Let’s give a roaring round of applause to the grand winner who crafted the most enchanting Christmas Writing Letter! 🎉✨🎄 Your words didn’t just sparkle; they sleighed! 🖋️🌟

O HOLY KNIFE: A JEWISH CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT - PETER RUSTIN
Peter Rustin and his wife Leslie recently moved from Los Angeles to Peter’s native Connecticut, with their three rather intelligent cats. Peter is an attorney practicing remotely with his firm in Los Angeles. He plays guitar badly and drums decently. His work has been published in the Arboreal Literary Journal; Free Spirit; Wrong Turn Lit; Assignment Literary Magazine; Piker Press; BarBar, Gabby & Min’s Literary Review; The Rumen; The City Key; The Sandy River Review; and the South Florida Poetry Journal. vel.

Another standing ovation for our first runner-up:

DEAR DAD- ELIZABETH KOLP

Elizabeth Kolp is a sophomore at Kettle Moraine Global. She is a part of the girls Tennis
team and several clubs at Kettle Moraine High School. Ever since she could talk, her favorite
holiday was Christmas because of all the magic and cheer it brought. When she is older, she
hopes to go into marketing/sales with a minor in Spanish. She can be found on Instagram at
@Elizkolp12.

The second runner-up has been crowned to:

A CHRISTMAS FOR GUZZIES - BARRY SCOTT BORING

Scott recently retired after a 32-year career in public education where he taught English, Creative Writing, Public Speaking and Drama. He also was an assistant principal for 14 years. He currently lives in Port Saint Lucie, FL, and after teaching others to write for 32 years, he is now writing for the creativity, the enjoyment, and the artistry of it. He joined the Morningside Writing Group in July of 2024, and he knew he had stories to share. If he didn’t tell them, who would? He is an anecdotalist by genre, and he loves the irony of it. Anecdote means unpublished, and he’s publishing them. Recently, he has authored a short story collection about his parents’ birthplace, Bolivar, PA.

Beat the drums, ring the bells, and blow the trumpet for our top finalists:

CHRISTMAS AS GEN Z - TATE STEELE

A resin artist and painter who also expresses her art via poetry, spoken word and lyrical content.

TO MY FATHER-IN-LAW - SARAH TABBERT

Sarah Tabbert is a professional engineer and mother living in Victoria, Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Queen’s University. Her short stories have been published by online websites including Diversity Hire by Gabby & Min's Literary Review, The Toboggan by 10 by 10 Flash Fiction Stories and The Ride Home by 404 Words.

THE CHRISTMAS FOOD DRIVE - JOHN GILLISPIE

John Gillispie writes unusual, zany humorous songs and poetry. He is working on some short stories that chronical a rather difficult and abused upbringing. He turns to comedy and humor in his writing as a way to quell some of the bad memories and experiences of his first 18 years of life.

HOLIDAY TREASURE - ALEX ANDY PHUONG

Alex Andy Phuong earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University—Los Angeles in 2015. He was a former Statement Magazine editor who currently writes about literature, film, and culture. He also earned an Associate of Arts in English from Pasadena City College in 2013, and tutored there. He has written hundreds of film reviews for MovieBoozer, and has contributed articles to Mindfray. His writing has appeared in The Bookends Review and The Society of Classical Poets. Emma Stone inspired Alex to submit writing actively to publications after hearing the Oscar-nominated song, “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from the “Best Picture” nominee La La Land (2016). His poetry collection is An Altruistic (Cyberwit.net, 2020). Currently residing in Alhambra, California, he now writes with the sincerest hope to inspire readers while fully supporting the ones who dare to pursue their dreams. The link to his blog is http://alexandyphuongengl492playlist.blogspot.com/

SING A SONG OF CHRISTMAS - K. J. WATSON

K. J. Watson’s poems and stories have appeared on the radio; in magazines, comics, and anthologies; and online.

MY HOLIDAY SPIRIT - ANTHONY BROWN

Anthony Brown is a current student at the University of Cincinnati, going for his Bachelor's
in Creative Writing and English Education. Graduating Cum Laude with an AA from CSCC
at 18: In his free time, Anthony loves listening to music of various genres and plays Roblox
with his community of friends, and also loves his mother’s cats at her house. A horror-
fiction, gothic, and ‘huge’ fan of horror as a whole, he composes poetry, flash fiction, critical
essays, and various other writings in his free time. Anthony's goal as a writer is to encourage
others to never be afraid, and to speak their mind whenever necessary. Anthony’s Instagram
can be found here
https://www.instagram.com/a.nth_.ny/profilecard/?igsh=ZW9jaXF5aWw1NDRq

A LOVE LETTER TO MY BELOVED WIFE -SANDEEP KUMAR MISHRA

About Sandeep Kumar Mishra- Sandeep Kumar Mishra is an artist, an author, a teacher and an editor. This year his work has been shortlisted for 'Wells Story Prize-2024', Poems for Human Rights-24, Decadent Serpent Prize-24, 'Page Turner Award-2024', 'PenCraft Book Award-2024', 'Westerwood Story Award-24, 'Plough Poetry Prize-24', Fish Poetry Prize-24', ‘The Next Generation Story Award-24’, ‘HH Literary Prize-24’ and ‘Eyelands Book Award- 24’. More information - https://www.sandeepkumarmishra.com/

We would like to congratulate to all the contributors who made it to our anthology, Love, Laughter and Christmas Letters. Also, hats off to the participants in general. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose. Today we celebrate the spirit of writing. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.