The Fiddlehead and the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick are pleased to announce the winners of the third annual New Brunswick Book Awards, which were handed out at an awards presentation at the Lily Lake Pavilion in Saint John on Friday, June 8. A total of 36 total submissions were received. Congratulations to all the nominees, and thanks again to the judges: Angie Abdou, Sheree Fitch, Susan Gillis, and Andrew Westoll!

The winners, who each received $500 prizes, are as follows:

Look for poems from Catherine Seton in our upcoming Summer 2018 Poetry Issue!

Three books of reference are my secret sauce: Jerome Irving Rodale’s The Synonym Finder, 1978; from the Editors of Reader’s Digest, Reader’s Digest Illustrated Reverse Dictionary: Find the Words at the Tip of Your Tongue, 1990; and Theodore M. Bernstein’s Bernstein’s Reverse Dictionary, 2nd Edition, 1988. All are available at online used book sites.

For sheer musical delight, I turn to the joyful word-play of Atsuro Riley’s Romey’s Order.

Word Feast: Fredericton's Literary Festival presents Amanda Jernigan and Rachel Lebowitz as they launch new books.

Congratulations to all the nominees for this year's National Magazine Awards, but especially to two Fiddlehead contributors Tammy Armstrong and Dominique Bernier-Cormier for being finalists in the Poetry category! Congrats also to our Creative Nonfiction editor Alicia Elliott as well for her nomination in the Essays category for "On Seeing and Being Seen: Writing with Empathy."

Join Fredericton’s Cultural Laureate, Ian LeTourneau, as he leads a panel of three local poets —Triny Finlay, M. Travis Lane, and Ross Leckie — with readings and discussion at the Fredericton Public Library on Thursday, April 26 from 7 – 8:30pm in the River Reading Room.

Triny Finlay is the author of two collections of poetry, Spitting Off (2004) and Histories Haunt Us (2010), both published by Nightwood Editions. Her most recent publication is the forthcoming chapbook, You Don’t Want What I’ve Got.

By Colin Johnson    

Matthew Hollett’s poem “The Day After the Best Before” has won The Fiddlehead’s 2018 Literary Contest Ralph Gustafson Prize for Best Poem. This interview was conducted over e-mail by Editorial Assistant Colin Johnson in the first weeks of March 2018 and has been edited for clarity.

The final Saint Mary's reading of the 2017-18 season features Fiddlehead poetry editor Ian LeTourneau and Tammy Armstrong. They will read from their recent Frog Hollow Press chapbooks at 7pm on April 18.

The penultimate Odd Sunday of the season takes place April 15, 2018 at Corked Wine Bar, 83 Regent St. at 2 pm. The two featured readers this time are Bren Simmers and Catherine Owen.

By Sarah Howden

Kate Osana Simonian has won The Fiddlehead’s 27th annual Short Fiction Prize for her story “The Press.” The following interview was conducted via email with Editorial Assistant Sarah Howden in March 2018.