Every month, we celebrate successes of all stripes! In August, Grubbies were published in literary journals across the country, won awards and prizes, published books, and so much more. Our community closed August 2022 out with 68 publications, six book publications, four book deals, and four awards and prizes! Let us celebrate you: submit your good news to GrubStreet’s Department of Congratulations.

GrubStreet's Education Director, Dariel Suarez, is a finalist for the International Book Award for his novel The Playwright's House, in the category of Popular Fiction. b.e.stack's short story "lika is still waiting (and we are still watching)" was published in the inaugural issue of Space Fantasy Magazine. The story was penned in Marcella Haddad's "Six Weeks, Six Stories." b attributes the strength of the piece to the encouragement of many folks: Marcella, her fellow classmates, and the SF/F writing groups she's found through Grub. Susan Phillips' short story “Nothing is on Fire” was published in The Schuylkill Valley Journal. She once again thanks Shelby Kinney-Lang and the great gang from the “6 Weeks, 6 Stories” class.

Lynda Rushing's essay "Poison" was the runner-up for the Michael Steinberg nonfiction prize in Solstice Literary Magazine's 2022 Annual Literary Contest. She thanks instructor Carolyn Zaikowski and her talented classmates from “Jumpstart Your Writing” for inspiration and support. Amory Rowe Salem's essay "Family Poker" was an Editor's Pick in the recent Solstice Literary Magazine Annual Literary Contest. She thanks instructor Samantha Shanley and her "Writing Motherhood" classmates for their feedback on the piece. Essay Incubator Graduate Jennifer Dines's essay "The Sound of Metal and Its Impact on Teaching Deaf Youth" was published in Video Librarian. She thanks her amazing teacher Ethan Gilsdorf and her Essay Incubator classmates for all she learned this past year that supported her craft.

John David Ferrer finished the first draft of his sequel to his second novel, Barcelona Borinquen. My Beloved Borinquen follows a multi-generational multi-family saga from 1940 to the present. His seminars at GrubStreet were instrumental to this project, as was the editor of his original novel, Mary Carroll Moore. Boston Writers of Color Member Ariel Vanece’s picture book Searching for Mr. Johnson's Song, illustrated by Jade Orlando, was purchased in a two-book deal by Lauri Hornik at Penguin/Rocky Pond Books. This intergenerational story touches on community, dementia, and the power of music. Ana Crespo at East West Literary Agency represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.

Sara Letourneau's poems "The Spider," "Twilight in April," and "A Strange Easter" were published in Arlington Literary Journal. Craig Pierce’s, aka FC Pierce, stories “My Friend Matty” and “My Horse of a Different Color” were published in Short Edition. He thanks instructor Ron MacLean for his inspiring teaching. Deborah Leipziger’s poem "Self, Archeologist" was published in Ibbetson Street. She thanks instructor Carolyn Zaikowski and the poets in the class who provided valuable feedback. She is also honored to have been selected to be in residence at T. S. Eliot House in the fall. Bernice Lerner's essay "How Anne Frank Reminds Me of My Holocaust Survivor Mother" was published in Kveller.

Memoir Incubator Graduate Jason Prokowiew's essay “Get Out There Like Gaga” about submitting 100 times in 2022 was published at Brevity Blog. He thanks his writing group member Emily May who he met in instructor Xujun Eberlein's “Advanced Essay Workshop” for her inspiration. Pete Prokesch's flash-fiction piece "Tender Blows" was published in The Bookends Review. He thanks instructor Jane Dykema and the flash fiction intensive for the motivation to write more flash fiction. Jeffrey Feingold’s creative nonfiction essay “The Sugar Thief,” an ode to generations past, was published in Schuylkill Valley Journal.

Diane Forman’s essay “Are fears of authoritarianism in the U.S. hyperbole? What would my German grandparents say?” was published in WBUR’s Cognoscenti. Meg Beatty’s creative nonfiction essays were featured in Volume 3 of The Aurora & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology. She has had the privilege of attending Muse & the Marketplace this year and has taken many classes at GrubStreet. She is especially grateful for the guidance of instructor Sarah Chaves. Memoir Incubator Graduate Tamara MC’s op-ed essay about her child marriage and the parallels between Netflix's show Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey was published in Motherwell. Her poem/essay “If...” about life on the other side of the phrase "If only..." was published in Journal of Expressive Writing. She's always eternally grateful to her fearless leaders, including Alysia Abbott and Ethan Gilsdorf.

Michael Ansara’s first chapbook of poems, What Remains, was published by Kelsay Books. It is available directly from Kelsay, Amazon, and the Grolier Book Shop. Christian Douglass' short story "In Praise of Black Lovers" was selected as an Editor's Pick for Solstice Literary Magazine’s Summer 2022 issue. He would like to thank all of the Grub instructors and community members who've been supportive over the years. Instructor Debbie Sosin's essay "Befriend Your Inner Critic" was published on the Brevity Blog. On September 24th, she is offering an online, three-hour GrubStreet workshop on the subject.

Memoir Incubator instructor Alysia Abbott’s essay “At the pool, my boy can enjoy summer like everyone else” was published in WBUR's Cognoscenti. She thanks her writing community for their support. Kimberly Hensle Lowrance's essay "Olivia Newton-John was the soundtrack to my childhood. She meant even more to me as an adult" was published in WBUR’s Cognoscenti. Christopher Amenta's debut novel, The Cold Hard Light, is now available from Blackstone Publishing. Set in present-day Boston, The Cold Hard Light is a spare and bracing literary debut that tells the story of a new father who falls into the grip of obsession. Christopher took his first class at GrubStreet in 2010.

Karen Naylor's young adult manuscript Dancing with the All-Stars won the 2022 Boston Author's Club Discovery Award for Young Adult fiction. She would like to thank her instructors and classmates at GrubStreet for their wisdom and fellowship, especially her Grubbie writing groupmates Hilary Lathan and Chris Cooke. Novel Incubator Student Carla Miriam Levy's short story "Amanda Maynard, Author of The Quixote" was published in Minerva Rising Press' online journal, The Keeping Room. Carla is grateful to her instructors and classmates in “6 Weeks, 6 Stories” with Carolyn Zaikowski and “Short Story Builder” with Kate Senecal.

Memoir Incubator Graduate Caroline Stowell’s essay “Ten Steps to Kicking Publication Envy” was published in Brevity Blog. She thanks her Memoir Incubator classmates for their motivating successes, as well as Sylvia Baedorf Kassis for her very helpful edits. Susan Schirl Smith's essay "Hero" was published in Pangyrus. She thanks the Page Six Writers' Group for their ongoing feedback and support. Instructor Dorian Fox's review of Issac Fitzgerald's debut memoir, Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional, was published in Los Angeles Review of Books. He thanks Lesley Heiser for her sharp and encouraging notes.

Instructor Kelly Dalke’s essay “Hope in the New Age” about teaching during the pandemic, online learning, and the hopeful future of where we are going as educators and learners was published in Well-Schooled. Memoir Incubator Graduate Judy Bolton-Fasman’s essay “Vigilant” was published in Hunger Mountain Review. As always, she thanks her sister-writers, the Bees. Instructor and Memoir and Essay Incubator Graduate Kristen Paulson-Nguyen presented the hour-long session "The Answer Is in Your Essay: Creating a Title that Stands Out" at HippoCamp 2022, where she had fun meeting fellow Essay Incubees.

B. B. Garin's short story "The Teaseller" was selected for Penumbric Magazine's “Best Of” anthology. The story was originally developed in a "Six Weeks, Six Stories" class and has received lots of Grubbie help along the way. Julie Zuckerman's essay "Abbaye de Valloires" was published in Hinterland Magazine's Summer 2022 Place Writing Special. She thanks E.B. Bartels and the members of her “6 Weeks, 6 Essays” class for their feedback on the initial draft. Instructor Daphne Kalotay’s 2013 novel Sight Reading has been released as an audiobook.

Board Member Kathy Sherbrooke's novel Leaving Coy's Hill was long-listed for the 2022 MA Book Award. Essay Incubator Graduate Jennifer Dines’ essay "Removing the Stigma of Alcoholism in the Teaching Profession" was published in Rooted in Rights, a disability justice blog. Grubbies Susan Phillips and Randy Ross, as well as instructor Judah Leblang, will be reading at Somerville's SomerStreets Strike Up the Bands street fair Sunday, September 11th. Memoir Incubator Graduate Jason Prokowiew will be represented by Robert Guinsler at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. for his braided memoir, Raised by Wolves. He is deeply grateful to Alysia Abbott for her advice and to many Memoir Incubator graduates who talked him through the process. He also thanks Xujun Eberlein for her continued support.