Tanka Society of America

TSA News

2025 Tanka Prose Contest

May 15, 2025

To help celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2025, the Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce a free contest this year for tanka prose, to be judged by John Budan. The submission window is June 1 to July 31, 2025. See our submission guidelines.

TSA Mentorship Program Update

April 14, 2025

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce the continuation of its mentorship program, open to both members and nonmembers. For more information, please visit our TSA Mentorship Program page. If you’re interested in tanka guidance, encouragement, and community-building, or being a mentor, please sign up by May 15, 2025.

Editor of 2025 TSA Members’ Anthology Announced

April 13, 2025

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce the editor for its 2025 TSA members’ anthology. Michelle Brock lives in Australia and has won awards for her tanka and short stories. The submission window is July 15 through August 31, 2025, and all members will receive a free copy of the book. See the complete submission guidelines.

New Tanka Hangout Editor

April 13, 2025

After two and a half years as Tanka Hangout editor for Ribbons, Ken Slaughter is retiring because of personal commitments. The Tanka Society of America thanks him for helming this popular Ribbons feature, and for helping to coordinate Laurels. We will miss him! We are now happy to welcome Michele L. Harvey, who is stepping into Ken’s shoes to edit this members-only department. Michele judged the TSA’s annual tanka contest in 2014 and also edited the 2024 members’ anthology. For submission details, please see the Tanka Hangout Submission Guidelines. The submission deadline is June 30, 2025.

Sanford Goldstein’s Tanka World

March 26, 2025

New to our Essays page is "Sanford Goldstein’s Tanka World," an extensive, informative, and personal two-part essay by Randy Brooks on the depth and breadth of Goldstein’s  decades-long exploration and promotion of the art of tanka. Please also explore other contributions to our Essays page.

Tanka Society of America 25th Anniversary Celebration

March 18, 2025

Please join us on April 6, 2025 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm (Pacific Time) to celebrate the Tanka Society of America’s 25th anniversary. Members and nonmembers are all welcome at this free event. See the complete schedule with Zoom link. We’ll read members’ tribute tanka honoring Sanford Goldstein, and Michael Dylan Welch will talk about the society’s beginnings and its accomplishments over the last 25 years. Meet our newly elected officers and bring a tanka for the opening read-around. You may also submit up to two tanka for an anonymous workshop (see the submission link on the schedule page). Our featured speaker will be Sanford Goldstein’s longtime friend and companion Kazuaki Wakui, introducing us to the Sanford Goldstein Memorial Tanka Museum in Japan. Please join us!

New TSA Officers for 2025–26

March 16, 2025

Congratulations to the following newly elected slate of Tanka Society of America officers for the 2025–26 term:

• President: Kathabela Wilson (new)

• First Vice President: Roy Kindelberger (new)

• Second Vice President: Theresa A. Cancro (new)

• Secretary: Kathabela Wilson

• Treasurer: James Won

• Ribbons Editor: Susan Weaver

• Web Manager: Michael Dylan Welch

Out of about 400 current members, 85 cast votes (about 21%), all in favour of nominated officers, except for two write-ins for secretary and a few abstentions. The voting process also welcomed comments and suggestions, which have been shared with all board members for discussion. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond, and congratulations to your new and returning TSA officers. Huge thanks also to retiring officers, Susan Burch and Ryland Shengzhi Li, for their exemplary service in recent years.

Laurels #3

February 7, 2025

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to publish the third issue of Laurels, its members-only online journal. Issue #3, edited by Margaret Tau, features seventy tanka (our largest issue by far), celebrating the theme of choice. And check out our submission guidelines for Laurels #4, due by June 30, 2025 (TSA members only).

2025 Goldstein Contest and Judges Announced

February 5, 2025

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce that the judges for the 2025 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest will be Michael H. Lester and Vicki Miko. Once again, it will be free to enter the contest and participants can enter 1 to 4 tanka per person. We encourage your donations to offset our costs (a donation button appears on the submission page). Please read the contest guidelines, which welcome your submissions from April 1 to May 31, 2025. We look forward to receiving your entries! 

Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary in 2025!

January 1, 2025

The Tanka Society of America celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025. Our inaugural meeting took place on April 14, 2000, and we have enjoyed many successes since then, including all of our annual contests, membership anthologies, tanka conferences, and the regular publication of Ribbons and more recently, Laurels. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make TSA a success over its first 25 years. Please also check out our newly updated 2025 event calendar.

2024 Nominations for Pushcart Prize

December 19, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce the following nominations for The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses L anthology, as selected by Ribbons editors:

• “California’s Charred Bones” by Elizabeth Black — tanka sequence, Spring/Summer 2024

• “Unvarnished” by Michele L. Harvey — tanka sequence, Spring/Summer 2024

• “Triggers” by Reid Hepworth — tanka prose, Spring/Summer 2024

• “Earthquake on Noto Peninsula” by Mari Konno — tanka sequence, Spring/Summer 2024

• “The Smell of Sorrow” by Chen-ou Liu — tanka prose, Spring/Summer 2024

• “Asylum” by Steve Black — tanka sequence, Fall/Winter 2024

2024 TSA Members’ Anthology Editor Announced

October 22, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce that the editor for our 2024 TSA members’ anthology will be Michele L. Harvey. The submission period will run from November 1 to 30, 2024, and all members will receive a free copy of the book. See the complete submission guidelines.

2023 TSA Members’ Anthology Published

October 20, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is happy to announce the publication of Eye to Eye, its 2023 members’ anthology, edited and designed by Randy Brooks. Featuring tanka by 139 poets from throughout North America and around the world, the collection celebrates the emotional life of relationships where we come eye to eye with each other. This is the society’s sixteenth anthology since the organization was founded in 2000. Copies are now being sent to members. Read more about the book and see the cover on our TSA Anthologies page.

2024 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest Results

August 24, 2024

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest, judged by Reid Hepworth and Vandana Parashar. Results and commentary, and a winners video by Christine L. Villa, are now live on the 2024 Winners page, with the top three poems and honorable mentions posted to the home page. Our top winners are Elizabeth Black, Sanjuktaa Asopa, and Teji Sethi, selected from 612 contest entries, coordinated once again by Susan Burch. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who celebrated tanka by entering. And in our annual drawing from contest submitters for a free year of TSA membership, the winner is Barbara Sabol.

Laurels #2

July 31, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to publish the second issue of Laurels, its members-only online journal. Issue #2, edited by Michael Ketchek, features forty-five kyōka, celebrating tanka’s funny bone. Also look for our submission guidelines for Laurels #3, due by January 31, 2025 (TSA members only).

TSA Mentorship Program

May 9, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce the continuation of its mentorship program. For more information, please visit our TSA Mentorship Program page. If you’re interested in tanka guidance, encouragement, and community-building, or being a mentor, please sign up by May 31, 2024.

Work Special Video

April 10, 2024

Just added to the Videos page is Work Special Video, created in 2023 by Christine M. Villa, featuring tanka curated by Susan Burch. The video is also available on YouTube.

2024 Goldstein Contest and Judges Announced

March 27, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce that the judges for the 2024 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest will be Reid Hepworth and Vandana Parashar. Our contest is free to enter, and you can submit up to four tanka per person. We encourage your donations to offset our costs (a donation button appears on the submission page). Please read the 2024 Goldstein contest guidelines, which welcome your submissions from April 1 to May 31, 2024. We are eager to receive your entries!

Laurels #1

February 23, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to publish the first issue of Laurels, its new members-only online journal. Issue #1, edited by Richard L. Matta, features fifty tanka on the theme of finding beauty in the broken. Also look for our submission guidelines for Laurels #2, due by June 30, 2024 (TSA members only).

2023 Nominations for Pushcart Prize

January 12, 2024

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce the following nominations for The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses XLIX anthology, as selected by Ribbons editors:

• “Hush and Goodnight” by Michelle Brock — tanka prose, Winter 2023

• “Bosque del Apache” by Ryland Shengzhi Li — tanka prose, Winter 2023

• “Visceral” by Gerry Jacobson — tanka prose, Winter 2023

• “Medicine Crow” by Barbara Curnow — tanka prose, Spring/Summer 2023

• “Shrinking Horizons” by Reid Hepworth and Sangita Kalarickal — responsive tanka, Fall 2023

• “Independence” by Chen-ou Liu — tanka prose, Fall 2023

Submissions to Laurels, TSA’s New Online Journal, Due by January 31, 2024

November 26, 2023

The Tanka Society of America’s new online journal, Laurels, will launch in February/March of 2024. We invite all TSA members (only) to submit up to three unpublished tanka. As guest editor of the first issue, Richard L. Matta has chosen “A Makeover” as the theme. To learn more and to find the online submission link, please visit our new Laurels page. The deadline for sending your work is January 31, 2024.

2024 Ribbons Submission Deadlines and Revised Membership Fees

October 31, 2023

The Tanka Society of America has decided to change the publication schedule of Ribbons to be twice a year instead of three, starting in 2024. This will result in more manageable editing and mailing work. See our submission guidelines page for new submission dates. To augment Ribbons, we have decided to initiate Laurels, a new members-only online tanka journal focusing on specified themes twice a year (to be posted about halfway between Ribbons issues)—see the new Laurels page for more details. Our U.S. and Canadian membership dues will remain unchanged, but we need to increase membership dues for international subscribers to reflect actual costs that we can no longer subsidize. To offset this increase, we are adding a much more affordable online (PDF) option for receiving TSA publications, available to anyone anywhere, including anyone in the United States. See our How to Join or Renew page for more details.

2023 TSA Members’ Anthology Editor Announced

August 15, 2023

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce that the editor for our 2023 TSA members’ anthology will be Randy Brooks. The submission period will run from September 1 to 30, 2023, and all members will receive a free copy of the book. See the complete submission guidelines.

2023 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest Results

August 11, 2023

Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest, judged by an’ya and Debbie Strange. Results and commentary, and a winners video by Christine L. Villa, are now live on the 2023 Winners page, with the top three poems and honorable mentions posted to the home page. Our top winners are David Terelinck, Ruth Holzer, and Anne Benjamin, selected from 678 contest entries, coordinated once again by Susan Burch. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who celebrated tanka by entering.  And in our annual drawing from submitter names for a free year of TSA membership, the winner is Cynthia Padilla.

2022 TSA Members’ Anthology Published

July 28, 2023

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce the publication of One Moment at a Time, its 2022 members’ anthology, edited by Jim Chessing. This collection features tanka by 160 poets in nine thematic chapters, ranging from love and family to nature and the news, plus gardens, illness, death, and introspection. This is the society’s fifteenth anthology since the organization was founded in 2000. Though publication was delayed longer than expected, copies are now being sent out to members. Read more about the book and see the cover on our TSA Anthologies page.

Sanford Goldstein, December 1, 1925 – May 5, 2023

June 24, 2023

The Tanka Society of America is saddened to report the passing of Sanford Goldstein, the grandfather of tanka in English, and a mentor to many members of the society. The Tanka Society of America renamed its annual tanka contest in Sandy's honor in 2015. He was born on December 1, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio, and died at age 97 on May 5, 2023, in Shibata City, near Niigata, Japan, and spent his life “spilling tanka.” As Joy McCall has noted, Sandy died “on the 5th day of the 5th month of the 5th Reiwa year in Japan, so right for the man who lived his whole life in five lines.” Rest in peace, Sandy. Please read the eulogy for Sanford Goldstein, written by his son Dave Goldstein.

Tanka Monday 2023 Announced for July 3, 2023 in Cincinnati

March 5, 2023

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce its sixth conference, Tanka Monday 2023, to be held on July 3, 2023 (plus events the night before) at the Mercantile Library in Cincinnati, Ohio. This event is FREE and will take place in person (no Zoom options) immediately after this year’s Haiku North America conference (June 28 to July 2), and accommodations are available at the Netherland Plaza Hotel (book early to assure room availability). For details about our 2023 gathering, please see Tanka Monday 2023, and review all its subpages, especially the registration and schedule pages. For accommodations, do not contact the hotel directly; instead, follow the instructions on the accommodations page, which will direct you to the Haiku North America portal for booking hotel rooms (we are gratefully piggybacking on their group discount on rooms). A fuller schedule will be added as details become finalized. If you have a presentation, workshop, or reading to propose, please contact Michael Dylan Welch at WelchM@aol.com. We look forward to seeing you in Cincinnati!

2023 Goldstein Contest and Judges Announced

January 30, 2023

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce that the judges for the 2023 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest will be an’ya and Debbie Strange. Our contest is free to enter, and you can submit up to four tanka per person. We encourage your donations to offset our costs (a donation button appears on the submission page). Please read the 2023 Goldstein contest guidelines, which welcome your submissions from April 1 to May 31, 2023. We are eager to receive your entries! Also check out our newly updated 2023 event calendar.

Pushcart Prize Nominations

November 23, 2022

The Tanka Society of America is delighted to announce the following nominations for the 2023 Pushcart Prize anthology, as selected by Ribbons editors: 

• “Sweepstakes” by Michelle Brock — tanka prose, Winter 2022

• “Out of Africa” by Barbara Curnow — tanka prose, Winter 2022

• “Balancing Act” by Michele L. Harvey — tanka sequence, Winter 2022

• “The Bomb Inside Them” by Margaret Chula — tanka sequence, Spring/Summer 2022

• “My Search for Line 5” by Ken Slaughter — essay, Spring/Summer 2022

• “east meets west” by Jon Hare — tanka sequence, Fall 2022

Former U.S. poet laureate Charles Wright has said, "A Pushcart Prize selection is one of the very best things that could happen to a writer." So let’s wish these fine writers the very best in a tough contest.

Sci-Fi Tanka Video Feature

November 20, 2022

New to the Tanka Society of America’s YouTube channel is “April 2022 Sci-Fi Tanka Feature,” a video by Christine L. Villa celebrating sci-fi tanka compiled by Susan Burch. You can also see it on our Videos page (scroll down to “Other Videos”). This video (almost nine minutes long) features poems by Sheila Sondik, Susan Burch, Rick Jackofsky, Cynthia Anderson, Julie Bloss Kelsey, Genie Nakano, Jim Chessing, Charles Harmon, Lenore English, Michael Flanagan, Michele L. Harvey, Pris Campbell, Kenneth Slaughter, Michelle Brock, Marilyn Humbert, Mark Teaford, LeRoy Gorman, Dru Phillippou, Bob Erlandson, Hazel Hall, Elaine Dillof, William Kerr, Debbie Strange, Peggy Hale Bilbro, Paul Millar, Elisa Theriana, Mike Stinson, Autumn Noelle Hall, Seren Fargo, and Sarah Turnbull. Congrats and thanks to all!

Tanka Hangout Announced

November 6, 2022

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce its new “Tanka Hangout,” edited by Ken Slaughter, in our journal Ribbons. Tanka Hangout welcomes submissions by TSA members only, each poem written in response to a prompt. Read more about it at our new Tanka Hangout Submission Guidelines page.

2022 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest Results

August 10, 2022

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest, judged by Kathy Kituai and David Terelinck. Results and commentary are now live on the 2022 Winners page, with the top three poems and honorable mentions posted to the home page. Our top winners are Robin Anna Smith, Alan Peat, and Suraja Roychowdhury, selected from 585 contest entries, coordinated once again by Susan Burch. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who celebrated tanka by entering. And in our annual drawing from submitter names for a free year of TSA membership, the winner is Derville Quigley.

2022 TSA Members’ Anthology Editor Announced

March 10, 2022

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce that the editor for our 2022 TSA members’ anthology will be Jim Chessing. The submission period will run from June 15 to July 31, 2022, and all members will receive a free copy of the book. See the complete submission guidelines.

Tanka Studio Column Announced

February 16, 2022

The Tanka Society of America extends gratitude to Michael McClintock for editing the long-running “Tanka Café” column in Ribbons. In its place, we’re pleased to inaugurate a new “Tanka Studio” column, edited by Autumn Noelle Hall. This column welcomes tanka submissions by TSA members only, each poem written in response to a visual theme. Read more about it at the new Tanka Studio Submission Guidelines page.

2021 TSA Members’ Anthology Published

February 3, 2022

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce the publication of Self-Portrait, its 2021 members’ anthology, edited by Michael H. Lester. This collection offers a window into the minds of 152 tanka poets from around the world in seven chapters exploring such timeless themes as death, love, human nature, the natural world, and philosophy. This collection is the society’s fourteenth anthology since the organization was founded in 2000. Members can expect to start receiving their free copies in March. Read more about the book and see the cover on our TSA Anthologies page.

2022 Goldstein Contest and Judges Announced

January 29, 2022

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce that the judges for the 2022 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest will be Kathy Kituai and David Terelinck. Once again, it will be free to enter the contest, but we are reducing the number of submissions to four tanka per person (instead of five), to make the total number of poems more manageable for the judges. We encourage your donations to offset our costs (a donation button appears on the submission page). Please read the 2022 Goldstein contest guidelines, which welcome your submissions from April 1 to May 31, 2022. We look forward to receiving your entries!

New TSA Website Launch

January 1, 2022

Major relaunch of the Tanka Society of America website, now secure and optimized for PCs, tablets, and phones. Extensive design changes throughout, plus hundreds of smaller updates, including an updated Calendar for 2022. Please explore the site and let us know what you think!

2021 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest Results

August 24, 2021

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest, judged by Autumn Noelle Hall and Don Miller. Results and commentary are now live, with the top three poems and honorable mentions posted to the home page, and complete commentary available through the Winners and Judges’ Comments page. Our top winners are Pris Campbell, Kathryn Stevens, and Urszula Funnell, selected from 845 poems by 199 participants, coordinated once again by Susan Burch. Congratulations to all, and thank you to everyone who celebrated tanka by entering.

TSA YouTube Channel

July 9, 2021

The Tanka Society of America is pleased to announce its own YouTube channel, and the addition of a new Videos page on our website. Please check out both links, which include the following brand-new video featuring pandemic-related tanka. Susan Burch compiled the poems and Christine L. Villa made the video. Thank you to all the poets for their tanka contributions.