Announcing this year’s Turnbuckle Chapbook Winner!

Of Sam’s poetry chapbook, “Fruit Mansion,” guest judge Cyn Vargas had this to say:

“Fruit Mansion is a vivid sensory unveiling of imagery, emotion, and character that floats, lingers, and sticks to the page and to the reader all at once. It isn’t just beautiful in the way the words are intertwined, but beautiful in the way it speaks to identity, courage, and self-perception.”

Congratulations also to all of our amazing finalists, who made this a nearly impossible task:

Runner-Up:
Chelsea Voulgares, “The Drop”

Finalists:
Ashanti Anderson, “Eyes Tired”
Dorothy Chan, “Centerfold Dreams”
Emily Hunerwadel, “Professional Crybaby”
Meghan McClure, “Portrait of a Body in Wreckages”
Cheryl Smart, “It’s Misting Over the Delta”
Michelle Valois, “Hungry Sailors”
Lizzi Wolf, “Notes from a Good Little Sister”
Tessa Yang, “Peripheral”

​A huge thank you to everyone who sent their chapbooks, which amounted to close to 200 books. There was so much amazing work that it was hard to narrow down to the top twenty, let alone 10 finalists.

Thanks also to our tireless readers and to our wonderful guest judge, Cyn Vargas! We look forward to sharing “Fruit Mansion” with you later this year!​