The 2023 Literary Awards Finalists and Winners

Thank you all for participating in the 2023 Awards Program and making it a success! On this page we’ll be listing the Long List of finalists, a Short List, and the Winners’ Circle. Follow us on social media for updates!

Update 5/18/24: The winners have been announced! We continue to review all active entries for the pub wing.

2023 Literary Awards Program Winners:

  • Bitter Over Sweet, by Melissa Llanes Brownlee

  • Black Dog, by Erica Kent

  • Night Watch, by Mathew Goldberg

    The Short List (alphabetical by last name):

  • What Will Happen to You, by Scott Armstrong

  • Collateral Citizens, by Khem Aryal

  • The Pine Creek Lady Terrorist Society & Sewing Circle, by Karen Auvinen

  • A Terrific Ear, by Elaine Bennett

  • Dependent, by Kimberlee Bonura

  • Primal Burdens, by Ani Brown

  • Bitter Over Sweet, by Melissa Llanes Brownlee

  • Sister Light-of-Love Love Dove and Other Stories, by Judith Cooper

  • No Heroic Measures: A Memoir, by Jessica Danger

  • Line Magic, by Kris Faatz

  • Night Watch, by Mathew Goldberg

  • Goblin Mode, by Caroline Hagood

  • How to Survive a Mass Shooting: A Columbine Memoir, by Krista Hanley

  • Quartz, by Susan Holcomb

  • Black Dog, by Erica Kent

  • The Drowning Party, by Susan Knecht

  • Ivy in Darkness and Light, by Kathryn Larrabee

  • The Biting Kind, by Cassandra Lewis

  • Nothing Vast, by Moshe Marvit

  • Anything You Recognize, by Daniel Mueller

  • The Wedding, by Vandana Nair

  • The Momma Puzzle, by Hilary Plattner

  • Birds of Passage, by Miriam Polli

  • In the Hands of Men, by Gin Sexsmith

  • The Blood Year Daughter: Stories, by GG Silverman

  • Coopers Promise, Timothy Jay Smith

  • Like Always Blooming, by Daniel Sutter

  • Attractive Nuisance: Essays on Climate Justice and Other Mischief, by Christy Tending

  • The Drawing of Angels, by Judith Turner-Yamamoto

  • We Sink Like Ships and Other Stories, by Chelsea Wells

The Long List (alphabetical by last name):

  • The Encyclopedia of Hallucinations, by Amna Ahmad

  • We Are Concerned With Your Methods, by Sara Allen

  • Today Yesterday After My Death, by Maureen Alsop

  • What Will Happen to You, by Scott Armstrong

  • Collateral Citizens, by Khem Aryal

  • The Pine Creek Lady Terrorist Society & Sewing Circle, by Karen Auvinen

  • A Terrific Ear, by Elaine Bennett

  • Proles, by Barry Bergman

  • Utopia and Other Problems, by Amy Berkowitz

  • American Moon, by David Berner

  • Bard at the Bijou, by Gary Blackwood

  • Dependent, by Kimberlee Bonura

  • Soft Goodbyes Through Broken Veils, by Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal

  • Mother of Millions, by Janie Braverman

  • Primal Burdens, by Ani Brown

  • Bitter Over Sweet, by Melissa Llanes Brownlee

  • Kennerly, Arkansas, by Teresa Burns-Murphy

  • Cornfields of South Beach, by Makayla Carmichael

  • Bigger: A Collection of Essays, by Ren Cedar Fuller

  • Sister Light-of-Love, Love Dove, and Other Stories, by Judith Cooper

  • Down the Rabbit Hole, by Liz Cummings

  • No Heroic Measures: A Memoir, by Jessica Danger

  • The Lowest Basin: Arizona Stories, by Jonathan Danielson

  • I Believe in Everything, by Jen Dary

  • Altogether, Once, by Carol Dines

  • The Oasis, by Zahie El Kouri

  • Light Between the Lines, by Sarah El Sioufi

  • The Magican Garden of Lucinda Mae, by Haley Elmendorf

  • Line Magic, by Kris Faatz

  • There is no Death in Finding Nemo, by Jeffrey Feingold

  • The Lion House, Matthew Fogarty

  • The Family Fernandez, by Sara Fraser

  • The Museum of Future Mistakes, by James R. Gapinski

  • In Search of a Salve: Memoir of a Sex Addict, by Katherin Garland

  • For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus, by Varun Gauri

  • Tappen Zee, by Rebecca Gearhart

  • Night Watch, by Mathew Goldberg

  • A Library of Mountains, by Becca Grady

  • When We Were Feral, by Shasta Grant

  • Goblin Mode, by Caroline Hagood

  • Before Cartoons, by Syed Afzal Haider

  • How to Survive a Mass Shooting: A Columbine Memoir, by Krista Hanley

  • Line of Light, by Evelyn Herwitz

  • Quartz, by Susan Holcomb

  • The Riding Fun House by David Hopes

  • Oasis, by Yang Huang

  • Please State Your Emergency: A Novel, by Wynne Hungerford

  • Termite Queen, by Yeshim Iqbal

  • The Cloud Seeders, by Sharissa Jones

  • The Great Houses of Pill Hill (Little Place of Departed Spirits), by Diane Josefowicz

  • Black Dog, by Erica Kent

  • Sexy Life, Hello, by Michelle Kicherer

  • Sweethearts: A History, by Emily Kiernan

  • Doubles Alley, by Laurence Klavan

  • The Drowning Party, by Susan Knecht

  • Girl Gone Wild, by Courtney Kocak

  • Lion Hunting, by Michele Koh Morollo

  • Ivy in Darkness and Light, by Kathryn Larrabee

  • Born to Breed, by Sarah Layden

  • Down Gringo Gulch, by Sarah Leamy

  • How We See the Grey, by Rachel Leon

  • The Biting Kind, by Cassandra Lewis

  • The Mind of Master Khang, by Yuehan Li

  • The Execution of Tertius Lafontaine, by Christian Livermore

  • Of Saints and Rivers, by Jim Logan

  • The Crossroads of Dreams, by Linda MacConnell

  • Urgent Care, by Mina Manchester

  • Feral Maril & Her Little Brother Carol, by Leslie Manning

  • Nothing Vast, by Moshe Marvit

  • My Prisoner & Other Stories, by Tyler McAndrew

  • Bloodless, Matthew Meagher

  • Blood at the Root, by Jesus Mena

  • Things Happen, by Roger Mills

  • Fifth of July, by Ellene Moore

  • Love & Chickens, by Kasey Morris

  • Anything You Recognize, by Daniel Mueller

  • The Wedding, by Vandana Nair

  • Bad Homos Have Macaroni Hearts, by Michael Narkunski

  • When Everybody Goes Home: A Book of Acknowledgements, by Josh Odam

  • A Turnip, A Tornado, and a Minotaur Walk into a Bar: An American Memoir, by David Orr

  • Minor Repairs to Smile Dragon, by Nicholas Otte

  • Bird, by Marian Palaia

  • Podunk, by Lauren Parker

  • Sugaring, by Jen Parsons

  • Dear Sparrow, by Joseph Pasquale

  • Sole Brethren: If the Shoe Fits, by Jane Peyton

  • Headstrong, by Leslie Pietrzyk

  • Unusual Poisons, by Matthew Pitt

  • The Momma Puzzle, by Hilary Plattner

  • Birds of Passage, by Miriam Polli

  • Boss is Dead, by Ron Pullins

  • Ghost Heart, by Heather Quinn

  • Plague of Wolves, by Elizabeth Quirk

  • The Tellings of Julio Rivera and Other Short Stories, by J. Roarke

  • To the Lasting House, by Riley Rockford

  • The Other Sister, by Andrea Ruggirello

  • Where Were You When It Happened?, by Gage Saylor

  • The Great Disaster, by Alanna Schubach

  • In the Hands of Men, by Gin Sexsmith

  • Tag, by Jenny Shank

  • Leave No Trace, by Keene Short

  • A Girl from Obidos, by Eleni Sianis

  • The Blood Year Daughter: Stories, by GG Silverman

  • The Long-Term Wing, by Patricia Smith

  • Coopers Promise, Timothy Jay Smith

  • Not So Long Ago, Bill Smoot

  • Unsoldierly, David Snee

  • Eden, Frederick Soukup

  • Flashes of Lightning, by Ryan Summers

  • As High as the Stork Flies, by Elita Suratman

  • Like Always Blooming, by Daniel Sutter

  • Krackle’s Last Movie, by Chelsea Sutton

  • The Duke of Barstow, by Max Talley

  • Attractive Nuisance: Essays on Climate Justice and Other Mischief, by Christy Tending

  • What Nikki Knew, by Lori Tobias

  • The Drawing of Angels, by Judith Turner-Yamamoto

  • As Big As A Boat, The Natalie Stories, by Karen Uhlmann

  • Power Out, by Kem Joy Ukwu

  • A Bouquet of Weeds: Growing Up Wild in the Pacific Northwest, by Naomi Ulsted

  • A Road Wanting Wear, by David Urban

  • Yearning in the Time of Assassination, by Keliher Walsh

  • Reward Center, by Aaron Weiss

  • We Sink Like Ships and Other Stories, by Chelsea Wells

  • Tragic Fairy Tales, by Troy Wilderson

  • Homelands, by Robert Williams

  • Food Court, by Mike Wilson