- The 2025 Bacopa Literary Review featured about 50 selected writings from 353 submissions, presented by the Writers Alliance of Gainesville at Millhopper Library.
- Editor-in-Chief J.N. Fishhawk, who is stepping down, praised Bacopa's rise to international literary recognition since its 2010 founding.
- Stephanie Seguin will succeed Fishhawk as editor-in-chief, with contributors ranging from local authors to winners from India and across the U.S.
- The Writers Alliance of Gainesville hosted a reading of about 50 selected entries from the 2025 Bacopa Literary Review at the Millhopper Branch Library.
It was a good time to catch up on some of the latest writings by local authors and other scribes at a reading on Sunday sponsored by the Writers Alliance of Gainesville (WAG) from their 2025 Bacopa Literary Review.
Some 353 writers, poets, and others involved in creative undertakings submitted entries to the competition, which was presented at the Millhopper Branch Library in Gainesville. Editors read from and give brief remarks on about 50 submissions selected for publication. This included the prizewinning and honorable mention pieces in each of the five categories of fiction, creative nonfiction, formal poetry, free verse poetry, and visual poetry.
“Over the last eight to 10 years, Bacopa has built itself up to be an internationally recognized literary journal,” said Editor in Chief J.N. Fishhawk. “We really try to reach as many people locally, nationally, and internationally as possible.”
The journal, founded in 2010, takes its name from a flower endemic to many parts of the world and is associated with wetland ecosystems.
“The founders gave the journal the name Bacopa as a setting of intentions and an aspirational view of the future,” Fishhawk said.
Bacopa Fiction Editor Wendy Thornton, herself a founder of WAG, read from the winning fiction entry, reeling off a list of accolades to describe winner Terry Sanville of San Luis Obispo, California. Then she reminded those there that when editors made their choices, they were doing so blind.
“None of us ever sees any of the names (of the authors) when we are looking at this stuff,” Thornton said.
Included in this year’s edition are pieces by authors hailing from around Florida and all over the United States, as well as from various regions around the world.
Fishhawk has been the Bacopa editor since 2022, when he was recruited by former editor Mary Bast. Long active on the local poetry scene, Fishhawk became Bacopa poetry editor in 2017 and has been one of the hosts of the Civic Media Center (CMC) Thursday Night Poetry Jam sessions since its founding in 1994.
He is stepping down from his Bacopa role, with current Creative Nonfiction Editor Stephanie Seguin set to become Bacopa’s next editor-in-chief.
Readers included one of WAG’s most prolific writers, Richard Gartee, who read an excerpt from his short story, “Woodstock Almost”. Gartee is the author of “The Hippodrome Theater First Fifty Years,” published in 2023.
Local author Charlotte M. Porter gave a dramatic reading of her creative nonfiction entry, “Mam Exam.” Porter took the prize for “Best of WAG” in her category, a new addition this year to better highlight and promote the work of WAG members.
Other Best of WAG winners include:
Fiction: Bonnie T. Ogle–longtime WAG member, secretary of the Sunshine State Book Festival, award-winning children’s book author.
Free Verse Poetry: Aliesa Zoecklein, Santa Fe College writing teacher, and a widely published, award-winning poet
Visual Poetry: J. Nishida (whose piece also won Honorable Mention overall for that category), a longtime co-host of the CMC Poetry Jam.
The winners who live furthest from Gainesville are Fiction Honorable Mention winner Abhishek Sengupta, a magical realist novelist and short story writer from Kolkata, India; and in the U.S., Formal Poetry Honorable Mention winner Dion O’Reilly, who splits her time between Soquel, California, and Bellingham, Washington.
