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Cover art for The Good Life Review, Issue #20, Summer 2025, featuring abstract design in blue tones, with a butterfly and stylized text.
Cover: “Zephyr” by Mary Amato
Artwork
Announcement

Issue #20 ~ Summer 2025

Release Date: July 15, 2025

Featuring work from the 2025 HoneyBee Prize…
Poetry

Winner selected by Julia Kolchinsky:
Autobiography of a Violin by Cassie Burkhardt
Editors Choice:
The Widower Writes From the Shipwreck & True Apothecary by Ellie Gold Laabs
The Year I Carried You by Sara Shea
Red and Yellow Light Over the Top of Houses by Dolapo Demuren
Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O LORD? by Yin Cheng

Flash Creative Nonfiction

Winner selected by Kristine Langley Mahler:
I Conjure My Great-Grandmother In a Dream; She Gives Me a Lesson on Revision by Alayna Powell
Editor’s Choice:
The Leftovers by Michelle La Vone

Flash Fiction

Winner selected by Tom Paine:
While Making Out the Lineup for Tomorrow’s 12U Softball Championship Game by Jim Parisi
Editor’s Choice:
The Summer He Left by Alison Ozawa Sanders
Solitary Creatures by Charlie Rogers & Jaime Gill

Short Creative NonFiction

Winner selected by Brenna Womer:
The Laundry Hangs at Noon by Ginger Tolman

Short fiction

Winner selected by Michael Czyzniejewski:
When Mr. Boppo Joined the Cohort by Sharon Lee Snow
Editor’s Choice:
Take Me Through the Finish by Tom Ziemer

Cover artwork for The Good Life Review Issue #20, Summer 2025, featuring a vibrant design.
A joyful black and white photograph of a woman smiling widely while a young girl hugs her from behind, both displaying happy expressions.
Black and white portrait of a man wearing glasses, looking directly at the camera.
A joyful woman with long blonde hair smiles warmly against a backdrop of a tree.
A smiling woman wearing a straw hat and glasses, dressed in a light green top, standing outdoors with colorful structures in the background.
A colorful abstract artwork titled 'Natural Hue' by Sarah Kohrs, featuring vibrant colors and organic shapes.
Artwork titled 'Natural Hue' by Sarah Kohrs.
Abstract artwork featuring swirling blue and white patterns, creating a sense of movement and depth.
A person wearing a knitted hat and jacket, standing outdoors with trees in the background.
A black and white portrait of a young person resting their chin on their hand, gazing thoughtfully at the camera.
Artwork titled 'Natural Hue' by Sarah Kohrs featuring vibrant colors and organic shapes.
A black and white portrait of a woman smiling in casual attire against a blurred, natural background.
Artwork related to literary work and announcements for Summer 2025 issue.
A woman with red hair wearing glasses and a white jacket poses in front of a backdrop featuring logos of a film festival.
A woman with short blonde hair smiles while standing in a garden, wearing a colorful patterned top.
With Artwork and photography By:

Mary Amato, Roger Camp, Britnie Walston, Nataliia Burmaka, Ferris Jones, Milena Makani, Maud Bocquillod, Joe Hernandez, and Sebastian Mark

A watercolor illustration of a bee in shades of orange and yellow against a black background.

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s feature…

The Echo of Footsteps by Ibrahim Abdulhakeem

Each step carried the weight of exhaustion, of dreams deferred and dignity swallowed in silence. Ayo would listen from his room, curled up with his homework, his hands clammy as he gripped his pen. Would today be different? Would the tension in the air dissipate, leaving room for laughter instead of raised voices?…

Keep reading

TGLR Spotlight…

2026 Best of the Net Nominations

Hello friends. Fall has arrived here in Omaha and the cooler weather means it’s nom-nom-nomination season again. Today, we’re thrilled to kick off this gourmet meal with a healthy dish of Best of the Net Noms!

This year’s two creative nonfiction essays, two fiction stories, six poems, and three pieces of art being nominated are…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan
Artwork featuring a creative design representing natural hues.

Exclusive interviews with our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz
Welcome sign for Nebraska, featuring the phrase 'the good life' and a depiction of a mountain, with 'Home of Arbor Day' below.

TGLR News

Introducing Spring 2025
2024 Autumn Issue released on October 17th
2024 Honeybee Prize Results and Summer Issue
2024 Spring issue is HERE
Winter 2024 Best Of edition is available in print!
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

More news and announcements here!

A stylized white silhouette of a person pushing a cart with an umbrella, set against a solid blue background.

TGLR nominates for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and Best Small Fictions

2025 Best Small Fictions
2025 Pushcart nominations
2025 Best of the Net nominations
2024 Pushcart nominations
2024 Best of the Net nominations
2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…

read more

Tbilisi by Sara Maria Hasbun

Tbilisi | Sara Maria Hasbun The morning I arrived back in Tbilisi, I messaged my old trainer, who met me just inside the door to Urban Garden. He rested his…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions and… YES we are a paying market! ($60 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, $50 for cover art)

The Good Life Review is seeking previously uncurated work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

IMAGE: “Natural Hue” by Sarah Kohrs

Artwork featuring a golden bee on a black circular background.
The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
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