Finalists and Shortlisted pictures

Finalists Aquillrelle Contest 2

Evelyn McAmis Bales

Evelyn McAmis Bales is a poet living in Kingsport, Tennessee. Her chapbook, Kinkeeper, was published in 2003 by Finishing Line Press, Georgetown , Kentucky, as No. 18 in their New Women's Voices Chapbook Series. Her poems and stories have been published in many literary journals in the Appalachian region and beyond. She has studied the connections between Appalachian and Scottish culture at East Tennessee State University and University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Along with writing, her interests include her first grandchild, the autoharp, songwriting, and photography.

Leland James (pen name of Leland James Whipple) Leland James was a recent winner of the Portland Pen Poetry Contest and the Writers’ Forum Short Poem contest. He was runner up for the Fish International Poetry Prize and received the Franklin-Chistoph Merit Award for poetry. A short story of Leland’s won the Conclave Character Prize in Fiction. His work has placed in several other competitions including The South Carolina Review, New Millennium Writers, Tom Howard, St. Louis Writer’s Guild, and By Line. His work has appeared in publications in the US, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Israel including The South Carolina Review, New Millennium Writers, Orbis, Magma, Reach Poetry, Barnwood International Poetry, Voices of Israel, Osprey Journal, Cyclamens and Swords, The Umbrella, The Delinquent, Thirty First Bird Review, Carillon Magazine, joyful, Inspirit, Harûah, Shine, Ruminate, The Enigmatist, Conclave, Dawntreader and Tipton Poetry Journal.

George Amabile has published his poetry, fiction and non -fiction in the USA, Canada, Europe, England, Wales, South America, Australia and New Zealand in over a hundred anthologies, magazines, journals and periodicals including The New Yorker, The New Yorker Book of Poems, Harper's, Poetry (Chicago), American Poetry Review, Botteghe Oscure, The Globe and Mail, The Malahat Review, The Penguin Book of Canadian Verse, Saturday Night, Poetry Australia, Sur (Buenos Aires), Poetry Canada Review, Canadian Literature, and Margin (England). Born in Jersey City, N. J. he holds an A. B.(Hons) from Amherst College; an M. A. (Univ. of Minnesota) and a Ph. D. in English Literature (Univ. of Connecticut). He was Writer in Residence at University of British Columbia for 1969-70, co-founder and editor of The Far Point, founder and editor of Northern Light, has edited a dozen titles for Nuage Editions, Signature Editions, Penguin and has published eight books. The Presence of Fire (McClelland & Stewart, 1982), won the CAA National Prize for literature; his long poem, Durée, placed third in the CBC Literary Competition for 1991; "Popular Crime" won first prize in the Sidney Booktown International Poetry Contest in February, 2000; "Road to the Sky" received an honorable mention National Magazine Award for 2000, "What We Take with Us, Going Away" was shortlisted for the CBC Literary Prize in 2003 and he is the subject of a special issue of Prairie Fire, (Vol. 21, No. 1, May 2000). From October 2000 to April 2001 he was Writer in Residence at the Winnipeg Public library. "Dimuendo" was awarded third prize in the Petra Kenney International Poetry Competition for 2005 and "A Raft of Lilies" won second place in the MAC national poetry contest, "Friends" (2007). He has performed his poems on the CBC, at numerous venues in Canada and the USA, and at the Olympics in Montreal His most recent publications are Rumours of Paradise / Rumours of War (McClelland and Stewart, 1995) and Tasting the Dark: New and Selected Poems (The Muses Company, an imprint of Gordon J. Shillingford Publishing, 2001). A long poem, Dancing, with Mirrors, will be published in 2011 by Porcupine’s Quill.

Earl LeClaire has worked as a lobsterman, nuclear piping engineer, seaweed harvester, taxi cab driver, historical researcher, performance artist, chef and is currently on the advisory board of Cove Creek Farm, Inc., a residential addiction treatment center for young men. He has published two cookbooks and Night Taxi, a collection of short stories. His fiction and non-fiction has been published in literary magazines in Europe and the US. Born in Rhode Island in 1941, LeClaire has been in and out of Vietnam, Iran, Mississippi and Los Angeles and has lived in many other regions of the United States. He is currently hiding out in the mountains of North Carolina, USA.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

Tom Berman has been a member of Kibbutz Amiad in the Upper Galilee, Israel for over 50 years. He is a scientist and most of his research has been focused on the Sea of Galilee (a.k.a. Lake Kinneret ). He grew up in Glasgow, Scotland having arrived there aged 5 from Czechoslovakia with the Kindertransport in 1939. He is married with one wife, one dog, three daughters, seven granddaughters and a grandson. His poetry has been published here and there, now and again. He was Editor in Chief of the annual Voices Israel Anthology from 2003 to 2006. Amazon.com is still trying to dispose of a book of his poems (Shards, a Handful of Verse).

Diane Simkin has been writing all her life. She writes mainly poetry, but some articles and short stories as well, and she used to write a regular Christian based column for her local newspaper, The West Briton. She has been frequently published in various magazines and anthologies and has won or been placed in many competitions. She is particularly proud of winning the Morris Cup for Poetry at the Cornish Gorseth. . She loves living in Cornwall and is studying the Cornish language in the hopes of someday being able to write in it – she has only managed a couple of haiku so far! Her other interests include all things Cornish, walking, beaches, wildlife, reading (a lot), photography and music. . She belongs to two writers’ groups, Lanner Writers in Cornwall, of which she is the chairman, and the Shropshire Poetry Society, on the Welsh borders where she lived for many years. Her husband, Vaughan, is a professional musician, and she has 2 daughters and 2 grandsons.

LaVonne Taylor has had a long and eclectic career in publishing. She filled many roles early in her profession in the newspaper industry, after which she worked as project editor for the educational arm of McGraw-Hill with specialties in health, art, and music. Following that, she did a nine-year stint as a writer of news articles, copy chief, and associate managing editor for Shape magazine. Taylor operates a micropublishing company, Excellence Enterprises, which has published LA My Way, a poetry and short story anthology; On the Wings of Song, a biography; and publishes a literary periodical, The Taylor Trust: Poetry & Prose. As is often the case with many creative people, however, she not only enjoys working with words, she also expresses herself through the visual arts, photography, designing, and gardening. A strong believer in caring for Planet Earth, she is an animal rights advocate and hopes in the not-too-distant future to open an animal sanctuary. She believes in protecting flora and the environment at large as well. Taylor nurtures a Chihuahua, three cats, three desert turtles, and many, many plants on the high desert of Southern California.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

Jack Trammell’s most recent of twenty-one books include, Down on the Chickahominy, a nominee for the 2010 Library of Virginia Non-fiction award, and the 2010 Anthology of Appalachian Writers, Silas House Volume II, published by Shepherd University and in which Trammell’s work appears alongside those of Jesse Stuart and others. Trammell has won numerous literary awards, ranging from the History Book Club Essay Contest to recognition by the all of Virginia’s major writing organizations. He has published hundreds of stories, articles and poems and for seven years wrote a regular column for the Washington Times. He teaches at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and lives on a farm near Charlottesville in Louisa County.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

I spent many years in the theater as both an actor and an author. My first exposure to theater was out of high school, where I had a speech and theatre scholarship at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. At the age of 19, I auditioned for my first professional show in Toronto, Canada, a musical called “The Me Nobody Knows.” After it closed a year later, I went to Europe and joined the cast of a French production of another musical, “Double V.” A few months later I found myself in the Danish production of “Hair.” I did “Hair” in several countries around the world, often in foreign languages. Three years later it was time for a change, so I left the Tasmanian production of “Hair” and headed to London, where I was entreated to start an R&B group by John Worth, a noted producer. Thus, The Majestics were born. Four years and several world tours later, it was back to Canada for a series of TV shows, singing and playing my guitar. Eventually, I returned home to America’s west coast, where I had an unfortunate accident. Unable to play the guitar, I turned to writing. Thus, my first novel, The Saga of Peter the Woodsman, began. Soon my hand was better and I began to write musicals. “The Gramaphone Rag” was performed at Laney College in Oakland, California, later moving to San Francisco’s On Broadway Theater. I currently live in Northern California with my family.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

Michaela is a metaphysical poet, songwriter, radio broadcaster. Her work is esoteric drawing on ancient writings to convey a message of hope and survival, highlighting nature and creation. Focusing and harmonious aspects of creation she inspires us with healing facets of our existence as related through ancient studies. She has fifteen published compilations of poetry, and is the host of the Poery and Transcendence Radio show, and a book reviewer of metaphysical titles and a holistic coach. Her published compilations of poetry include Still True, A Fortress in my Heart, The Sun is Hot, Through the Ages, Seven Stars, Healing Tree and TO SUMMON ANGELS the metaphysical, Seven Days, Gems, Transcendence, Neptune Uranus Pluto and all in between, and Planets and Stars, chariots in the heavens, and Beasts Of The Forest God Up Above and Playful Angels, Antiquity Remembered, healing of body and soul.

Elijah Guo is in his fourth year at UC Berkeley. He has published short stories and poetry in local literary magazines and contests. As a playwright, he has written The True Story of Aladdin, produced by Ariel Dance Productions in Spring 2009, Hamilton and Burr, read by American Conservatory Theater in Fall 2009, The Business Cycle, to be produced this fall, and will adapt Robert Hass’ Time and Materials at UC Berkeley next spring. As a screenwriter, he has written and directed a few films. In whatever free time he has left, he enjoys loving and losing, raging against the dying of the light, taking the path less travelled, and those sorts of things.

40 years a poet, from a time hippies and anti-war rage, from a time when a child becomes an artist not for the money but because the universe and beauty called. though broken and disabled he more then survives. a poet doesn't just write, he lives his art.

Legal Secretary by Day - Poet by Night. Originally born in Atlanta, Georgia, Anna Harrison Clay now lives in Marietta, Georgia, with three dogs, two cats and her Muse, John.

A. Molotkov is a writer, composer, filmmaker and visual artist. He blends art forms to build a varied body of work in which individual components contribute to a greater whole. Born in Russia, he moved to the US in 1990 and switched to writing in English in 1993. He is the author of several novels, short story and poetry collections and the winner of the 2008 E. M. Koeppel Short Fiction Award. Visit him at www.AMolotkov.com

Patricia Ash is an emerging writer of many things. Her short plays have won several prizes and productions. Her short story "Sidruthain and the Boy" recently won second place in the Chistell Writing Contest. She lives and writes in Dallas, TX. Follow her literary adventures on twitter at http://twitter.com/thejoyofpash and livejournal at http://thejoyofpash.livejournal.com/.

Ryfkah (Peggy Horwitz) grew up in Chicago. She works as an elementary school teacher in Norwalk, California. She is a mother of three grown daughters. She studies Torah, kabbalah, and the teachings of the hassidic Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. Ryfkah has been published in Israel, Great Britain, New Zealand, Japan, and throughout the United States. Her work can be extensively read in the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly. She has been featured in venues throughout the California southland.

Ray Liversidge is an Australian poet who arrived home in Melbourne in November 2007 after travelling to the UK and Ireland on a reading tour. His first book ‘Obeying the Call’ was published in 2003. His verse novel ‘The Barrier Range’, which draws on the expeditions of early Australian explorers Burke and Wills, and Charles Sturt, was published in 2006 and reprinted the following year. He has his own website at www.poetray.wordpress.com

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