Cheryl Skory Suma

Cheryl has a MHSc, Speech-Language Pathology and a HBSc, Psychology. Over her twenty-five year career as a child/teen SLP therapist and then as a CEO/entrepreneur*, Cheryl always enjoyed bringing creativity and story-telling into her daily work and interactions.

After a TBI (traumatic brain injury) brought about the decision to leave the Canadian health care company she founded so she could focus on her recovery, Cheryl was able to return full-time to her first love, writing.


While Cheryl enjoys the challenge of crafting a full novel, she also creates poetry, short stories, flash fiction and creative nonfiction pieces. Cheryl began submitting her work to journals, magazines and competitions in late 2018. Her work have been published and placed in contests hosted by journals in Canada, US, and UK, with publication online and in print. She has had multiple PushCart Prize nominations, and she recently joined the Reckon Review team as a staff first reader. Her work placed in thirty-three competitions across 2019-2022.

She has completed a short story collection and is currently working on a creative nonfiction collection, as well as a third novel and her first screenplay. She also presents as a guest author/speaker on a variety of topics to schools and book clubs (currently online due to Covid). In her spare time, Cheryl is a passionate chef who enjoys experimenting and discovering new recipes, as well as a horrible gardener (although she still loves cooking with fresh herbs from her struggling veggie garden each summer). If you watch her blog ("Reflections" page), sometimes when too busy to ruminate on writing, out of guilt she'll share a good recipe instead.
  • To learn more about Cheryl, check out her Blog on her Reflections Page, or her recent 'virtual coffee chat' contributor interview at BlankSpaces Magazine.
  • Read Cheryl's flash fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry (links on applicable pages and on the "Read" page)
  • Competition wins/placements listed below, along with recent publications
  • 2020 Pushcart Nominee (link to piece on Creative Nonfiction Page)









*Cheryl founded the home healthcare rehabilitation services company, "Exceptionalities Inc." Her team of 45+ therapists (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and speech-language pathologists) serviced clients in homes, schools, and long-term care settings across York Region, South Simcoe and parts of Toronto (Ontario, Canada). She acted as CEO, Manager & Supervisor, as well as interviewed and personally selected all staff for seven years before selling the business in 2013. Exceptionalities held the Ontario record for its entire existence for the highest ratings/success in providing safe, compassionate, quality care, with superior client & staff satisfaction ratings.

Cheryl launched her writing career with a YA fantasy novel, Habitan, which made the Longlist of the 2019 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards. Her second novel, gods Playground, advanced to the Semifinals of the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition and the semifinals of the 2022 Launch Pad Prose Writing Competition.


Book/Novel Competition Placements & Publications in other collections

*see Novels page for synopsis, reviews & judges comments on both novels

  1. Contributor & Shortlist Winner, 2022 Amy MacRae Award for Memoir Anthology -upcoming Spring 2023.

  2. Quarterfinalist (tba results pending for next round early Feb), ScreenCraft 2023 Cinematic Book Competition (novel, Habitan)

  3. Second Round (semi-finalist) 2023 Launch Pad Prose Writing Competition (novel, Habitan)

  4. Second Round (semi-finalist) 2022 Launch Pad Prose Writing Competition (novel, gods Playground)

  5. Contributor and Shortlist Winner, Blank Spaces Fiction Anthology Competition, 2021 (publication April 2022): "The Things We Leave Behind" - link to this short story collection on Amazon

  6. Contributor, Blank Spaces Magazine: Just Words Anthology, 2020 (Flash FIction piece)

  7. Longlist, 2019 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards (novel, Habitan).

  8. Semifinalist, 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition (novel, gods Playground).

  9. New novel (pending announcement) & Short Story Collection (currently under consideration)

Short Story & Flash Fiction Competition Placements & Publications

*links to several pieces on Flash Fiction page

  1. Shortlist (tba results early Feb), Blank Spaces winter 2023 Flash Fiction Competition

  2. Longlist-entry #1) Pulp Literature's Raven Short Story contest 2022

  3. Longlist-entry #2 Pulp Literature's Raven Short Story contest 2022

  4. Top 10%, Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2022 (piece #1)

  5. Top 20%, Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2022 (piece #2)

  6. Honorable Mention & Publication (3rd place), Exposition Review, Flash 405 Competition, Apr2022 (pub June, 2022)

  7. Publication (online), Barren Magazine Issue 20, March 2022

  8. Runner-Up (2nd) and Publication (print), Pulp Literature 2022 Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest-pub in Autumn Issue 36

  9. Shortlisted, Solstice Literary Magazine, 2022 Annual Literary Competition-Fiction, July 2022

  10. Longlisted, Pulp Literature 2022 Hummingbird Prize (Flash)

  11. Publication (online and print), Nightingale & Sparrow Issue 12, "L'appel Du Vide"-Feb 2022

  12. Longlist, F(r)iction Magazine 2021 Fall Literary Contest, Flash Fiction

  13. Shortlist (top 8), 2021 Blank Spaces Magazine Fiction Anthology Competition-two separate pieces longlisted- one top 8 shortlisted

  14. Shortlist , 2021 Five South Short Fiction Prize

  15. Semifinalist, 2021 Ruminate Magazine’s The Waking Flash Prose Prize

  16. Semi-finalist, 2021 River Styx Micro-fiction Contest

  17. Publication (print) - Blank Spaces Magazine- Vol 6 Issue 1-Sept 2021

  18. Publication (online)- Fatal Flaw Literary Magazine - June 2021

  19. Publication (online) - Second Chance Lit Issue 3-July, 2021

  20. Publication (online) - The Ekphrastic Review - June 2021

  21. Publication (online) Flash Flood Journal/National Flash Fiction Day 2021 (10th anniversary, June 26, 2021)

  22. Gold Medal Winner & print Publication, March 2020 Blank Spaces Flash Fiction Contest-Write Prompt Challenge (Quarterly)

  23. Longlist, Pulp Literature, 2020 Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize

  24. Honorable Mention & online Publication, Spider Road Press 2020 Spider Web Flash Fiction Prize

  25. Finalist, Exposition Review, Flash 405 (April) 2020

  26. Silver Medal Winner & online Publication, Nov 2020, Blank Spaces Flash Fiction Contest-Write Prompt Challenge (Quarterly)

  27. Longlist, Pulp Literature, 2020 Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest

  28. Shortlist, Fall 2019 Blank Spaces Flash Fiction Contest-Write Prompt Challenge (Quarterly)

  29. Shortlist, Spring 2019 Blank Spaces Flash Fiction Contest-Write Prompt Challenge (Quarterly)

Creative Nonfiction Competition Placements & Publications

*links to several pieces on Creative Nonfiction page

  1. Shortlist & publication (anthology out spring 2023) International Amy MacRae Award for Memoir 2022

  2. Publication (reprint online) Oranges Journal (UK) - Jan 2023

  3. Publication (online) -Reckon Review -Nov 2022 issue *2023 Pushcart Nomination

  4. Publication (online)-SFWP Quarterly-Issue 30, Dec 2022

  5. Publication (reprint online)- SugarSugarSalt Magazine -Upcoming March 2023

  6. Publication upcoming (online & print) - Sonora Review (Fall Issue 79) - delayed winter/spring 2023

  7. Publication (print & online) - Glassworks Magazine (Spring Issue 24) -March 2022

  8. Quarterfinalist, Ruminate Magazine -2021 William Van Dyke Short Story Prize

  9. Publication (print) - Blank Spaces (Vol 6, Issue 1) - Sept, 2021

  10. Publication (online & print) - Nightingale & Sparrow Literary Magazine (Woodland Issue VIII)- Nov, 2020

  11. Finalist & Publication online, Longridge Review Barnhill Prize for Creative Nonfiction - 2020 *2021 Pushcart Nomination

  12. Semifinalist, Ruminate Magazine - 2019 Vandermey Nonfiction Prize

  13. Shortlist, Hippocampus Magazine- 2019 'Remember in November' Contest for Creative Nonfiction

Poetry Competition Placements & Publications

*links to several pieces on Poetry page

  1. Publication -Second Chance Lit- Issue 5- Jan 2022

  2. Publication- online - La Piccioletta Barca - Issue 16-2020

  3. Finalist & publication (print), Public Poetry, Enough Anthology 2019 Poetry Contest

  4. Shortlist, 2019 Erbacce Prize for Poetry

  5. Publication - online - La Piccioletta Barca- Issue 12- 2019

  6. Publications pending - will post once permitted

Twitter: @CherylSkorySuma

Email: cheryl.suma@gmail.com

© Photo Cheryl Suma