Holiday Wishes 2016 and Awards for Maja Trochimczyk

May your Heart by light as a Feather

May your Smile be bright as the Sun

May your Days be sweetened with Laughter

Happy Holy Days of Loving Kindness & Fun!

Maja Trochimczyk

The Moonrise Press team wishes everyone, especially our authors and readers, a very happy holiday season and a fantastic New Year, full of creativity and success.  We hope to publish more books of poetry, music and history in the coming year. 

In 2016, Moonrise Press published one book on Polish American history, "The Maska Dramatic Circle" by Phyllis Z. Budka and it already received positive reviews in the Polish American Journal, the Daily Gazette, and notices in local genealogy resources and newsletters.  

We also issued two poetry books this year, and poems from both were submitted to the Pushcart Prizes 2017, with the following poems selected for recognition by the Pushcart Prizes:

From Maja Trochimczyk's The Rainy Bread. Poems from Exile: "Shambala" and "Asters"

From Maja Trochimczyk's Into Light. Poems and Incantations: "Awakenings" and "Repeat After Me"

These are Dr. Trochimczyk's first Pushcart Prize nominations.

We are also happy to note that Maja Trochimczyk's poetry has been recognized by the 2016 Creative Arts Prize awarded to her for the poetic achievement, with specific mentions of The Rainy Bread and Slicing the Bread, two books of poetry inspired by war-time experiences of her family, and Poles from the Kresy Borderlands area of eastern Poland (now in Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine). 

The award letter is copied below. Congratulations!

The Creative Arts Award will be presented to Maja Trochimczyk by PAHA President, President Grazyna Kozaczka, at the 74th Annual Meeting at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO (January 5-7, 2017). The Polish American Historical Association will also announce the winners of its other Annual Awards. The PAHA Annual Meeting will also include many scholarly presentations held in conjunction with the 131st annual Meeting of the American Historical Association.

Dr. Iwona Drag Korga, Executive Director of the Pilsudski Institute in New York City, has served as the Chair of the Awards Committee for 2017. The Awards Reception will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2017, starting at 7 p.m., at the Polish Club of Denver (3121 West Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219). Award winners are invited to attend free of charge, all other guests and conference participants should register on PAHA Website.