Featured Writing

wood stove fire

Update on Grace

by Phibby Venable blue ridges, path loose with mud,a halo of fog grayingin a new daythe old womanlaid out her firethe night before,in the rusted woodstove,that still spokeout flames each morning,and sang out cold,as she listened, trembling the newspaper toward warmthe old woman, always in smoke and daydreams, worn outand…

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A typewriter showing the words "Stories matter" typed onto a white page

Meet the Winners of the 2024 Fall Fiction Contest

The 10th annual Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Fall Fiction Contest brought writers from across the country together for a chance to win a scholarship to SNHU and publication in The Penmen Review. After receiving more than 750 submissions, a panel of creative writing experts considered several factors during their…

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Word for Word, Featuring Special Guest Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

On Wednesday, October 16, the Word for Word Literary Series welcomed award-winning author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. His debut collection, Friday Black, was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s…

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Close-up of typewriter keys

Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Fall Fiction Contest

The 9th annual Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Fall Fiction Contest brought writers from across the country together for a chance to win a scholarship to SNHU and publication in The Penmen Review. After receiving more than 700 submissions, a panel of creative writing experts considered several factors during their…

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Alyssa Cole

Word for Word, Featuring Special Guest Alyssa Cole

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, Word for Word, Southern New Hampshire University’s (SNHU) online literary series, proudly welcomed Alyssa Cole, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romantic thrillers and more. Her debut thriller, “When No One Is Watching,” won the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best…

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curly-haired woman sitting at a laptop

Announcing the Winners of the 2022 Fall Fiction Contest

The 8th annual Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Fall Fiction Contest brought writers from across the country together for a chance to win a scholarship to SNHU and publication in The Penmen Review. After receiving more than 660 submissions, a panel of creative writing experts considered several factors during their…

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The Death of Jane Lawrence

The Penmen Profile: A Q&A with Award-Winning Fiction Writer Caitlin Starling

by Nicholas Patterson Caitlin Starling is an award-winning fiction writer who creates original and unique horror stories that encapsulate speculative fiction’s broad reach. For example, you can probably find “Luminous Dead” on the science fiction shelf of your local bookstore, although this novel is not your typical sci-fi work. Starling…

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The Penmen Profile: New York Times Bestseller Emma Chase

by Rebecca LeBoeuf Emma Chase, a New York Times Bestseller for two series, “Tangled” and “Legal Briefs,” is a writer of “sexy swagger,” with a focus on contemporary romance and romantic comedy. “Royally Endowed,” the third and latest installment of “The Royally” series, centers on the forbidden relationship between a…

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The Penmen Profile: YA and Adult Literary Fiction Author Natalie Haney Tilghman

By Rebecca LeBoeuf Natalie Haney Tilghman co-wrote “A 52-Hertz Whale,” a young adult novel, with author Bill Sommer. When a juvenile humpback whale separates from its pod, a high school freshman calls upon a young filmmaker who volunteered in his special education program to help him locate it. The plot…

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The Penmen Profile: Award-Winning Author and Columnist Vanessa Hua

By Rebecca LeBoeuf Much of Vanessa Hua’s factual and fictional writing focuses on Asia and the diaspora. Her debut novel, “A River of Stars,” which follows a pregnant Chinese immigrant, is due out in August and available for preorder now. The novel already appears in multiple booklists for 2018, including…

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