Congratulations to all the Grubbies who were published in literary journals across the country, won awards and prizes, secured book deals, and so much more. Let us celebrate you: submit your good news to GrubStreet’s Department of Congratulations.

Viktoria Shulevich's humor piece "Our Tanning Gummies Are an Easy Addition to Your Daily Gummy Vitamin Routine" was published in Points in Case. Instructor and consultant Cara Benson was a guest on Cheryl Strayed's “Mind Over Mountain” podcast to talk about Benson's new memoir, An Armsfull of Birds: A Personal Field Guide to Love, Loss, and Commitment. People Magazine published an exclusive essay about Jason Prokowiew's War Boys: A Father and Son Memoir. He thanks his Grub-formed writing group members, Emily May and Kristin Amico, for their help on this essay. Fabienne François Keck’s short story "The Quiet Ones," published by the Cleveland Review of Books, is now available to read online.

Katie M. DeBonville’s debut memoir, Grace Notes, was published on May 15 by Sibylline Press. Galen Bunting recently attended the McCormack Writing Workshop (formerly TinHouse) as a Spring Young Adult Scholarship Recipient, where he workshopped his young adult novel with Aiden Thomas; and will be a 2026 Lambda Literary Fellow attending the Lambda Literary’s 2026 Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, where he will be workshopping his historical fiction novel with Anna-Marie McLemore. He wishes to thank Fin Leary ("Novel-In-Progress" instructor) for their continued encouragement of his writing. Patricia Harney's "He was just here" was selected for inclusion in a book of collected essays entitled Dorothy Parker's Ashes, to be published by Regal House Press in 2027. Her piece was developed in the Memoir Incubator with Alysia Abbott.

Advanced Speculative Fiction Workshop student Lauren Harkawik's short story, "It Was Always a Possibility," was published in The Brooklyn Review. Barbara Thimm’s essay on Cambridge sidewalks was published by WBUR’s Cognoscenti. She would like to thank Kate Neal Cooper, her wonderful editor. Divya Babin's flash fiction piece "Love for the Artist" was published in Strange Pilgrims alongside an interview. She thanks her longstanding Grubbie writing groups for their continuous love and support.

Essay Incubator graduate Steffi Gauguet’s latest essay, "Just as Important," was published as the featured essay in bioStories. She wants to thank her instructor, Ethan Gilsdorf, all her essay incubator classmates, and Cat Parnell for help with this piece. Kelly Lydick’s book Everything That’s Left Behind was just released. It was originally a flash fiction piece that grew to a 6,000-word short story and beyond. She is grateful for The Muse & the Marketplace Conference, which helped her consider publication options. Joan Silverman’s newsletter, Away From It All: Essays From Near + Far, highlights essays by leading writers and the latest issue features Ann Hood, Howard Mansfield, and Aaron Angello.

A chapter from instructor A.J. Rodriguez's novel-in-progress La Lucha won honorable mention in The Masters Review Novel Excerpt Contest and is available to read online. Romance Generator instructor Thien-Kim Lam is speaking and signing books at Lavender Con; a book festival celebrating LGBTQIA+ authors and stories presented by Little District Books, Washington, DC's all-queer independent bookstore. Jenn Bouchard's fourth novel, Way Outta Left Field, will be published on July 8, 2027, with Black Rose Writing. Tamara MC published “The Miso That Went to Space” in Offrange; it is about space and food, two of her favorite topics.

Essay Incubator instructor Ethan Gilsdorf published his essay "The Last Year on the Playground" in Summer Still, an anthology put out by the Lilly Poetry Review to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Solstice MFA Program. Additionally, Ethan published two essays this week: "The banana as we know it is in trouble" with WBUR’s Cognoscenti, and "I’m Ready for My Close-Up: Using the metaphor of cinema to focus our writing lenses" with the Brevity Blog. He thanks his Essay Incubator and his other workshop students for their continuing inspiration. Daphne Kalotay’s award-winning novel Blue Hours is now an audiobook performed by Audiobrary narrator Julia Whelan. Ann MacDonald's essay, "The gift of celebrity weddings," was published by WBUR's Cognoscenti. She thanks the members of her long-term writing group (all Memoir Incubator grads) for their feedback on an earlier version of this essay.

Sara Revsin's unpublished historical fiction manuscript, The Indispensable Myrtle Bergheim, has been named a top five finalist for the Women's Fiction Writers Association Rising Star Award. Sara first workshopped a draft of her book in GrubStreet's Novel in Progress course, where she also met her writing group. She wants to thank them, and instructor Ursula DeYoung, for their feedback and support. Instructor Lesléa Newman's newest poetry collection, The Last Flame Last, will be available for pre-order on September 25, 2026 from Finishing Line Press. The work is a response to the events of October 7th, and Newman’s sharing a portion of her royalties with Beth Israel Congregation of Jackson, Mississippi, to help them rebuild after the January 2020 antisemitic arson attack. Mel Song’s piece “Her Bitterness: A Woman’s Choice” was published in The Rumpus, she would like to thank her Essay Incubator instructor, Ethan Gilsdorf, and all her incubator friends for helping workshop and revise this piece.

Sarah Ignatius’s debut historical fiction novel, The Kaleidoscope of Destiny, will be published by Koehler Books in September 2026. Sarah first workshopped early excerpts of her manuscript in the “Writing for Kids” workshop taught by instructor Ben Winters, where she also met her writing group. She wants to thank each of them for their constructive feedback and inspiration and also thank GrubStreet’s talented consultants, especially Jackie Cangro and Diana Renn, for helping to develop the manuscript. Lynda Rushing's essay "Pau Hana Time" was published in the 2026 summer issue of The Indiana Review. She thanks her coach, Dorian Fox, for his patience in reading multiple versions of the essay and for his ongoing support. Sohana Manzoor’s short story "Locked in Memory" has been published in The Silk Road Review (issue 28). She wrote the initial drafts in Yu-Mei Balasingamchow's "Developing Your Short Fiction" and is grateful to Yu-Mei and the amazing peers she had in the course.

Short Story Incubator graduate Maia McPherson’s first collection of poems, Spaceflight, will be coming out in May of 2027. She is grateful to her Incubator class, which is still in close contact, and to a short poetry workshop with Vivee Francis. Instructor and Memoir and Essay Incubator graduate Katie Bannon’s flash essay "Chase the Rabbit" was published in The Baltimore Review. Memoir Incubator graduate Tamara MC was selected as a winner of the 2026 Summer Penguin Random House Scholarship for her middle grade novel. Jen Inglis's flash essay "My Brother's Shirt" was accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of the literary journal Under the Gum Tree. The essay was developed and workshopped in Ethan Gilsdorf's Essay Incubator. She thanks her Incubator friends and her Memoir Generator writing group for their willingness to read multiple iterations of this piece over several years.