From The Haiku Foundation:

“In 2022, as part of its mission to expand possibilities for English-language haiku, The Haiku Foundation added The Touchstone Award for Individual Haibun to the two other awards in its Touchstone Award Series: the Touchstone Award for Individual Poems and the Touchstone Distinguished Books Award. Collections of or including haibun have always been eligible for a Distinguished Book Award; this new Award allows for the recognition of individual pieces.”

“All awards seek to reward excellence and innovation each calendar year. Results are determined through a year-long nomination and selection process and are released the following year on April 17, International Haiku Poetry Day. Award recipients are selected by independent panels comprised of authorities in the field.”

For details about the selection process and the panelists, see: Touchstone Award for Individual Haibun.

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As stated in the Touchstone guidelines, journal editors may nominate up to 24 haibun, depending on how many they published overall for the year. And the number an editor may nominate from each issue is based on the total number of haibun published in the issue.

A total of 69 haibun appeared across the five issues (Numbers 21-25) of MacQueen’s Quinterly this year, and I’m happily nominating 15 of them as listed below.

The first list is alphabetized by author’s last name, and the second is arranged by Issue. There are no reprints included, since haibun that were first published elsewhere are not eligible. Also not eligible, haibun written by this year’s Touchstone Panelists: Marietta McGregor, Renée Owen, and Lorraine Padden.

(Note: The Awards Committee will also consider nominations from individual poets. For details, see Entry Form for Individuals’ Touchstone Award Nominations.)

With much gratitude to the 16 authors listed below for publishing with MacQ, I’m so pleased to post my nominations here for the Touchstone Awards for Individual Haibun. Results will be announced next Spring. Best of luck to all the nominees!

Nominations Listed in Order of Author’s Last Name:

1. Grief: The Uncut Version by Roberta Beary
   
   
2. Samhain by Margaret Dornaus and Marjorie Buettner
   
   
3. Spirited Away by Thomas Festa
   
   
4. Finding My Belly Button by Emily Fortney
   
   
5. On the Open Fields, the Low Mist... by Linda Nemec Foster
   
   
6. Local News Bulletin from Good Grief, Idaho by Seth Friedman
   
   
7. On an unmarked grave by Hazel Hall
   
   
8. Downstream by David J. Kelly
   
   
9. “What’s the Buzz” by Maureen Kingston
   
   
10. That Ship Has Sailed Again by Bob Lucky
    
    
11. Holding On by Jacqueline Pearce
    
    
12. After My Mother’s Burial by Alexis Rotella
    
    
13. Entrainment by Lew Watts
    
    
14. Gifts of the Lord by Lew Watts
    
    
15. Priceless by LL Wohlwend
    
    

Nominations Listed by Issue:

1. MacQ-21 (1 January 2024), from a total of 19 haibun published:

• “Spirited Away” by Thomas Festa
  
  
• “Local News Bulletin from Good Grief, Idaho” by Seth Friedman
  
  
• “Entrainment” by Lew Watts
  
  
• “Priceless” by LL Wohlwend
  
  

2. MacQ-22 (4 February 2024), from a total of 13 haibun published:

• “On an unmarked grave” by Hazel Hall
  
  
• “Downstream” by David J. Kelly
  
  
• “After My Mother’s Burial” by Alexis Rotella
  
  

3. MacQ-23 (28 April 2024), from a total of 19 haibun published:

• “Samhain” by Margaret Dornaus and Marjorie Buettner
  
  
• “‘What’s the Buzz?’” by Maureen Kingston
  
  
• “Holding On” by Jacqueline Pearce
  
  
• “Gifts of the Lord” by Lew Watts
  
  

4. MacQ-24 (30 August 2024), from a total of 10 haibun published:

• “Grief: The Uncut Version” by Roberta Beary
  
  
• “That Ship Has Sailed Again” by Bob Lucky
  
  

5. MacQ-25 (22 September 2024), from a total of 8 haibun published:

• “Finding My Belly Button” by Emily Fortney
  
  
• “On the Open Fields, the Low Mist...” by Linda Nemec Foster
  
  

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Links to our nominations for previous years:

Touchstone Awards for Individual Haibun, 2023

Touchstone Awards for Individual Haibun, 2022