Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Fiction Competition: Salamander

Salamander 2010 Fiction Prize
$1,500 Honorarium and Publication
Final Judge: Jill McCorkle
SEND ENTRIES: May 15 through June 15, 2010
READING FEE: $15

• All entries will be considered for publication. All entries will be considered anonymously.

• Send no more than one story per entry. Each story must not exceed 40 double-spaced pages in 12 point font. Multiple entries are acceptable, provided that a separate reading fee is included with each entry.

• Please submit two separate cover sheets with each entry, one with the title of the story ONLY, and the other with the title of the story and your name, address, phone number, and email. Your name should NOT appear anywhere on the story itself.

• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but the contest fee is non-refundable if the submission is withdrawn. Please notify the editors as soon as possible if a submitted story is accepted elsewhere.

• Previously published works and works accepted for publication elsewhere cannot be considered. Salamander’s definition of publishing includes electronic publication.

• No handwritten, faxed, emailed, or poorly copied/printed manuscripts will be considered.

• Salamander will not consider work from anyone currently or recently (within the past 4 years) affiliated with Suffolk University or the prize judge.

• If you wish to be notified of the arrival of your manuscript, please enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard. Please also include a self-addressed stamped business-sized envelope for notification of contest results.

• Contest reading fee includes a one-year subscription. Checks should be made out to Salamander. We will send your subscription to the address on your cover sheet unless instructed otherwise. Overseas addresses, please add $10 for subscription postage ($5 for addresses in Canada). Please note that we cannot accept money orders or checks from foreign banks.

Jill McCorkle has published five novels and three collections of short stories, the most recent being Going Away Shoes (2009). Five of her eight books have been named New York Times notable books. She has received the New England Book Award, the John Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature, and the North Carolina Award for Literature. She teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at North Carolina State.

SEND ENTRIES FROM MAY 15 THROUGH JUNE 15 (postmark deadline) to:

2010 Fiction Prize
Salamander/Suffolk University English Dept.
41 Temple Street
Boston, MA 02114

Flash Fiction Competition: Gemini Magazine

ANNOUNCING THE 2nd ANNUAL Gemini Magazine FLASH FICTION CONTEST!
GRAND PRIZE: $1,000
2nd PLACE: $100

HONORABLE MENTION (4)
ENTRY FEE: $4
DEADLINE: August 31, 2010
MAXIMUM LENGTH: 1,000 words


All Six Finalists Will Be Published in the October 2010 Issue of Gemini Magazine.

A tightly written flash that tells an unforgettable story in a small space is a joy to behold. We truly look  forward to reading yours.

Both new and established writers welcome. Two of the six finalists in last year's Flash Fiction Contest
were previously unpublished. (see results below)

No restrictions on content, style or genre. Simply send your best unpublished flash by email or snail mail.

TO ENTER:
visit the website for online entry procedures.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Contest for Nonfiction Submissions on Food: Creative Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction
ISSUE THEME and CONTEST: Food
postmark deadline September 3, 2010

For an upcoming issue, we're seeking true stories that incorporate or involve food. Essays must be vivid and dramatic; they should combine a strong and compelling narrative with a significant element of research or information, and reach for some universal or deeper meaning in personal experiences. We’re looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice.

Creative Nonfiction editors will award $1000 for Best Essay and $500 for runner-up.

Guidelines: Essays must be: unpublished, 5,000 words or less, postmarked by September 3, 2010, and clearly marked “Food” on both the essay and the outside of the envelope. There is a $20 reading fee (or send a reading fee of $25 to include a 4-issue CNF subscription); multiple entries are welcome ($20/essay) as are entries from outside the U.S. (though subscription shipping costs do apply).

Please send manuscript, accompanied by a cover letter with complete contact information (address, phone, and email), SASE and payment to:

Creative Nonfiction
Attn: Food
5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Fiction Contest: Memphis Magazine

RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE 2010 MEMPHIS MAGAZINE FICTION CONTEST

Cosponsored by Burke's Book Store and Davis-Kidd Booksellers

We are seeking entries for our annual fiction contest. The winning story will earn a $1,000 grand prize and will be published in a future issue of Memphis. Two honorable mention awards of $500 each will be given if the quality of entries warrants. Contest cosponsors are Burke's Book Store, and Davis-Kidd Booksellers. Below are contest rules:

1. Authors must live within 150 miles of Memphis.
2. Entries must be postmarked by August 1, 2010.
3. You may submit more than one story but each entry must be accompanied by a $10 entry fee.
4. Stories are NOT required to have a Memphis or Southern theme.
5. Each story should be typed, double-spaced, with unstapled, numbered pages. Stories should be between 3,000 and 4,500 words.
6. With each story should be a cover letter that gives us your name, address, phone number, and the title of your story. Please do not put your name anywhere on the manuscript itself.
7. Manuscripts may be previously published as long as previous publication was not in a national magazine with over 20,000 circulation or in a regional publication within Shelby County.
8. Manuscripts should be sent to

FICTION CONTEST c/o Memphis magazine,
P.O. Box 1738
Memphis, TN 38101

NOTE: We cannot accept faxes or E-mails. Authors wishing their manuscripts returned must include a self-addressed stamped envelope with each entry.

If you have further questions, call Marilyn Sadler at 521-9000, ext. 451, or email her at
sadler(at)memphismagazine.com (replace (at) with @). We look forward to receiving your stories.

Call for Submissions: shaking like a mountain

shaking like a mountain, the journal of literature about music continues to seek poetry, fiction, nonfiction and critical analysis for our weekly journal and blog. To facilitate that process, we've paired with a great gang of writers, editors, and software designers at Submishmash, who've created a submission manager for journals like ours.

Just click on the submit link on the shaking homepage and sail through the rest. As always we look forward to seeing what your work.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Scholarship Competition: DePaul Univ. Summer Writing Conference

Scholarship Competition:
DePaul University Summer Writing Conference
July 16-18, 2010
Chicago, Loop Campus

Submit 3 poems, 1 creative nonfiction piece (10 pages or less), or 1 short story (10 pages or less) for the chance to win a scholarship to DePaul’s Summer Writing Conference, July 16-18, and the opportunity to read your work at the conference. No entry fee. A winner from each of the three genres will be chosen.

Please email submissions to Chris Green:
cgreen1(at)depaul.edu (replace (at) with @)

by June 4. Everyone who submits work will be notified by email of contest results in early June.

See our website for the conference schedule. Highlights include:

Keynote Speaker, Michele Rubin, a literary agent with one of the leading agencies in the world, Writers House in New York City, and who represents the literary estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., will be speaking about “Publishing’s Future in the Digital Age.”

Craft Classes in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, and writing for children and teens taught by some of the leading writers in the country.

Panels on such topics as How to Promote Yourself as a Writer, What Publishers Want, Creative Grant-Writing for Creative Writers, Why an MA, MFA, or PhD?, and How to Start Your Own Small Press.

Readings: The first two nights of the conference include food, drinks, participant open mikes, contest winner readings, and faculty readings.

Monday, May 10, 2010

2010 Arts Writers Grant

2010 Grant Open for Submissions
Deadline: Monday, June 7, 2010

The Creative Capital | Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program supports individual writers whose work addresses contemporary visual art through grants ranging from 3,000 to 50,000 USD.
Writers who meet the program’s eligibility requirements are invited to apply in the following categories:
  • Articles
  • Blogs
  • Books
  • New and Alternative Media
  • Short-Form Writing
For guidelines and additional eligibility requirements, please go here
ART WRITING WORKSHOP In partnership with the International Association of Art Critics/USA Section, the Arts Writers Grant Program offers applicants consultations with leading art critics. For more information, please visit our site

Poetry Competition: Violet Reed Haas Prize for Poetry

Violet Reed Haas Prize for Poetry: Snake Nation Press

50-75 page manuscript

$1,000 prize and publication

An entry fee of $25 must accompany the manuscript

Previously published eligible

Deadline: June 30, 2010

Mailing Address:
Snake Nation Press
2920 North Oak Street
Valdosta, Georgia 31602

Call for Submissions: Red Claw Press

This is a reminder that the deadline for submissions to the anthology is June 1, 2010. 

If you have any unpublished poems, stories, essays or artwork on the subject of food and/or drink, please send them to us at: editors (at) redclawpress.com (Replace at with @ ) 

See our website for detailed guidelines.

We'd love to see your work!

Novel Competition: 2010 Hillerman Mystery Competition

DEADLINE: June 1, 2010!
Rules for the 2010 HILLERMAN MYSTERY COMPETITION

Sponsored by the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference (THWC) and St. Martin's Press, LLC

1. The Competition is open to any professional or non-professional writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published mystery (as defined in subparagraph 2(a) below) and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a mystery. Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer.

2. All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original, previously unpublished works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the entrant; b) must not violate any right of any third party or be libelous; and c) must generally follow the guidelines below.

GUIDELINES

1. Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story and emphasis is on the solution rather than the details of the crime.

2. The story's primary setting is the Southwestern United States, including at least one of the following states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Southern California and/or Utah.
(The decision of the competition's judges as to whether or not a manuscript qualifies will be final.)

3. Nominees will be selected by judges chosen by the editorial staff of St. Martin's Press, with the assistance of organizers of the THWC, and the winner will be chosen by St. Martin's editors. The decision of the editors as to the winner of the Competition will be final. St. Martin's reserves the right not to select any winner if, in the sole opinion of the editors, none of the manuscripts submitted are of publishable quality.

4. An attempt will be made to notify the Competition winner, if any, no later than October 31, 2010.

5. If a winner is selected, St. Martin's Press will offer to enter into its standard form author's agreement with the entrant for publication of the winning manuscript. After execution of the standard form authors' agreement by both parties, the winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the St. Martin's Press standard form author's agreement will be determined by St. Martin's Press at its sole discretion. The entrant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but St. Martin's shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. St. Martin's may, but will not be required to, consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other entrants.

6. All entries must be received or postmarked no later than June 1, 2010, and must include:
a) A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable) with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end. The authors name should appear only on the title page and otherwise not appear anywhere on the manuscript pages.
b) A letter or cover sheet containing the name, address, email address and telephone number of the entrant and the entrant's previous writing credits, if any.
c) The application form, duly completed, and a self-addressed letter-sized envelope for our response.

All entries must be mailed to St. Martin's Press at the address below. For additional copies of the rules and to request an entry form, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:

St. Martin's Press/ Hillerman Mystery Competition
Thomas Dunne Books
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10010

Each entrant must keep a copy of the manuscript for his or her own protection. St. Martin's Press will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or mislaid manuscripts. Because of the great volume of submissions we receive, the fact that judges are volunteers with full-time responsibilities elsewhere, and the fact that most writers now have the work in their computers, manuscripts will not be returned. Please do not send return postage or envelopes for return of your manuscript.

7. No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of St. Martin's Press unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff, evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication.

8. This competition is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

It is important that you submit your manuscript as early as possible. Our judges are volunteers who are extremely busy with their primary concerns, and it is inevitable that your submission will get a more careful reading if the judge does not have to contend with a flood of last-minute entries. However, it is not necessary to send it the most expensive way. We judge its on-time performance by the post-mark or equivalent, not by the date the judge receives the manuscript.

Good luck!

Entry Form for the 2010 HILLERMAN MYSTERY COMPETITION

Sponsored by the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference (THWC) and St. Martin's Press, LLC

I have read, understood and agree to the foregoing rules. I affirm that the enclosed manuscript is original and was written by me. I further affirm that I have never written a published mystery novel of the type described in the rules.

Signature of Entrant: ____________________________________________
Name of Entrant: _______________________________________________
(please print or type)
Manuscript Title:__________________________________________________

Address of Entrant:________________________________________________
City____________________________State_____________Zip______________
Phone:______________________________________Email:________________
Date:__________________________________________________________

Please send your manuscript to:

St. Martin's Press/ Hillerman Mystery Competition
Thomas Dunne Books
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10010

And mark the outside of the package HILLERMAN MYSTERY COMPETITION

A word about self-published mysteries:

A note from WORDHARVEST in response to your most common question:
Although the judges make the final call, in general self-published mysteries are allowed.
If a self-published book sold thousands of copies, got a starred review in Publishers Weekly, or otherwise made a big splash, it would be disqualified.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Short Essay Contest: Sonora Review

Short Essay Contest: Sonora Review

$1000 and publication in Sonora Review will be given for the first annual Concentrated Nonfiction Contest. The inaugural contest will be judged by Ander Monson. Submit a work of unpublished nonfiction, up to 1,000 words, by June 1st. Entry fee is $15, which includes a copy of the Summer 2010 issue of Sonora Review. Include a cover letter with full name, title of work, mailing and email address. The author's name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. No previous published work will be accepted.

By "concentrated nonfiction" we mean a short essay of any variety under 1000 words, not limited to any specific type of essay. In fact, we encourage creativity that projects the malleability of the form. We also are willing to publish multimedia essays as long as the main force of the essay is through language (and it is short).

Submit Online Through Submishmash

Simply click on the type of contest you'd like to submit to, register, pay, and we're all good to go.

Send Submissions To:

Sonora Review. Contest

Department of English, University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ 85721

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Call for Panel Proposals: 2011 AWP Writer's Conference

PANEL PROPOSALS FOR 2011 CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, DC

AWP has begun accepting panel proposals for our 2011 Conference in Washington, DC. The conference will be held from February 2-5, 2011 at the Marriott Wardman Park and Omni Shoreham Hotels. AWP seeks a wide range of unique, diverse, informative, and intelligent programming that helps us better serve our large and growing constituency. The proposal process is competitive, so it¹s important that all individuals submitting a proposal are familiar with AWP¹s guidelines and expectations in order to insure conference events are successfully executed.  

The deadline for proposals is May 15, 2010. To submit a proposal please visit our online link.

Call for Submissions: Survivor Chronicles

Survivor Chronicles is a small independent publication, geared towards documenting trauma survival stories. The focus is on literature and art that has been part of the process of trauma survival. It seeks to celebrate the quintessential strength of the human soul.

We want to publish our first issue by the end of May, and are open for submissions.

We are very interested in poetry and artwork, but will also publish
short fiction, non fiction and photography when we really like it (and
have submissions!).

What we are interested in: gritty, bold stuff that tells a moment in
your story — it may be of great pain or great hope, great helplessness
or great strength, but it's an important part of the process of your
trauma, and of your survival of it.

We prefer shorter pieces to longer ones, owing to the attention span
of the average internet reader.

In the body of an email, paste 1-5 poems, or short fiction/non fiction
within 1500 words.


Artists and photographers can send 1-5 pieces for consideration; email
as separate attachments.

In the subject line of your email, write your Name, Type of
Submission, Submission and send it to thesurvivorchronicles(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @)

If it is important for you to remain anonymous, please feel free to
use a pseudonym. Otherwise, please send a short bio.

Call for Submissions: Palabra

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

PALABRA: A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art
invites Chicano & Latino writers to submit short stories, flash fiction, poetry, standalone novel excerpts and short plays that explore new avenues of Chicano & Latino writing. Innovative/cross-genre/hybrid work is welcome. Especially interested in work that is fresh and takes literary risks.

Fiction and novel excerpts to 4000 words, flash fiction 3 maximum of up to 750 words each, poems 5 maximum of any length and style, plays to 15 pp. Work can be in English, Spanish, Spanglish or any combination thereof. Simultaneous submissions are okay. Include brief bio in cover letter. There is some pay.

Submissions are accepted from September 1 through May 31. Work received after May 31 will be held over for the next reading period.

Detailed guidelines and information are available on the website.
Queries at info [at] palabralitmag [dot] com.

Submit via USPS only to:

PALABRA: A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art
P. O. Box 86146
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0146

Include SASE. Manuscripts will not be returned.
E-mail: info(at)palabralitmag.com (replace (at) with @)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Call for Poetry and Short Fiction: Obsidian

Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora is currently seeking contributions for two soon-to-be published special issues on Pearl Cleage and James Baldwin, respectively.

Obsidian supports the work of writers composing the stories and poems of the African Diaspora. As the journal has evolved, it has also been committed to publishing excellent scholarly articles. At this juncture the journal seeks notable and provocative poems and short fiction to be published alongside scholarly articles selected for issues dedicated to the work of Pearl Cleage and James Baldwin.

As writers working in several genres, Cleage and Baldwin have made significant contributions to the interrogation of the politics of gender, race and her/history in American and African American culture. Obsidian invites previously unpublished creative writing engaging any aspects of the oeuvre of Cleage and Baldwin.

We are open to creative writing that engages any aspect of Cleage's, and Baldwin’s respective oeuvre and are particularly interested in:
- Free womanhood, feminism and womanism
- Poetic style and/or voice
- Racial identities and subjectivities and desire
- Gendering race and racing gender
- Racial consciousness and democracy
- Exile and Diaspora subjectivity
- Intertextuality
- Queer subjectivities and threshold identities
- Use of African Diaspora spirituality
- The politics of love and identity
- Violence and the black literary imagination
- The import of place, especially of urban spaces
- Absented whiteness
- Visions of black masculinity
- The poetics of witness and utterance
- Translation and border crossing

Deadline for receipt of submissions is Monday, May 10, 2010.

Guidelines (2010 special issues)
Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora, a non-profit organization hosted by North Carolina State University, is a semi-annual journal. We publish contemporary poetry, fiction, drama, and non-fiction prose from within, about, and contextualizing the African Diaspora.
Guidelines

All manuscripts that are submitted via mail must contain a self-addressed stamped envelope
Writers should include cover sheets bearing the author’s name, contact information, and the contents of the submission. All decisions of the editorial staff are final.
We do not accept simultaneous submissions or previously published works. Copyright reverts to authors upon publication.
Submissions for Cleage and Baldwin special issues will be processed within the month of May 2010. Responses can be expected shortly thereafter.
Each contributor will receive two complimentary copies of the journal. We deeply appreciate writers who subscribe to the journal as well as submit their work for publication.

Poetry: Poetry should be single-spaced. Poetry submissions should contain no more than 5 poems and not exceed 8 pages in the length.

Fiction: Submissions should be double-spaced and no longer than 20 pages in length.

Please send your work to the following address:
Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora
North Carolina State University
Department of English, Box 8105
Raleigh, NC 27695-8105

or by e-mail: obsidian(at)gw.ncsu.edu (replace (at) with @) (in Microsoft Word (.doc) or RTF format)
Neither the editors nor the staff assumes responsibility for loss or damage of submissions.