The editors of Fairy Tale Review is pleased to announce the winners and finalists of our second annual contests in both prose and poetry. Each winner will receive $1,000 and publication in The Ochre Issue of Fairy Tale Review, forthcoming in 2016.
In the prose category, guest judge Brian Evenson has selected “The Diamond Girl,” by Courtney Bird. Of the winning story, Evenson writes:
In its interweaving of traditional and contemporary modes, this tale offers multiple satisfactions, a metafictional birdseye view of the genre, and a number of compelling and original moments. A strong and delightful and sometimes menacing story, and one well worth re-reading.
Courtney Bird graduated from the University of Montana with an MFA in fiction. Prior to heading west, she attended Princeton University and worked in New York City. Her work has appeared in the Masters Review and the Portland Review. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
For the poetry category, guest judge Joyelle McSweeney has selected “Forestry (Parts 1-3),” by Lindsay Lusby. Of the winning poems, McSweeney writes:
We meet our heroine in very unfortunate medias res—“soil-deep in bear trap”—but which way will fortune tilt? Lusby’s shivery sequence strews a trail of clattery syllables through fairy tale’s shadiest, most iconic location.
Lindsay Lusby’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Third Point Press, Sugar House Review, The Lumberyard, The Feminist Wire, The Wolf Skin, Fairy Tale Review, Midway Journal, and elsewhere. Her chapbook Imago was published by dancing girl press in 2014. With Jehanne Dubrow, she co-edited The Book of Scented Things, a new poetry anthology from the Literary House Press. She is the Assistant Director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House at Washington College where she serves as assistant editor for the Literary House Press and managing editor for Cherry Tree. Read more at lindsaylusby.com.
Brian Evenson wanted to highlight two pieces as particularly strong contenders in the fiction category: “The Bear’s Wife,” by Rachel Richardson, and “We Made a Golem,” by Maggie Smith.
We would like to take a moment to congratulate all the finalists in both prose and poetry, whose work impressed the editorial staff:
Prose
Rachel Richardson—”The Bear’s Wife”
Maggie Smith—”We Made a Golem”
Ben Black — “Repentance”
Joe Aguilar — “The Cave”
Jaydn Dewald — “The Rosebud Variations”
Ira Sukrungruang — “Family: A Fairy Tale”
Justine Champine — “The Moon Man”
Poetry
Gabrielle Bates — “Cinderella As Told By Grackles”
Sara Fetherolf — “Tough Bird”
Milo Gallagher — “Boy Seagull”
Laura Grothaus — “Pinocchio Revisited”
Chandler Lewis — “Driving to DuBois”
Lucien Darjeun Meadows — “Her Body an Aquarium”
Tania Pryputniewicz — “My Geppetto”
Rebecca Perea-Kane — “The Kunstkamera, St. Petersburg”
Broc Rossell — “Excommunication”
We would like to thank all those who submitted. We are continuously honored by the incredible display of interest in contemporary fairy tales.
As with last year, we are donating 10 percent of the contest proceeds to a Tucson, Arizona-based organization that aims to improve the quality of life of local residents and provide them with greater opportunities. This year, we have chosen to donate to the Primavera Foundation, an organization founded in 1983 with the mission of providing the community with opportunities to reduce poverty through affordable housing, workforce development, and neighborhood revitalization. Every year, the Primavera Foundation’s work affects the lives of more than 5,000 individuals and families in southern Arizona. Learn more about the organization at www.primavera.org.
Next year’s award judges will be announced soon.
A PDF press release can be found here.
