HWA Poetry Showcase, Vol 8: TOC Announcement

Good Morning, Poets and Poetry Lovers!

Today in the Madhouse, I'm thrilled to share with you the TOC and cover reveal for the HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. 8. We had a ton of wonderfully dark and delicious submissions this year--close to 200!--which made the competition incredibly intense, so I want to take a moment to thank all of you who submitted to the anthology; it was, and remains, a true honor to read your work. I also want to send out a special thanks to Sara Tantlinger and Angela Yuriko Smith for all their hard work and insight as judges--as always, it was wonderful working with you ladies!--and to Robert Payne Cabeen, who not only provided us with a beautiful poem but who provided the cover art for the showcase this year. Bob's artwork is always absolutely stunning and I'm thrilled to showcase his talents in this respect, too.

I also wanted to highlight our top three poets this year, whose work will be featured in a separate spotlight courtesy of the HWA Poetry Blog: Ingrid L. Taylor, Lee Murray, and Brenda S. Tolian. Congratulations!

This year is particularly special for me as it will be my last year editing the showcase. After four wonderful, poetry-filled years, I am thankful to the HWA for trusting me with this project, to John Palisano for supporting and encouraging me, and to David E. Cowen for initially recommending me for this position. It has been a journey and a delight, and I've learned so much about the market, the genre, and our fantastic community along the way. Thank you for the scares, the nightmares, and the verses, folks. I hope to return the favor someday (insert evil laugh here).

Below is the TOC (although the order will be slightly adjusted upon print):

Artist/Poet Showcase:

• Robert Payne Cabeen-- "Run Away"

Crystal Lake Poetry Contest Winner:

• E.F. Schraeder-- "Cherry Blossoms (On Mourning a Distant Mother)"

Showcase TOC:

1. Bright Tapestry by Carina Bissett
2. On the Altar of a Beseeching Bell, Woebegone with Captivity by Saba Syed Razvi
3. Necrow by Querus Abuttu
4. Afterlife by Mercedes M. Yardley
5. Girls Who Create Monsters by Jeannine Hall Gailey
6. Lucky Charm by Cynthia Pelayo
7. Revelation 9:15 by Benicio Isandro
8. orchid moon by Lee Murray
9. Note for My Sisters When I Am Gone by Patricia Lillie
10. All of the Ghosts Are Gone by Chad Helder
11. What Monster is This by Ingrid L. Taylor
12. Low Tide by Sarah Read
13. ritual for reuniting with my favorite demon by Kailey Tedesco
14. Sugar by Jacqueline West
15. Visiting Hours by Vince A. Liaguno
16. On Darkest Night of Faerie Bright by Sumiko Saulson
17. A Woman's Weapon by KC Grifant
18. Epiales by Caitlin Marceau
19. the umami of blood by Michael Arnzen
20. Ferrywoman of Geoje-do by Patricia Flaherty Pagan
21. Our Nightly Voyage by Amy Langevin
22. The Serpents' Tale by Lisa Morton
23. We Are Born of Blade and Blood by Naching T. Kassa
24. Buried by Lindy Ryan
25. Seedling by Beverly Lee
26. Dead as Brains by Lorna D. Keach
27. Shadecrest Palisades by Manny Blacksher
28. Skinwalker Moon by Brenda S. Tolian
29. The Song of the Wandering Zombie by Graham Masterton
30. Teeth by Brad Christy
31. The Silence of God by Jamal Hodge
32. A Garden of Flesh by Deborah L. Davitt
33. Moon by Corrine De Winter
34. Mine Offenses by R.J. Joseph
35. Restless Spiritualists by Amanda Hard
36. Night Out at the Old Circus by Ian Hunter
37. Carefully Tended Horrors and Gardens by Trisha J. Wooldridge
38. Carrie by Emma J. Gibbon
39. Vargas Visits the Monastery (a Vampyre speech) by Patricia Gomes
40. Long Forgotten by EV Knight
41. Win, Lose by Donna Lynch
42. The Madness of Monsters by Sheldon Woodbury
43. Your Eyes, Umber Dark, A Disease by Lonni Nadler
44. Death Mask by Stephanie Ellis
45. The To-Do List that Never Ends by Kerri-Leigh Grady
46. To Necrophilia by Katherine Kerestman
47. There Is No Difference Between an Eye and a Mouth by Donyae Coles
48. How Date Nights Bring You Ever Closer: A Forbidden Haibun by Terrie Leigh Relf
49. Waning Moon by Alicia Hilton
50. In a Place Somewhere Inside by Ronald J. Murray