The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku (RMA) was founded in 1996 by Jim Kacian, owner of Red Moon Press and Editor-in-Chief of the RMA. Volume 28, upside down, was released in February 2024. As was Volume 19 of the Contemporary Haibun anthology, which is also published by Red Moon Press.

The Contemporary Haibun Series, currently edited by Rich Youmans, editor-in-chief of the journal contemporary haibun online, is dedicated to presenting “a ‘state of the art’ overview of the haibun, tanka prose, and haiga published in the preceding year” from around the world. In other words, the Contemporary Haibun Series focuses on how these centuries-old forms are developing.

With heartfelt gratitude to the following 35 writers and artists for publishing with MacQueen’s Quinterly (aka MacQ), I’m delighted to announce that several of my nominees for the Red Moon Anthologies were selected for publication (flagged with asterisks below). Submitted on 4 December 2023, my nominations were drawn from Issues 16 thru 20X of MacQ which were published in 2023, and are listed below in alphabetical order by the last name of the author or artist.

My profound appreciation to Jim Kacian, Rich Youmans, Ron C. Moss, and the six editors of the RMA editorial team for their time and efforts in considering thousands of pieces—and for then creating such beautiful books to showcase their selections!

First, my nominations of haiku and senryu for The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2023:

1. (“diving deep”) [senryu] by Cynthia Anderson
   
   
2. (“handsome devil”) [senryu] by Cynthia Anderson
   
   
3. (“string theory”) [senryu] by Cynthia Anderson
   
   
4. (“loon call”) [haiku] by Jerome Berglund
   
   
5. (“rain”) [haiku] by Jerome Berglund
   
   
6. (“weeping flesh the peonies”) [monoku] by Jerome Berglund
   
   
7. (“one little skylark”) [senryu] by Keith Evetts
   
   
8. (“rumble of binmen”) [senryu] by Keith Evetts
   
   
9. (“eyeing”) [senryu] by Helene Guojah
   
   
10. (“thrown into”) [senryu] by Helene Guojah
    
    
11. (“his question”) [senryu] by Amrita Paul
    
    
12. (“a shiver of moon”) [haiku, ekphrastic] by Gary S. Rosin
    
    
13. (“at rest in the blue”) [haiku, ekphrastic] by Gary S. Rosin
    
    
14. (“lavender ripples”) [haiku, ekphrastic] by Gary S. Rosin
    
    
15. (“silent Quaker meeting”) [senryu] by Kelley White
    
    
16. (“south wind—”) [senryu] by Kelley White
    
    

Next, my nominations of haibun, tanka prose, and haiga. The nine nominees flagged with an asterisk below were selected by the Red Moon Press editorial team for publication in Contemporary Haibun 19. (See also my note below this list, for nominations by outside editors.)

1. Facing the Music [haibun] by Cynthia Anderson *
   
   
2. Clear the Decks [haibun] by Peggy Hale Bilbro
   
   
3. The Ashes of Ukraine [haibun] by Rose Mary Boehm *
   
   
4. Year of the Farrier [haibun story] by Lynn Edge *
   
   
5. A Thousand Thens [haibun] by Claire Everett *
   
   
6. Long Legs [shahai, collaborative] by Scott Ferry and Gary S. Rosin
   
   
7. Returned Soldier 1947 [haibun, anomalous] by Hazel Hall
   
   
8. (“raindrop”) [shahai, collaborative] by Brian Kates and Cáit O’Neill McCullagh
   
   
9. Anniversary [haibun] by Maureen Kingston *
   
   
10. Sensory Deprivation Tank [haibun, anomalous] by Kat Lehmann *
    
    
11. False Spring [haibun] by Dotty LeMieux
    
    
12. Waiting for Godot to Leave [haibun story] by Bob Lucky *
    
    
13. Uncle Eddie’s Falcon [haibun] by Richard L. Matta *
    
    
14. Texas Requiem [haibun] by Mark Meyer *
    
    
15. (“wildfire morning...”) [haiga] by Mark Meyer
    
    
16. Bond [haibun] by Subir Ningthouja
    
    
17. A Taste of David Lynch [haibun] by Lorraine A Padden
    
    
18. Off Time [micro-haibun] by Stella Pierides
    
    
19. The Waves [haibun] by Kala Ramesh
    
    
20. Long Legs [shahai, collaborative] by Gary S. Rosin and Scott Ferry
    
    
21. River Music [haibun story] by Charmaine Smith
    
    
22. Magicians [haibun] by Stuart Watson
    
    
23. Loaves and Fishes [haibun] by Lew Watts
    
    
24. Golconda Denied [haibun, ekphrastic] by Harriot West
    
    
25. The Story of Fire [haibun] by Scott Wiggerman
    
    
26. So glad to be here [tanka prose] by Tony Steven Williams
    
    
27. What’s Underneath [haibun story] by Rich Youmans
    
    

Note: Thanks so much to outside editors for nominating the following haibun from MacQ. Those flagged with asterisks were selected by the Red Moon Press editorial team for publication as described in the footnotes.

1. Fangs by Farah Ali
   
   
2. Storm Tending by Cynthia Anderson
   
   
3. Dad Says by Roberta Beary **
   
   
4. The Super Power of Lipstick by Roberta Beary *
   
   
5. Tornado Drill [haibun story] by Jerome Berglund
   
   
6. Event Horizon by Kat Lehmann *
   
   
7. Verisimilitude by Bob Lucky * & **
   
   

* Selected for the Contemporary Haibun 19 anthology

** Selected for upside down: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2023