Stone Turkey First Writing Contest
The Results!
Stone Turkey Publishing launched in April with the goal to highlight and show the skills of talented writers. Getting your work published can be an uphill battle and Stone Turkey Publishing want to be a place where people from all walks of life can show off their passion and talents.
We started with a writing contest to drum up excitement and see who would submit to us. We were amazed and grateful to receive 73 submitted pieces but it also meant we had to go through all of them to find the best of the best. After much deliberation and reading we decided on the top three poems and short stories!
Poetry Winners!
1st Place: Megam Holm “Kill. Cook. Fill.”
“Megan Holm was born and raised in Springville, Utah. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History and English teaching from Brigham Young University. She holds a Master’s Degree in American History from Pace University. While hiking, traveling, sewing, reading, baking, gardening, grading papers, consuming ice cream, going for spins in an old car, or attending the theater, she is often struck or interrupted by ideas. She scribbles these ideas down and, occasionally, after revising, and walking away, and more revising and more walking away, one becomes a poem. She tries, every day, to be a person.”
2nd Place: Syrena-Elliot Finnel (@s.e.finnell ) “If I turned into a Mushroom”
“Hi! I go by Syrena or Elliot (they/xe/any), and I’m currently living in Utah. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, and I’ve found that I especially enjoy making things with a dreamy, introspective tone. I’m thrilled to be published by Stone Turkey and to get to share my work with you all!”
3rd Place: Lexie Sorensen "One of the Greatest Loves”
“I’m Lexie Sorensen! Writing has come naturally to me since I was little writing love letters to anyone who would read them, I never really stopped. I started appreciating how written words can make people feel all sorts of ways and I realized how capable I was at spinning heavy emotions into sentences when I wrote and read a poem at my dad’s funeral at 17 years ago. Since then writing became both therapeutic and validating. I became obsessed with beautiful stories that had tragic endings because they taught me to love the messy middle “
Short Stories
1st place: Aeman Abbasi (@_aabbasi87) “Until Sunrise”
“Aeman Abbasi is a London-based writer whose work explores faith, grief, memory, and the ways people search for belonging. Inspired by experiences of loss, she turned to writing as a way of making sense of grief and the complexities of human connection. Drawn to stories about imperfect people carrying quiet burdens, she writes literary fiction that focuses on emotional honesty and moments of grace found in ordinary life.”
2nd Place: Francis Le (@mfrancislewrites ) “Red Only Blooms in Summer”
“M. Francis Le is a Vietnamese-American writer and recent graduate from Southern Utah University. Their poetry and prose have appeared in journals such as Kolob Canyon Review, 101 Words, Lumina Journal, and Levitate Magazine. In 2025, their personal essay “This is a Fairy Tale” was named editor’s choice by Kolob Canyon Review. When they are not in the classroom, they are participating in TTRPs or cozy video games. Francis can be found on Instagram and Tumblr (@mfrancislewrites).”
3rd Place: Dan Evans “Danville Debacle”
“Dan Evans is a first-time published author, former professional baseball player, high school football, basketball and baseball coach, and religious education instructor for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a B.A. in Sports Journalism, and an M. Ed from the University of Phoenix. His inaugural book, Dan’s Way, written in a free-flowing, narrative style, provides today’s teenagers with a narrative case study in ways to successfully navigate the peer pressures and social challenges of their high school experience.”