Bellevue Literary Review announces winners of the 2026 BLR Prizes

Six writers were selected by acclaimed judges for their stories, poems, and essays

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, November 25, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Bellevue Literary Review (BLR), an award-winning journal of creative writing about health, illness, and healing, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 BLR Literary Prizes for outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

This year's prizes were selected by judges Joan Silber in fiction, Nicole Chung in nonfiction, and Patricia Spears Jones in poetry. The winners will be published in BLR's Spring 2026 issue.

"Stories – whether told as fiction, nonfiction, or poetry – connect and inspire us," said Danielle Ofri, editor-in-chief of BLR. "Congratulations to this year’s winners of the BLR Prizes, whose writings give voice to experiences of illness, health, healing, and hope."

The Goldenberg Prize for Fiction is awarded to Shannon Perri for "The Senator." Perri holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Texas State University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas. Her writing has appeared in Joyland Magazine, Sycamore Review, Texas Highways, and Texas Observer. She lives in South Austin with her husband and two children.

Honorable mention in fiction goes to May Lee-Yang for "Hunting Game." Lee-Yang has been published in Water~Stone Literary Review and anthologies including What We Hunger For. She has received support from Hedgebrook, Kundiman, The Playwright Center, the National Performance Network, and the Loft Literary Center. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Minnesota.

The Felice Buckvar Prize for Nonfiction is awarded to Won Lee for "Running Deep." Lee is a Korean-American writer based in Chicago. He is a Litowitz MFA/MA student at Northwestern University. His poetry appears in Bellevue Literary Review, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and Action, Spectacle. His criticism can be found in Bear Review and TriQuarterly.

Honorable mention in nonfiction goes to Ardis Garcia for "The Last Tableau." Garcia writes Fiction and Creative Nonfiction. Previous workshops and residences include Anaphora Arts, the Lambda Literary Foundation’s Emerging Writer’s Retreat, Macondo Writers, Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, and Boldface. A queer native Tejana, Ardis lives in the New York City area.

The John and Eileen Allman Prize for Poetry is awarded to Dara Laine for "Telling the Bees." Laine is a poet based in Baltimore, originally from a hay farm in New Jersey. Her work centers grief, memory, and the sacred ordinary through restrained lyricism and domestic realism. Her poems appear in American Poetry Journal, Pine Hills Review, and Sky Island Journal.

Honorable mention in poetry goes to Miranda Saake for "Stinson Beach." Saake is a writer, teacher, and mother from Northern California. She has been published in The Rebis, Clarion, and Gossamer Arts. She was most recently shortlisted for the Bridport Prize for poetry in the UK.

This is the twenty-first year of the BLR Literary Prizes. Over the years, the prizes have been judged by acclaimed authors including Abraham Verghese, Ada Limon, Susan Orlean, Amy Hempel, and Mark Doty.


ABOUT BELLEVUE LITERARY REVIEW

Bellevue Literary Review (BLR) is a nonprofit literary arts organization that mines the connective tissue between illness, healing, and the arts. With storytelling and poetry, BLR explores these universal conditions and life’s shared vulnerabilities. For nearly 25 years, BLR has published an award-winning literary journal that brings together the perspectives of patients, caregivers, family members, medical professionals, writers, and the general public. BLR partners with writers, artists, filmmakers, dancers, and other creative individuals and organizations to produce dynamic public programming at the intersection of healthcare and the arts.

BLR was founded in 2000 as a creative project at an academic medical center but became an independent nonprofit during the Covid pandemic in 2020. Since then, BLR has reinvigorated its mission and expanded its events programming in remarkable ways, sharing even more stories and voices about health, illness, and healing.


PRAISE FOR BELLEVUE LITERARY REVIEW

“No human thing is more universal than illness, in all its permutations, and no literary publication holds more credibility on the subject than Bellevue Literary Review.” – NewPages.com

"Bellevue Literary Review probes our understanding of the human body and mind in new ways. It is essential reading for anyone who deals with sickness and health, anyone interested in narrative medicine, anyone who simply needs a dose of deep grace and humanity.” – The Oliver Sacks Foundation

Stacy Bodziak
Bellevue Literary Review
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