Here are Synkroniciti’s nominations for Best of the Net from July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2026. This list includes some of our favorite work from “Dreams,” “Patterns,” “Audacity” and “Expectations.” Artists featured in “Audacity” and “Expectations” who haven’t been named for Best of the Net are still eligible for the Pushcarts, the Best Short Story Anthology, and Best Small Fictions.
If we’ve published you, we already think you are a winner. Good luck, everyone!
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
POETRY
Ankita Sadarjoshi, “graduation” from “Dreams”
Kathy McVittie, “grace before meals” from “Dreams”
David Holper, “After We Broke the Sky” from “Patterns”
Jennifer Maloney, “What We Build” from “Audacity”
Nerissa Nields, “Sonnet” from “Audacity”
Gabriela Manolova, “Fish Bones” from “Expectations”
FICTION
Rachel A. Levine, “Darkness ‘Til The First” from “Audacity”
Kiyoshi Hirawa, “Fatima Faroozi’s Final At-Bat” from “Audacity”
CREATIVE NON-FICTION
Martha Ellen Johnson, “Getting Rid of the Bones of a Dead Poseur II” from “Audacity”
Donna Cameron, “Sew to Speak” from “Audacity”
ART
Mariaceleste Arena, The donkey-child and the elephant from “Audacity”
Jamie Frontiera, Courage to Stand from “Audacity”
Abby Buchold, Learning to Fly from “Expectations”
I am truly honored! And at last I can say something wonderful came out of that long ago 7th grade Home Ec class! Thank you.
Indeed! Mrs. Helvig had no idea what the result of her words and actions would be. Thanks for this wonderful and relatable story that shows us what can happen when a teacher tries to be a gatekeeper.
Brava, Donna!
I am so honored that my courage to stand piece was nominated
I am so glad we nominated Courage to Stand. As a multi-panel piece, it wasn’t the best piece for a cover, and you weren’t eligible at the time because you had won the Dreams cover a few months earlier. We wanted to give you the best shot at getting selected for BotN and this one has a powerful message while The Koi Fish Pond is quieter and more reflective. Fingers crossed–there are so many artworks nominated and just a handful chosen.
Congratulations!