SPRING 2026

FICTION CONTEST

Judged by Olufunke Grace Bankole

Winner: Ibrahim Babátúndé Ibrahim, A Hymen Tale

Runner-Up: Laura O’Gorman-Schwartz, The Lemon Tree

FICTION

Daisy Cashin, These Janky Ol’ Wings

Paula Motta, How to Be a Stargazer

INTERVIEWS

Cheyenne LaRoque, Remorialization: An Interview with Lauren Markham

Bethany Lohrelein, Memory and Theory: An Interview with Kimberly Grey

POETRY CONTEST

Judged by Carl Phillips

Winner: Matt Dhillon, Butt Joint

First Runner-Up: Keana Aguila Labra, South Bay Cebuano

Second Runner-Up: Nicole Robinson, Here in the After

POETRY

Jaia Hamid Bashir, Silver Alert

Emma Bolden, Girls’ Life & Eigengrau

Paola Bruni, Wildlife Overpass

Ashley Colley, from The Let Down

Todd Davis, Alverdia Considers the Pillar of Salt that Was Lot’s Wife

Roman Johnson, Be Thou My Vision

Thu Anh Nguyen, My Mother Sizes Me

Jacob Sheetz-Willard, First Principles

Sara Verstynen, Extermination

ESSAYS CONTEST

Judged by Ira Sukrungruang

Winner: Rebecca Hanauer, In the Absence of Findings

First Runner-Up: Wes Jamison, Amas Veritas

Second Runner-Up: Emily Uecker, Prairie Fire

ESSAYS

Marcia Aldrich, Consent: I Remember

Sibbie O’Sullivan, Death of a Sweater

REVIEW

Alexis Soto reviews This Elegance by Derrick Austin

Lauren E. Yandell is a visual artist and Senior Lecturer of Art & Design at the University of Houston – Clear Lake in Houston, Texas. Her studio practice explores drawing, painting and experimental mixed-media techniques. Yandell’s current work uses collage and paint to create abstractions of natural environments and weather phenomena. Yandell earned her Master of Fine Arts from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (2012) and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a double major in Studio Art and Communication Design from Texas State University (2008). She has exhibited nationally in numerous exhibitions spanning from New York to California.

Artist Statement: Inspired by the rich tradition of landscape painting, my work utilizes painted paper to investigate the inherent geometry found in nature. Certain weather conditions or environments are broken down into simplistic shapes and patterns to capture their basic visual structure. I use collage techniques to combine layers of painted paper and spray paint. There is a process of improvisation as paper is torn into shapes and intuitively arranged. Small, repetitive strips of paper are incorporated to establish a visual rhythm while loosely referencing the weave of a tapestry. The color palettes are often determined by the moods and visual characteristics of the chosen subject.

Top Gallery (left to right): Hillside (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 22″ x 15″), After the Storm (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 22″ x 18″), Terrain (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 20″ x 15″)

Bottom Gallery (left to right): Drizzle (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 28″ x 16″), Rainbow Brown (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 18.5″ x 14″), Turbulence (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 22″ x 17″), Purple Haze (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 18″ x 17″), Flora (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 14″ x 18″), Sundown (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 20″ x 20″), Standing Stone (2024, Acrylic and spray paint on paper, 20″ x 15″)