Our 2025 PRINT Contest Winners

Mar 12

Read their work by ordering an edition of Issue 63 HERE. Contributors include the legendary short story writer—if you know (her short stories), you know (why)—Diane Williams; Sonia Greenfield, author of multiple poetry collections; and translators with works by Catullus and Renée Vivien, among others.

NONFICTION

Judge: Samantha Mann

Winner: “Olympia in Act IV” by D.M. Baude

“You had me at, “I didn’t see the connection between the naked woman in the painting and my orgasms.” In “Olympia in Act IV” Baude’s narrator reclaims her sensuality, orgasm, and ultimately life force as she takes us on a romp through France and a bevy of colorful lovers in this essay of self-reclamation. Through exploring her own history and the historical backlash to Manet’s infamous oil painting Olympia, her subject forces the reader to consider just how little progress has been made in deconstructing the male gaze and how much unease continues to exist with female pleasure. Despite this, the narrator is ultimately able to revere her orgasms and self. With sharp insights, wit, and an ability to bring the reader into her world with concise and lyrical language “Olympia in Act IV” beautifully converges the past and present as an opportunity for us all to reconsider our desires.”

Runner Up: “The Birth of Wanderlust” by Erin Byrne

“I actually really loved reading this piece, but it was missing the author's own story! A good reminder that as an essayist we are coming to the table to read about YOU! Other characters are welcome, but your story should always be front and center.”

FICTION

Judge: Nafkote Tamirat

Winner: “Billy Dean,” by Alan Sincic

“Each sentence in “Billy Dean” rings with musical cadence, a symphony of language that brings to life the pathos of the narrator ("the broke button...the blazer frayed") as well as the town which “Billy Dean” is shaking, be it up or down. The author's descriptions flow with a sensory richness, immersing us in this highly specific place and moment, and as someone who grew up in a viciously Christian household, I found the operatic conclusion reminiscent of the tragic crescendos that crowned the religious texts my family read.”

Runner Up: “His Girl” by Colin Heasley

“Meanwhile, "His Girl” deftly balances an irreverent, singular humor with a haunting exploration of the fear of losing one's sense of self to the creeping inevitability of adulthood. I love the snark of the narrator's voice, which never completely hides their anxiety about being pulled into a life they don't want with, "no time to wonder how two people who always thought they were neon ended up just like everybody else," only because that life is there and on offer. The supernatural texture that the girls bring makes the story pulse with a twisted and hilarious tension that by the end, is never quite settled nor tamed, much like the girls themselves.”

POETRY

Judge: Rodney Terich Leonard

Winner: “MISS GAY MISSOURI 1982” by Lan Lesmeister

“A poignant elegy shoos erasure. Lan Lesmeister’s “MISS GAY MISSOURI 1982” for the late Daniel Flier/ Vanessa Vincent, founder of the St. Louis Effort for AIDS, is a crowning achievement. Oh, what a locket, to have a poet like Lesmeister listening for your name: “ What cruel residue, was tucked under the tongue That held their names like keys? A diagnosis like a door.”

Runner Up: “The Art of Pot Stirring” by Natalie Tombasco

“The Art of Pot Stirring” is an octet of quatrains; Natalie Tombasco delivers a distinct and melodious chord in each stanza. No intermission needed in this poem: “These birds have nothing swan-pillared to talk about,/without us. And with a garbled-tongue we speak /a truthshoot messaged across tin can and string.” Applause for Nur Turkmani’s “Burnt Apples.” When global affairs postpone our itineraries, a poem, situated in October in Baalbek, Lebanon, negotiates the work of memory and resilience: “You who were taught to cook for those you love,/especially in a time of war. You were told,/forget the names of women who sold their gold,/they had no choice.” Runner Up: “The Art of Pot Stirring” by Natalie Tombasco

Runner Up: “Applause” by Nur Turkmani

"When global affairs postpone our itineraries, a poem, situated in October in Baalbek, Lebanon, negotiates the work of memory and resilience.”

TRANSLATION

Judge: Robin P. Myers

Winner: "The Thief" by Alba de Céspedes, tr. Tamara Lee

“The Thief,” a short story by the 20th-century Cuban-Italian writer Alba de Céspedes, has a premise both simple and surreal: a famous writer receives a visit from a stranger who recognizes himself as the protagonist of a serialized novel. The visitor begs the writer to change the novel’s final installment and thus spare him what seems to be his fate: becoming a thief. Tamara Lee’s translation vibrantly conveys the story’s atmosphere, somehow both uneasy and light; her English descriptions and dialogues are engaging, dynamic, quick on their feet. It’s a pleasure to follow Lee’s sentences through the lurching minds of both characters—and through de Céspedes’s curious exploration of the vexed relationship between reader and writer.”

Runner Up: "Song of the Beleaguered Poet" by Pablo de Rokha, tr. Alani Hicks-Bartlett