Announcing the 2023 Kingfisher Poetry Prize Shortlist!

The Daring Dozen

We are delighted to reveal the twelve shortlisted poems for the 2023 Kingfisher Poetry Prize!

The winner and honourable mentions, as decided by final judge Jude Neale, will be announced on Friday, December 15th at our ten-year anniversary gala! RSVP to the gala here.

And if you can’t make it to the gala, stay tuned to the Pulp Literature blog. We’ll announce the results here on Saturday, December 16th. And look for the winning entries in Issue 42, Spring 2024.

And now, the 2023 Kingfisher Poetry Prize shortlist…

Angela Rebrec with ‘Behold, I have inscribed you on the palm of my hand’

Callista Markotich with ‘Mother and Son’

Cara Waterfall with ‘sel·vage’

Chelsea Comeau with ‘Somass Estuary, Late Summer’

Dean Gessie with ‘gastropod’

Diana Hayes with ‘Postcards from Sitka’

Jade Y Liu with ‘怀念’ (‘In Memory’)

Leah Hart with ‘Phoenix’

Leanne Boschman with ‘Most of Your Stuff is Worthless’

Marri Champie with ‘Kid Gloves’

Pattie Palmer-Baker with ‘Dahlia Truth’

Veronika Gorlova with ‘Water restrictions’

Congratulations to the shortlisted authors! Best of luck in the next round. And thank you to all submitting poets for sharing your words and supporting Pulp Literature.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners, alighting here soon! And RSVP to the anniversary gala here!

For the latest in all things Pulp Literature, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Bluesky, or sign up for our newsletter.

While you wait for Jude’s picks, why not pick up some of her poetry in Pulp Literature Issues 8, 13, and 37? And look for the winning Kingfisher poems, coming up in Issue 42, Spring 2024.

Short-form writers, for your chance to appear in the magazine — and win $300! — enter the Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest, opening January 1st!

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Meet Kingfisher final judge, Jude Neale!

Jude Neale is a master educator, Canadian poet, vocalist, spoken-word performer, workshop facilitator, and mentor. As well, she has written twelve collections of poetry. At eight years old, Jude had her first publication, when she won a CBC youth competition on travel. Fast forward a few years and now, coming in the fall, is her latest book, Water Forgets Its Own Name (Ekstasis Editions), a collaboration with the visual artist Nicholas Jennings. We are delighted to have published two of Jude’s poems: ‘About Light’ in Pulp Literature Issue 13, and ‘Blaze of the Universe’ in Issue 37. Visit her at judeneale.ca.