PSOV member Samantha Kolber is publishing her fiction debut on December 1st with “What She Stole” a lyrical coming-of-age novel about a young woman named Eloise Goldstein who struggles to feel loved and find her voice amid a chaotic household. Eloise, shaped by the dichotomies of memory and trauma, uses writing, mothering, and bodywork to heal.

“What She Stole is a well-executed literary coming-of-age novel, and Eloise is a protagonist we want to root for…Sharon is brilliantly written as a mother Eloise can never quite read…Kolber immerses readers in the settings, from the hot seaside boardwalk beneath Eloise’s bare feet to winter trees outside an English classroom inspiring her first poem. Well written and extremely thoughtful, readers who enjoy true, pure literary fiction will adore this.”

—Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite, 5-Star Review

You can pre-order a signed copy of “What She Stole” online from Bear Pond Books. Be sure to support member authors by purchasing a copy of their book(s.) Also, look for member books in your local independent bookstore( if not available, suggest they support Vermont poets and stock them.)

We are excited to share publication news of PSOV member N.G. Haiduck’s first poetry collection, Moon Over the Cross Bronx Expressway. Haiduck’s previous book Cabbie was published in 2025, is a collection of short stories recounting her adventures as a yellow cab driver in New York City in the 1970s.

We are happy to share that PSOV member Polly Giantonio’s new collection of poems Remember the Sweetness published by Rootstock Publishing will be released on August 11, 2026, and is currently available for pre-order. The chapbook explores the peaks and tunnels of the heart.

Giantonio will read from her collection on August 19, 2026, at 7 pm, and will be joined by Ina Anderson, PSOV member, who will also read at the Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vermont.

Polly Giantonio’s new book is currently available online for pre-order at Rootstock Publishing. Be sure to support member authors by purchasing a copy of their book(s.) Also, look for member books in your local independent bookstore( if not available, suggest they support Vermont poets and stock them.)

We are happy to share news of Poetry Society of Vermont member Tim Mayo’s new poetry collection…

Tim Mayo announces the publication of his third full length collection Muscle Memories of Love and Disaster by Bainbridge Island Press.

Muscle Memories of Love and Disaster explores the arc of a life shaped by loss and renewed by love. The poems intertwine to explore grief from the loss of loved ones (a lover, a daughter and close friends), early memories of growing up in an immigrant foster home, later memories of working in a mental hospital, the poet’s own recovery from addiction, the emotional and spiritual impact of a near death and life-changing accident with its lasting, crippling effects, and an acceptance of a life nearing its own chronological end. Although there is a darkness in these poems, they belie the empathy and subtle humor in the poems and the joy of finding love in later life after so much loss.

Tim Mayo will be the guest poet for the 2026 PSOV Spring Workshop on May 16th: AN EXPLORATION OF VOICE IN POETRY. Sign Up today.

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You can find Tim’s new poetry book Muscle Memories of Love and Disaster on the Bainbridge Island Press website. Be sure to support member authors by purchasing a copy of their book(s.) Also, look for member books in your local independent bookstore( if not available, suggest they support Vermont poets and stock them.)

Illustrated Verse Imagined or Remembered

Perched on a ridge top in Vermont with pencils, pens, paints and camera in hand, I have compiled and share, herein, a collection of illustrated poetry.  These works are, for the most part, personal and retrospective, but they give depth and illusion to the flat surfaces of life.  The verse and accompanying visuals expand upon experiences that narrow the distance between us and provide insight beyond our shared horizon.

~ Sam Wharton

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PSOV member Sam Wharton is excited to announce the recent publication of his new book Shadows & Relflections: Illustrated Verse Imagined or Remembered (Onion River Press 2026.) Now available at Bookshop.org and other online bookstores. Be sure to support member authors by purchasing a copy of their book(s.) Also, look for member books in your local independent bookstore( if not available, suggest they support Vermont poets and stock them.)

PSOV member, Tricia Knoll has been selected Runner Up in the 2025 Charles Simic Poetry Prize for her poem “Boundaries.”

We’re thrilled to announce the results of the 2025 Charles Simic Poetry Prize judged by former and founding HITH editor Bill Schulz. Congratulations winners and finalists, and thank you to all who sent us such strong work.

Read the full announcement here at the Hole in the Head Review website.

More about PSOV member, Tricia Knoll, Vermont poet.