Leaves may be beginning to fall, and hibernation may be on the horizon, but that doesn’t stop Lighthouse members from maintaining their energy and pumping out brilliant writing like nobody’s business. We absolutely love celebrating the achievements of our writers whenever we can—and what better way to do so than recognizing their publications, honors, awards, and more?
So, without further ado, here is the fabulous news we have to share with you. Kudos and congratulations to all!
POETRY COLLECTIVE & BOOK PROJECT BREAKTHROUGHS
It has been a very successful quarter for current and graduated members of the Book Project and Poetry Collective, one that has resulted in quite the list, so we’d like to share their accomplishments with you:
This month, BP ‘23 grad Kari Liebowitz’s book, How to Winter (Penguin Life), hits shelves (10/22). Stay tuned for details on some sort of Zoom or in-person celebration. Lior Torenberg (BP class of ‘24) sold her debut novel Just Watch Me to Avid Reader Press at Simon & Schuster for publication in spring ‘26. Within a few weeks of that, another recent grad sold her collection of essays—also to Simon & Schuster—but we have to wait to officially announce it for a couple of weeks.
Two former BPers, Jeanetta Craigwell-Graham, and Ladane Nasseri, were recently awarded MacDowell fellowships (yay!), and BP ‘24 grad Layli Shirani will be going to Ragdale in the coming weeks.
Candice May (BP class of ‘23) won first prize in The New Quarterly 2024 Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Contest for her short story “The Dead Mothers.” Right on, Candace.
BP alumni and Lighthouse faculty Melissa Alvarado Sierra’s short story “My Bloody Socks,” based on her childhood in Puerto Rico, was published in the Atticus Review’s April release. Great work, Melissa.
And that’s not all. The opening excerpt of Aariki Pandita’s novel was a semi-finalist out of a whopping 757 entries for the Iridescence Award by Kinsman Quarterly.
Poetry Collective graduate Andrea Doray was recently honored first place by the Colorado Press Association for Best Serious Column Writing for her piece, "Reflections on Empathy, Compassion and the Courage to Act." Her poems “Senbazuru” (written in Elizabeth Robinson’s poetry course) and “This Eden” were both selected for publication in Inverted Syntax—Print issue 5 and the Fissured Tongue series, respectively. “Senbazuru” was selected as runner-up for the 2023 Sublingua Prize for Poetry.
Her poem “Last Waltz in the San Juan Mountains” and essay, “The Gift of Literature” are featured in the inaugural edition of Unplugged Voices: 125 Tales of Art and Life from Northern New Mexico, the Four Corners and the West (Photo Mirage Books), which was edited by fellow Lighthouse Poetry Collective grad Sara Frances. William Haywood Henderson provided the forward, and it has already won two Gold awards and one Silver award from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, as well as the Southwest Book Design and Production Award.
Joan Burleson published her memoir “I Love You More, A Reluctant Memoir,” a true crime story set in Alaska in 1973. The feel of Appalachia, old Anchorage culture, and above all, the act of forgiving are at the heart of this book.
FLOURISHING FACULTY
Our faculty shows us how great they are every day, and the world is seeing them, too. Here’s how:
Dino Enrique Piacentini’s debut novel, Invasion of the Daffodils, dropped last week, and we had the pleasure of celebrating the release at Lighthouse.
Cynthia Swanson’s third psychological suspense novel, ripe with the search for clues and ultimately the truth, “Anyone But Her,” was released from Columbine York on September 17th, 2024. Cynthia is also the author of novels The Bookseller, The Glass Forest, and the editor of Denver Noir’s Anthology.
Erika Krouse has received three publications in the spring and summer. Her short story “Eat my Moose” was published in Conjunction’s Spring issue entitled “Works & Days.” Last but certainly not least, her story “Fear Me As You Fear God” came out in the Southern Review. All of this precedes the publication of her short story collection Save Me, Stranger, which comes out in late January. Watch our website for details on attending her January open Book Project keynote and her February launch.
Erika joins Amanda Rea and Alyse Knorr in the summer issue of Colorado Review. Amanda’s short story “Among Men” and Erika’s story “Jude” are the first two stories in the lit mag, and they’re joined by Alyse Knorr’s four poems to make a collectible issue.
Stories on Stage has chosen Jenny Shank's story collection, "Mixed Company," for their single-author showcase this year! On Sunday, November 10 at Su Teatro (721 Santa Fe Drive) in Denver, actors from Stories on Stage will present Jenny's stories and satire in a 2 p.m. performance that will be followed by a Q&A and milk and cookies for all. Get your tickets here.
MEMBER MENTIONS
Did you think we were finished? Of course not, because this quarter held some incredible accolades amongst our cherished members, from publications to book awards, which calls for some serious celebration.
Up first, 2024 Litfest Fellow Lauren Barbato’s story “A Home for Adults” was published in the Spring 2024 issue of Cola Literary Review. It was also her sample for the 2024 Litfest Fellowship. Way to go, Lauren.
Marissa Higgins’ debut novel, A Good Happy Girl, was released on April 2. It was featured in April Indie Next pick, and the New York Times recommended it as a pre-order. Amazing work, Marissa.
Kristin Koval’s debut novel, Penitence, is set to come out in February of 2025 and is already stacking up great reviews, including by our own Lit Fest visiting author (and Booker Prize long-lister) Claire Messud.
Whitney Egstad’s poem “Fifteen in Florida” was published in Long River Review’s 26th issue. Her poem, “I Wake Up To My Dog Gnawing” appeared in the Spring Issue of Thimble Literary Magazine. Her poems "Fortune" and "Radiolucent" were published in Emerge Literary Journal in February. In March, Black Fox Literary Magazine published two of her poems. You can find "Lessons in the Temporal" and "Recurring Dream After Leaving the Crematorium" in the current issue.
A veteran of many a Lighthouse memoir workshop, Scott Schaible’s creative nonfiction piece entitled “Paging Dr. Tactless” was published in Please See Me, a literary magazine focused on health and medical topics. Scott’s story details the events following a surgery and diagnosis that occurred when he was 18 years old.
Longtime member (and former board member) Gary Schanbacher’s novel-in-stories, The Waterman, comes out October 15 by Cornerstone Press/University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point. Previously, his fiction has won the Colorado Book Award, High Plains Book Award, and the SPUR Award from the Western Writers of America. We can’t wait.
And finally, Brenda Muller Ellis’s debut novel Roza’s War: Diary of a Soviet Sniper was published in July 2024. Roza’s War is a historical fiction that recreates the combat journal of actual Soviet sniper Roza Shanina, looking both outward at her role in the war and inward at the ghosts of her past.
