Breck Coggeshall, Barnstable, MA
Invention of a Galaxy, Kevin, Lichty, Chandler, AZ
Judas in Jerusalem, Joseph Lewis Heil, Muskego, WI
Katrina’s Wake, Danielle Gilyot Smith, Metairie, LA
King Neptune’s Journey, Kimberly Nichols, Sylmar, Ca
Land-Eater, Zachary Tyler Vickets, Philadelphia, PA
Love & Lies, Alexandra O’Sullivan, Metairie, LA
Look Away, Look Away, Skyler Flowers, Oxford, MS
Lucky, Pamela Newton Smith, St. Simons Island, GA
Losing Starlight, Emily Cogburn, Baton Rouge, LA
Me for That I came, Theresa Kelsay, Shawnee, KS
Margaret Archer Hated Being Fat, Siobhan Sullivan, Niwot, CO
Mind Riot, Gail Walstein, Denver, CO
Nostalgia’s Eternal Serenade, Nishith Singh, Novato, CA
Nothing, Susan Folkes, Richmond, VA
Oasis, Yang Huang, Berkeley, CA
Of Moss and Mists, Amber L. Geary, Clinton, NY
Of Mothers and Whores, D. M. Gordon, Clinton, NY
Pete, Grace Rogers, Nicasio, CA
Poetic Justice, Mary Gray Kaye, Chicago, IL
Reconciling Home, Claire Fullerton, Malibu, CA
Refuge in Fall, Lynda Montgomery, Shaker Heights, OH
Scratch Line, Deb Merino, Eads, TN
Secrets in Cedar Lake, Mary Eaddy, Daniel Island, SC
Song of Someone Else, Rizwan Hassan, Kensington, MD
Song of the Nightshade, Nicole Elmer, Austin, TX
Spitting on Hegel, Carolyn Breedlove, Natchitoches, LA
The Brightest Place in the World, David Philip Mullins, Omaha, NE
The Broken Places, Paula Yoo, Los Angeles, CA
The Disappearance of Audrey Thorpe, Heather Bell Adams, Raleigh, NC
The Huli Huli Honeymoon Hour, Anne Panning, Brockport, NY
The Lake, D. K. McKutcheon,
The Liar’s Child, Amanda Lisle, Brooklyn, NY
The Lovers of Cordoba, Elizabeth Wellington, Wellesley, MA
The Poachers’ Code, Julie Carrick Dalton, Winchester, MA
The Morris Column, Franz Nicolay, Tivoli, NY
The Mourning Artist, Kara Martinez Bachman, Mandeville, LA
The Snow Globe, Kathryn L. Robinson, Spokane, WA
The Story of Dorrit Sykes, Lisa Nash Taylor, Keswick, VA
The Sunny Side of the Street, Leslie Tall Manning, New Bern, NC
The Warm Heart of Africa, Jack Stillwaggon, Hamilton, NY
The Wedding Fire, Parul Kapur Hinzen, Wallingford, CT
The Witches East of Lothian, Gabrielle Pullen, Bothell, WA
The Yellow Girl, Chris Tusa, New Orleans, LA
Third City, Greg Jones, Orinda, CA
Thing of Darkness, Wim Coleman & Pat Perrin, Carrboro, NC
This Side of Georgia, Anne Randolf, Denver, CO
Time Interrupted, Tina DC Hayes, Lexington, KY
To Be Or Not, Marcia Dahlinghaus, Golden Valley, AZ
Two Roads Diverged, Kim Catanzarite, Medford Lakes, NJ
Tracking Happiness, Ellen Prewitt Morris, Memphis, TN
Understanding Fitz, Wendy Simons, Stevensville, MI
Vanished, Judith Kirscht, Anacortes, WA
Virago, Willamaye Jones, Arden, NC
Waiting for the Age of Clay, Chielozona Eze, Chicago, IL
What Happened in the Woods, Joy Lazendorfer, Petaluma, CA
Whiskey and Old Stogies, Lisa Angle, Santa Barbara, CA
You Will Suffer Me, Mark Havlik, Huntersville, NC
Essay
The Essay Category attracted 136 total entries, of which 27 finalists were selected. The Short List selected from the finalists totaled 13 manuscripts. An additional 24 entries were selected as semi-finalists. The entries included 91 from Louisiana including, including 33 from New Orleans. Six foreign countries were represented. The Essay Short List is being judged by bestselling non-fiction writer Franz Wisner.
Winner
Inheritance, Megan Baxter, Travelers Rest, SC
Runner-up
Conjuring My Father, Lisa C. Hickman, Memphis, TN
Others on the Short List
A Poetic Treatise on “Bad Poetry,” Michelle T. Simon, Scottsdale, AZ
Cookies for Breakfast, Elaine Stevens, Biloxi, MS
Equivalence and Will, Dan Turtel, New York, NY
Lost and Can’t be Found, Cathy Lepik, Atlanta, GA
Shakespeare’s Sonnet Crown, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
The Baby Whaler That Roared, Peter Tattersall, New Orleans, LA
The Ember and the Stream, Philip Manuel, New Orleans, LA
The Flinch, Garry Wallace, Powell, WY
The Holy Water and the Regular Water, Andrew Gregory Krzak, Chicago, IL
River Journey Two, Karen Eberle, New Orleans, LA
The Bravest Women in Town, Petra Perkins, Highlands Ranch,
Finalists
Dangerous Fish Days, Robert Hambling Davis, Newark, DE
Early Warnings, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
I Don’t Believe, Katherine McCord, Sykesville, MD
Journalists as Democracy’s Map Makers, Nancy DaFoe, Homer, NY
No Stranger at the Table, Maxine Backus, Grüeningen, Switzerland
Reckonings in a Wheat Field, Frank Johnson, Greenfield, MO
Red, Beth Shankle Anderson, Tallahassee, FL
Scenes from a Childhood, Katie Burke, San Francisco, CA
Speaking in Signs, Laine Cunningham, Hillsborough, NC
The Corner by the A&P, Ellis Anderson, Bay St. Louis, MS
The Membrane of Memory, Jean Carr, Tucson, AZ
Walk, Nancy Brock, Columbia, SC
What Do We Do Without Question?, Rosemary Daniell, Savannah, GA
When Bum Bum Canned, Sudy Vance Leavy, Athens, GA
Semi-Finalists
Angels Watching Over Me, Donna Fado Ivery, Richmond, CA
A Ripple Becomes a Wave, Cynthia Anderson, Chapel Hill, NC
A White Mother Looks at the NYPD Through the Eyes of Her Black Godson, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Bee Frankenstein, Mary Jean Pramick, San Francisco, CA
Be Thou My Vision Therapist, Mary Barrett, Branford, CT
Daddy, Eugene C. Thomas, New Orleans, LA
Ghosts in the Snow, Rachel Nielsen, Burlingame, CA
Howdy Doody Strings, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
I Left a Piece of Myself in Positano, Marney L. McNall, Charleston, SC
It’s Political, Nancy Defoe, Homer, NY
It’s the Brain, Stupid, Garry Wallace, Powell, WY
Me Cleaning with a Dustbuster, Brooke Champagne, Northport, AL
Notes to Self: Which Self? Ruth Moon Kempher, St. Augustine, FL
Pillow Talk, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Taos, Duane DeRaad, El Prado, NM
Tell Him to Be Kind to Women, Nancy Dafoe, Homer, NY
Thank You, Chuck Barris, Angela Campbell, Salen, MA
The Lightness of Thoughtfulness: Following Rikki, Nicola Preuss, New Orleans, LA
The Two Shot West, Kathleen Grieshaber, Metairie, LA
Therein Lies the Lump, Michelle T. Simon, Scottsdale, AZ
Wait For Me, Lottie Brent Boggan, Jackson, MS
When ‘Mom’ Becomes a 3-Syllable Word, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Yellow Jack is Back, Carlene Singleton, Florence, MS
Poetry
The total number of poems entered for 2017 is 163, of which 47 were selected as Finalists. From the original Finalists list, 19 were selected for the Short list. And additional 30 entries places as Semi-finalists. Of the 163 total manuscripts entered, 79 were from New Orleans and other Louisiana communities. Seven entries came from foreign countries and the remaining 77 entries were from various U. S. states. The Short List is being judged by well-published poet Carolyn Hembree.
WINNER
Wolf Girl by Stacey Balkun, New Orleans, LA
RUNNER-UP
Audrey, Jigging in the River Shack by Chad Foret, Hattiesburg, MS
Others on the Short List
All the Voices Here Are Echoes, Daniel Turtel, New York, NY
An Abnormal Psychlist’s Secret History, Larry Rhu, Columbia, SC
A Youngest Daughter’s Tale, Taryn Dixon, Hammond, LA
Dispatches from the Wake-up Kingdom, Maya Ribault, Washington, DC
Going Back for What’s Mine, Lisa Jay, College Station, TX
Hallelujah Lost, Heather Harris, Metairie, LA
New Year, Yoruba Baltrip, New Orleans, LA
One Two Tree, Sanem Ozdural, New Orleans, LA
Pale Green Leaves, Judith Walsh White, Chevy Chase, MD
Quandry…Circa 1970, Carol Vinson, Brooklyn, NY
Quenched, Margaret Edwards, Charleston, SC
Resurrection Visitation: Ars Poetica, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
Remind Me Again How Our Love Was Ill-Advised, Torie Amarie Dale, Taylors, SC
Rustlers and Thieves, Jean Carr, Tucson, AZ
The Ballad of Charley Mosely, Andrew Gregory Krzak, Chicago, IL
Those Summer Breakfasts, Jacob Appel, New York, NY
Worn Sneakers, Lynn Ditchfield, Edgartown, MA
Finalists
A Mash Note for My Country from the Pacific Surfliner, George Yatchisin, Santa Barbara, CA
And the Story Begins, Linda Neal, Redondo Beach, CA
Apollo’s Muses, Act I, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
Bones on the Charnel Ground, Jean Carr, Tucson, AZ
Cold Trails, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Depression Unbound, Holly Schwartztol, The Villages, FL
First Prayer, Patricia Ljutic, Pinole, CA
Cloud Fishing, Mary Jean Pramik, San Francisco, CA
Footsteps Overboard, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Gift, Constance E. Boyle, Arvada, CO
It Was Said, D. M. Gordon, Leeds, MA
Pentimento, Margaret Edwards, Charleston, SC
Proof, Judith Walsh White, Chevy Chase, MD
Rain I Used To Love, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Relationship, Carol Vinson, Brooklyn, NY
Retrograde Poetics, Melanie Dante, Philadelphia, PA
Slide to Unlock, Julie E. Bloemeke, Alpharetta, GA
Sonnet for Maxine, Suellen Wedmore, Rockport, MA
Streetcar to Parnassus, Larry Rhu, Columbia, SC
Sylph, Sebastian Lopez, Washington, DC
The Art of Forgetting, John Blair, San Marcos, TX
The Death of the People, Alexandra O’Sullivan, Metairie, LA
The Tidal Range: A Jungian Analysis, Michael Tusa, Abita Springs, LA
Tree Eaters’ Trilogy, Jack Stillwaggon, Hamilton, NY
Venus Rising, Kathryn Brown Ramsperger, Rockville, MD
View from the Cliff, Larkin Edwin Greer, New York, NY
We All Fall Down, Torie Amarie Dale, Taylors, SC
We the Wolves, Adeline Bradley, Iowa City, IA
Semi-Finalists
Angel Trumpets Crown, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
A Promise, Sarah Taylor, Louisville, KY
Charge of the Light of the World, Mark Summerville, Pulaski, PA
Dinner, Constantina Clark, Waynesville, OH
Ethics, Holly W. Schwartztol, The Villages, FL
Gone, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Hats, Janet Taylor-Perry, Ridgeland, MS
Homage to My Lips, Michelle Simon, Scottsdale, AZ
Missing Mom on Thanksgiving, Holly W. Schwartztol, The Villages, FL
My Box, Alexandra O’Sullivan, Metairie, LA
My Inner Child, Leslie Daniels, Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Old Houses Creak, Pat Gallant, New York, NY
Orphean Ascension Crown, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
Orpheus Transformed, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
Orpheum’s Reunion, Manfred Pollard, New Orleans, LA
Petals and Garden of Nymat Ancome, Laura Quinn Guidry, Carmine, TX
Pot of Chicken Soup, Jean Carr, Tucson, AZ
Rayuela, Mariana Yante Barrêto Pereira, Wuhan, China
Seaford, Grace McKenna, Wilmington, DE
Shingles, Daniel Turtel, New York, NY
Sometimes We’re Happy, Stephen Thomas Roberts, Lagrangeville, NY
Sore Feet in the City of Light, Larry Rhu, Columbia, SC
Stinkweed Forest, Judith Walsh White, Chevy Chase, MD
Surgeries, Michelle Simon, Scottsdale, AZ
Swimming Holes, Constantina Clark, Waynesville, OH
Taos, Duane DeRaad, El Prado, NM
To Heart, Becca Wilson, Erath, LA
The Carrot and the Pot Roast, Judith Walsh White, Chevy Chase, MD
The California Tales, The General Prologue, Taylor A. Lucio, Northglenn, CO
Winter Thaw, Celeste H. Schantz Kovachi, Fairport, NY
Short Story by a High School Student
In the High School Short Story category, there were a total of 191 entries, with 98 entries from New Orleans and other communities in Louisiana. Other states accounting for a large number of entries were Texas and California. We received nine entries from foreign countries, including the United Kingdom countries, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan. Of the 191 entries, 51 were selected as finalists, the list from which the 16 manuscripts for the Short List were selected. 33 others placed as semi-finalists. This year’s finalists are being judged by fiction writer George Bishop, Jr.
Winner
Bioluminescence, Abigail Lyman, New Orleans, LA
Runner-up
Modern Romance, Sophie Evans, New Orleans, LA
Honorable Mention
The Tonsil Guillotine, Ayana Sofia, Metairie, LA
Others on the Short List
A Daschund on Politics and Psychology, Sara Rolinski, Covington, LA
Ain’t Nothing Too Hard for God, Darius Christiansen, New Orleans, LA
Cracked Glass, Mary Murphy, New Orleans, LA
Man. Wife. Child, Raven Little, New Orleans, LA
My Mother is a Masquerader, Nicholas Burtchaell, Chalmette, LA
Observations, Jonah Amason, Baton Rouge, LA
Oliver, Finn Roussel, New Orleans, LA
On a Variety of Things, Kimberly Pollard, Gretna, LA
Par Délicatesse, Grace Clement, Metairie, LA
Silk Greeting, Nicola Preuss, New Orleans, LA
The Prophet, Ezekiel Martin, New Orleans, LA
The Swamp Monster of Bayou Genesis, Kayla Reado, River Ridge, LA
Wolf Alone, Ari Berk, New Orleans, LA
Finalists
An Empty House, Christian Seremetis, Ridgewood, NJ
Astronomy Meets Exhaustion, Abbey Hebert, New Orleans, LA
A Youngest Daughter’s Tale, Taryn Dixon, Hammond, LA
Better Luck Tomorrow, Jacqueline He, San Jose, CA
Empty House, Christian Seremetis, Ridgewood, NJ
Gibson, Nora, Mirabella Miller, New Orleans, LA
Grown Ups, Hana Desjardins, Temecula, CA
Heaven and Hell and God’s Walnut Desk, Courtney Munkres, New Orleans, LA
Heaven Bound, Ashleigh Calhoun, Bloomburg, TX
I Just Wanted to See if You Would Cry, Milla Esperanza, New Orleans, LA
Kernel Panic, Mila Clendenning, Idyllwild, CA
Last Words, Kassidy Pickney, Queen City, TX
Meet Beck, Serena Woosley, Fountainville, PA
My Twin Was a Guinea Pig, Kristian Palmer, New Orleans, LA
Post Graduate, Campbell Dixon, Los Angeles, CA
Rorschach Test, Cooper Ferguson, New Orleans, LA
Silence, Jillian Chatelain, New Orleans, LA
Specific Gravity, Sophie Evans, New Orleans, LA
Sticky Rice, Alex Bishop, Los Angeles, CA
Study on Cousins, Sophie Evans, New Orleans, LA
The Boy and His Sunflowers, Jordan Blanchard, New Orleans, LA
The Chewing Disease, Pia Mulleady, New Orleans, LA
The Dinner Party, Erin Ulm, Encinitas, CA
The Maid, Madeline Sintes, New Orleans, LA
The Ocean, Jessica Xu, New Orleans, LA
The Terracotta Artist, Poet Wolfe, New Orleans, LA
The Unexpected Adventure of Beatrice Guernsey, Morgan Smith,
Garrett Park, MD
The Water Rose to Mamma’s Hips, Alhilah Toney, New Orleans, LA
Too Late, Brailee Whetstone, Queen City, TX
Undertow, Lily Hauge, New Orleans, LA
White Light, Katie Ayers, Wethersfield, CT
Word Vomit, Kaila Robertson, New Orleans, LA
X Amount of Days Gone, Jamie Loera, New Orleans, LA
Yours for Only $99.99, Elizabeth “Abby” Richter, New Orleans, LA
Semi-Finalists
A Hell of Our Making, Naomi Adler, New Orleans, LA
Apparently Athena Cries Carbon, Katherine Edwards, New Orleans, LA
Astronomy Meets Exhaustion, Abbey Hebert, New Orleans, LA
Blind, Raquel Alaniz, Atlanta, TX
Bombshell Gone, Poet Wolfe, New Orleans, LA
Cerebal Palsy, Jessica Clark, Queen City, TX
Chopped Liver, Tyler Johnson, Bivins, TX
Cracked Lips, Soo Rum Lee, Seoul, Korea
Fallen, Rhea Park, Livermore, CA
Him and Them, Karson Pickney, Queen City, TX
Home Grown, Louise Olivier, New Orleans, LA
How to Become a Mother Fire, Gabrielle Marullo, New Orleans, LA
Las Morenas, Grace Morse, New Orleans, LA
Love’s Sorrow, Katie Brosius, Maud, TX
Milk & Blood, Carazon Johnston, New Orlenas, LA
Mistaken for Marina, Maggie Malone, New Orleans, LA
Mud, Freda Sciareppa, New Orleans, LA
New Shoes, Gloria Jordan, New Orleans, LA
Oscar, Haemaru Chung, New York, NY
Reflection, Darian Giles, Atlanta, TX
Sovereignty, Mirabella Miler, New Orleans, LA
Sticky Rice, Alex Bishop, Los Angeles, CA
The Disease, Emily Clark, Anza, CA
The Mindless Diary of Roy Edmund, Delany Burke, Idyllwild, CA
The Mother, Errol Rew, New Orleans, LA
The Polar Bear, Danae Divine, Idyllwild, CA
The Quiet Death of Life, Kymarra Gladney, Queen City, TX
The Tragic Undoing of Epezelius Bunny, Kalee Smith, Queen City, TX
The Truth, Kayla Red, New Orleans, LA
The White Light, Katie Ayers, Wethersfield, CT
Ticket to a Train Wreck, Emma Smith, Idyllwild, CA
To Move, Gabrielle Levitt, Marietta, GA
To Reach Omniscience and Call it Child’s Play, Kalista Puhnaty, Idyllwild, CA