Author Archives: Darian Araiza-Samples
25th Annual Arts & Letters Prize Winners
Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Arts & Letters Prizes in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, & Poetry:
Arts & Letters Prize for Fiction Patricia King, “Pax Americana”
“I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Pax Americana.” This story deftly intertwines elements of the interpersonal with larger societal and political narratives to produce a profoundly humane reflection on marriage, politics, youth, and choices, told in an assured and compelling voice.”
– Francesca Ekwuyasi, Judge
Finalists:
Brenda Salinas Baker, “The Apprentice” and Sebastian Subir, “Sally’s Daughter”
Susan Atefat Prize for Creative Nonfiction
Jonathan VanBallenberghe, “Winchester Street: Living with My Father’s Suicide”
“Word by word, the author of “Winchester Street: Living with My Father’s Suicide” brings the reader inside the psyche of the narrator’s father, and his decision to end his life. Even more gripping, we also read about the narrator’s own feelings toward suicide—as well as the cultural allure of guns that cause so much destruction. The author’s composed voice underlies the deep trauma of the event. I greatly admire the clear and unsentimental tone as a portal into the depth of feeling this narrative conveys. The writing is stunning, the story urgent, the reflective voice compelling. This essay most assuredly deserves to win.”
– Sue William Silverman, Judge
Finalists:
Tatiana Hollier, “I Am the Ornament of the Sky” and Jaye Murray, “Sentry”
Rumi Prize for Poetry
Owen Lewis, “Something’s Wrong,” “More Than Twice,“ and “Waking Early This New Year’s Day”
“Though there were moments I liked in each of the manuscripts of the finalists, I have chosen this manuscript because this poet was able to sustain, in poems that were about something of real emotional substance, an acute attention to making the language both lovely and telling.”
– Rodney Jones, Judge
Finalists:
Robin Knight, Ari Mokdad, Sammi LaBue, Mark Smith-Soto, David Moolten, and Ruth Kessler
Each winner receives $1000; the winning pieces will appear in an upcoming Issue.
Issue 46

Spring 2023
Order Online
Digital Issue Forthcoming
UNCLASSIFIABLE PRIZE WINNER
Emily Farranto
Postcard of Delicate Arch
FICTION
Erin Cecilia Thomas
A Rapture Coming
Francis Walsh
The Big Man
Dennis McFadden
Dancing with Calypso
POETRY
Travis Mossotti
Book(s) of the Dead
After the Miscarriage
Jesse Lee Kercheval
Florida
Iowa City, Iowa
Kickapoo
Arthur Solway
The New Cowboys
Samuel Beckett’s Tree
Kathryne David Gargano
Installation
Mitzvot
Karan Kapoor
Nameless
The Way Waiting Becomes an Injury
Craig Blais
from /The Vents/
Helena Mesa
A Conversation
Self-Portrait with a Cubano de Paso
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Spencer Lane Jones
On Nodding Terms
FLASH FICTION
Tiffany Crum
Kitty Good
Editor
Laura Newbern
Creative Nonfiction Editor
Peter Selgin
Fiction Editor
Chika Unigwe
Poetry Editor
Kerry James Evans
Managing Editor
Darian Araiza-Samples
Assistant Managing Editor
Cas McKinney
Assistant Editors
Natalie Mau
Tim Connors
Colin Bishoff
Rachel Kerger
Jonna Smith
Issue 45

Fall 2022
Order Online
Digital Issue Forthcoming
ANNUAL PRIZE WINNERS
Jodie Noel Vinson
First Do No Harm
W.J. Herbert
Journal of the Plague Year
Ice Storm
Liminal Passage
The Birth of Venus
Zoe Pappenheimer
Apparitions
FICTION
Kyle Impini
A Song for Mrs. Harris
POETRY
Vernita Hall
The Sol Notes: Dead Reckoning
Whiteout
Jane Zwart
To Shuck Miracles
Certain Maples
Erin Carlyle
Are We Really Living in a Simulation
Marcus Cafagna
Friendly Fire
Lost the Signal
Kathryn Hargett-Hsu
Petition for Naturalization
John Sibley Williams
Heirloom
Skyscrape
Donte Collins
Prologue #9
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Raphael Rae
Introduction to Safecracking for Transsexuals
Hannah Sward
Nobody Wants a Crying Stripper
FLASH FICTION
Carolyn Flynn
A Recipe for Desire
Editor
Laura Newbern
Creative Nonfiction Editor
Peter Selgin
Fiction Editor
Chika Unigwe
Poetry Editor
Kerry James Evans
Managing Editor
Darian Araiza-Samples
Assistant Managing Editor
Cas McKinney
Assistant Editors
Mer Alsobrooks
Shannon Yarbrough
Tim Connors
Courtney Schmidt
Denechia Powell