ISSUE 156
CONTEST
WINNERS
John Steinbeck Award for Fiction
“Pipa”
by Elsa Wilson-Cruz
Elsa Wilson-Cruz draws inspiration from places she's lived -- from São Paulo, Brazil to the Pacific Northwest, where she currently writes and resides with her husband, her husky, and a lot of houseplants. You can connect with her at www.elsawilson-cruz.com.
Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction
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“Growing Up Godless”
by Robert Isaacs
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Robert Isaacs worked as a juggler and unicyclist on the streets of San Francisco before turning to music. During his thirty-year career he conducted everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Cook Islands, released a dozen CDs, and earned a Grammy nomination. Isaacs recently finished his second novel, a magical realist romantic comedy.
Edwin Markham Prize for Poetry
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“the children turn themselves into ice”
by Lina Ravenswood​
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Linda Ravenswood is a poet and performance artist. A 2022 Oxford Prize in Poetry winner, she is the founding Editor in Chief of The Los Angeles Press. Celebrated in the US and the UK for her branching perspectives on women's stories of migration and immigration in the West, her anticipated collection Cantadora -- Letters from California is due in January 2023. Ravenswood is also a founder of the Poet Laureate Program in Glendale, California.
Mary Blair Award for
Art
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“The Anatomical Venus”
by Hana Lock
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Hana Locke is a Bay Area visual artist who explores the beautifully grotesque nature of life, death, decay, and rebirth through drawings and paintings. She is especially fond of ballpoint pen, watercolors, and acrylics, which she uses to create intricate detail and vibrant colors in her art.
Emerging Voices Contest
“A Soldier, Burning Four Olds”
by Samantha Hsiung
Samantha Hsiung is a student at Pinewood School. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Frontier Poetry, Diode, and Red Wheelbarrow, among others. She has been recognized by the Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, Hollins University, Columbia College Chicago, and more.