2026 WINNING POEMS ALPHABETICALLY (A TO D) AND BIOS
BY JODI CALLAHAN
Jody Callahan is a Newton-born fiction writer. She was a 2025 fiction finalist in both the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards and the Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival. A recipient of an Edith Wharton-Straw Dog Writers residency, she has been published in Writer’s Digest, Southword, Gemini Magazine, The Westchester Review, The Rumpus, and Epiphany. Jody credits her parents for instilling in her a love for libraries and lemons.
BY CHRISTINE CARVAJAL
Christine Carvajal grew up in Newton and returned there to raise her children. With grandchildren now in the area, she watches them play in the same fields she did as a child. What a wonderful way to revisit the past, this time with more wisdom.
BY JULIA AND HUGH DUN RAPPAPORT
Julia Dun Rappaport began writing poems shortly after the pandemic hit. Since then, her poetry has appeared in numerous publications, including The Formula, The Weight, and The Telling Room. She won the Longfellow Prize from the New England Poetry Club, which honors the best poem by a high school student in Massachusetts. In addition, her visual art has won several local and national competitions. She is now a rising sophomore at Williams College. Hugh Dun Rappaport is Julia’s dad. Many years ago, he won a couple of small poetry contests, wrote a Shakespearian sonnet to propose to Julia's mom, published an op-ed in the Hartford Courant, and contributed an article about conjuring to an international trade magazine. Aside from the Haiku Newton contest, his recent writing has consisted of appellate briefs he has submitted to federal judges in his role as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.