Delighted to reveal the victor of our Jane Austen-inspired writing contest!
Contest Name:
Jane Austen Writing Contest
Date:
17/10/23
Welcome all!
Regency Reflections is an anthology created out of inspiration. It was created out of individual readings an interpretations of the writers and poets that created these pieces, and it was just mesmerising to see how people view the same piece of work from such different perspectives.
Jane Austen, whose works are the foundations of this anthology, has been known as a canonical author. The deconstruction of the idea of the ‘canon’ has been one of my personal aspirations, and to play a part – albeit small – is a great honour.
I felt incredibly privileged to read and immerse myself all the creative and exquisite works while judging the contest. I found all of them incredibly riveting and unforgettable. Judging and picking winners was incredibly difficult, because all of the works were phenomenal.
I hope this anthology reaches everyone who has been inspired by canonical literary names. And I hope everyone reading this keeps following the threads of inspiration they find!
With warmest regards, Mrunal Rajadhyaksha
Delighted to reveal the victor of our Jane Austen-inspired writing contest!
The winner is:
1. ANGELA KUEMPEL – “ANOTHER OBSTINATE HEADSTRONG GIRL”
ANGELA KUEMPEL is a former stockbroker from Austin TX. She sees parallels between her children and Anne De Bourgh and hopes that Mrs. Jenkinson, like her most recent position as stay at home mom, becomes obsolete.
The first runner-up is:
2. JAMES B. NICOLA – " LABORS OF LOVE”
James B. Nicola, a frequent contributor, is the author of eight collections of poetry, the latest three being Fires of Heaven: Poems of Faith and Sense, Turns & Twists, and Natural Tendencies (just out). His nonfiction book Playing the Audience: The Practical Actor’s Guide to Live Performance won a Choice magazine award. He has received a Dana Literary Award, two Willow Review awards, Storyteller's People's Choice award, one Best of Net, one Rhysling, and ten Pushcart nominations—for which he feels stunned and grateful. A graduate of Yale, James hosts the Writers' Roundtable at his library branch in Manhattan: walk-ins are always welcome.
The second runner-up is:
3. LESLEY HERBERT – " LADY EMA "
Originally from the UK, Lesley Hebert lives in British Columbia, Canada with a sociable husband and an anti-social cat. She teaches ESL to international students via Skype and writes travel articles, short stories and poetry. She won first place for non-fiction in the 2023 RCLAS Write On Competition. Her work has appeared in Beyond Words, Canadian Stories, travelthruhistory.com, The First Line, A Poetry of Place: Journeys Across New Westminster, Pocket Lint, Parabola and Immigration Diaries. She won first place for non-fiction in the Royal City Literary Arts Society 2023 competition.
Also, our top finalists!
4. M.S. BLUES
M.S. Blues is a multiracial, queer, versatile writer—poet, playwright, short story-ist, lyricist, and novelist. Her work revolves around the darker pieces of humanity society tends to neglect. When she isn’t bound to paper, pencils, or the computer, she enjoys costume designing, reading, playing guitar, watching old films, and studying asteroids. She has been published 3x by Literal Impact, 2x by Teen Ink, The Trailblazer Review, Eber & Wein, Pa'lante!, and 4x by Wingless Dreamer. She currently resides in the Bay Area, California and is looking forward to beginning her college journey in the Fall. Her Instagram handle is _.thewriterx._
5. WREN VALENTINO
Wren Valentino is an author and poet who primarily writes gothic and contemporary romance novels, often with an international setting. He is the author of the forthcoming novels Miss Nothing (Blue Dasher Press, 2023) and Gollan Grove (Blue Dasher Press, 2024). His literary work has appeared in Atomic Flyswatter (Long Shot Books), Disquiet Arts, and Halfway Down the Stairs. He is a Pushcart Prize nominee and a proud member of the Romance Writers of America.
