NightWriter Review: Winter 2025/2026

The NightWriter Review is the literary journal of San Luis Obispo NightWriters ("SLO NightWriters"), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission of nurturing the Central Coast writing community and providing writing education, opportunities, resources, workshops, and scholarships. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book go to SLO NightWriters, a support group for writers and poets based in San Luis Obispo, California.

The NightWriter Review, Volume 2, Issue 1, Winter 2025/2026, is a literary journal showcasing a diverse range of voices and styles from members and non-members of the SLO NightWriters, a writing organization based in San Luis Obispo, California. This inaugural issue memorializes the winning entries from the annual Golden Quill Writing Contest in print for the first time, alongside other works of merit and general submissions. The journal aims to provide readers with memorable, thought-provoking, and entertaining examples of the writing craft, while also inspiring writers at all levels.

FICTION:

First Place: "The Amateur's Guide to Renovating Your Haunted House" by Molly Powers

Second Place: "Eating in Darkness" by Bobby Sorensen

Third Place: "Give Me Liberty . . . Or, At Least, Plan C" by Zaslow Crane

NONFICTION:

First Place: "Mardi Gras" by Rob Rogers

Second Place: "Navigating Mauritania" by Dawn Smith

Third Place (tie): "The Risky Rewards" by Dean Thompson

"Moth to a Flame" by Katy Bonello

POETRY:

First Place: "To Vulnerability" by Carolyn Chilton Casas

Second Place: "Through the Desert" by Emily Niebuhr

Third Place: "Is This His Way of Counting Coup?" by Andréa Ferrell Gannon

The journal also includes an editor's note from Harvey Ardman, the Editor-in-Chief, who expresses the hope that the pieces will be entertaining, instructive, and encouraging.