Rigel, the contest seeking the brightest example from different creative categories, has been judged. The prose, poetry, CNF, stories, graphic novels and art submissions ranged from micro length to longform narratives, while art ran the gambit from collage to painting and photography. The quality of submissions was so high that the pieces designated as runners-up achieved nearly the same level as the winner. Best Of designations were given to individual categories that rose to the finalist list.

Winner

Book, Escape, Sanctuary / Lesley Finn / Essay with Erased & Collaged Pages

Runners-up

Hope your heart is lighter than a feather / Quentin Pace / Best of Art (in this post)

A Brief History of a Flood / J Carraher / Best of Essay

Lavender / Marilyn Hope / Best of Fiction (tied)

Salvatore Milione / Maureen Hall / Best of Fiction (tied)

Finalists

Adrift in Deep Sea / Penny Senanarong / Art

Body Count / Michael Cullinane / Fiction

Motorcycling to Mexican Time and the Zen Sea WC-3244 / Essay

Fishing for her children / Dave Sims / Art

Seeing the Spider / Luann Lewis / Fiction

The winner received $500 and will be published in the next digital edition as well as the annual print edition. Runners-up and finalists will also be offered publication. Congratulations to everyone called out as a Best Of, as well as those that rose to the semifinalist and quarterfinalist ranks.

We welcome all submissions to Sunspot. Remember that our calls for longer poetry, fiction, and nonfiction close earlier than the calls for shorter works. Click here to find out what we’re accepting now.

To support great literature and art, consider preordering a print copy of the 2023 print edition. Shipping to US locations is included in the price.

It was a true pleasure to engage with so many unique submissions.