The Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA) has announced the winners of their third annual sf poetry contest (which we announced in this article).
The winners and other picks, chosen anonymously by the judges, are:
First Place: “She Seemed So Quiet” by Marion E. Boyer (Mattawan, Michigan). Prizes include $100, a Waterman pen and journal, one year SFPA memberhsip, signed books, and publiction on the SFPA web site.
Second Place: “Artifacts of Intelligent Design” by Elizabeth Barrette (Charleston, Illinois). Prizes include $40, an original painting by Marge Simon, publication on the SFPA web site, and more.
Third Place: “And I Fly” by Frances Shi (Woodhaven, New York). Prizes include $20, SFPA web site publication, and several books.
Honorable Mention: “Photograph of Mt. St. Helens” by Lois Jones (Glendale, California)
Each of the judges also chose notable poems. Their picks:
Marcie Tentchoff commends: “Dead City” by Scot Brannon (Seattle, WA) and “Potential Energy” by M. Frost (Baltimore, MD)
Jaime Lee Moyer commends: “Don Quixote’s Quandry” by Colleen Anderson (Vancouver, BC, Canada) and “a star hunt” by Nadia Chaney (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
W. Gregory Stewart commends: “Scientific Experiment/1927” by Elizabeth Penrose (Pittsburgh, PA) and “Future Freedom” by Elizabeth Bennefeld (Fargo, ND)
Scott Virtes commends: “Stone, Soup, Bones” by William Copeland (Redford, MI) and “Playing Duets with Heisenberg’s Ghost” by Peg Duthie (Nashville, TN)
The more than 400 poems entered in the contest arrived from more than 25 countries—including Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, The Netherlands, UK, USA, and Wales. Forty US states were represented in the mix.
[Edited 26 September: SFPA President Deborah P. Kolodji writes to tell us that “the three winning poems are now online at the website: www.sfpoetry.com/2008poetrycontest.html.]