In anticipation of its upcoming launch party taking place Thursday, November 29th from 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Happy Dog, Gordon Square Review, an online literary magazine published biannually by Literary Cleveland, is pleased to announce the winner of its inaugural Prose Contest.
Taking first place in the contest is Alexandra Schwartz’s “Second Adolescence,” with “A Rest Season” by Ariel Lewis named runner-up. Three finalists include “Native Tongue” by Athena Dixon, “The Case of Strauss’s Missing Dentures” by Courtney Ebert, and “In Your Dreams” by Jackie Feldman.
Reflecting on Schwartz’s piece, poet, professor, and contest judge Lucy Biederman remarked, “‘Second Adolescence’ is a transmission from the future. It makes its own form from its ideas, not sentences or lines. It is art criticism that makes me think of the way Walt Whitman would write if he were on Twitter. I loved it.”
As the winner of Gordon Square Review’s Prose Contest, Schwartz will receive $250, publication in Issue 3 of Gordon Square Review, an invitation to read at the Issue 3 launch party, and a voucher for one free Literary Cleveland class or workshop.
Of Ariel Lewis’ submission, Biederman wrote, “‘A Rest Season’ is a masterly short story. It has an intense clarity of voice and tone, even as it winds through the increasingly strange territory of its plot.”
The upcoming launch party will celebrate the release of Gordon Square Review’s third issue and offer a platform for Prose Contest finalists and issue contributors to read their work. Learn more about the launch party at http://www.litcleveland.org/gordon-square-review-issue-3-launch-party.html.
Gordon Square Review’s mission is to showcase emerging writers nationwide, award editing mentorships, and provide a venue to spotlight Northeast Ohio writers. Support for Gordon Square Review comes from individuals, the George Gund Foundation, and state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Learn more about Gordon Square Review at Gordon Square Review
Literary Cleveland’s mission is to create and nurture a vibrant literary arts community in Northeast Ohio. For more information on upcoming events, check out our website at Literary Cleveland or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @litcleveland.
