Every month, we celebrate successes of all stripes! In November, Grubbies were published in literary journals across the country, won awards and prizes, published books, and so much more. Our community closed November 2022 out with 36 publications, eight awards and prizes, five book publications, and more! Let us celebrate you: submit your good news to GrubStreet’s Department of Congratulations.

Jamie Cat Callan has been awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). She will be among approximately 22 Fellows focusing on their own creative projects at this working retreat for writers, visual artists, and composers. Jamie is particularly in debt to GrubStreet for their community support and the guidance she received while attending the Muse conference. Jeffrey M. Feingold’s story “Rich Girl” won England’s annual Superlative Literary Journal prize and will be nominated for the Pen America Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Novel Generator student Julia Levy's story "A Suitable Abortion" was published in Epiphany: A Literary Journal. Julia workshopped the story in Yu-Mei Balasingmachow's "6 Weeks, 6 Stories" class and submitted it to Epiphany based on Olivia Cerrone’s recommendation during her “Accepted: Getting Your Stories Published” workshop. This is Julia’s first publication!

Short Story Incubator Graduate Jennifer Marie Donahue’s story “Bone to Rock” was published in The Journal. Joshua S. Narins’ debut literary fiction novel, False Neutral, has just been released in both ebook and paperback on Amazon and Kobo. A contemporary character-driven drama set primarily in Boston’s Back Bay and the North End, False Neutral is a story of choices made and not made, and the collision of those paths. Diane Forman's essay "Why I Write" was published on the Brevity’s Nonfiction Blog. Andrea Caswell's poem "Mont Blanc" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She thanks Cat Parnell for encouragement in this genre. Memoir Incubator Graduate Judy Bolton-Fasman’s essay “The Hamsa Blues” was published in Signal Mountain Review.

Susan Phillips' short story "Tales of the Great Healer" was published in Fig Tree Lit. Erica Ferencik's critically acclaimed novel, Girl In Ice, was released in paperback on November 1st. Instructor Ben Berman's new collection of essays, Writing While Parenting, based on his GrubWrites blog series, is now available for pre-order from Able Muse Press. After winning a Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Award, Memoir Incubator Graduate Rachel Zimmerman signed a book deal for her memoir The Good Suicide. She thanks her Memoir Incubator classmates, especially instructor Alysia Abbott for her ongoing and enthusiastic support. Anne Wheelock's sonnet “Gratitude At Seventy-Six” WAS published in Bostonia, the alumni magazine of Boston University.

Bronte Lim's "Petite Ceinture," published in The Iowa Review in 2021, was listed as a distinguished short story in Best American Short Stories 2022. T.H. Forest's debut novel Twinkies & Beefcake is available on Amazon today. It is a coming of age story about a young gay man growing up in London. The novel was born out of a class on narration taught by GrubStreet's amazing Ursula DeYoung. Memoir Incubator Graduate Caroline Stowell’s essay “A note to my realtor: My front door may be dated, but my home is full of family memories” was published in Boston Globe Magazine’s “Connections.” She thanks Dorian Fox for first bringing this section to her attention and her writing group members Pat Harney, Sylvia Baedorf Kassis, Patty Mulcahy, and Leah Soumerai for their mighty support.

Instructor and Memoir Incubator Graduate Aimee Seiff Christian’s essay “'You don’t have to be like everyone else,' I tell my daughter. I hope she can believe me” was published in WBUR’s Cognoscenti. Instructor Mary Carroll Moore's flash fiction story "Exchanging Secrets" was published in Fictive Dream. Christine Bagley’s short story “The Beauport Incident” was recently published in Best New England Crime Stories: Deadly Nightshade. Consultant and instructor Caitlin McGill’s essay “On Desire” was listed as a notable in Best American Essays 2022. The essay was originally published in the Indiana Review, and won their 2020 Creative Nonfiction Prize.

Boston Writers of Color Member Paige Curtis’ environmental justice reporting piece “‘The vagina is self-cleaning’ – so why do companies push hygiene products on Black women?” was published in The Guardian. Amy Johnson's poem "The Werewolf and the Fox Spirit Are Neighbors" was published in Fantasy Magazine. Instructor Robin McLean's debut novel Pity The Beast was recommended in “Paperback Row” in the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Her new collection of stories, Get 'em Young, Treat 'em Tough, Tell 'em Nothing, was favorably reviewed by David Hayden in The Guardian and Sam Sacks in the Wall Street Journal.

Essay Incubator Graduate Vanessa Garza’s essay “The Thunderstorm that Saved My Life” was published in Intima. Vanessa thanks instructors Ethan Gilsdorf and Samantha Shanley for their writing guidance over several classes over several years. Memoir Incubator Graduate Jason Prokowiew won the 2023 PEN America/Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History for his braided memoir War Boys: A Father and Son Memoir. He heartily thanks instructor Alysia Abbott for her ongoing support and for connecting him with Mike Scalise as his second reader during the Incubator. Scalise helped him to imagine how he might better weave the interviews with his father into War Boys.

Instructor Ron MacLean’s story "Shards" was published in MudRoom. B. B. Garin's flash fiction piece "Gone," developed in KL Pereira's “6 Weeks, 6 Stories,” was published in The Bookends Review. Instructor Cathie Desjardins' essay "Sew Fun" was selected as the "Connections" feature for the November 20th issue of Globe Magazine. Instructor Lyzette Wanzer’s book Trauma, Tresses, & Truth: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives was released on November 8th from Chicago Review Press. It was selected as a Publishers Weekly “Fall Best Book” and Library Journal “Editors’ Recommended” pick. Boston Writers of Color member JL Higgs' short story "Alternative Choices" was recently published by Fiction On the Web.

Alyssa D. Metcalfe’s short story “Forgettable” was published in Close to the Bone. Len Abram’s song "Distracted By You," sung by Becca Hannah, was released on Spotify, YouTube, and many other distribution platforms. Essay Incubator Graduate Jennifer Dines’ essay "My Big Break" was published in Memoir Monday's “First Person Singular” column. She worked on this essay in both Shuchi Saraswat's Advanced Essay class and in the Essay Incubator with Ethan Gilsdorf. She thanks her teachers and classmates for their poignant feedback. Maryam Keramaty’s essay “My Reckoning with Reading” was published in Hippocampus Magazine’s “Writing Life” column. She wishes to acknowledge Lori Goldstein's “Sprint Writing” class and Katie Bannon for their feedback and support.

Memoir Incubator Graduate Jason Prokowiew's essay “He-Man: Most powerful Gen X unifier in the universe” was published on Salon. He thanks Alysia Abbott for prompting him to write on the topic. Nazli Kibria’s essay “My son’s autism is profound — and more common than you think” was published in WBUR’s Cognoscenti. She crafted and revised her op-ed in Ethan Gilsdorf's class “6 Weeks, 6 Op-eds.” Rob McKean’s essay "Entrance Stage Left: Introducing Characters to a Narrative" was published in The Decadent Review. He wishes to credit his attendance at the Muse & the Marketplace for its inspiration and useful publishing advice.

Alexis Wright’s essay "Which One is the Lifeline?" has been published in The Common’s Issue 24! Fabienne Keck will be starting her MFA in Creative Writing at Bennington College (Bennington Writing Seminars) in January. Nancy Agabian’s personal essay “The Faith of Candy” now appears in the the No, You Tell It ten-year anthology. Elizabeth Gonzalez James’s first novel, MONA AT SEA, was just optioned for a film. Andrew Zubiri’s hermit crab essay “Loanwords on the Front Lines” was published and is currently an Online Feature of the Month in Consequence Forum. Margo Gabriel's essay "These Black Women Moved To Europe For A Better Life — Did They Find It?" was published in Refinery29.