We have picked our enchanting winners today!

The winner is:

1. RUSS ALLISON LOAR – “LEAVING FOR WORK”

Russ Allison Loar's writing has appeared in the anthology Heart Of A Man, Bryant Literary Review, High Shelf Press, Bright Flash Literary Review, Oddball Magazine, Abstract Magazine, Evening Street Review, Wising Up Press anthologies, Coffin Bell Journal, Ravens Perch, Daring To Repair anthology, Esopus Magazine, Poetry In The Cathedral anthology, Telling Our Stories Press anthology, Wild Librarian Press and elsewhere. Loar has a bachelor's degree in journalism and graduate studies in American Literature. He has written news and feature stories for newspapers including the Los Angeles Times.

2. CODY DRACO – THE SHAKING

Cody Draco is a Florida based writer whose work often explores themes of mental health, love, loss, and creativity. He can be found on Instagram @codydraco

Our first-runner ups are:

3. MWELASE MAZIBUKO – " YOU ARE ONLY A REFLECTION OF WHAT NO LONGER EXISTS”

Every letter of his prose is poetry to the soul. When he writes; it is like the universe listens, so it can whisper its imagination through his voice.

4. JOHN GANSHAW – "THE WARMTH OF SNOW"

After 31 years in banking, John (he/him) retired to follow his dream of owning a hotel in Southeast Asia. This led to many new experiences enabling John to see the world through a different lens, leading him to write his story through essays, poetry, and a yet unpublished memoir. John’s work has appeared in Native Skin, Runamok Books/Growerly, Post Roe Alternatives, Fleas on the Dog, OMQ, Open Door Magazine, SCARS poems and short stories, and others. Nothing is as it seems, and experiences are meant to shape us not define us. Life has hope, truth, and adventure, all leading to stories that need to be written and told.

Our second-runner up is:

5. MAROULA BLADES - THE BLOOD-BOOK

Maroula Blades is an Afro-British multifaceted artist living in Berlin. Maroula is nominated for the German 2023 Amadeu Antonio Prize for her multimedia project, “Stones in Symphony”. She received the 2021 INITIAL Special Grant from the Academy of Arts in Berlin. In 2020, Chapeltown Books published her short story collection, “The World in an Eye”. Her works are published in The Caribbean Writer, Thrice Fiction, Abridged, The London Reader, Ake Review, and Aji, among others.

• SOMDEEP DUTTA – BOOKMARK

Somdeep Datta hails from the city of Kolkata, India. His works are heavily influenced by experience from time spent in Shillong. A computer science engineer, Somdeep has a passion for travel, writing and photography. His poems have been published in anthologies by Wingless Dreamer Publisher and Poets Choice. His photographs have featured in The Wire, Thomas Cook India & Times Travel among others.

Also, our top finalists!

• B.R. JAYNE - I BURNT MY MOTHER’S HOUSE TO THE GROUND, MISTOOK IT FOR THE CHAPEL

B. R. Jayne is a transgender trauma-carrier poet and creator. In life and on paper, Jayne explores the complexity of human relationships, ties to God and religion, and the ever-present figure of Death in a society so devoted to life. Jayne lives in Minneapolis, and has a cat named Biscuit.

• THE KILLING HUMOR – JAMES B NICOLA

James B. Nicola, a frequent contributor, is the author of eight collections of poetry, the latest three being Fires of Heaven: Poems of Faith and Sense, Turns & Twists, and Natural Tendencies (just out). His nonfiction book Playing the Audience: The Practical Actor’s Guide to Live Performance won a Choice magazine award. He has received a Dana Literary Award, two Willow Review awards, Storyteller's People's Choice award, one Best of Net, one Rhysling, and ten Pushcart nominations—for which he feels stunned and grateful. A graduate of Yale, James hosts the Writers' Roundtable at his library branch in Manhattan: walk-ins are always welcome.