Literary Awards
Awards for Exits:
1st Place for Poetry, 2024 North Street Book Prize
Book of the Year for Poetry, Winner for Poetry,
and Winner for Best Illustrated Book,
2026 PenMasters Global Awards for Literary Excellence
Winner for General Poetry, 2025 American Writing Awards
1st Place for Poetry, 2026 IndieReader Discovery Awards
Gold Medal for Poetry, 2023 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards
1st Place for Poetry, 1st Place for Interior Design, and
1st Place for Book that Feels Like a Work of Art,
2025 Firebird Book Awards
Gold Medal for Poetry, 2025 President’s Book Awards
Winner for Poetry and Winner for Interior Design,
2026 Independent Author Awards
1st Place for Poetry, 2025 Next Best Read Book Awards
Gold Medal for Poetry, 2025 Readers’ Choice Book Awards
Winner for Contemporary Poetry, Narrative Poetry, and
Nature Poetry, 2026 American Legacy Book Awards
1st Place for Poetry, 2025 PenCraft Book Awards
Gold Book Award, 2025 Literary Titan Awards
1st Place for Poetry, 2026 Outstanding Creator Awards
Gold Medal for Poetry, 2026 Global Ebook Awards
Winner for Poetry, 2026 Independent Press Award
1st Place for Poetry, 2025 Page Turner Book Awards
Winner for Poetry-Fiction, 2025 Literary Global Book Awards
1st Place for Poetry, 2025 Pacific Book Awards
Gold Medal for Poetry, 2025 Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Best Book of Poetry, 2025 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards
Winner for Poetry, 2025 Book Excellence Awards
1st Place for Poetry, 2025 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards
Winner for Poetry, 2025 International Impact Book Awards
Gold Medal for Poetry, 2025 Reader Views Literary Awards
Winner, Best Interior Design, 2025 International Book Awards
Gold Medal for Best Website, 2026 Global Ebook Awards
(Co-designed by web designer Rick Cano at Designworks
NW LLC and book author Stephen C. Pollock)
Silver Medal for Poetry, 2024 Feathered Quill Book Awards
Runner-Up for Poetry, 2025 Paris Book Festival
2nd Place for Poetry, 2026 Books Shelf Contest
2nd Place for Poetry, 2025 Bestsellers World Book Awards
3rd Place for Poetry, 2025 Digital Book Today Literary Awards
Bronze Medal for Poetry, 2024 EVVY Book Awards
Finalist for Nature, Finalist for Death & Dying, and
Finalist for Book Cover Design (Fiction),
2026 Independent Author Awards
Finalist for General Poetry, 2026 American Legacy Book Awards
Finalist for: Narrative Poetry, Nature Poetry,
Best Debut Book, Best Indie-Published Book,
Best Cover Design, and Best Senior Author,
2026 PenMasters Global Awards for Literary Excellence
Finalist for Contemporary Poetry and Finalist for
Narrative Poetry, 2025 American Writing Awards
Finalist, 2025 Page Turner Phoenix Award
Finalist for Poetry, 2025 Eyelands Book Awards
Finalist for Poetry-Nonfiction, 2025 Literary Global Book Awards
Finalist for Poetry, 2024 IAN Book of the Year Awards
Finalist for Narrative Poetry and Finalist for General Poetry,
2025 International Book Awards
Finalist for Poetry, 2024 Book Excellence Awards
Distinguished Favorite for Poetry, 2025 NYC Big Book Awards
Honorable Mention for Best Interior Design, 2025 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards
Honorable Mention for Website, 2025 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards
(Co-designed by web designer Rick Cano at Designworks NW LLC
and book author Stephen C. Pollock)
Recommended Read, 2025 Author Shout Book Awards
Finalist for Poetry, 2025 Chanticleer International Book Awards
Notable Book, 2025 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition
Distinguished Favorite for Audiobooks, 2025 Independent Press Awards
Silver Medal for Interior Layout & Design, 2024 EVVY Book Awards
Awards for Individual Poems:
Arachnidæa: Line Drawings was awarded 1st Place in the 2025 Lazuli
Literary Group Writing Contest and will be published in AZURE, A Journal
of Literary Thought. It also was honored with 2nd Place in the Oregon
Poetry Association’s 2020 Poet’s Choice Award and was published in
Verseweavers. Shortly before, it was selected as a finalist for the Poet
Laureate Award sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society.
Syringe was shortlisted by guest judge Liz Berry for the 2018 Live Canon International Poetry Competition. It was performed during the award ceremony at the Greenwich Theatre in London and was published in Live Canon Anthology, 2018.
Diabolus in Musica was selected as an Editor’s Choice (one of two) for
the 2025 Hammond House International Literary Prize and was published
in the Hammond House Secrets anthology.
It was longlisted by guest judge Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate,
for the 2025 Fish Poetry Prize.
Steve’s Balloons was awarded 2nd prize for the Thomas H. McDill Award, North Carolina Poetry Society 2020, and was published in Pinesong, 2020.
Festival of Lights was shortlisted (top 36) and Highly Commended (top 8)
for the 2025 Hammond House International Literary Prize. It was published
in the Hammond House Secrets anthology.
Leaves was a semifinalist in the 2019 River Styx International Poetry Contest. It was published in Buddhist Poetry Review, 2019.
Time was shortlisted for the 2025 Hammond House International Literary
Prize. It was published in Issue 8 of AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought
and in the Hammond House Secrets anthology.
Nasal Biopsy received an Honorable Mention for the Joanna Catherine Scott Award, NC Poetry Society 2020, and was published in Pinesong, 2020.
Both Out Far and In Deep was awarded 6th Place in the Rhyming Poetry category of the 91st Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. It was published in Blue Unicorn, Fall 2022.
Narcissus was a finalist for the Morton Marr Poetry Prize, 2019. It also received an Honorable Mention in the Rhyming Poetry Category of the 92nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.
Red Giant was shortlisted for the 2025 Hammond House International
Literary Prize and published in the Hammond House Secrets anthology.
Seeds and Flower Myth received Honorable Mentions in the Rhyming Poetry category of the 92nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.
Steel Refineries ― Gary, 1954 was shortlisted for the 2019 Molotov Cocktail Shadow Award. It also was awarded 3rd prize in the Last Stanza category of the 41st Annual Poetry Society of Indiana contest and was published in Ink to Paper.
Saguaros received an Honorable Mention in the Non-Rhyming Poetry category of the 92nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.
It was published in the 2025 One Page Poetry anthology.
Potomac Rift, 3023 was a semifinalist for the 2020 River Styx International Poetry Contest. It also received an Honorable Mention in the Rhyming Poetry Category of the 91st Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.
The Jungle / Abstract Jungle was awarded the Rolfe Humphries Poetry Prize at Amherst College, 1977. It also was a semifinalist for the 2020 River Styx International Poetry Contest.
Oak and Zombie Fires received Honorable Mentions in the Rhyming Poetry Category of the 91st Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.
Release , a short story, was shortlisted (top 3%) for the 2022 Fish Short Story Prize, and was longlisted (top 3%) for the Masters Review Anthology IX (2020). It was published in the 2023 Seattle Erotic Art Festival Literary Anthology.
