Spillwords Press Awards 2025
Author of the Year
NOMINATIONS
- Joseph L.M. Sturm
- Dawn Pisturino
- Ash Douglas
- Antonia Wang
- Lisa H. Owens
- Melissa Lemay
- Teodora Vamvu
- Ernie Stricsek
- Lou Storey
- Sanu Sharma
- Gabriella Balcom
- Michael McCarthy
- James Nelli
WINNER
Click to reveal
JULY 2024 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH / 2024 AUTHOR OF THE YEAR at Spillwords.com
Melissa Lemay lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with her three children, four cats, and a dog. She never graduated college. She has lived an interesting life, and her experiences shape her writing (some might call it an obsession). She writes about God, addiction, trauma, healing, motherhood, and many other things. She enjoys spending time with family, drinking good coffee, and being outdoors. She loves animals. Her poem, Ephemeral, was chosen as "Poetic Publication of the Year" for 2023 at Spillwords Press. Find her at Melissa Lemay at WordPress and on dVerse Poets Pub.
Latest posts by Melissa Lemay (see all)
- Goodness - January 4, 2025
- Maybe - September 29, 2024
- Interview Q&A With Melissa Lemay - August 20, 2024
Publication of the Year (Poetic)
NOMINATIONS
- This World is Yours by Michael L. Utley
- Tapestry of Dreams by Ginny M. Jones
- A Squirrel’s Front Teeth Never Stop Growing by Barbara Harris Leonhard
- Haunt by Emma Wells
- Empty Lines by Smitha V
- Treats Only, Please! by Lauren Scott
- In Your Face by Ximena Escobar
- Black Flies by David Estringel
- Song of Soul by Suman Pokhrel
- Isn’t It a Pity? by Daedalus Chaos
- Worn Slap Out by Joni Caggiano
- Sentimental Ebb by Aurora Kastanias
- Birth Dance by SR Inciardi
- Ethereal Encounter in the Night’s Embrace by Yasmin Hemmat
WINNER
Click to reveal
A SQUIRREL’S FRONT TEETH NEVER STOP GROWING by Barbara Harris Leonhard
Publication of the Year (Non-Poetic)
NOMINATIONS
- Miriam and Her 13,149 Days by Janete Cabral
- The Grand Adventure by Jim Bartlett
- The Seagull by Patricia Furstenberg
- Precious Moments by Valli Henry-Boldini
- A Christmas Heckler by John Christopher
- Moccona With Two Sugars by Sarah Kelleher
- Dunker Church by Robert Walton
- One Life to Live by Lise Rowlandson
- Kaivopuisto by S. Anand
- Adrift by Julie London
- Tasseography by Dominic Rivron
- Murmurs by June Hunter
- New Beginnings by Lisa Rivers Kiesling
- The Night My Daughter Never Came Home by Diana Burns
WINNER
Click to reveal
A CHRISTMAS HECKLER by John Christopher
Publication of the Year (International)
NOMINATIONS
- Willow! In an Ocean of Green! by Thaddeus Hutyra
- Namalowałeś… by Danuta Czerwińska Murawska
- No te Olvides de Mi by Francisco Bravo Cabrera
- The Apple Tree of Paradise by Marian Dziwisz
- El Primero by José A Gómez
- Rzeka by Mirosława Stojak
- Summer Haiku by Maurizio Brancaleoni
- Ay! Pobre Corazon by Nancy E. Campos
- Boquiblando by Alexis Soto Ramírez
- Gli Alberi di Gaza by Francesco Abate
- Soli by Natalia Castelluccio
- Coś do Powiedzenia by Katarzyna Koziorowska
- Significar Ninguna Vez by Romulaizer Pardo
- Złoty Ryngraf Nieba by Katarzyna Dominik
WINNER
Click to reveal
NO TE OLVIDES DE MI by Francisco Bravo Cabrera
Contributor of the Year (Honorary Award)
Click to reveal
We are proud to honor Michael McCarthy as Spillwords Press Contributor of the Year 2024, celebrating his remarkable literary journey with us since 2020. Through his compelling short stories and, most recently, his captivating 17-part series, Michael has made a profound impact on our literary community. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for his steadfast support, creativity, and dedication to the written word.
I'm British and have been living with my German born wife in s.w. Germany for 30 years. I've been writing short stories for many years and they have appeared on Fictionontheweb, Short FictionBreak, Literally Stories, Spillwords and other sites. I also have a story in the book The Best of Fiction On the Web.
Latest posts by Michael McCarthy (see all)
- To Dirk & Else - January 9, 2025
- Clint & Rusty - December 11, 2024
- Olivia’s first visit to K - November 26, 2024
Socialite of the Year (Honorary Award)
Click to reveal
We are pleased to honor The Spillwords Press Socialites of The Year 2024. These individuals embody the spirit of our community by fostering connections with fellow writers on Spillwords.com, celebrating the achievements of others, and advocating for our global literary movement through social media—all while enriching our platform with their own outstanding literary submissions. Your dedication and ambassadorship are truly appreciated.
I am a mother and grandmother who enjoys writing but usually just for my own pleasure. I was born in Essex but spent many of my adult years in various overseas wherever my husband was working. I studied Sociology originally at University but began teaching English as a Foreign Language while abroad. On our return to the UK I began working in adult education teaching Literacy and Numeracy but always had a passion for Early Years education. As such I retrained and spent a number of years working as an early years practitioner, until I retired in November 2019. I now live in Leicestershire and have two grown up children and two young grandchildren with whom I love to play and read stories to.. During Lockdown I wrote a number of little short stories for them, which i recorded and shared with them just for fun. My first little children's story book Off to the Beach was published by Bumble Bee Books (part of Olympia Publishers) in April 2021. It really was a lockdown project!
Latest posts by Nina Taylor (see all)
- The Snowdrop - December 10, 2024
- Hedgehog - July 29, 2024
- Jumble - June 3, 2024
After a long career of tinkering in telecommunications, Jim Bartlett switched to tinkering with words, both, of course, requiring a stretch of the imagination. He has since been fortunate to have a number of stories, ranging from flash to novella, featured in Fiction on the Web, CrimeSpree Magazine, Short-Story.me, Ontologica, The Scarlet Leaf Review, Fairlight Books and a number of other wonderful publications. Most recently one of his stories was featured in the print anthology, The Best of Fiction on the Web, 1996 – 2017. While mentally he strolls along a warm California beach with his wife and golden retriever (shhh, she doesn’t know she’s a dog), physically they reside on a special little island in the Pacific Northwest.
Latest posts by Jim Bartlett (see all)
- Christmas Gets Stuck in Concourse C - December 15, 2024
- Waiting for the Past to Call - November 24, 2024
- The Grand Adventure - April 14, 2024
David's stories have appeared in Duality books, Impspired Magazine, Punk Noir, Friday Flash Fiction and performed on Resonance FM radio (UK). He was commissioned to adapt and direct his short story 'Into The Breach' for the 2021 Rise of the Resistance Festival, screened at Bloomsbury Theatre London. His stage play Shinwell was recently published by Impspired Books. David was a founder member of punk band Vee V V. He finds his stories while he's out and about, or they find him... He lives with his wife and family in London.
Latest posts by David Milner (see all)
- Halting Matilda - December 21, 2024
- Far Out - September 22, 2024
- Gates of Heaven - June 20, 2024
JUNE 2024 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords.com
Growing up, my family moved around—a lot. I attended a total of nine schools-in six cities-in four states before my first year of college. My first attempts at writing became a series of short stories inspired by the antics involved in making those numerous moves—from north to south and east to west—with my oddball family. Two local newspapers picked them up; running one story per month in a humorous memoirs column for a couple of years and that had me hooked. I continued to write, entering contests and submitting stories to a popular local news blog. Most recently, I have completed my first book, a compilation of letters to my sister-in-law describing my first year as a new-hire flight attendant in Boston called, "Dear Melinda, How I Met Your Brother." Now the hard part, finding a publisher. I have two children (now in their 30's) and reside in North Texas with three rescue dogs and a WFH job as an environmental compliance manager. I am continuing to write part two of my book, Dear Melinda, How I Married Your Brother. You can read more of my work on my website - Lisa H. Owens.
Latest posts by Lisa H. Owens (see all)
- Thank You for Choosing BOSS Journeys - December 17, 2024
- The Zombies’ Halloween - October 30, 2024
- The Last Storyteller - September 8, 2024
MARCH 2023 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords.com
Philippine-born Michelle Navajas, currently residing in Malaysia. Michelle authored the book “After – Rain Skies: A Million Stars” for PWW during their Million Stars campaign. Graduated with a Master of Education majoring in English in the Philippines, Michelle was a former college professor, teaching literature, speech & oral communication, creative writing, drama, and theatre arts. Michelle is active in her writing profession and works as a freelance creative writer. Michelle passionately blogs at WordPress at michnavs, where you can find her prose and poetry on love, life, motherhood, and her advocacy on abuse and violence. Her poem “Again” is published on three platforms, on MEDIUM - an International Writers and Readers Space, AFRICA WRITERS CARAVAN, and at WOMAWORDS LITERARY PRESS.
Latest posts by Michelle Ayon Navajas (see all)
- The Haunting of the Acacia Tree - November 1, 2024
- Resilience - September 10, 2024
- Drowning - July 25, 2024
I enjoy writing flash fiction, short stories and some poetry and have been a member of a local writers' group for a few years. Have only recently begun submitting my work for publication online. I'm originally from UK but have called Australia home for more than 50 years.
Latest posts by Mike Henry (see all)
- The Magic of Christmas - December 20, 2024
- The Library - August 13, 2024
- ANZAC - April 25, 2024
OCTOBER 2020 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords Press
On Trinidad, the larger island of The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is where Sheila was born. After a rewarding childhood, she migrated to the United States in the summer of 1969. Soon thereafter she became a Naturalized Citizen. Though she never took a Poetry class, her passion for poetry compelled her to a prolific self scholarship. Sheila resides in New Jersey where she spends her time enjoying her grandchildren and preparing her collection of poetry for publication. Sheila Henry’s writing style can best be categorized as Visual Poetry, blending emotion and vision into a poem or story of color. Her poems and short stories are featured at Spillwords Publications, Literary Yard, Sweetycat Press and other publications.
Latest posts by Sheila Henry (see all)
- Mortality - November 5, 2024
- Repentance - September 13, 2024
- Inspiration - June 11, 2024
DECEMBER 2024 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords.com
Gabriella Balcom lives in Texas with her family, works full-time in the mental health field, and has loved reading and writing her entire life. She writes fantasy, horror, sci-fi, romance, literary fiction, children's stories, and more, and loves great stories, forests, mountains, and back roads. She has a weakness for lasagna, garlic bread, tacos, cheese, and chocolate, but not necessarily in that order, and adores Chinese, Italian, and Mexican food. Gabriella has had 360 works accepted for publication, and won the right to have a novel published by Clarendon House Publications when one of her short stories was voted best in the anthology in which it appeared. Her book, On the Wings of Ideas, came out afterward. She was nominated for the Washington Science Fiction Association’s Small Press Award, and won second place in JayZoMon/Dark Myth Company’s 2020 Open Contract Challenge. Gabriella's novelette, Worth Waiting For, was then released. She self-published a novelette, Free’s Tale: No Home at Christmas-time, and Black Hare Press published her sci-fi novella, The Return, in 2021. Her horror novella, Down With the Sickness and Other Chilling Tales comes out in November of 2022, and four others pend publication.
Latest posts by Gabriella Balcom (see all)
- Interview Q&A With Gabriella Balcom - January 16, 2025
- Free’s Tale: No Home at Christmas-time - December 16, 2024
- Meyer House - October 21, 2024
MAY 2022 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords Press
Born and raised on the prairies of Manitoba Canada, along the Red River and just south of Lake Winnipeg. Then Alberta and ten years in the Rockies, just above Montana. The last decade in the Canadian Gulf Islands. People, ideas and stories set the stage of my poetry and writing. Music and art fill my days and verse fills my head. I feel the fortunate one and share this world with my life partner.
Latest posts by Gerry Stefanson (see all)
- A Clear Starlit Night Under a Blanket of Snow - January 7, 2025
- 666 Alverstone Ave. - November 1, 2024
- The Clock Watches - September 28, 2024
In March 2018 aged 55 I wrote my first ever poem. I remember the day very clearly. I had recently had my 5 year post breast cancer treatment review, all had gone well and emotions were very powerful at that time. I found myself reflecting on the previous 5 years and words just seemed to flow naturally. Since then I have had several other poems published and in July 2021 I was absolutely thrilled when I was awarded Publication of the Month at Spillwords. Poetry and photography have both been very therapeutic and healing for me; I found a creativity within me that I didn't realise even existed. I now present some of my poetry alongside a series of non-clinical photographs called 'Focus on Emotions' to help people understand the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis. I am also an award winning complementary therapist, keen photographer and write as a guest blogger. I live in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England - home of the pottery industry and affectionately known as 'The Potteries'. I enjoy spending time with my husband and family and when possible we love to get away in our motorhome. My hobbies include writing poetry, photography, the theatre, orchestral concerts and cycling. My poetry is influenced by personal experience but written in a style that I hope others can connect with.
Latest posts by Diane Leopard (see all)
- A Friend in You? - November 10, 2024
- Because of You - March 31, 2023
- Only in My Dreams - July 6, 2021
Series Recognition
We are delighted to acknowledge the showcased series and their respective authors throughout the year 2024:
When Olivia Met K by Michael McCarthy (The life and loves of a formidable woman of magnetic allure and her enduring lover)
The Eleventh Tome by Tim Law (Imagine a place where religion and magic are outlawed, replaced by an obsession with the written word)
Passages by Gerry Stefanson (Poems that partner a life at sea to a life as lived)
Robyn Finds Poetry by Robyn MacKinnon (A compilation of haiku, found poetry, complemented by accompanying illustrations)
MMXXV
Spilled Words is what we offer one and all.
A website offering fresh, original and exclusive material by writers who espouse the philosophy that “Words Matter” and believe that imagination is the seed of accomplishment.
We are passionate about the world we inhabit; Aware there are two sides to every story. Persistent in our pursuit of all points of view.
A place to think, to laugh, to shed a tear. Where words are gifts that feed the soul; ignite a flame within the heart; excite the recesses of the brain; spark passions and concerns; inspire the conscious and subconscious.
Join Spillwords for this and more…
A website offering fresh, original and exclusive material by writers who espouse the philosophy that “Words Matter” and believe that imagination is the seed of accomplishment.
We are passionate about the world we inhabit; Aware there are two sides to every story. Persistent in our pursuit of all points of view.
A place to think, to laugh, to shed a tear. Where words are gifts that feed the soul; ignite a flame within the heart; excite the recesses of the brain; spark passions and concerns; inspire the conscious and subconscious.
Join Spillwords for this and more…
Latest posts by Spillwords (see all)
- Spillwords Press Awards 2025 - February 2, 2025
- Dialogue - February 2, 2025
- A Dream - January 26, 2025
