Aimee Nezhukumatathil Wins Pushcart

Aimee Nezhukumatathil's poem, "Love in the Orangery," will be published in the 2009 edition of the Pushcart Prize anthology. The poem was first published in the Fall 2006 issue of Third Coast.

Nezhukumatathil is the author of At the Drive-In Volcano (2007). Her poetry and essays have been widely anthologized and have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Black Warrior Review, Third Coast, FIELD, Mid-American Review, and Tin House. She is an associate professor of English at State University of New York-Fredonia.

In the Mode of Disappearance

Jonathan Weinert's debut book of poems, In the Mode of Disappearance, is now available. The book won the 2006 Nightboat Poetry Prize. Thomas Sayers Ellis describes it as "inventive as hell," and as "thinking as it is feeling, and never solely linear." Several of Weinert's poems appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Third Coast. 

Nat'l Book Critics Circle Chooses A Half-Life of Cardio-Pulmonary Function for "Good Reads" List

Congratulations to former Third Coast contributor, Eric Gansworth ("Night in the Ruts," Fall 2007). His new book of poems, A Half-Life of Cardio-Pulmonary Function, has been chosen for the National Book Critics Circle Spring 2008 "Good Reads" list. 

Poetry and Creative Nonfiction Contests

The editors and staff at Third Coast are pleased to announce the winner for the 2008 Poetry Contest. Judge James Tate has selected:

"Performance" by Tyler Caroline Mills as the winner of this year's Poetry Contest. The finalists for the contest are listed below:

Jacob Boyd
Travis Cebula
Jennifer Chapis
Adam Day
Haines Eason
Gail Giewont
Jaimie Gusman
L.S. Klatt
Collier Nogues
Grant Osborn
Jonathan Rice
Susan Rich
Kerry Ruef
Kathleen Winter

For the 2008 Creative Nonfiction Contest, Judge Patricia Hampl has selected:

"How Not to Write a Personal Essay for Freshmen Composition” by Scott Wrobel as the winner of this year’s Creative Nonfiction Contest. The finalists are listed below:

Susan Chiavelli
Annie Dawid
Jennifer Ariadne Hawkins
Benjamin Axford Kamper
Ryan Van Meter
David Torrey Peters
Robert Rebein
Jim Ruland
Hugh Ryan

We thank all of the writers who submitted their work.

The Fear of Being Found

Erin Elizabeth Smith's The Fear of Being Found was published recently by Three Candles Press. Her poems "Sin (Storm): A Pantoum" and "Macha Speaks of Her Children" appeared in Issue 22 of Third Coast.

Knockemstiff Receives National Recognition

Congratulations to Third Coast author, Donald Ray Pollack. His debut collection of short stories, Knockemstiff, has garnered national attention in recent weeks, including a favorable review in the March 23, 2008 edition of the New York Times Book Review. Pollack published his first story, "Discipline," in our Spring 2005 Tenth Anniversary issue (and "Lard" in Fall 2006). In his review, Jonathan Miles describes Pollack's voice as "fresh and full-throated," and claims his best stories, "leave an indelible smear." Here is a link to the complete review.

2008 Contest Winners

Below are the results of the 2008 Fiction and Drama Contests.

Fiction Contest

Winner: "The Three Davids" by Roger Sheffer

Finalists:
"Slackwater" by Heather Brittain Bergstrom
"Long Division" by Timothy Crandle
"Holes" by Teresa Milbrodt
"The Knowledge of Cedar" by Irene Keliher
"In Jersey City" by Siobhan Scarry

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Drama Contest

Winner: "Penelope and the Sterile Field" by James Magruder

Finalists:
"The Mistress of Wholesome" by Jacob Appel
"The Switch Room" by Jason Lenz
"Simprov" by Laurence Klaven
"Buskers" by Anesa Miller
"Nobody's Watching" by Ed Minus

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We thank all of the writers who submitted their work.

Third Coast at AWP

If you are attending the AWP conference this week, stop by our table at the bookfair to say hello and check out our newest issue. The Fall 2007 issue features Kate Lane's story, "Red Winter," which won our 2007 fiction contest, and fantastic work by Maggie Smith, Mark Kraushaar, Jonathan Weinert, Terry Wolverton, Nance Van Winkel, Seth Abramson, Jean Valentine, Porter Fox, Charles McLeod, Jessica Roeder, Eric Gansworth, and many other exceptional writers.

We hope to see you there!

Deadline Extended

We have extended our Poetry and Creative Nonfiction Award postmark deadline to February 29th, 2008. Please visit our contest page for complete submission guidelines.

Welcome

Welcome to Third Coast's new blog. We'll be posting news, book reviews, contest announcements, recommended books, and other information.

We hope you'll check in often.