At long last, the summer issue of Wild Violet is online. I had hoped to get it online before Otakon, but it was not to be. Fortunately, I got enough done before the convention that I had a relatively small amount to finish once I returned.

The focus of the new issue, Vol. VIII Issue 1 (Once Upon a Time), is storytelling, and Wild Violet contributors share a variety of tales, from ordinary experiences to magical discoveries.

In this issue, you'll find:

Fiction by Nicholas Chittick, Mark Joseph Kiewlak, Rik Hunik & Jo McKee, Susan Phillips, and Sharon Blasiar;

Poetry by Lyn Lifshin, Peter Layton, Ken Fisher, Marina Rubin, Stephen Kopel, Gerald R. Grubbs, Gerald Zipper, Anselm Brocki, William Hart, Sarah Stahl, Davide Trame, Brenda Hammack, and Jill Charles;

Coverage of the Belgrade International, New Author and Kustendorf film festivals by Rada Djurica;

Humor by K.A. Laity;

Interviews with artist Costel Larca; actress Dominique Blanc; writer/director Hanro Smitsman; poet Mahendra Bhatnagar; and poet/playwright/author Kamla Kumar;

Reviews of several books and films;

And Art and Photography by David Arthur-Simmons, Ron Meadow, Mary Ann Reilly and Allison Healy.

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Wild Violet Contest Winners Announced

The contest winners for the Wild Violet 2008 Contests are:

Fiction: First place, "A Tree Fell" by Gay Ingram; second place, "Storm" by Sonia Suedfeld; third place, "Boss Cat" by Nina Bayer.

Poetry: First place, "On the Possibility of all Metaphors at Once" by A.S. Zelman-Doring; second place, "In the Hour Before Stars" by Arlene Mandell; third place, "Penultimate Chapter" by Arlene Mandell.

Thank you to fiction judge Alisha Gaspard and poetry judge Eileen M. D'Angelo for their efforts.

We are now accepting entries for the 2009 contests. Details are on the "contests" page of the site, which is also where you can read the 2008 winners.