Perkoff Prize Winners

2026 Contest Winners

FICTION
Winner
Somto Ihezue of Imo, Nigeria, for “Di Nwanne’m”

Runner-up
Isabel Torrence of Oakland, CA, for “Stump”

Finalists
Timothy Collyer of Chippenham, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, for “The Glass Neuron”
Marie Goyette of Rochester, MN, for “Those I’ve Killed”
Gracie Newman of Austin, TX, for “Cumulonimbus”
Tyler Odeneal of Milwaukee, WI, for “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder!)”
Sarah Toy of Brooklyn, NY, for “Any Idea”

NONFICTION
Winner 
Steven Philip Gehrke of Reno, NV, for “A House in the Woods”

Runner-up
Xi Chen of Brooklyn, NY, for “The Hateful Patient”

Finalists
Abraham Aamidor of Watertown, NY, for “Death: A Memoir”
Douglas Abeles of New York, NY, for “Deep Background”
Kimberly Bryant of Oakland, CA, for “The Medicine”
Elizabeth Rosa Landau of Washington, DC, for “My Search for Life”
Gerald Witt of Knoxville, TN, for “Sarah’s Run”

POETRY
Winner
C. M. Berger of Pittsburgh, PA, for “To My Miscarriages as Ex-Boyfriends” and other poems

Runner-up
Elina Katrin of Alhambra, CA, for “Resurgence in Two Parts” and other poems

Finalists
Amy Fleury of Eau Claire, WI, for “Signing the Surgical Consent Form” and other poems Christine Marshall of Charlotte, NC, for “Ataxia” and other poems
Sean Patrick Mulroy of New York, NY, for “Exorcism for Celexa” and other poems
Reed Turchi of Brooklyn, NY, for “Staring Directly at the Sun” and other poems
Gretchen Williams of Easthampton, MA, for “How to Move the Dead” and other poems

2025 Contest Winners

FICTION

Winner
Melissa Yancy of Los Angeles, CA, for “Falling”

Runner-up
Christopher Chilton of Brooklyn, NY, for “Ginger Ale”

Finalists
Maureen Aitken of Minneapolis, MN, for “Once I Lived at The Y”
Kathryn Campo Bowen of Los Angeles, CA, for “Hide and Seek”
Mandy Len Catron of Vancouver, CAN, for “Abby”
Jason Ferris of Leonardtown, MD, for “The Gift”
Colby Halloran of Ann Arbor, MI, for “Call to the North”

 

NONFICTION

Winner
Gustavo Perez Firmat of Chapel Hill, NC, for “The Story of My Eyes”

Runner-up
Bonnie Darves of South Pasadena, FL, for “Jumper Girl”

Finalists
Matia Guardabascio of Durham, NC, for “How to Calculate Death”
Marina Hatsopoulos of Boston, MA, for “Solving for Death”
Keya Mitra of Portland, OR, for, “The Third Eye, or How I Learned to Move”
Jodie Noel Vinson of Providence, RI, for “Running with Rachmaninoff”
Angie Romines of Dublin, OH, for “Iron Byron”

 

POETRY

Winner
David Chaudoir of Granger, IN, for “The Word Tropical” and other poems

Runner-up
Alissa M. Barr of Nashville, TN, for “Instructions Withheld from a Nursing School Syllabus” and other poems

Finalists
Allison Albino of Manhattan, NY, for “Dragonfly Father” and other poems
Ada Lowenthal of Goshen, CT, for “Sister” and other poems
Joan Roger of Bainbridge, WA, for “Morning Report” and other poems
Kelly Rowe of Flagstaff, AZ, for “In the Childrens Ward” and other poems
Gordon Taylor of Toronto, CAN, for “Everyone Has Already Said Everything” and other poems

 

2024 Contest Winners

FICTION

Winner
Ariel Katz, of Houston, TX, for “Negative Space”

Runner-up
Doug Crandell, of Douglasville, GA, for “Equipment for the Darkness”

Finalists
Thomas Atkinson, of Cincinnati, OH, for “Hillbilly Kabuki”
Alex Dezen, of Los Angeles, CA, for “Columbus K”
Eleanor Lerman, of Long Beach, NY, for “Murmurations”
Lara Palmqvist, of Austin, TX, fro “Bountiful”
Katie Robinson, of Phoenixville, PA, for “Sermons”

NONFICTION

Winner
Keya Mitra, of Portland, OR, for “Almost Born”

Runner-up
Nancy Glass, of Houston, TX, for “Homeless and Dying”

Finalists
Susan Baller-Shepherd, of Bloomington, IL, for “Selfies & the 4 Noble Truths”
Alexander Lumans, of Denver, CO, for “The Longest Ride of Your Life”
Shanda McManus, of Fair Haven, NJ, for “Octopus Trap”
Joshua Ritter, of Boynton Beach, FL, for “Falling Down”
James Steck, of Menlo Park, CA, for  “The Birth of Emergency Medicine”

POETRY

Winner
Lisa Furmanski, of Etna, NH, for “Reasons for Staying (1)” and other poems

Runner-up
Liane Strauss, of New York, NY, for “Living Proof” and other poems

Finalists
Christine Barkley, of Eugene, OR, for “Honestly Ill” and other poems
Emily Hyland, of Santa Fe, NM, for “Breasts (Struck Through)” and other poems
Danielle Pieratti, of Glastonbury, CT, for “Small Hours” and other poems
Georgio Russell, of North York, Ontario, CAN, for “Circadian” and other poems
Martha Silano, of Seattle, WA, for “Abecedarian with ALS” and other poems

 

2023 Contest Winners

FICTION

Winner:
Dennis McFadden of Ballston Spa, NY, for “Eighteen People Every Hour”

Runner-up:
A. R. Rea of Denver, CO, for “Wish in One Hand”

Finalists (alphabetically):
Jesse Lee Brooks of Baltimore, MD, for “The Regal Azul”
Blessing Christopher of Blacksburg, VA, for “Though He Slay Me”
Doug Crandell of Douglasville, GA, for “Glass at the Throat”
Naima Msechu of Berlin, Germany, for “Echoes”
Andrew Peters of Karlholmsbruk, Sweden, for “The Bye Byes”

NONFICTION

Winner:
Marina Hatsopoulos of Boston, MA, for “Breathe!”

Runner-up:
Adam Boggon of London, UK, for “The Shinty Ball”

Finalists (alphabetically):
Mark Brazaitas of Morgantown, WV, for “The Stroke Escape”
Courtney Miller Santo of Memphis, TN, for “Cancer Culture”
Susan Resnick of Narragansett, RI, for “Addiction Medicine for the Hopeless”
Deborah Thompson of Fort Collins, CO, for “Approaching Halloween”
Renee Thompson of Folsom, CA, for “The Bright Unknown”

POETRY

Winner:
Scott W. Frey of Granby, CT, for “Pink Feather Boa” and other poems

Runner-up:
Christine Marshall of Charlotte, NC, for “Fall” and other poems

Finalists (alphabetically):
Leila Chatti of Norwood, OH
Julia B. Levine of Davis, CA
LeeAnn Olivier of Fort Worth, TX
Bibhu Padhi of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Kelly Weber of Fort Collins, CO

2022 Contest Winners

FICTION

Winner:
Dina Guidubaldi of Austin, TX, for “Pet Scents”

Runner-up:
Shala Erlich of Bellingham, WA, for “Night Admissions”

Finalists (alphabetically):
Genevieve Abravanel of Lancaster, PA, for “Darling”
Matthew J. Farrell of Portland, OR, for “Egyptian Peasant # 2”
Robert Morgan Fisher of Woodland Hills, CA, for “Extremity”
Tori Malcangio of Poway, CA, for “Young Blood”
Jeremy T. Wilson of Evanston, IL, for “Big Cliff”

FICTION
Winner:
Linda Wastila of Baltimore, MD for “Gone”

Runner-Up: 
Suzanne Hodsden of Pickerington, OH, “Snake Oil”

Finalists (alphabetically): 
Andrea Eberly of Seattle, WA for “One Hundred Days”
Robert Morgan Fisher of Woodland Hills, CA for “Extremity”
Zilla Jones of Winnipeg, CAN for “The Last Egg”
Sarah Morgan of West Linn, OR for “Housepainting”
Valerie Weingart of Salem, OH for “The Mediator”

POETRY
Winner:
Lynne Ellis of Seattle, WA for “Finochietto, or, Rib Spreader” and other poems”

Runner-Up: 
Maggie Queeney of Chicago, IL for “The Patient Resembles” and other poems”

Finalists (alphabetically): 
M Soledad Caballero of Pittsburgh, PA
Alex Lemon of Fort Worth, TX
Monica Prince of Selinsgrove, PA
Kiyoko Reidy of Nashville, TN
Laura Paul Watson of Pine, CO

NONFICTION
Winner:
Sally Crossley of Westbrook, ME, for “Facing It”

Runner-Up: 
Jessica Watson of Land O Lakes, FL, for “Intro to Nursing”

Finalists (alphabetically): 
Andrea Firth of Morago, CA, for “Fear of Infinity”
Patricia Foster of Iowa City, IA, for “Bound”
James Davis May of Macon, GA, for “Rabbit City During the Great Depression”
Jane Shepherd of Southsea, UK, for “Balancing Rocks”
Richard Sonnenmoser of Maryville, MO, for “Compatible with Life”