2024 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Results
Announcing the winning manuscript and author of the 2024 November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge! Plus, three finalists and more.
As mentioned earlier today, it's time to reveal the results of the 2024 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, and it really was decided (finally) today! This year, there were nearly 100 entries from all around the country and the world, and they were all so good.
Per usual, I saw a mix of familiar names as well as new-to-me names. The first round narrowed things down to 51 chapbooks; the second round worked the list to just 18.
In this post, I share the winning chapbook and poet, along with three finalists and seven honorable mentions.
This year's winning manuscript is Before You Leave, by KB Ballentine!
The collection has a dedication "for my father" and appears to collect the reckoning of a person's life. I found the images and language beautiful throughout.
Congratulations, KB!
Here are a few poems from Before You Leave:
*****
Play with poetic forms!
Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).
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But wait! There’s more!
In addition to KB's winning manuscript, I selected three finalists that gave Before You Leave a run for its money:
- Black Ice, by Michelle Meyer
- Counting Coup, by Gila Mon
- a walk in the park, by Amy Hadley
Congratulations to the finalists!
And finally, here's a list (in no particular order) of honorable mentions:
- Dictionary Poems, by Candace Kubinec
- The Nature of Words, by Marilyn Braendeholm
- Discovering the Ninth Planet, by Victoria Melekian
- Reflections in Twilight, by Sally Deems-Mogoyordy
- The Art of Longing, by Melissa Lemay
- Mind Cycles, by Michele K. Smith
- Hunchbacked Sticks, by Hibah Shabkhez
Congratulations to all the honorable mentions! And to everyone who put in the time to write poems in November and assemble and submit collections in December and January. Great job!
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
