Editors' Note
We were excited to receive a large number of submissions for our inaugural issue. This allowed us to be selective, and we accepted less than half of the submissions for publication. The pieces published in this issue stood out in our initial reading and underwent careful editing. Our submissions challenged common ideas about Midwest citizens and writers, as we got submissions covering many serious and important subjects. Our authors address mental illness ("OCD," "Lost"), grief ("Dear Bubbles," "A Poem for Grandpa," "Flat Line"), and nonconformity ("Risky," "ABCs Poem"), but none mention corn or soybeans.
Our editors had the difficult task of choosing one award winner from each category. The pieces we chose stood out for their careful and descriptive language, unique subject matter, and delightful imagery. "Solvent" by Clare Tabor, the winner of our poetry award, is an extended metaphor with precise imagery, language choice, and organization. The selected winner for the fiction award -- "Shannen and Grace's Long Road" by Margaret Youngblood -- breaks down a single moment of action with simple but descriptive language. "Alone in the Halls" by Emily Bonnett, the winner of this year's Hot Dish Challenge, used the abecedarius format to highlight the struggles of many high school students. The title of our issue is taken from "Eternal Beauty," another poem that the editors find imaginative and interesting. Overall, we were very impressed with the quality of submissions we received, and we sincerely thank everyone for contributing.
We hope you enjoy the first issue of Hot Dish Magazine, "Her Voice Remains."
Our editors had the difficult task of choosing one award winner from each category. The pieces we chose stood out for their careful and descriptive language, unique subject matter, and delightful imagery. "Solvent" by Clare Tabor, the winner of our poetry award, is an extended metaphor with precise imagery, language choice, and organization. The selected winner for the fiction award -- "Shannen and Grace's Long Road" by Margaret Youngblood -- breaks down a single moment of action with simple but descriptive language. "Alone in the Halls" by Emily Bonnett, the winner of this year's Hot Dish Challenge, used the abecedarius format to highlight the struggles of many high school students. The title of our issue is taken from "Eternal Beauty," another poem that the editors find imaginative and interesting. Overall, we were very impressed with the quality of submissions we received, and we sincerely thank everyone for contributing.
We hope you enjoy the first issue of Hot Dish Magazine, "Her Voice Remains."