Hats Off!

Eliot Sefrin’s latest novel, Officers Down, has been named a Gold Medal Winner in the category of General Novel in the Reader Views 2022-2023 Literary Awards Competition, an annual contest sponsored by a leading book review website. Cited among hundreds of novels judged, Officers Down revolves around a pair of New York City police officers – one male, one female, both white – who accidentally kill an innocent black teen in a poverty-stricken neighborhood and face the backlash from an enraged community, a politically driven police department, and their own emotional unraveling. Based on the experiences of Eliot’s wife, Rosalyn, a pioneering female officer, this illuminating and powerful novel shines a light on many of the challenges faced by both law enforcement professionals and minority communities in today’s racially charged climate.

Laure Mullen has two poems in Issue #4 of The Lincoln Review.

Two poems of Betty's were published in the 11th edition of eno Magazine. A creative nonfiction essay about Sophia Sawyer, a missionary teacher of the children of the Cherokee Nation, is being published in Virginia Writers Journal, which will be available in July 2023. Learn more about Betty here.

Three of Suzanne Cottrell's haiku were published in issue 356 of The Weekly Avocet on March 12, 2023. Her photograph of a Thanksgiving cactus blossom was published in the online Permission Tree Magazine on March 3, 2023. Her poem, "Garden Guardians," was published in the March, 2023 issue of The Field Guide Magazine. Her nonfiction story, "Alone in the Woods," was published in the Personal Story Publishing Project's anthology Lost & Found. Her flash fiction story, "Tea Time," was published in the Quillkeepers Press's anthology Smitten. Follow her writing journey at www.suzanneswords.com.

Brenda Kay Ledford's poetry, "Ambidextrous," Discards," "Broken," The Rock," and "Snowstorm," appeared in "Ink Babies Literary Magazine," Issue 3.

Two creative nonfiction stories, “Departures,” and “Diamonds in the Universe,” were published by Persimmon Tree Literary Magazine in the Winter ’22 and Spring ’23 editions. Short story, “The Walleye,” was published by The Rush Literary Magazine in the Winter ’22 edition, and my poem, “Winter’s Tedium,” was published by The Rush Literary Magazine in the Summer ’22 edition.

Laurel Ferejohn's novel Rain, With a Chance of Stars (working title) has been named to the long-list for the 2023 Lee Smith Novel Prize, from Blair Publisher. The short-list will be announced this June.

Leslie Pietrzyk's story "Headstrong" appears in the Winter 2022/23 issue of The Iowa Review.

Susan M. Steadman's participatory comedy, "Whose Play Is It, Anyway?" is coming out this spring from Big Dog Publishing.

Gary Bolick's short story: “Echolocation (Easter 1959)” was awarded a honorable mention in The Vincent Brothers Review’s short story contest, themed “Portals.”

Judge Rafael Alvarez's notes on the story:
"Another classic American tale handled with a large palette yet restraint when needed. There's the Great Migration and then there's the Great Migration accompanied by a horn that can play blues on Saturday night and gospel on Sunday morning. Can see it on the screen."