My Poem “The Daisy Ring” Nominated for 2026 Best of the Net Award

On By Mike U.In Poetry

Hey, everyone. I’m excited to share some good news with you. My poem “The Daisy Ring” has been nominated for the 2026 Best of the Net Award. It’s an honor for me, and I’m so grateful to editor Michelle Navajas of Hotel by Masticadores for thinking highly enough of my poem to nominate it. What’s more, I count several good friends among Michelle’s other nominees and I’m thrilled for all of them and wish them the very best of luck.

For those unfamiliar with this annual award, here’s what The Best of the Net’s website has to say:

“The Best of the Net is an awards-based anthology designed to grant a platform to a diverse and growing collection of writers and publishers who are building an online literary landscape that seeks to break free of traditional publishing. This space has been created to bring greater respect to the continually expanding world of exceptional digital publishing.”

You can read more about the annual award and its anthology here:

Best of the Net Anthology

Also, you can view all of Michelle’s nominees here:

Hotel By Masticadores Proudly Announces Its Nominees for the 2026 Best of the Net

And finally, a link to my poem:

“The Daisy Ring” by Michael L. Utley

Congratulations to all the other nominees, and thanks again, Michelle, for your kindness and for believing in my writing.

70 thoughts on “My Poem “The Daisy Ring” Nominated for 2026 Best of the Net Award”

    1. Thanks a bunch, Maggie, and double-yay for you, too, my friend! I’m delighted to see you nominated (you’ve had a very busy year so far with all the nominations and awards!). Best of luck to you, as always, and enjoy the rest of your week. 😊

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  3. Dearest Mike,

    Congratulations for this amazing honor for your brilliant piece, “The Daisy Ring.” I simply got lost in this piece, it was entirely magical. I am honored to be among the others chosen and am grateful for all the hard work Mich did to come up with this list. The work was so good on Hotel, I would not want this job as an editor and every editor does not do it because it is such a monumental task. Big hugs and congratulations!

    Thanks for including all those links too. 🌹

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    1. Thanks so much, Joni. You’re always so kind and supportive. I’m stoked to see a bunch of my good friends nominated as well. All those familiar faces and names. It feels sort of like a family, you know? Your story “The Red Ball” is brilliant and so deserving of both a nomination and an award. Fingers crossed for you, my friend! I hope you’re doing well and enjoying those gorgeous sunsets. All the best to you and Scott, as always. 😊

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      1. You are welcome. We are very fortunate to belong to the Hotel community. There are some awfully nice people nominated and some great work. Thank you for your kind words Mike. They always mean so much. My mom would have loved the ending of this story. It was pretty much the only thing that wasn’t true in this story. I always felt badly about what her father did to both her and her mother. Every mother should have a chance to say goodbye to a child.

        Big hugs from us both. 🤗

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    1. Truly grateful to you for this nomination, Michelle. I’m so excited for my writing friends whom you’ve also nominated. All are deserving, for sure. Thank you for everything you do, my friend. I hope your Sunday is peaceful. Prayers as always for the Philippines. 😊

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    1. Many thanks, Diana. It’s exciting, for sure, and a delight to see many of my writing friends nominated as well. Hope you’re doing all right, my friend. Hang in there. Wishing you a peaceful Sunday. 😊

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    1. Sincere thanks, Linda. I’m delighted that so many of my writing friends are also nominees. Wishing the best for all of them. I hope you’re doing well and enjoying springtime in your part of the world. Have a wonderful Sunday. 😊

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    1. Hi, Aaysid! Always a pleasure to see you here. I hope you’ve been doing well. Thanks so much for the generous sentiments. It’s exciting to be nominated, and doubly so as many of the other nominees are writing friends. I wish them all the best. Here’s hoping October is treating you kindly and your Sunday is ridiculously amazing. 😊

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  29. That’s wonderful news, my dear friend — congratulations! 😊👍

    The Daisy Ring is a beautifully crafted piece, rich with feeling and imagery, and this recognition is so well deserved. Wishing you the very best for the award, dear Mike— and continued inspiration in all your poetic journeys ahead👍

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    1. Kindest thanks, Saima. Your wonderful support means a lot to me. I’m honored to know you liked this piece. It’s a delight to be nominated, especially for a piece that was so difficult to write (it’s rather emotional).

      Thanks as always for stopping by to say hello, my friend. Wishing you a peaceful Sunday and a good week ahead. 😊

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