A huge round of applause for our grand winner is:

OTHER - ORESTE BELLETTO

Oreste Belletto is 53, and living in San Francisco. He has a master's in poetry from UC Davis. He has had poems published in Byline Magazine, Exquisite Corpse, The Lilliput Review, and nycbigcitylit.com, and has work pending publication from Zoetic Press, Eclectica Magazine, and Midway Journal. Instagram: @ADHDork

Let’s give a standing ovation for the fabulously fierce first runner-up! 🎉

APPLESEED - LEELAH HOLMES

Leelah Holmes (he/they) is a queer poet person who lives and writes in Brooklyn.

Click, click. click! for our second runner-up who is

LOVE AND LOSS - DONNA YU

Donna writes poems for herself, and until recently she hasn't shared them. Now she feels to share them relieves some of the pressure that can build up from unspoken words. Self serving, maybe. But maybe just maybe something she writes could help someone else. That is her hope.

Yassss, darling, these brilliant wordsmiths have spilled tea, turned phrases, and slayed the game with stories that made our hearts swoon and our minds gag with inspiration. Drumroll, please! for our top finalists. 💅💥

THE ROW OF FLOWERS - SAMI MATIN

Sami Matin (she/they) is a disabled Bangladeshi writer who holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Arizona. She is currently working toward a PhD in English Literature. They are also working on an interconnected long short story collection about unrequited love and transnational pop culture. She has published in newspapers such as The Daily Star, New Age, The Michigan Daily, and literary publications such as The Wingless Dreamer.

LITHUANIAN PRIDE FEST - LINA BUIVIDAVIČIŪTĖ

Lina Buividavičiūtė was born on May 14, 1986. She is a poet and literary critic. Lina is an author of two poetry books in Lithuanian language. Her poetry is published in "Matter", "Masters", “Proverse poetry prize" contest anthologies, "Drunk monkeys", "Beyond words", "The Dewdrop", "The limit experience", "Poets choice", "HOW", "Beyond queer words", "Maudlin House", "Cathexis northwest press", "Poetry online" magazines and "Versopolis" poetry platform. Upcoming publications will appear in “New millennium writings”, "Cathexis northwest press", "Quillkeepers Press", "The Stardust review" and “Beyond words” magazine.

ROSES - KENDALL REIF

Kendall Reif (She/They) is a poet and aspiring author that is currently completing her BA in Creative Writing at Susquehanna University. When not writing, she is watching black and white monster movies, diving down a rabbit hole for her current obsession, and counting the days until Halloween. You can find her on Instagram @k.reif.moonchild

FRACTURED BLUE - SOPHIA FALCO

Sophia Falco is the author of three poetry books titles: Chronicles of Cosmic Chaos: In The Fourth Dimension, Farewell Clay Dove , and The Immortal Sunflower all published by UnCollected Press. Her fourth poetry book is forthcoming titled: If My Hands Were Birds: A Poem; a winner of the UnCollected 2023 Book Publication Contest. Furthermore, she will be completing a highly regarded Master of Fine Arts Program for Poetry along with carrying out their Teaching Fellowship at Saint Mary’s College of California in order to make her dream career become a reality to be a Professor of Poetry.

THIS IS TRANS JOY - NICOLÒ POTESTÀ

Nicolò Potestà was born and raised in the beautiful city of Seattle, Washington, where the gray skies and evergreen trees probably seeped into his bloodstream. He has been writing since the age of eight and started writing poetry in middle-school. He loves collecting oddities like bones, crystals, and little bits of scrap metal, and has very strong opinions about pretty much everything. He is proud to identify as a trans man. Now, he studies Political Science and Creative Writing at American University in Washington, DC. You can find him on instagram @sempre.nico .


SECRET TREASURE - ALLIE KING

Allie writes about queer lives, women’s lives, social and economic power imbalances, collective living, minority religious identity, relationships with animals and the natural world, and the consequences of speaking your truth in public. Allie can be reached at AllieKing@protonmail.com.