WELL READ Magazine's BEST OF 2024 Volume Two

In January of 2023, WELL READ Magazine began accepting submissions for prose, poetry, and visual art. I was blown away by all of the talented poets, authors, and artists that first year. I can't explain the thrill I felt sharing them with readers every month through the online journal, and the excitement of opening up another new submission.

That feeling is still strong today and I'm just as excited to share the submissions from 2024 with you. They are too good not to share again - in print - to give readers another chance to find them. There are no prompts or themes for the submissions so I never know what I'm getting into until I dive in. Every submission is a surprise and each one hits you in a different way. I love that rollercoaster ride feeling with each new entry, so I've broken the traditional rules for publishing collections and kept the anthologies in the same format as what you find in WELL READ Magazine. You never know what's coming next so get ready for a fun ride!

In the Best of 2024 Volume Two, you'll find fifty-two submissions written by a fantastic mix of award-winning authors and poets plus new ones to the scene. Three submissions in this volume were nominated for a Pushcart Prize: Hanging Pictures by Micah Ward, The Lone and Level Sands by James Wade, and American Chestnut by Candace Connor. The cover art is by artist, Lindsay Carraway, who had several pieces published in February of 2023.

Contributors: Candice Marley Conner, Kaye Wilkinson Barley, Mike Ross, Will Maguire, AJ Concannon, Patricia Feinberg Stoner, Gregg Norman, Robin Prince Monroe, Ramey Channell, April Mae M. Berza, Anne Leigh Parrish, B. A. Brittingham, Mike Austin, Sara Evelyne, Jennifer Smith, Loretta Fairley, J.L. Oakley, Celia Miles, Kris Faatz, Ed Nichols, Linda Imbler, Annie McDonnell, Mike Turner, Micah Ward, James Wade, Ashley Tunnell, John M. Williams, Robb Grindstaff, Stevie Lyon, Laura McHale Holland, Saeed Ibrahim, Nancy Julien Kopp, Julie Green, DeLane Phillips, Shayla Dodge, Edilson Afonso Ferreira, Chris Wood, Jasna Gugić, Fhen M., Hubert Blair Bonds, Ellen Birkett Morris, Margaret Pearce, Ellen Notbohm, Kimberly Parish Davis, J. B. Hogan, and Royal Rhodes