Congratulations to the 2018 Split Rock Review poetry chapbook winner Jen Karetnick for her manuscript The Crossing Over, which explores migrant experiences in the Mediterranean that are told from the boat's point of view. The Crossing Over will be available in early 2019 via Amazon, independent booksellers, and Split Rock Review's online store. 

Jen Karetnick is the author of three full-length poetry collections, including The Treasures That Prevail (Whitepoint Press), finalist for the 2017 Poetry Society of Virginia Book Prize, and four poetry chapbooks. The winner of the 2017 Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest, the 2016 Romeo Lemay Poetry Prize, and the 2015 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Prize, her work has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, Cutthroat, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, Verse Daily, among many other publications. Jen is the co-editor of  SWWIM Every Day, a daily online literary journal. She works as the Creative Writing Director for Miami Arts Charter School; the dining critic for MIAMI Magazine; a freelance lifestyle journalist; and a cookbook and guidebook author. Jen received an MFA in poetry from University of California, Irvine, and an MFA in fiction from University of Miami. You can find her on Twitter @Kavetchnik.

We would also like to recognize the strong collections submitted by the finalists and semi-finalists, listed in alphabetical order: 

FINALISTS

• Thirteen Moons by Robert Carney
• From the Dictionary of Geological Terms by Jolie B Kaytes
• Easy Street by Cindy King
• Salt, Rock, Spine by Abby Murray
• Beautiful Water by Sara Shearer
• Endangered Animals by Elizabeth Vignali

SEMI-FINALISTS

• Forty-Six Degrees North by Milton Bates
• This Document Should Be Retained as Evidence of Your Journey by Colleen Coyne
• Sewn from Water by Deborah Rosch Eifert
• Riverside Song by CJ Giroux
• In Knots by Jacob Hall
• Ten Minutes North by Hope Jordan
• The Replaceable by Toshiaki Komura
• Dark Matter by Martha McCollough
• To Where Are We Bound by Benjamin Mueller
• River Carry Me by Robert Okaji

Many thanks to all the writers that submitted to the 2018 Split Rock Review Poetry Chapbook Contest. We received over 100 manuscripts this year, and it was a very difficult decision due to the high quality of submissions. Thank you for your continued support and interest in Split Rock Review!