Announcing the results of the Letter Review Prize for Poetry (December 2022)

Here we are: at one of our favourite junctures. It’s with a huge sense of excitement and gratitude that we release the results of the Letter Review Prize for Poetry.

The competition was fierce in this round, and it was such a joy to read the entries.

It was truly an honor to spend time with every poem, all of which were thoughtfully composed.

Congratulations to everyone who entered. Thank you for entrusting us with your work, and thinking of Letter Review as a potential home for your writing.

Special congratulations to those mentioned in the lists below. Click the title of the winning entries to read them.

First Place

Ode to My Black Satchel

First Place in the Letter Review Prize for Poetry

Poetry by Isi Unikowski

December 15, 2022

Second Place

This is a Spam Poem

Second Place in the Letter Review Prize for Poetry

Poetry by Shilpa Dikshit Thapliyal

December 15, 2022

Joint Third Place

Friendship

Joint Third Place in the Letter Review Prize for Poetry

Poetry by Aoi Onodera

December 15, 2022

Digger Down

Joint Third Place in the Letter Review Prize for Poetry

Poetry by Brian Kelly

December 15, 2022

Shortlist (in no particular order):

  • Patricia Davis-Muffett – Redlist
  • Isi Unikowski – Ode to My Black Satchel
  • Peter Fray-Witzer – Interstate & Honeysuckle
  • Pattie Palmer-Baker – Sterling
  • Aoi Onodera – Friendship
  • Shilpa Dikshit Thapliyal – This is a Spam Poem
  • Romney Humphrey – Chambray Shirt
  • Damen O’Brien – Worth
  • Brian Kelly – Digger Down

Longlist (in no particular order): 

  • Rylie Heaton – cold glow
  • Jennifer Phillips – Mr. Gorringe
  • Shilpa Dikshit Thapliyal – This is a Spam Poem
  • Romney Humphrey – Chambray Shirt
  • Patricia Davis-Muffett – Redlist
  • Peter Fray-Witzer – Interstate & Honeysuckle
  • Brian Kelly – Digger Down
  • Lisa Harper Campbell – A Slug v. Snail Haiku-Off
  • Diane Croft – My Trip to Ireland
  • Jonathan Greenhause – This Murky Spot Will Turn Into the Sea
  • Leigh Lucas – Trick
  • Damen O’Brien – Worth
  • Aoi Onodera – Friendship
  • Alina Rios – Weight
  • Pattie Palmer-Baker – Sterling
  • Isi Unikowski – Ode to My Black Satchel

Highly Commended (in no particular order):

  • Ian Reid – Breaking the surface
  • Savanna Loy – Fatherless
  • Nicole Rossiter – Courage
  • Liam Boyle – Distance makes distance
  • Klayton Goering – Fire
  • Jonathan Loomis – I am gone
  • Jennifer Hinton – I Didn’t Forget
  • Elena Apanovitch – In my wings a tender solace
  • Alexandra Bassett – You Won’t Remember
  • Casey Clune – Someday
  • Lydia Benson – After
  • Karina Estrella – The whispers
  • Alshiyoukh Hassan – What Happened in Montpelier?
  • Samantha Meddaugh – What You Are Not Seeing
  • Ladena Jackson – You Are Not Here
  • Linda Collins – the interviewer
  • Kate Langan – Wisdom

Announcing the Winners of the Letter Review Prize for Short Stories (December 2022)

It is with great excitement and pleasure that we announce these results.

Short stories are one of the most enduring and revered forms of storytelling. It’s no wonder their popularity is currently soaring. Short story competitions represent a wonderful opportunity for emerging writers to demonstrate their ability and secure publication. They also offer established writers an avenue to practice their craft, and cement their reputation.

Perhaps most importantly, competitions showcase wonderful writing, bringing us into contact with exciting and remarkable new work.

The Letter Review Prize for Short Stories seeks fiction of up to 3000 words and is open to writers over the age of 12 from anywhere in the world. First place receives $600 USD and publication. Second place receives $250 USD and publication. Third place receives $150 and publication.

Congratulations to our winning writers and all those listed in the Highly Commended category, Longlist, and Shortlist.

Click the title of each story to read!

First Place

Today Is The Greatest

First Place in the Letter Review Prize for Short Stories

Fiction by Laura Carnes Williams

Second Place

Where There Once Was Love

Second Place in the Letter Review Prize for Short Stories

Fiction by Aisling Lee

Third Place

A Sinking Heart

Third Place in the Letter Review Prize for Short Stories

Fiction by Ian Reid

Shortlist (in no particular order):

  • Laura Williams – Today Is The Greatest 
  • Emma Rosetta – Here On The Land
  • Letty Butler – Vietnam
  • Mireille Pyne – Only Me And The Sea
  • Aisling Lee – Where There Once Was Love
  • Allan Durand – The Assassination Of JFK
  • Bruce Maclachlan – Left Overs
  • Daniel Mueller – The Call
  • Bep Hayman – The Good God
  • Ian Reid – A Sinking Heart
  • Maureen Grosvenor – The Hunt
  • Kendal McGinnis – Little Box

Longlist (in no particular order): 

  • Simon Lemay – Wildfire
  • Ian Reid – A Sinking Heart
  • Stefani Ramsey – Knowing Your Roots
  • Chris Hyland – The Right Moment
  • Maureen Grosvenor – The Hunt
  • Bep Hayman – The Good God
  • Greg Klerkx – Paul’s Walk
  • Allan Durand – The Assassination of JFK
  • Guo Ru – The Manifesto of Insectist Party
  • Fiona Kelly McGregor – The Green Gold Grassy Hills
  • Trevor LaRene – His Name Is Henry 
  • Daniel Mueller – The Call
  • Christian Churchill – Eden
  • Amir Darwish – The Worthless Notes
  • Elizabeth Boyd – Christmas Eve
  • Dan Crosby – The Ordinary Accidents of Life
  • Bruce Maclachlan – Left Overs
  • Kendal McGinnis – Little Box
  • Chris Humphrey – Come With Me
  • Ashley Davis – The Debt
  • Matilde Liboni – Summer House
  • Emma Rosetta – Here On The Land
  • Laura Williams – Today Is The Greatest 
  • Letty Butler – Vietnam
  • Mireille Pyne – Only Me And The Sea
  • Aisling Lee – Where There Once Was Love

Highly Commended (in no particular order):

  • Mackenzie Judd – An Easy Mark
  • John Caroselli – Shadow Under The Rising Sun
  • Emily Owen – The Artist’s Assistant
  • Ben Blatt – A Bedroom Light 
  • Connor Drescher – A Grave Night 
  • Patrick Wood – Impressionist and Modern
  • Lindsay Flakelar – The Shoplifter’s Dilemma
  • Imogen Harris – I See You 
  • Taylor Van Arsdale – The Dining Needle
  • Alessandra Costagliola – Top, Center, Left, Right, Hands Together
  • Marta Ziosi – The Tourist Guide
  • Mark Grant – Career’s End
  • Sarah Santoni – Gust 
  • Simon Turner – The Accent Interpreter 
  • Joan Michelson – Robot Girl
  • Jim Watson – The Fire at Morgan’s Farm
  • Mahina Kilkenny – Close Encounter
  • Kenneth Furphy – The Telegram Man, The Legacy of Lah and Te
  • Emma Rosetta – There Is Only One Way