~ Able Muse Write Prize (for Poetry & Fiction) |
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2020 Contest Winners Announcement |
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Able Muse is pleased to announce the winners of the Write Prize for poetry & fiction (judged anonymously throughout by the Able Muse Contest Committee and the final judges, Hollis Seamon for fiction, and Emily Grosholz for poetry). The winning writer and the winning poet will each receive a $500 prize.
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Write Prize (for Fiction), Final Judge: Hollis Seamon |
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FICTION WINNER: L.M. Brown - "Is That Edel?" |
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Here is what Hollis Seamon has to say about L.M. Brown's winning story:
"'Is That Edel?' is a tightly wound tale, taut with tension, suffused with sorrow, and spun through with mystery. This story expands in one’s memory, rippling far wider than its initial flash-splash on the page. In recall, every detail glimmers with significance and, somehow, this perfectly realistic little story acquires the power and resonance of dream or myth. What a fine piece of storytelling art, wrought in miniature form. Lovely, simply lovely."
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The winning story will be published in the Winter 2020/21 issue of Able Muse, print edition. (No other entry in the fiction category achieved selection for publication.)
FICTION HONORABLE MENTION:
• Soramimi Hanarejima - "Transmutability" • David Culwell - "One Last Story"
FICTION SHORTLIST:
• Ann S. Henderson - "The Wine Glass" • Cole Sherlock Hersey - "A Provocation" • Robert McBrearty - "Cemetery Showdown"
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Write Prize (for Poetry), Final Judge: Emily Grosholz |
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POETRY WINNER: S.R. Graham - "At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance" |
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Here is what Emily Grosholz has to say about S.R. Graham's winning poem:
"This poem is a wonderful combination of an ekphastic poem, which described a work of art, and personal narrative. The poem vividly and insightfully explores Toulouse-Lautrec’s picture of a young woman dances at the Moulin Rouge, noting her expression, what she was wearing and who she was dancing with, as well as the rich lady looking aside and the blue and green colors above them all. But there is another person beside a copy of the famous painting in a bar, the poet pouring drinks for customers and when closing the bar all alone in the wee hours while admiring the painting. And the poet notes a consonance with the dancer, both of them getting along in places that offer the ‘illusion of levity’ and yet still dealing with reality, ‘a testament to the gravity / that couldn’t be escaped / even in the rushing circus of dance.’"
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POETRY FINALISTS:
• John Beaton - "Wolf's Clothing" • Eileen Malone - "Newly Auspicious" • Tim McGrath - "Another Song to Celia"
- The winning and finalists' poems will be published in the Winter 2020/21 issue of Able Muse, print edition.
POETRY HONORABLE MENTION:
• Jared Carter - "Incantations" • Theodore Charnley - "An Invocation of Fragments" • Scott Ruescher - "At the Battle of Perryville Museum"
Congratulations to our winner, finalists, and honorable mention: well done to all! And thank you to everyone who entered.
**NOTE: The results for the 2020 Able Muse Book Award will be announced soon.
Subscribe now to Able Muse to read the fine work of the contest winners and finalists in the forthcoming Winter 2020/21 issue.
Stay tuned for the announcements coming soon for the 2021 Able Muse contests.
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The current issue of Able Muse, Winter 2019 (Print Edition, Number 27), is available, with order/subscription information (for print & Kindle, NOOK, Kobo & iBooks editions), and online excerpts at: www.AbleMuse.com
Able Muse Review - Print Edition (Number 27): Winter 2019 Special Feature: Tribute to Timothy Murphy (guest-edited by Richard Wakefield) Featured Art: The Hunt Theme
With the 2019 Able Muse Write Prize for poetry & fiction — Includes the winning story & poems from contest winners and finalists.
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• editorial: Alexander Pepple • guest editorial: Richard Wakefield • featured art: The Hunt Theme • special feature : Tribute to Timothy Murphy (guest-edited by Richard Wakefield), with tribute poetry from A.E. Stallings, Timothy Steele, Rhina P. Espaillat, John Ridland, Amit Majmudar, Wendy Videlock, Bruce Bennett, Len Krisak, Catherine Chandler, Terese Coe, Mary Meriam, Andrew Frisardi, Richard Meyer, John Beaton; and tribute essay from Dana Gioia • fiction: Erin Russell • essays: Edward Lee, Tony Whedon • book reviews: Brooke Clark, Travis Biddick • poetry: Hailey Leithauser, John Philip Drury, Len Krisak, James Matthew Wilson, Suzanne Noguere, Alfred Nicol, Katie Hartsock, David MacRae Landon, Amy Bagan, Barry Abrams, Miriam O’Neal, Beth Paulson, Daniel Galef. ---- With special thanks for an outstanding new issue to --Nicole Caruso Garcia, Susan de Sola (Assistant Poetry Editors); N.S. Thompson (Nonfiction Editor); Karen Kevorkian (Fiction Editor); Rob Wright (Assistant Fiction Editors). Alex Pepple, Editor www.AbleMuse.com
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SUBMISSIONS: Able Muse (print edition): Submission period reopens January 1, 2021, and runs to July 15, 2021. Submit for a chance to appear in Able Muse - send your best poetry, art, fiction, essays, book reviews. The submission guidelinesare available here.
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Able Muse Press: submissions read during the yearly open reading period, next period is May 1 - July 15, 2021. This year's window is now closed, but prepare your manuscripts for next year's. The submission guidelines are available here.
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