MAYDAY POETRY CONTEST
Read first place winner “Garçon” by A. Shaikh
JUDGE: Jacques Rancourt
JACQUES J. RANCOURT is the author of two poetry collections, Brocken Spectre (Alice James Books) and Novena (Pleiades Press), as well as a chapbook, In the Time of PrEP (Beloit Poetry Journal). Raised in Maine, he lives in San Francisco with his partner and the world’s most anxious dog.
FIRST PLACE WINNER: “Garçon” by A. Shaikh
A. SHAIKH (he/she/they) is a queer immigrant poet raised in the tangerine summers of Texas. They are the 2021 winner of THE BOILER PRIZE, an inaugural fellow of the Strange Tools Writer’s Workshop, and an Aquarius who loves the color blue. You can find their poems in Underblong, Poets.org, and elsewhere. Their internet thoughts reside @apricotpoet.
Finalists included “Southern Thundering” by Gustav Hibbett; “WHAT MY MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME” by Michael Meyerhofer; “During the Pandemic, I Watch Caddyshack Again & Again” by Christina Olson; and “The Cousin’s Secret” by Lindsay Wilson.
MAYDAY FICTION CONTEST
JUDGE: Kali Wallace
KALI WALLACE studied geology and earned a PhD in geophysics before she realized she enjoyed inventing imaginary worlds more than she liked researching the real one. She is the author of science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels for adults, teens, and children, as well as a number of short stories and essays. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.
FIRST PLACE WINNER: “Shapeless” by Haley Kennedy
Finalists included “Paradise” by Joshua Beggs; “The Book of Rusty” by Benjamin Drevlow; “Tia Marilena’s Rainbow Eggs” by Xenia Lane; “Lolly Pop” by Toby Lloyd; and “Valley State” by Reilly Weed.
Semifinalists included “Verge” by Emma Eisler; “The Management” by Ron Heacock; “Nudists” by Jeffery Long; and “A Trip to Valpo” by Mark Williams.