The Daydreamer Prize
Lehigh Valley Literary Magazine is proud to announce The Daydreamer Prize in literary arts, a prize that is funded collectively by individual donations and proceeds from magazine sales. For the Summer/Fall 2021 issue, we raised $600 for prizes of $100 each in literature and art. The prize is named in honor of people everywhere who have the courage to daydream.
Current research has confirmed that daydreaming freely about pleasant thoughts or memories in life can help to “reshape emotions and make us happier” leading to an “increased wellbeing” (Escalante 2021).
Among benefits mentioned by mental health professionals are a decrease in anxiety, an improvement in problem-solving skills, and an increase in potential to actualize creative and goal-oriented achievements (Field 2021).
Daydreaming also plays a vital role in storytelling. Through the imagination and the arts, we can provide insight to emotional healing and understanding, all while upholding the survival, development, and prosperity of languages and cultures.
Lehigh Valley Literary Magazine would like to thank the patrons who sponsored the prize for this issue, and the authors and artists who submitted entries to the magazine with the theme, “Hope in the World.” The Daydreamer Prize winners will be announced before the release of the publication.
Updates: $700 for prizes of $100 each will be awarded.
Prize Winners
Anissa Martell for the poem, “Ready,” and cover artwork, “Hope (Self-Portrait)”
Amanda Duffy for the poem, “So the Tides, So the Times”
Susy Kamber for the poem and artwork entitled, “Peace Colors”
Kristin Ivey for the poem, “Cradled in Code,” and nonfiction accompaniment, “Love in a Time of War”
Michele Connelly for the short story, “You Saved My Life”
Kate Howells for the short story, “School of Lost Memories,” and artwork, “My Heart’s Song”
Lacy Gonzalez Browne for the short dramatical piece, “You Guys” from Next Please: 2
Acknowledgements
Kathleen Hough
Melissa DiMaiella
Post Artwork by Kateryna Kovarzh
