Fall 2016 Black River Chapbook Competition Finalists & Semi-Finalists!

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As January draws rapidly to a close (and let’s be honest, we’re not too terribly sad to see this month go), we’re excited about a bit of light in our darkness: the short list for the Fall 2016 Black River Chapbook Competition is here! From over 500 entries, we’ve narrowed things down to 12 semi-finalists and 8 finalists. (As always, this was definitely not easy! We read and agonized over many more than 20 exciting, well-crafted entries. There are excellent manuscripts that aren’t reflected in this list, and there were a few chaps we loved that were withdrawn along the way. We appreciate every one of you deeply. Please keep making our jobs difficult.)
Entries were read blind by an editorial panel consisting of judges (previous BRCC winners and published finalists) and BLP editors. Entries were kept blind until today–so we can unveil the lists to you!
To all the semi-finalists, congrats & thank you! We will announce the winner from among our list of finalists shortly.
FINALISTS (alphabetical)
American Way by Nat Akin (fiction)
Wild Wolves by Mel Bosworth (fiction)
Animal Mineral by Stephanie Cawley (poetry)
Atlas of the Body by Nicole Cuffy (fiction)
Of Moonshine and Water by Kathryn Merwin (poetry)
Barataria by Nancy Reddy (poetry)
Skin Memory by John Sibley Williams (poetry)
The Shape-Shifting Researches by Laura Smith (poetry)
SEMI-FINALISTS (alphabetical)

Chinatown Sonnets by Dorothy Chan (poetry)
Devil’s Business by Charlie Clark (poetry)
Woman Prime by Gail DiMaggio (poetry)
My Island Is Slowly Sinking by Eileen Elliott (fiction)
The Clayfields by Elise Gregory (fiction)
The Skyfuls Off of You by Courtney Hartnett (poetry)
Orchestra of the Body by Nathan Lipps (poetry)
The Mourners Forget Which Funeral They’re At by Matt McBride (poetry)
The New Geography by Michael Pontacoloni (poetry)
Blind Flowers by Roberta Senechal de la Roche (poetry)
Release from the Ceramic Doghouse by Derek Updegraff (fiction)
Spit. Swallow. Survive. by Seema Yasmin (poetry)