Quibble Lit Announces Winners of the Inaugural Ps & Qs Audio Poem Contest and Quippy Awards
First-year international audio poetry contest awards $600 in cash prizes to 9 finalists, recognizes 25 poets, and launches a new annual platform for poems that lift off the page.
- New York, NY (1888PressRelease) April 05, 2026 - Quibble Lit is proud to announce the winners of the inaugural Ps & Qs Audio Poem Contest, a new annual celebration of poetry in performance. Created to honor poems that “lift off the page,” the contest recognizes exceptional audio-first poetry and aims to create lasting space for work that deserves to be heard as well as read. In its first year, Ps & Qs awarded $600 in cash prizes, recognized 25 poets total, and will continue spotlighting selected work throughout the spring with dedicated feature articles, listening galleries, and a virtual showcase event. The contest is expected to return annually, with submissions opening each year in January and February.
The full winners gallery is now available at QuibbleLit.com.
“This has been a profound, moving, and exhilarating process,” said Quibble Lit founder and editor Garrett Souliere. “We started this contest because we believe poetry is often at its best when it lifts off the page. We’re excited to create more opportunities and recognition for poets whose work should be heard, and we hope the Ps & Qs grows into something lasting and luminous for indie lit and aspiring poets.”
2026 Quippy Award Winners
The following poets were named the first-ever recipients of the Quippy Awards, the top honors in the inaugural Ps & Qs Audio Poem Contest:
Golden Quippy - Bri Gearhart Staton - “Portrait of a Hungover Woman Eating a Tomato Sandwich”
Silver Quippy - Jae Nichelle - “moons out and my bitches is wolves”
Copper Quippy - Angelina Aldrich - “Thighs For Days”
Additional superlative awards were presented in recognition of distinctive craft and performance:
Most Heartbreaking - Hilesh Patel - “Apples and a cold slice of pizza, eaten arc first”
Most Haunting - Dré Pontbriand - “Porcelain Playground Barbie”
Most Humorful - Lauren Rich - “Job Title: Entertainer”
Best Lyricism - Andres Cordoba - “Monica #43”
Best Sonic Experimentation - Sophia Lucia - “GET ME OUT”
Best Use of Silence - Rochelle Potkar - “Bedrock”
“These poets are the first-ever Quippy Award winners,” said Souliere. “They now hold a special place in the shared story and history of this contest.”
Quippy Choice Awards Recognize 16 Additional Poets
Alongside the main contest honors, Quibble Lit also announced the Quippy Choice Awards, recognizing 16 poems that stood out powerfully in the inaugural selection process beyond the final prize placements. Rather than treating these works as simple honorable mentions, Quibble Lit created the Choice Awards as a more meaningful recognition in their own right - highlighting poems that stayed with the editorial team, made a real impression, and deserve continued attention.
The 2026 Quippy Choice Award recipients are:
• Melissa Balmain - “Enough with the Death Bed”
• Kelsey Britt - “Lamentation”
• Patricia Cannon - “Not Quite a Sonnet”
• Eric Colburn - “Ode to Bric-a-brac”
• Eve Devera - “Roadkill”
• Dean Gessie - “On the Consolation of Elegy”
• Alexandra Price - “it seems the whole world”
• Oak Morse - “Color Me Razz”
• Alicia Rebecca Myers - “Tiny Home”
• Lucy Nelson - “I want it delicious”
• Christian Perfas - “Pretty Young”
• James Spencer - “Character”
• Jillian Stacia - “Dinah Won’t You Blow Your Horn?”
• Jeff Stumpo - “prayer is a whirring in the spacetime fabric”
• Jasmine Vallejo-Love - “I Was Taught to Be Afraid of Men Who Look Like You”
• Carole Vasta Folley - “Where She Stands”
All recognized poets will receive dedicated space for their work to continue living publicly through Quibble Lit’s spring programming.
Spring Showcase and Ongoing Features
Quibble Lit will continue celebrating the winners and recognized poets throughout the season with feature coverage and a virtual reading event:
Ps & Qs Showcase Reading Party
April 19, 2026
7:30–8:45 PM ET
Virtual event details to be announced on social media
Guest Judges
Quibble Lit also extended thanks to its guest judging panel, whose care, seriousness, and attention helped shape the inaugural contest:
• Jeff Bogle - Stanchion Zine
• Leah Browning - Apple Valley Review
• Derrick Brown - Write Bloody Publishing
• Maria Giesbrecht - Gather Poets
• Tim Green - Rattle
• Zuri McWhorter - Juste Milieu Zine
About The Ps & Qs Audio Poem Contest
Ps & Qs is Quibble Lit’s new annual audio poetry contest, created to celebrate poems that thrive in voice, sound, and performance. Focused on work that goes beyond the page, the contest uplifts poets whose language, delivery, and sonic imagination deserve dedicated recognition and listening space.
About Quibble Lit
Quibble Lit is an independent literary magazine devoted to helping writing mean more. We believe we live to love and bicker. Through publication, interviews, contests, and community-centered literary programming, Quibble Lit champions memorable work and meaningful opportunities for writers and artists.
Media Contact:
Garrett Souliere
Editor ( @ ) quibblelit dot com
Quibblelit.com
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