We’ve been publishing Literary LEO — our annual call to action for the creative — for all kinds of a long time. It’s a tradition that has brought together thousands of writers, poets, artists and photographers in the shared pursuit of publication. It’s among our most-read issues, and we love doing it, even if a few long nights combing through boxes of entries is less desirable than the other available options... more
POETRY
FIRST PLACE: Exploding Henry Moore
By R.M. Sulger
SECOND PLACE: Following the Grunion
E. Gail Chandler
THIRD PLACE: Boy with torrential rain on his eyelids
By Lilly Yu
HONORABLE MENTION 1: Dandelion Wine
By John James
HONORABLE MENTION 2: sea dreams
By Lilly Yu
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
FIRST PLACE: New Releases
By Lee Stewart
SECOND PLACE: The Sound of a Train
By Kimberly Bailey Huwiler
THIRD PLACE: Mourning Venetian Blinds
By Ike M. Thacker IV
HONORABLE MENTION 1: Do You Know A Cunning Linguist? Or, That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore.
By Michael Paul Maupin
HONORABLE MENTION 2: Bus Ride
By Kerry Chapman
Short Fiction
FIRST PLACE: Sons and Fathers
By John Allen Boyd
SECOND PLACE: Riga
By Robert Foshee
THIRD PLACE: Of Peace and Pardon
By Henry (Hank) Rothrock
HONORABLE MENTION: Abandon Hope
By E. Gail Chandler
Flash Fiction
FIRST PLACE: Franklinton, North Carolina, 1969
By Robert L. Penick
SECOND PLACE: Paisley Rainbow and the Chocolate Milk Connection
By Brandon Banks
THIRD PLACE: The Red Second Hand Matches the Tractor
By Cate Pearson
HONORABLE MENTION 1: Dear Darkest Diary
By Geoff Schackert
HONORABLE MENTION 2: The Mouse
By Jason Lynch
