The Winner of Our 12th Annual Chapbook Contest Is...

A Bright and Pleading Dagger
by Nicole Rivas of Savannah, Georgia

Contest judge Rigoberto Gonzalez selected A Bright and Pleading Dagger out of a field of 169 excellent submissions, and the chapbook will be published in August 2018.

You can sign up to receive the chapbook automatically when it launches by becoming a Rose Metal Press Subscriber or Supporter here.

This year's contest finalists include:

Runner-up: A Little Saw by Monique Quintana of Fresno, California

The Liberation Dance by Earl Carrender of Indianapolis, Indiana
Untitled by Anonymous by Andrew Farkas of Lawrence, Kansas
Sometimes You Need to Vanish for a Bit by Linda Michel-Cassidy of Sausalito, California
Support Your Local Legends by Kai Naima Williams of Bronx, New York

The semi-finalists include:
Pansies by Carol Barrett of Bend, Oregon
Scenes from Childhood by Rita Ciresi of Wesley Chapel, Florida
A Trace of a Good Thing by Maya Klein of Tel Aviv, Israel
Re: Memoranda by Michael Martone of Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Abacus of Self-Improvement by Ursula Villarreal-Moura of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Congratulations to Nicole Rivas and all the finalists and semi-finalists, and thanks to everyone who submitted! This year's group of submissions was larger than ever and very skilled—the manuscripts we received showcased the ever-expanding range of styles and techniques being used in the field of short form writing.