2023 Goldstein Contest Judges

an’ya is the founding editor of the TSA journal Ribbons, past editor of the TSA newsletter, founder and editor of the United Haiku and Tanka Society and Cattails, founder of AHA awards, Fleeting Words Tanka Competition, Samurai Haibun Contest, and Songbirds Online, founding editor of Moonset, founding president of the Oregon Haiku and Tanka Society, past Haigaonline editor, and founding editor of Tanka Origins. an’ya’s pen name loosely translates to “an” (peace) and “ya” (night), linking it with the analogy “a surprise light that brings peace to the moonless night.” an’ya has numerous books and is published in journals, magazines, online, and in newspapers. Her art has been featured in galleries, her works painted on windchimes, read on radio, and presented at libraries in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and displayed on buses for the “Poetry Moves” project. Besides winning hundreds of awards and contests, an’ya is a seven-time winner of British Haiku Society competitions for haiku and tanka. Her works have been translated into 60+ languages/dialects. Visit her website.

Debbie Strange is a Canadian short-form poet, artist, photographer, and musician who has a deep affinity for nature. She is grateful that her most recent collection, The Language of Loss: Haiku & Tanka Conversations (Sable Books, 2020) received three book awards, including the 2022 Marianne Bluger Chapbook Award. Debbie’s daily creative practice helps mitigate the effects of chronic illness, and has yielded thousands of internationally published poems and artworks. Her work has garnered 40 awards in leading tanka competitions, and she is honored to be invited to cojudge the 2023 Sanford Goldstein Contest. Good luck to all! For further information, please visit Debbie’s publication archive, “Warp and Weft.”