Saturday, October 31, 2015

Call for Submissions: Toad

Toad is looking for poems, flash fiction, and art that blow our minds. Not to brag, but we've published some awesome writers, Dorothea Lasky, Matthew Zapruder, Susan Schorn, Matt Hart, Mary Biddinger, Nate Pritts, Amorak Huey, and Denise Duhamel, just to name a few. Okay we're bragging. And we want to brag about you.

Submission guidelines.

Call for Nonfiction and Media Submissions on the Theme of PLAY: Proximity Magazine

Proximity Magazine is seeking nonfiction essays, multimedia and images that engage the theme of PLAY.

We are interested in reading nonfiction stories about whimsy and a wandering body or mind, the blessedly unusual act of going “unplugged,” and/or any activity that offers the reader a glimpse into the abandonment of stress and responsibility in search of joy, freedom, creativity and reprieve. In essence, we want to know where your playgrounds are – whether they are grounded in a physical place or experience, or only in your mind.

As you craft your work, please remember that Proximity was founded on stories with a strong sense of place, and your essays should be just as strongly reflective of their setting as their associated theme. The deadline is January 15th! I look forward to reading your work!

Submit here.

Submissions must be previously unpublished and submitted to Proximity for publication in one of the following categories: long-form (6,000 words maximum), mid-range (2,000 words maximum), flash (500 words maximum), or photo essay/multimedia. Multiple submissions and alternative forms of true stories are welcome and encouraged.

Call for Submissions from Community College Students: Painted Cave Literary Magazine

Painted Cave Literary Magazine is accepting submissions from community college students nationwide for its fourth issue December 2015. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis though the deadline for this issue is December 1.

Painted Cave is the online student-run, faculty-guided literary journal of Santa Barbara City College. We publish the work of community college student writers in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Painted Cave reserves First North American Serial Rights. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

 Paste your submission in the body of the email to: 

paintedcavesubmissions[at] gmail[dot]com (Change [at] to @ and [dot] to . ) 

Also include a short biography and the community college attending.

In the subject line include the genre of the submission, title(s) and your name (Creative Nonfiction, “Negative Space,” Jenny Johnson)

We accept the following genres:

Flash Fiction: 1-3 pieces, no more than 750 words each.

Fiction: 1 piece, no more than 5000 words.

Poetry: 3-5 poems, no more then 50 lines each.

Creative Nonfiction: 1 piece, no more than 5000 words.

Flash Creative Nonfiction: 1-3 pieces, no more than 750 words each.

Writing Fellowship: Time and Place Prize, France

The Time and Place Prize, France

Deadline: Nov 30, 2015 

SUBMIT! SUBMIT!

Every summer, the hosts of the Time and Place Prize in Gourin, France, provide a lucky writer with round-trip airfare, a month's stay in a beautiful cottage in Brittany, plus meals--all so that he or she can have the perfect place and window of time to get some real writing done.

Requirements: an unpublished manuscript (poetry, nonfiction, or fiction) of no more than 5,000 words, plus a $25 entry fee. 

For more information, visit our website.

Read the 2013 winner's blog about the prize.

Submit here by November 30th.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Post-Publication Poetry Book Award: Kansas Book Award in Poetry

Kansas Book Award in Poetry; Prize of $1,000

In order to highlight the wealth of fine literature written by Kansans, the Thomas Fox Averill
Kansas Studies Collection at Mabee Library, Washburn University, seeks nominations of booklength collections of poetry for its first Book Award in Kansas Literature.


This year’s judge will be Eric McHenry, Poet Laureate of Kansas and award-winning poet. The prize, of $1,000, will be awarded to a book that meets the guidelines below, and the winner will be invited to
Washburn University’s Mabee Library in the Spring of 2016 for a reading and presentation
ceremony.


 Guidelines:
*Nominations can come from publishers, authors, or anyone interested in seeing a book
considered.
*Books must be original work, rather than work collected/edited by author.
*Author must establish a connection to Kansas by birth, education, employment, residence,
subject matter of the book, or other significant claim.

*Books must have an original publication date (copyright notice) within the three calendar years
immediately preceding the year of the competition deadline. To be eligible for the 2016 Poetry
deadline, the nominee’s book must have a publication date of 2013, 2014 or 2015.

*Books of poetry should be bound and consist of at least 60 pages.
*Nominations must be postmarked or presented by December 31, 2015. 


Please submit books for consideration to:

Awards
c/o Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection
Mabee Library
1700 College
Topeka, KS 66621


The Kansas Book Award is co-sponsored by Washburn University’s Center for Kansas Studies; the Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection at Mabee Library; and the Friends of Mabee Library.

The Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection is an eclectic, inclusive set of materials dedicated to the study of Kansas literature through the state’s folklore, history, geography, flora, fauna, social fabric and culture. The holdings include novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, histories, biographies, memoirs, letters, scholarly articles, collected folklore, manuscripts and ephemera gathered over 40+ years. The collection is building an inclusive and exhaustive body of work dedicated to encouraging the reading and writing of Kansas Literature, as well as being a home for researching and writing about Kansas Literature and Culture.

Eric McHenry is a nationally known poet and associate professor of English at Washburn University in Topeka. His work has been featured in publications such as Poetry International, Slate, Yale Review, and Field, among many others. He also contributes poetry reviews for the New York Times Book Review and Columbia magazine. Odd Evening, his third book of poems, will be published by Waywiser Press in 2016. A seventh-generation Topeka native, Eric received the Kate Tufts Discovery Award in 2007 and the Theodore Roethke Prize in 2011

Post-Publication Poetry Book Prize: UNT Rilke Prize

UNT Rilke Prize 

The prize is named after the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), a writer whose work embodies the qualities of ambition, intellectual and imaginative scope, and technical mastery we seek to recognize.

Description:

An annual award of a $10,000 award recognizing a book that demonstrates exceptional artistry and vision written by a mid-career poet and published in the preceding year.
Guidelines:


  • Entrants must have published at least two previous books of poetry and be U.S. citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States.
  • Work must be original poetry written in English.
  • Books may be submitted by presses or by writers themselves and must be postmarked by November 30, 2015.
  • Eligible books must have been published between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015.
  • Each submission must include 2 copies of the book and a completed entry form.
  • Self-published books will not be considered.
  • Chapbooks are not considered previous publications.
  • Finalists may be asked to submit further copies.
  • Books will not be returned.

The winner will travel to Texas to give readings at UNT and in the DFW metroplex on April 13th and 14th, 2016. UNT will pay for travel expenses. The author must also allow portions of the winning work to be reproduced for promoting the award. Poets who enter the prize must agree to these terms in order to accept the prize.

Results will be announced in January.

Judging

The prize will be judged by UNT’s poetry faculty.

Submission Requirements

Authors or publishers will mail completed entry form with the two copies of the book submission. 


Entry form. Please "save as" to your desktop and complete the form.

Mail entry form and submissions to:

The UNT Rilke Prize
Department of English
University of North Texas
1155 Union Circle #311307
Denton, TX 76203-5017


Contact: UNTrilkeprizeATuntDOTedu (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Call for Submissions: The Southern Review

We reopened submissions for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on September 1.

Please visit our submissions page for complete instructions on how to submit.

And thanks to all the prose writers who have taken advantage of our online submission manager! Fiction and nonfiction will remain open until December 1; poetry submissions will be accepted through February 1, 2016.

Writing Residencies and Chapbook Contest: The Baltic Writing Residency

The Baltic Writing Residency is currently accepting applications for the a month-long residency in Stockholm, Sweden. The deadline is December 15th, 2015.

Applications can be sent via submittable. The BWR provides $1,000, and a cottage in Stockholm for one poet, playwright, or writer of fiction working in English. Though, neither the writer nor their project need be connected with Sweden.

- The deadline for the BWR chapbook contest--judged by Valzhyna Mort--is February 15, 2016;
- the deadline for the 2 - 8 week long residency at Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest is April 15, 2016;
- and the deadline for the Kentucky Writers Fellowship (for writers with KY connection) is May 15, 2016.


We accept submissions year-round for every aspect of the BWR.

Details about the residency and about the application process can be found on the website.

Call for Fiction on the Theme of Taboo: Fiction International

FICTION INTERNATIONAL will accept submissions for an issue on Taboo from 10/1/15 to 2/15/16. Fiction, non-fiction, indeterminate prose texts up to 5,500 words as well as visuals addressing Taboo are welcome. Submit online through Submittable or by mail.

We will consider narrative, anti-narrative and indeterminate texts reflecting theme.

Please read sample texts from our catalog to become familiar with our thematic focus and global perspective.

Submission guidelines.

Call for "Constraint" Submissions: The Ilanot Review

The bi-annual online journal The Ilanot Review asks you to control yourself!

For the "Constraint" issue, we are looking for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and anything in between that binds itself to a pattern or a limit. Whether it’s a Larry Smith-style Six Word Memoir, a 100-word story, a 250-word essay, a haiku, sestina, or syllabic poem, we want to see it. Although we are particularly interested in form-related constraint in this issue, we are also happy to receive conventionally structured work in which the notion of constraint (or lack thereof) is explored on a thematic level.

The Ilanot Review is delighted to welcome guest editors Anthony Michael Morena (fiction) and Ilana Blumberg (creative non-fiction) into our editorial team for the "Constraint" issue. Please send us your poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, translation (with permissions), hybrid work, cover and graphic art by November 30.

For more details read our current issue, visit our website.
Submissions info

Submit here.
Twitter: @ilanot_review

Call for Twitter-length Fiction and Memoir: Tiny Text

Tiny Text is a new Twitter journal (@Tiny_Text) in search of high-quality Twitter-length fiction and memoir. We want compelling and thoughtful concision: like a puddle deep as the ocean, place us neck-deep in something we thought would only reach our ankles.

Please follow us on Twitter and email your submissions and inquiries to:

teeny.tiny.textATgmailDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Send three stories or pieces of memoir at a time and include your name and contact information (you may also send a title, but we'll have no room to include it). All submissions must be 140 characters or less (spaces count!) or they will be deleted unread. Submissions will be read year-round. Please allow us 4 weeks to get back to you before sending more work or inquiring.

Reach deep and show us the beauty of small things. We look forward to your submissions!

Monday, October 26, 2015

Call for Submissions of Poetry and Art to Anthology about Violence Against Women: Sable Books

Sable Books has an open call for submissions for poetry and art concerning and in witness of the global issue of violence against women.

Details here. 

Deadline: November 30th, 2015

Call for Short Essays Promoting Books: Five Oaks Press: He Said to Me


At Five Oaks Press, we noticed that many of our female authors had written books (or parts of books) in response to something a man had said to them (whether good, bad, or indifferent). We wanted to start a space where these writers give a behind-the-scenes look at the books they'd written that were inspired by such conversations, so we formed He Said To Me, an online space where we will publish your short essays (with or without an accompanying poem or short fiction selection) giving readers a glimpse into a conversation that prompted you to write. 
 
While this space was initially conceived as a place for women, we would like to invite all writers to submit. 
 
Please send your short essays about how a conversation you had has fueled your writing (no attachments, please) to: 
 
editorAThesaidtomeDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . ) 
 
We will include a link to the relevant book publication (chapbook/full-length, fiction/poetry/nonfiction). 
 
All are welcome to submit. We are looking for relevant (on topic), well-told stories under 1,000 words.

Call for Submissions: Beyond

Beyond is a tri-quarterly print publication that will also have a prominent and active web and social presence. The first print issue is scheduled for release in early winter 2016. Issues will be distributed in February, June, and October.

Beyond publishes stories of businesses and business leaders that exemplify the use of design for innovative approaches to management as well as exemplars of business as an agent of world benefit, thus advancing the principles of business management pioneered, taught and practiced by the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

The magazine's web presence features reader-submitted articles, supplementary interviews, podcasts, inspirational quotes and other goodies for the savvy, sophisticated, and successful businessperson. The magazine will launch its web contents in January 2016.

There are four columns open to submissions, all related to work. I’m looking for great stories written well. Three of the columns are writing (two brief prose, one poetry) and one is art/photography.


Payment: $100 for print issue; $40 for online

A Case of the Mondays
This humor column looks for the funny in the workplace. Word limit: 250.

Above and Beyond
Share what has inspired you in your work life that makes your work not just bearable but enjoyable. Word limit: 250.

Work in Verse
Beyond will publish one new work-related poem a month on the website and will include one poem in each print issue.

InSights
Share photographs of inspirational/aesthetic elements that inspire you in your workspace. Can be submitted via our submission system or using the #BeyondInSight on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

The submission system is now open! Visit Submittable for complete guidelines.


Email:

beyondmagATcaseDOTedu (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

if you have any questions.

Call for Submissions to Anthology: Lavender Bluegrass: LGBT Writers on Kentucky

Entry link

Lavender Bluegrass: LGBT Writers on Kentucky 

The editors of a new anthology are seeking submissions of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction essays. We are specifically looking for work from LGBT-identifying writers who are in, from, or have spent time in Kentucky or greater Appalachia.

Send 3-5 poems, double-spaced fiction under 4500 words, or double-spaced creative non-fiction under 4500 words. Cross-genre work is acceptable and encouraged. Please include a cover letter with a short bio and your contact information.

All submissions must be previously unpublished writing. Contributing writers will receive a complementary copy of the final anthology, and may be invited to read at promotional events.

We look forward to reading your work! Deadline December 23, 2015. No fees, no payments.

Call for Poetry Submissions on Theme of Friendship: Snakeskin

Snakeskin wants poems on FRIENDSHIP

Jessy Randall will guest-edit the February 2016 issue of the long-lived online poetry magazine Snakeskin.

This year, the theme is FRIENDSHIP. As always, the theme is open to interpretation.

Send up to five poems to:

jessyrandall AT yahoo DOT com (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )


Deadline is December 1. No attachments, please. Simultaneous submissions are fine. Happy to consider poetry comics, experimental poems, visual poems, and other odd things. Expect a response by December 15.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Call for Submissions from Undergrad Students:The Quaker

The Quaker is a national undergraduate journal of literary art published by the Student Writers Guild and the Program in Creative Writing at Malone University in Canton, Ohio.

We seeks submissions of poetry, fiction, essays, reviews—of good writing in any and all forms.

Publication occurs on a rolling basis, and each semester one author is chosen to be honored with a $100 Editor's Prize for an outstanding contribution to the journal.

Deadline: December 15

Submittable link.

Call for Submissions: Star 82 Review

Star 82 Review is an independent art and literary online and print magazine heading into our fourth year and looking for original unpublished work and lyrical language featuring humanity, humility, and humor.

We tend toward subtle, slightly gentle, slightly edgy works. Looking primarily for flash stories and creative nonfiction under 1000 words, poetry 2-50 lines, and photos or images you’ve created that tell a story. Combinations of art and writing (erasure texts, tiny stories with photo, etc.) are also encouraged. Currently seeking work for our winter and spring issues.

Submissions accepted year-round.
See the guidelines here.
Follow us on Facebook.
 
 Alisa Golden
editorATstar82reviewDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Writing Scholarships: Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway

Four scholarships are being offered for first-time participants of the 23rd Annual WINTER POETRY & PROSE GETAWAY, January 15-18, 2016 in the Atlantic City area. Recipients may choose from workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoir, screenwriting and more, including special advanced sessions with Stephen Dunn and Thomas Lux. In addition, the conference also offers open mics, tutorials, talks, sunrise yoga, dancing at the Getaway Disco and writerly camaraderie.

There are three different types of scholarships available:
+ The Toni Brown Memorial Scholarship will offer two scholarships to poets or writers aged 31 and over. Deadline: November 15, 2015.
+ The Jan-ai Scholarship will fund two poets or writers between the ages of 18 – 30. Deadline: November 30, 2015.
+ The Elke Hirsh Music Award will enable one songwriter between the ages of 21 – 30 to attend. Deadline: November 30, 2015.

Scholarship details here.

-+-+-+-
ABOUT THE WINTER POETRY & PROSE GETAWAY

Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents
Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway
January 15-18, 2016
With Special Guests Stephen Dunn & Thomas Lux
Stockton Seaview Hotel, Galloway, NJ (Atlantic City area)
Escape the distractions of your busy life. Advance your craft and energize your writing at the Winter Getaway. Enjoy challenging and supportive sessions, insightful feedback and an encouraging community. Learn more at our website.

Call for Poetry Submissions: Loose Change Magazine

Submittable link for submissions.

Loose Change 5.2 is alive and bopping to the writing of Emily Carr, Chad Davidson, Shira Dentz, Andy Frazee, Sarah Renee Marshall, Lauren Neefe, Dan Rosenberg, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Kate Schapira, and Jaclyn Watterson, among other talented writers, and with artwork by Emma Ignaszewski.

Submissions to 6.1 are now open.

Cathy Park Hong writes in her recent article in The New Republic that American poetry has been “galvanized by the activism of Black Lives Matter, spearheaded by writers of color who are at home in social media activism and print magazines; some poets are redefining the avant-garde while others are fueling a raw politics into the personal lyric. Their aesthetic may be divergent, but they share a common belief that as poets, they must engage in social practice.... Poetry is becoming progressively fluid, merging protest and performance into...[a practice] of social engagement.”

While we remain open to a wide range of aesthetic and thematic terrain, we remain particularly interested in works that explore literary art as social practice at the level of form and content, and hope to receive ever more submissions of work so engaged in new and renewing ways. Loose Change on the Wor(l)d—submit your innovative best!

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Flash Fiction Competition: Meridian

Meridian's Flash Fiction Contest is open to any and all writers of short confections. $3 gets you up to three stories per entry, and the prize is $100 and publication in the Winter issue. Get them in before Halloween, and then reward yourself with candy.

Submit online.

Call for Submissions: Catapult

Catapult, a literary publishing startup based in NYC. During the month of October, we're welcoming unsolicited submissions.

At Catapult, we publish critically acclaimed literary fiction and narrative nonfiction books under the direction of our editor in chief, Pat Strachan, as well as a web magazine (also open for submissions) led by web editor in chief, Yuka Igarashi.


We'd love to read and consider for publication book-length, unpublished manuscripts from writers. We are interested in short story and essay collections, novels, memoirs, narrative journalistic accounts, and graphic novels/memoir.

Writers may submit their work here.

Micro Fiction Competition: River Styx

2016 Micro Fiction Contest

Enter online here. 

Entry fee: $10-20 

$1500 First Prize plus one case of micro-brewed Schlafly Beer 

Judged by the editors of River Styx

Enter by mail or online via Submittable. To enter by mail, include an S.A.S.E. to be notified of contest results and a check payable to River Styx Magazine. Entries must be received by December 31st. Mail entries to:

River Styx Micro-Fiction Contest
3139A South Grand Boulevard
Suite 203
St. Louis, MO 63118

Fellowship in Playwriting: Emory University

Department of Theater Studies and Creative Writing Program seek applicants for two-year Fellowship in Playwriting at Emory University in Atlanta

Deadline: October 30, 2015

Playwriting Fellowship Fall 2016-Spring 2018

Emory University offers a two-year Playwriting Fellowship in connection with its BA in Playwriting, a joint major offered by Theater Studies and the Creative Writing Program. $37,000 annual salary plus health benefits and $3000 professional travel fund. The annual teaching load is three courses, a mix of playwriting workshops and literature courses such as “Contemporary Drama.”

The Emory Playwriting Fellow is expected to create new work during the period of the fellowship, and will work with Theater Emory and its Playwriting Center, including the contribution of a new play to the biennial play festival, Brave New Works and a presentation as part of the Creative Writing Reading Series. Other initiatives are encouraged.

Required: MFA in Playwriting within past 8 years, with teaching experience and a promising history of play development and/or production in regional or national theater.

Application should include a cover letter discussing what you would like to achieve during the fellowship period and a brief statement of teaching philosophy, your CV, two letters of recommendation, and a recent play manuscript (submitted without identifying name on manuscript). 


Send your dossier to: 

emoryplaywritingfellowshipATgmailDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . ) 

no later than October 30, 2015. Letters can be sent under separate cover to same address.

NOTE: Top candidates will be invited to Emory for a 2-day residency, interview, and play reading during Brave New Works held January 25-February 14, 2016.

We actively seek applications from women and minority candidates. Emory University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

Fiction and Nonfiction Book Competition: Santa Fe Writers Project Awards

This is the FINAL month to submit to our annual contest. We're seeking fiction and nonfiction of any genre. Prizewinners will be offered a book contract with SFWP.

Past winners include current SFWP authors Allen Gee, Annita Perez Sawyer, and Stephen G. Eoannou. Emily St. John Mandel, author of the National Book Award Finalist Station Eleven, is our judge this year. The Awards Program is a great way for us to find out about your work.

Four of our five 2015 titles came through our Awards Program, and we're definitely not afraid to publish work by debut authors (see our 2016 releases below).

Deadline: November 1st.

$3,500 and publication.

Cost: $30. Submit here.

Call for Submissions: 45th Parallel


45th Parallel, a literary magazine run by Oregon State University’s MFA and MA students, seeks work by established and emerging voices in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, hybrid forms, and comics with an eye toward promoting diverse voices and talents within (and without) each genre. We aim to celebrate resonant and lively voices in our growing community of writers and seek writing that pulses with life, blood, and guts — work whose rhythm we can set our hearts to.
 
We anticipate that most of the text-based work we publish will not exceed 7,500 words, but we will consider longer work of truly exceptional quality. 45th Parallel’s submissions period runs from October 1st- December 15th.
 
Our website.
 
Submissions link.

Call for Full-Length Poetry Collections: Steel Toe Books


Open Reading Period for Full-Length Poetry Collections
 
Steel Toe Books, the hardest-working press in po-biz, is reading full-length poetry manuscripts in September and October.

Guidelines here.

Send to:
 
c/o Tom C. Hunley, Director / English Department
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd. #11086
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1086

Call for Submissions: Sliver of Stone

Call for Submissions: Sliver of Stone. 

Sliver of Stone's 11th issue is now available online. 

Submissions link.

We are a bi-annual, online literary magazine dedicated to the publication of work from both emerging and established poets, writers, and visual artists from all parts of the globe. 

Authors featured in this issue include Jacob Appel, Joy Castro, Yago S. Cura, Campbell McGrath, and Jason Smith. Check out our past contributors, such as Lynne Barrett, Kim Barnes, John Dufresne, Denise Duhamel, Barbara Hamby, Allison Joseph, J. Michael Lennon, Dinty W. Moore, Matthew Sharpe, and many talented others. Past interviews with Paul D. Brazill, Janet Burroway, Edwidge Danticat, Beverly Donofrio, Dean Koontz, K.A. Laity, Susan Orlean, Les Standiford, José Ignacio Valenzuela, and Mark Vonnegut. 

We're now looking for submissions for our 12th issue!

 DEADLINE: January 15, 2016

Monday, October 12, 2015

Writing Competition and Calls for Submission on "Health": Baltimore Review

Baltimore Review Winter 2016 Contest Deadline: November 30, 2015

The Baltimore Review is now accepting entries for its Winter 2016 Contest. The theme is “Health.” Why? You’re obsessed with your health. Admit it. Entries accepted in poetry, fiction, and CNF categories.


Three winners—$500, $200, and $100 prizes—will be selected from among all categories.

All entries are considered for paid publication. Contributors’ work is published both online and in our annual print compilation. 3,000 word limit for prose contest submissions, limit of 1-3 poems.


Entry fee: $10. 

Final judge: Joanna Pearson, MD (physician and poet).

Complete guidelines can be found at our website. Also considering non-contest, non-theme submissions.

Nonfiction Competition on Childhood: Creative Nonfiction

Deadline: November 16, 2015

For an upcoming issue, Creative Nonfiction is seeking new essays that explore the joys and struggles, the indignities and infinite possibilities of childhood.

Maybe you lived Where the Wild Things Are or during The Wonder Years; maybe you’re a parent or a pediatrician or a marketer of breakfast cereals, witnessing young people discover themselves and the world. Whatever your perspective, we’re looking for well-crafted true stories that examine kid-dom in all its messy, exhilarating, turbulent glory.

Our readers also like to learn new things: tell us something, whether it’s about child psychology or what it was like to be a youngster in another place or time. Surprise us with your approach: we love personal essays, but also profiles and histories. We want to consider not only how childhood defines us, but also what defines childhood.

Submissions must be vivid and dramatic; they should feature a strong and compelling narrative and reach beyond a strictly personal or anecdotal experience for some universal or deeper meaning. We’re looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice; all essays must tell true stories and be factually accurate.

Creative Nonfiction editors will award $1000 for Best Essay and $500 for runner-up. All essays will be considered for publication in a special "Childhood" issue of the magazine to be published in summer 2016. 

Guidelines: Essays must be previously unpublished and no longer than 4,000 words. There is a $20 reading fee, or $25 to include a 4-issue subscription to Creative Nonfiction (US addresses only). If you're already a subscriber, you may use this option to extend your current subscription or give your new subscription as a gift. Multiple entries are welcome ($20/essay) as are entries from outside the United States (though due to shipping costs we cannot offer the subscription deal). All proceeds will go to prize pools and printing costs.

A note about fact-checking: Essays accepted for publication in Creative Nonfiction undergo a rigorous fact-checking process. To the extent your essay draws on research and/or reportage (and it should, at least to some degree), CNF editors will ask you to send documentation of your sources and to help with the fact-checking process. We do not require that citations be submitted with essays, but you may find it helpful to keep a file of your essay that includes footnotes and/or a bibliography.

You may submit essays online or by regular mail.

By regular mail
: 

Postmark deadline November 16, 2015.
 

Please send manuscript, accompanied by cover letter with complete contact information including the title of the essay and word count; SASE or email for response; and payment to:

Creative Nonfiction

Attn: CHILDHOOD

5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202 

Pittsburgh, PA 15232


Online
:
Deadline to upload files: 11:59 pm EST November 16, 2015
. Submit here or here.

Writing Residency and Fellowship: Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA

Writing Fellowships at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts

Since 1968, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown has run the largest and longest residency Fellowship in the United States for emerging writers. Writers who have not yet published a full-length book of creative work are welcome to apply.


Fellows receive a seven-month stay (October 1 - April 30) at the Work Center and a $750 monthly stipend. Fellows do not pay or work in exchange for their Fellowships in any way. Fellows are chosen based on the excellence of their work.

Former writing Fellows - nearly all of whom came here before the publication of their first books - have won every major national award in writing including the National Book Award and seven Pulitzer Prizes. Former writing Fellows include Denis Johnson, Louise Glück, Jhumpa Lahiri, Michael Cunningham, and Yusef Komunyakaa.

The deadline for the 2016-17 Writing Fellowships is December 1, 2015.
.
For details, please visit our website.

Poetry Competition: Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award

$1,000 PRIZE
Final Judge: Gail White
Deadline: November 15, 2015


Sponsored by: The Formalist and Measure: A Review of Formal Poetry 

Competition Rules for the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award:

1. Sonnets must be original and unpublished. No translations. Writers may enter up to twelve sonnets. Sonnet sequences are acceptable, but each sonnet will be considered individually. Entry fee: $3 per sonnet, checks payable to The Formalist. Entry fees from outside the U.S. must be paid in cash — U.S. dollars — or by a check drawn on a U.S. bank. Author's name, address, e-mail address, and phone number should be typed on the BACK of each entry.
2. Final Judge for the 2015 competition will be Gail White. The winning poem and eleven finalists will be published in a 2016 issue of Measure: A Review of Formal Poetry.
3. Entries must be sent to the address listed below and postmarked no later than November 15, 2015. Enclose a SASE if you would like to be notified of the contest results. Entries cannot be returned.


All submissions should be sent to:

Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
The Formalist
21 Osborne Terrace
Wayne, NJ 07470

Fiction Competition: The Master's Review

The Masters Review - $2000 Fall Fiction Showcase with Jeff Vandermeer + Publication!

This fall's contest has a $2000 / $200 / $100 (first, second, third) prize, and judging by Jeff and Ann Vandermeer. Ann and Jeff will be reading the top fifteen stories, and they will write a PERSONAL letter to the top three cash prize winners with story critique and praise.

Deadline: October 31. 

Entry Fee; $20.00

Masters Review is a platform for new and emerging writers, and has worked in conjunction with A.M. Holmes, Lauren Groff, Lev Grossman, and Kevin Brockmeier, among others, to link emerging talent with established authors.

Masters Review pays out over $15,000 annually to new and emerging writers.

We hope to see your submission this October! Please see full details at our website.

Book Talks and Signings for BLOOD OF A STONE



If you live in Southern California, I will be in your area in October for two events. Both are free:

"Flying Solo: Traditional Publication Without an Agent," by Jeanne Lyet Gassman, author of BLOOD OF A STONE

October 22, 2015 from 11:00 a.m.--12:00
Peninsula Center Library
701 Silver Spur Rd.
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274

~~~

"Life and Times in First Century Palestine," by Jeanne Lyet Gassman, author of BLOOD OF A STONE

October 24, 2015 from 2:00--4:00 p.m.
Rejoice Christian Bookstore 
23851 Via Fabricante, Suite 201
Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Come see me!

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Call for Submissions to Anthology: Black Coffee

Darkhouse Books is seeking submissions for a new anthology, "Black Coffee."

Straight, unsweetened, noir tales of mystery and crime. 2500 – 6000 words.

When submitting, please include “Black Coffee” in the subject line. Accepting submissions from October 1st through December 31st, 2015. Planned release date March 15th, 2016. Will accept previously published stories provided author has rights and most recent publication is prior to March 15, 2015. 

The anthology will contain between twelve and twenty stories, depending on the overall length. Authors will share equally fifty percent of royalties received. More information about Darkhouse Books and upcoming calls for submission may be found at our website.

Conference Scholarships for Creative Writing Students: SCBWI

Each year the SCBWI sponsors two student writer scholarships to the Summer and Winter Conferences for full-time university students in an English or Creative Writing program.

This is an invaluable opportunity for young writers! We are now accepting applications for the 2016 SCBWI Winter Conference in New York, February 12-14, 2016. 

Award:
–Full tuition to main conference events including keynotes and breakout sessions. (Award does not include travel or hotel expenses.)
–Exclusive exposure to industry professionals at the conference.
–An SCBWI Conference advisor to help navigate the jammed-packed weekend.
PLUS:
Winter New York Conference: Entrance to the Writers’ Roundtables, a roundtable-style manuscript critique of the first five hundred words of your manuscript with literary agents and editors.


Deadline: November 2, 2015

 Eligibility:
1. You must be at least eighteen years old to apply.
2. All full-time students enrolled in an accredited educational institution are eligible to apply.
VISIT our website FOR APPLICATION.


Guidelines:

One winner will be chosen from a graduate or doctoral program and one winner will be chosen from an undergraduate program.

Applicants are required to submit:
–Short cover letter stating why you want to attend the conference and a synopsis of your work.
–Five-page sample of a children's literature manuscript (picture book, early reader/chapter book, middle grade, young adult)
–Copy of your student ID
–Letter of recommendation sent directly from a professor at your university.
Applications MUST BE electronically submitted as ONE PDF to:


kayla.heinenATscbwiDOTorg (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Letters of recommendation can be sent separately as a Word document.


Applications will be judged by a panel decided by SCBWI.

In the event that a recipient cannot attend for any reason, the grant committee should be notified as soon as possible. The scholarship may, in that event, be awarded to another applicant. The grant is not transferable and cannot be postponed. SCBWI reserves the right not to award the scholarship in any given year.

Questions? Contact the Grant Coordinator, Kayla Heinen
--
Kayla Heinen
Communications Coordinator
SCBWI
8271 Beverly Blvd. LA, CA 90048
323-782-1010

Call for Submissions from Undergraduate Students: Dark River Review


Dark River Review, the national undergraduate literary magazine at Alabama State University, is accepting submissions for the Spring 2016 issue from October 1, 2015, to January 31, 2016.
 
Students currently enrolled as undergraduates at two- and four-year colleges and universities are invited to submit poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, reviews of recent chapbooks and books, and visual art.
 
Our editorial collective has a wide aesthetic and especially desires excellent work, whether experimental or traditional or somewhere in between, especially from diverse and underrepresented voices, including but not limited to people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA communities, and the differently abled.
 
All work should be original and previously unpublished.
 
Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece promptly if it’s accepted elsewhere.
 
Submit no more than six poems, three very short stories (up to 1000 words) or one short story (1000-5000 words), three works of very short creative nonfiction (up to 1000 words) or one creative nonfiction essay (1000-5000 words), reviews of chapbooks and books published since 2014, and six works of visual art. 
 
Please send only your best work that has already been thoroughly proofread. Consider checking out advice for submitting to literary journals and the Dark River Review house style guide.
 
Poetry should be single-spaced. Prose should be double-spaced. Writing submissions must be saved in .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
 
Visual art submissions must be saved in .jpg or .png format at 300 dpi or better and should be publication ready.
 
Include a brief third-person biography of no more than fifty words (see examples on our website).
 
Notifications will be made on a rolling basis through March 2016 with an expected publication date in April 2016. Please do not query before March 2016.
 
Upon publication, Dark River Review assumes first serial rights; all rights revert back to contributors upon publication, so that authors and artists may re-publish their work elsewhere provided proper acknowledgment is given to Dark River Review.
 
The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2016. Submit your work here.

Writing Competitions: Bayou Magazine

Bayou Magazine's James Knudsen Prize for Fiction and the Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry open right now. You can submit until December 31st. Prize for each contest is 1,000 big ones, and possible publication in Bayou. Judging for us this year are David James Poissant for Fiction, and D.A. Powell for Poetry.

It’s a fine contest, a fine prize. All it needs is your very fine work!

James Knudsen Prize for Fiction
Judged by David James Poissant
WINNER: $1000, their work considered for publication and a year subscription
FINALISTS: will be named on our website

  • Submissions must be original, previously unpublished works of fiction, no longer than 7,500 words.
  • Reading fee: $20 (includes a copy of contest issue)
  •  You may enter more than one story, but each submission must arrive in a separate envelope or online submission with its own cover sheet and entry fee.
  •  We accept novel excerpts only if the submission stands alone as a complete short story. 
  • Please include a cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, email, and the title of your submission. DO NOT include your name on any part of the submission. Any story with identifying material will be disqualified.
  • All current and former Bayou staff, as well as current or former students of either judge, are ineligible to submit.
Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry
Judged by D.A. Powell
WINNER $1000, their work considered for publication and a year subscription
FINALISTS: will be named on our website
Submissions must be original, previously unpublished poetry.
Reading fee: $20 (includes a copy of contest issue)

  • You may enter up to three poems per entry. 
  • You may enter multiple submissions, but each submission must be in a separate envelope or online submission with its own cover sheet and entry fee.
  • On the cover sheet, please include your name, address, phone number, email address, and the title of your submission. DO NOT include your name on the pages of the manuscript. Any submission with identifying material will be disqualified.
  • All current and former Bayou staff, as well as current or former students of either judge, are ineligible to submit.
We highly encourage all submissions be made online through our submissions manager.

To submit via snail mail, follow the above submission guidelines and mail with $20 check or money order made out to UNO Foundation.

Mail to:

Bayou Magazine c/o
(James Knudsen Prize for Fiction or Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry)
Department of English University of New Orleans
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70148


Bayou Magazine adheres to the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics.

Note: UNO students and alumni who have graduated in the past 10 years are not eligible for publication in Bayou Magazine. We encourage the UNO affiliated to check out our sister magazine, Ellipsis.

Fiction Competition: Press 53 Award for Short Fiction

2016 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction
Awarded to an outstanding, unpublished collection of short stories.


Reading Fee: $30

Award: $1,000 cash advance, quarter-page color ad with author photo in Poets & Writers magazine announcing our winner, and publication of winning short story collection.

Enter: Submit online with Submittable or by mail from September 1–December 31, 2015. 

Press 53 founder and editor-in-chief Kevin Morgan Watson will serve as the final judge. Winner and finalists announced no later than May 1, 2016; advance review copies sent to major reviewers and outlets; publication in October 2016.

Complete details at our website.

Call for Poetry Sumissions: Muse A Journal


Muse A Journal seeks lyrical, playful, moving, linguistically-inventive, unique, experimental, moving, honest, diction-sensitive, perhaps collaborative, economical, attentive, vested, clever, touching, POETRY. 
 
If this describes your work in any way, we’d love to see it. Our website is currently under construction, but you may still see the general layout at museajournal.com  
 
We are using Submittable, and you can access our submissions manager. We will begin taking submissions on September 30, 2015.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Video Podcast Interview for BLOOD OF A STONE

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Kim Smith on her Writer Groupie Podcast. We talked about my novel, BLOOD OF A STONE, my historical research, and my publishing journey. You can watch the podcast video here.







Thursday, October 1, 2015

Call for Submissions: Abbreviate Journal

Submissions accepted year-round.

Abbreviate is a new literary journal that seeks eclectic and quirky writing. We aim to feature work by irreverent and inventive poets, writers, and artists. We lean towards the whimsical and the eerie, the incandescent and the troubled, balanced with a strong sense of craft and dark humor. 

We accept submissions online throughout the year. Poetry and prose on any topic can be submitted. Please send your work to:

infoATabbreviatejournalDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . ) or  

infoATafshanshafiDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Visit our website for complete guidelines.

Writing Competition: Columbia: A Journal for Literature and Art

Columbia: A Journal For Literature and Art is now accepting original work in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for the Issue 54 Writing Contest. One winner from each genre will receive a $500 cash prize and publication in Issue 54, due out this spring. All entries will be considered for online publication.

To enter before the deadline, December 31, 2015, visit our website. 

Entry fee: $15. See below for this year’s judges.

Fiction: Max Apple

Nonfiction: Mark Greif  

Poetry: Martin Espada

Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art was founded in 1977 and, in the years since, has published work from Nobel laureates and unknowns, National Book-award winners and newcomers. Our archives include writers from Raymond Carver to Lorrie Moore to Louise Glück to Philip Gourevitch to Noam Chomsky to Etgar Keret. Recent issues have featured Lydia Davis, Deb Olin Unferth, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Richard Ford, and Michael Ondaatje, as well as Amy Bloom and Philip Lopate.

Poetry Competition: Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize

We are pleased to announce that the eleventh Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize is open for submissions. Anyone over the age of 18 who has not already published more than one full-length poetry collection may submit. The winner will receive a purse of $3000, and his or her collection will be published by Waywiser in the USA and the UK in 2016. 

The winner will also read with the judge at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. on the day the book is launched.

Past judges include Richard Wilbur, Mark Strand, Mary Jo Salter, Rosanna Warren, Charles Simic, and Heather McHugh.

Full details are on our website.

The deadline is December 1, 2015.

Call for Submissions and Nonfiction Contest: Ruminate

Have you submitted to Ruminate lately? We're currently reviewing poetry, fiction, and art, and we would love to read or see yours!

Submit here.

We're also accepting entries for our Spiritual Nonfiction Prize.
Entry fee: $15.00
Deadline: Oct. 25, 2015
Award: $500

and VanderMey Nonfiction Prize.
Entry fee: $20.00 
Deadline: Dec. 15, 2015 
Award: $1500 

Send us your work!

Post MFA Fellowship: Olive B. O'connor Fellowship in Creative Writing

Colgate University invites applications for the Olive B. O'Connor Fellowship in Creative Writing. Writers of fiction and poetry who have recently completed an MFA, MA, or PhD in creative writing, and who need a year to complete their first book, are encouraged to apply. The selected writers will spend the academic year (late August 2016 to early May 2017) at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. The fellows will teach one creative writing course each semester and will give a public reading from the work in progress.

The fellowship carries a stipend of $38,500 plus travel expenses; health and life insurance are provided.

Complete applications consist of a cover letter; resume; three letters of recommendation, at least one of which should address the candidate's abilities as a teacher; and a maximum of 30 double-spaced manuscript pages of prose or 20 single-sided pages of poetry. The writing sample may be a completed work or an excerpt from something larger.

All applications must be submitted online by February 1, 2016. Colgate is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Developing and sustaining a diverse faculty, staff, and student body further the University's education mission.