Accolades
| Year | Honor | Prize | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Nominee | Michigan Humanities Champion of the Year | Linda was nominated for this prestigious award in recognition of her contribution to the cultural life and active support of and involvement in promoting public humanities within her community and throughout the state. As a poet, presenter, and patron of the literary arts, Linda was one of only eight people nominated throughout Michigan. |
| 2020 | Finalist | River Styx Microfiction Contest | Linda’s piece, “Gallery of the Street” was selected as a finalist (from approximately 375 entries) for this recognition by the editors of River Styx. |
| 2020 | Honorable Mention | Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest | “A Modern Parable for the End of the World” was selected by the editors of the Paterson Literary Review for this national honor. |
| 2019 | Honorable Mention | New Millennium Writings Flash Fiction Award | Linda’s piece, “Babel,” was selected by the journal’s editors for this international recognition. |
| 2019 | Nominee | Best Microfiction | Linda’s piece of microfiction, “Scattering the Ashes on Lake Geneva,” was nominated by Clare McQueen, editor of KYSO Flash, for this second annual anthology which honors the best microfiction published in literary journals and magazines throughout the year. |
| 2019 | Second Place | Sensations Magazine 2019 Best Newcomer Contest | Two poems, “The Immigrant Family from Poland, 1910,” and “Reading The Grapes of Wrath in English Class” were selected by the magazine’s editor for this national award. |
| 2019 | Honorable Mention | Springfed Arts Poetry Contest | “California Dream” was selected by judge Dennis Hinrichsen for this regional honor. |
| 2019 | Editor’s Choice Award | Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest | “My Father’s Music” was selected by the editors of the Paterson Literary Review for this national honor. |
| 2019 | Finalist | ForeWord Book of the Year Award in Poetry | “The Lake Michigan Mermaid” is a finalist in this national book competition for independent, university, and small presses sponsored by ForeWord Reviews. |
| 2019 | Finalist | The da Vinci Eye Award | “The Lake Michigan Mermaid” is a finalist in this prestigious national contest given for superior cover artwork by the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. |
| 2019 | Winner | Michigan Notable Book Award | Linda’s book, “The Lake Michigan Mermaid” (co-authored with Anne-Marie Oomen) was selected for this annual award sponsored by the Library of Michigan. Over 300 books were submitted for the competition, but just 20 titles were honored. “The Lake Michigan Mermaid” was the only poetry collection chosen. |
| 2018 | Nominee | Best Microfiction | Linda’s piece of microfiction, “Conjuring Her Face,” was nominated by Clare McQueen, editor of KYSO Flash, for this debut anthology which honors the best microfiction published in literary journals and magazines throughout the year. |
| 2018 | Editor’s Choice Award | Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest | “Memories of an Immigrant Childhood” was selected by the editors of the Paterson Literary Review for this national honor. |
| 2017 | Nominee | Pushcart Prize | “The Young Girl in Her Father’s Garden,” was nominated by the editors of The MacGuffin for this honor. |
| 2017 | Nominee | Pushcart Prize | Linda’s poem, “Blue,” was nominated by the editors of Streetlight Magazine for this honor. |
| 2017 | Finalist | Sunshot Poetry Prize | Linda’s poetry manuscript, Pictures of the Floating World, was selected as a top finalist in this national competition. |
| 2017 | Semi-Finalist | Crab Orchard Series in Poetry | Linda’s poetry manuscript, Pictures of the Floating World, was selected as a semi-finalist in this national competition. |
| 2017 | Second Place | MacGuffin Poetry Prize | Linda’s poem, “My Husband as a Boy in Muskegon,” was selected for the honor. |
| 2017 | Honorable Mention | Adult Fiction Prize from Detroit Working Writers | Linda’s short fiction piece, “Scattering Ashes on Lake Geneva,” was selected for the honor. |
| 2017 | Outstanding Service Award | Contemporary Writers Series’ 20th Anniversary Celebration | Linda and her husband Tony were honored by Aquinas College for their ongoing commitment to the CWS program 1997-2017. |
| 2016 | Finalist | New Millennium Writings Poetry Award | Linda’s poem sequence, “The Artist’s Notebook,” selected by the journal’s editors. |
| 2016 | Finalist | Main Street Rag’s Poetry Award | Linda’s full-length poetry manuscript, Pictures of the Floating World, was selected a finalist in this national competition. |
| 2016 | Featured Book | Book Expo America Special Exhibit | BEA is the leading book and author event for the North American publishing industry. Linda’s book, Amber Necklace from Gdansk, was selected to be included in the special international exhibit on Poland. |
| 2015 | Second Place | Hour of Writes Contest | Linda’s poem, “The Theory of Mothers and Daughters,” selected by author Philip Ball, former editor of Nature, in this international writing contest. |
| 2015 | Third Place | Micro-Fiction Contest | Linda’s piece, “Arch Made of Codfish,” is selected by judge Phillip Sterling in this international contest sponsored by the Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters and the online journal CHEAP POP LIT. Visit site » |
| 2015 | Semi-finalist | River Styx International Poetry Contest | Three poems selected for this distinction. |
| 2015 | Lifetime Achievement | Dyer-Ives Community Award | Linda is honored for her longstanding commitment as a poet, teacher, patron, and advocate for poetry in West Michigan. |
| 2015 | Honorable Mention | New Millennium Writings Poetry Award | Linda’s poem “Fog Made of Iron” selected by the journal’s editors. |
| 2015 | Finalist | Hour of Writes Contest | Linda’s short story “The Way Down” selected by novelist Dan Smith in this international writing contest. |
| 2015 | Third place | Detroit Working Writers Annual Writing Awards | Linda’s poem “Blue” selected for the award. |
| 2014 | Third place | International Limerick Award | Annual contest sponsored by the Muskegon Writers’ Center at Muskegon Community College |
| 2014 | National judge | Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition | Foster was selected to be the national judge for this annual poetry competition, one of the oldest and most prestigious contests in the Midwest. |
| 2014 | Nominee | Pushcart Prize | “The Cypress Trees in Croatia” — a poem by Foster published in the I-70 Review — was nominated by the journal’s editors for the award. |
| 2013 | Honorable Mention | New Millennium Writings Poetry Award | Linda’s poem “Report from Bosnia…” selected by the journal’s editors. |
| 2013 | First runner-up | New Letters Poetry Award | A sequence of poems, “The Artist Notebook”, was selected by judge Janice N. Harrington for the honor in this national competition |
| 2013 | Nominee | Pushcart Prize | Three poems nominated for the award-winning anthology |
| 2012 | Finalist | Bunchgrass Poetry Prize | “Scar”– a poem by Foster–was selected by judge Michael McGriff for the honor and publication in the journal basalt |
| 2011 | Nominee | Pushcart Prize | “The White Birch”– a poem by Foster published by the Connecticut Review–was nominated by the journal’s editorial staff for a Pushcart Prize. |
| 2010 | Finalist | New Letters Poetry Award | Group of poems selected as finalist by New Letters editors for national award |
| 2010 | Finalist | ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award in Poetry | Foster’s book, Talking Diamonds, honored as a finalist by ForeWord Magazine. |
| 2010 | First place | Springfed Arts Poetry Contest | Poem, “Gravity and God,” selected by judge Marie Howe |
| 2010 | Nominee | Pushcart Prize | Three poems nominated for the award-winning anthology |
| 2009-2010 | Nominee | Ohio Book Award
Society of Midland Authors Book Award American Book Award Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award in Poetry W.C. Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America | Book award nominations for Talking Diamonds |
| 2008 | First Place | International Creative Arts Award | Annual award sponsored by the Polish American Historical Association (a member of the American Historical Association) recognizes the international contributions in the field of creative arts (music, visual arts, film, and literature) by individuals who have promoted an awareness of the Polish experience. |
| 2007 | Finalist and publication | Top finalist in national competition and will be published in late, 2008. | Chapbook, Ten Songs from Bulgaria, Cervena Barva Press |
| 2007 | Honorable Mention | New Millennium Writings competition | For poem “Contrapuntal: Negative Space” |
| 2007 | Second place | Detroit Working Writers Annual Spring Writing Awards | For the poem “Climbing Cherry Trees” |
| 2007 | Finalist | 22nd Annual ArtServe Michigan Governor’s Awards for Arts & Culture | For the category of Michigan Artist |
| 2006 | Honorable Mention and Finalist | Ekphrasis’ National Poetry Competition | Honors awarded to two poems by Linda from the editors of the magazine, Ekphrasis |
| 2006 | First Runner-Up | The Laureate Prize for Poetry | Linda’s poem, “The Field Behind the Dying Father’s House,” was selected by the editors of The National Poetry Review |
| 2003 | Finalist | Ohio Book Award for Poetry | Amber Necklace from Gdansk was honored by the Ohioana Library Association |
| 2003 | Civic Honor | Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids | Linda Nemec Foster was selected to serve as the first Poet Laureate of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan by the Humanities Council of GR |
| 2001 | Grant | Creative Artist Grant in Literature | Linda’s poetry was honored by ArtServe Michigan with this award given to the state’s top poets and writers |
| 2000 | Nominee | Academy of American Poets’ Laughlin Award | The editors of Louisiana State University Press nominated Linda’s book, Amber Necklace from Gdansk, for this prestigious award |
| 2000 | Honoree | Outstanding Alumni Award | Aquinas College selected Linda and her husband Tony for this award that celebrates alums and their achievements |
| 1999 | Fellowship | National Writers’ Voice Project Teaching Awards | This fellowship was awarded to Linda to recognize her teaching and facilitate her master level poetry workshops at the Detroit Institute of Arts |
| 1997 | Finalist | The Poet’s Prize | Linda’s book, Living in the Fire Nest, was selected by juror Colette Inez for this honor that is sponsored by the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York City |
| 1997 | Honor | Outstanding Alumni Award in the Arts | Trinity High School (Garfield Heights, Ohio) honored Linda for her achievements in poetry, writing, and literature |
| 1997 | First place | National Women’s Poetry Competition | Linda was honored for her poetry by this competition sponsored by Oakland Community College in the Detroit area |
| 1996 | Honorable Mention | International Poetry Competition | Linda’s poem, “Wedding Gown Bazaar,” was selected by the editors of the Atlanta Review |
| 1996 | Grant | Creative Artist Grant in Poetry | Linda’s poetry was honored by the Arts Foundation of Michigan with this award given to the state’s top poets and writers |
| 1995 | Second place | National Poetry Competition | Linda’s poetry was honored by the editors of Northwoods Journal |
| 1995 | First place | National Women’s Poetry Competition | Linda was honored for her poetry by this competition sponsored by Oakland Community College in the Detroit area |
| 1990 | Grant | Creative Artist Grant in Literature | Linda’s poetry was honored by the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs with this award given to the state’s top poets and writers |
| 1984 | Grant | Creative Artist Grant in Literature | Linda’s poetry was honored by the Michigan Council for the Arts with this award given to the state’s top poets and writers |
| 1984 | Outstanding Commendation | Pushcart Prize | The editors of the Pushcart Prize Anthology VIII selected Linda’s poem, “The Fear of Vacuum Cleaners” published in Laurel Review, for this national honor |
| 1982 – Present | Nominee | Over 30 poems nominated for the Pushcart Prize | Various editors, publishers, poets and writers have honored Linda’s work (previously published in magazines and journals) for this national award |