Jeanne's Writing Desk

Book Competition for Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry: 2012 AWP Award Series

2012-02-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

2012 AWP Award Series Now Open for Submissions

Manuscript submissions for the 2012 AWP Award Series are now being accepted through February 29, 2012. The competition is open to all authors writing in English, and offers four awards leading to publication: the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry, the Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction, the AWP Award Series in Creative Nonfiction, and the AWP Award Series in the Novel. For information about judges,manuscript guidelines, and entry requirements, visit our website.

The Donald Hall Prize for Poetry and the Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction are made possible
by the generous support of Amazon.com.

Call for Contributors: Mythology and Modern Women Poets: Analysis, Reflection & Teaching

2012-02-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Chapters sought for:
Mythology and Modern Women Poets: Analysis, Reflection & Teaching

Book Publisher: Pending [Proposal under consideration]

Contributors needed for book chapters on modern women poets and mythology, including the following topics:
The use of myth by modern women poets
Women poets and world creation
Myths most commonly appropriated by women poets and critical commentary as to why
Critical analyses of modern women poets utilizing myth in their work, including (but certainly not limited to) the following women poets:
C. J. Burns
Audre Lorde
Anne Sexton
Louise Glück
Carol Ann Duffy
Margaret Atwood
Diane Wakoski
Hilda Doolittle (H. D.)
Joy Harjo
Judy Grahn
Lili Bita
Catherynne M. Valente
Olga Broumas
Other women poets working with aspects of mythology
Comparison/contrast of women poets whose work utilizes the same myths
The challenge of feminizing traditionally male mythological perspectives
Critical reflections on, and recommendations for, developing courses for/teaching mythology and poetry in the K-12/undergraduate/graduate/workshop levels
Critical reflection by women poets on their own creative work related to mythology
The challenge women poets face in re-visioning commonly understood myths
Other topics relevant to modern women poets and mythology

The above list is not exhaustive; prospective contributors are encouraged to be creative. The intent of this collection is to fuse, in the same volume, critical analysis with best practices for teaching topics related to modern women poets and mythology and critical reflection by women poets currently working with mythological structures.

No previously published, or simultaneously submitted material, please!

Editor Colleen S. Harris is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, author of three books of poetry, including The Kentucky Vein (Punkin House, 2011), These Terrible Sacraments (Bellowing Ark, 2010), and God in My Throat: The Lilith Poems (Bellowing Ark, 2009), and co-editor of Women on Poetry: Writing, Revising, Publishing and Teaching (McFarland, 2012). Her fourth book of poetry, Gonesongs, is forthcoming in 2013 from Bellowing Ark Press. Colleen holds an MFA degree in Writing and an MS in Library and Information Science. Her poetry has appeared in The Louisville Review, Free Verse, Wisconsin Review, River Styx, and others. Her work has been included in Library Journal, Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook (American Library Association, 2010), and Contemporary American Women: Our Defining Passages (All Things That Matter Press, 2009). Colleen works on the library faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Please send titles and abstracts for up to 3 topics for chapter topics you would like to contribute, as well as a 75-90 word author's bio. Please send in a .doc or .docx Word file attachment by April 30, 2012 using MYTH/your last name in the subject line to:

poetryandmyth(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail). You will receive a confirmation response with guidelines if your topics haven't already been taken.

Contributors should plan for each chapter to be approximately 3000 words. The due date for completed chapters will be December 7, 2012. Those included in the anthology will receive a complimentary copy as compensation.
(call also available here)

Poetry Competition: 2012 Julia Peterkin Award

2012-01-31T19:13:00.000-08:00

Submission Guidelines for the 2012 Julia Peterkin Award in Poetry

Eligibility
The 2012 Julia Peterkin Award is open to all poets. Previously published works are eligible for inclusion in the submission. Only original works in English may be submitted.

Manuscript Format Guidelines
Entries must be typed on quality paper, 8 1/2 by 11. Photocopies or copies from letter-quality printers are acceptable. Each entry should include up to 10 pages of poetry (blind submissions ), along with a cover page including the writer's name, address, daytime phone number, and titles of submission. Also include a one-paragraph biography.

Entry Requirements

A handling fee of $15 made payable to: Converse College English Department.

Deadline: February 15, 2012.

Results will be announced on the Peterkin web page in May 2012. No manuscripts can be returned.
Send one copy of the manuscript prepared according to format guidelines.
The winner will receive $1,000 and travel expenses for a reading at Converse College. Winner should be willing to read at Converse during the Fall 2012 Visiting Writers Series.
Send entries to:

The Julia Peterkin Award
Creative Writing Program
Converse College
580 E. Main Street
Spartanburg, SC 29302

Essay Competition: "Our Upper Mississippi River: Connection, Inspiration, Transformation"

2012-01-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

"Our Upper Mississippi River: Connection, Inspiration, Transformation" Essay Contest - open to adult writers who are residents of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Award: The winning essay will be published in the newsletters for Prairie Rivers Network and the 1Mississippi Campaign.

No entry fee.

Deadline: March 16, 2012. More information here.

Call for Submissions: Apple Valley Review

2012-01-31T19:05:00.000-08:00

Apple Valley Review will be reading submissions of short fiction, personal essays, and poetry for its Spring 2012 issue (Vol. 7, No. 1) until Thursday, March 15, 2012.

We prefer writing that has both mainstream and literary appeal. All work must be original, previously unpublished, and in English. Please do not submit genre fiction, explicit work, or anything particularly violent or depressing. Also, please note that we do not accept simultaneous submissions. All published work is considered for our annual editor's prize.

To submit, please send 2-6 poems or an essay/short story pasted into the body of an e-mail message to our editor at:

editor(at)leahbrowning.net (replace (at) with @).

The current issue, previous issues, subscription information, and complete submission guidelines for the Apple Valley Review are available here.

Call for Submissions: Echolocation

2012-01-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

Echolocation, the graduate literary journal housed at the University of Toronto, is pleased to announce our Call for Submissions for Issue 12.

Echolocation invites new and established writers to submit their poetry, fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and visual art. We also welcome interviews with writers, literary criticism and critical essays on any aspect of contemporary writing.

Submission Deadline: February 29, 2012

While we place no restrictions on style or content, we welcome writing that surprises us, and that unabashedly bends the rules of genres and literary traditions. Echolocation accepts only previously unpublished work. We are happy to accept simultaneous submissions, but we ask that you notify us immediately if work is accepted elsewhere.

Please send 1-5 poems and fiction/non-fiction under 10 pages. While we do accept longer pieces, shorter ones have a better chance at publication. We do blind readings: please upload your work without your name on the manuscript or file.

Submit with Submishmash.

More information about Echolocation here.

Call for Short Story Submissions: Devilfish Review

2012-01-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

Devilfish Review, a new online quarterly journal, is now accepting submissions for our first issue. Our submission box is always open, but the deadline for inclusion in our first issue is March 1st.

We take previously unpublished short fiction up to 8,000 words and flash fiction up to 800 words. Submissions of speculative fiction, fantasy, and other "genre" pieces are preferred. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please let us know if your piece is accepted elsewhere. While we have no archives yet, check out our about pages to learn more about us. We are found online here, and we take submissions through our submishmash page.

Call for 100-words Short Short: Marco Polo Arts Mag

2012-01-27T08:42:00.000-08:00

Subject: Submission Call for 100-words Short Short
Marco Polo Arts Mag

Submissions call for 100 X 100, One Hundred Short Shorts, One Hundred Words Long

Submit a short short containing 100 words, no more, no less.
The 100 stories chosen from submissions will be published online in Marco Polo Arts Mag.
Best story will be named and will win a prize: an art book, either an artist's monograph or a hardcover edition of a work such as Vitamin P2. Deadline: June 1st 2012

Only one submission per author.
Send submission to marcopoloartsmag(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Call for Submissions: Prime Number Magazine

2012-01-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

Prime Number Magazine is now reading submissions for Issue 19 and beyond. We’re looking for distinctive poetry and prose: short stories and essays up to 4,000 words; flash fiction and nonfiction up to 1,000 words; craft essays, poems, short drama, and cover art (reflecting the prime number of the issue). See our submission guidelines at Prime Number Magazine: Submit. We’re also looking for book reviews and interviews, but please query first, to Editors(at)PrimeNumberMagazine.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

To get a sense of what we’re looking for, please read the just-published Issue 17, featuring work by Gleah Powers, Daniel Meltzer, Brandon Patterson, John Carr Walker, Kat Henry, Brian Simoneau, Katherine E. Young, Kathryn Rhett, Ellen Kirschner, Jessica Erica Hahn-Taylor, Mary Alice Hostetter, and Buzz Mauro.
We have also recently published our first print annual edition of Editors’ Selections from Issues 2, 3, 5, and 7, featuring work by such writers as Kevin Wilson, Richard Wiley, Stephen J. West, Rachel Hadas, Jake Adam York, Susan Laughter Meyers, Lola Haskins, and many others.

For information on ordering and a complete list of contributors, visit our website: Prime Number Editors’ Selections.

Poetry and Prose Awards: 2012 Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards

2012-01-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

The 2012 Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards in Poetry and Prose

The Department of English at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and GRASSROOTS, SIUC's undergraduate literary magazine, are pleased to announce the 2012 Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards. One book of poetry and one book of prose (novel, short fiction, or literary nonfiction) will be selected from submissions of titles published in 2011, and the winning authors will receive an honorarium of $1000 and will present a public reading and participate in panels at the Devil's Kitchen Fall Literary Festival at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. The dates for the 2012 festival will be October 24-26, 2012. Travel and accommodations will be provided for the two winners.
Entries may be submitted by either author or publisher, and must include a copy of the book, a cover letter, a brief biography of the author including previous publications, and a $15.00 entry fee made out to "SIUC - Dept. of English." Entries must be postmarked December 1, 2011 - February 1, 2012. Materials postmarked after February 1 will be returned unopened. Because we cannot guarantee their return, all entries will become the property of the SIUC Department of English. Entrants wishing acknowledgment of receipt of materials must include a self-addressed stamped postcard.

Judges will come from the faculty of SIUC's MFA Program in Creative Writing and the award winners will be selected by the staff of GRASSROOTS. The winners will be notified in May 2012. All entrants will be notified of the results in June 2012.
The awards are open to single-author titles published in 2011 by independent, university, or commercial publishers. The winners must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must agree to attend and participate in the 2012 Devil's Kitchen Fall Literary Festival (October 24-26, 2012) to receive the award. Entries from vanity presses and self-published books are not eligible. Current students and employees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and authors published by Southern Illinois University Press are not eligible.

Send all materials to:

Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards/GRASSROOTS

Dept. of English, Mail Code 4503

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

1000 Faner Drive

Carbondale, IL 62901

(please indicate "Poetry" or "Prose" on envelope)

For further information, e-mail (replace (at) with @) or call 618-453-6833.

Fiction and Poetry Competition: The Westchester Review

2012-01-25T12:49:00.000-08:00

The Westchester Review, a literary journal dedicated to supporting and spreading the literary work of New York's Westchester County, is now accepting submissions for our first "Writers Under 30" contest. The rules are as follows:

The contest is open to writers of poetry and fiction who live, work, or study in Westchester County, N.Y., and who are under the age of 30 as of March 15, 2012. Writers who have lived, studied or worked in Westchester County in the past, but who currently do not, are also welcome to submit.

We will award a prize for fiction and another for poetry. Winners will receive $100, publication in our upcoming issue, and two copies of The Westchester Review. Runners-up will be considered for publication. The deadline is March 15, 2012. Writers can submit unpublished work of up to three poems or a short story (5000 word maximum).

Submit your work here with your name, phone and email address in a cover letter. Please write "Contest" in the subject line.

There is a $10 reading fee for each submission, which can be paid through the Pay Pal link on the "Contests" tab of our website. Please direct any inquiries about the contest to:

westchesterreview(at)gmail.com (Replace (at) with @ )

Poetry Competition for College Students: Poetry Society of New Hampshire

2012-01-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

Poetry Contest for College Students

The Poetry Society of New Hampshire is launching a small format poetry book competition open to all college undergraduates. The winning poet will receive a $100 prize and a single copy of the winning book. The initial print run will be a minimum of one hundred copies. The contest will be judged by a poet who is not a member of the society. There is no entry fee. Publication rights will revert to the author upon publication. Poems will not be returned. Please submit 12 to 20 pages of poetry with no identifying information via snail mail to:

Coordinator, Jennifer Militello
River Valley Community College
One College Drive
Claremont, NH 03743

Postmark deadline is January 30th. Please include a separate page with a brief bio, your complete contact information, a suggested title for your collection, a list of poems in your submission, and the name of the college you are attending. The winner will be announced in the spring. William Heyen will judge.

Call for Submissions: Palooka Magazine

2012-01-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

Call for Submissions!

Palooka is interested in submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, plays, graphic short stories, graphic essays, comic strips, photography, and multimedia for inclusion in issue #3 and #4. Check us out here.

Creative Nonfiction Competition: The Down Under Essay Contest

2012-01-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

The DOWN UNDER ESSAY CONTEST
Deadline: February 29, 2012
Creative Nonfiction, in association with Tashmadada, seeks new essays for a special Australia issue.

We’re looking for a variety of perspectives—from locals, expats, tourists, or anyone else—and will consider essays of all forms and focuses as long as Australia’s landscape, people, and/or culture are prominently featured; the stories are true; and submissions are previously unpublished.

Essays must be vivid and dramatic. Writing should combine a strong and compelling narrative with a significant element of research or information, and reach for some universal or deeper meaning. We’re looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice. Essays must be 4,000 words maximum and submitted by February 29, 2012.

All submissions will be judged by Lee Gutkind (USA) and Leah Kaminsky (AUS), and The Writers Conversation is sponsoring two cash prizes:

$6,500 (AUD) for Best Essay
-and-
$2,500 (AUD) for Best Essay by an Australian Writer
There will be only two contest winners, but all submissions will be considered by the judges for inclusion in Creative Nonfiction #46: Australia, which will be launched at the 2012 Melbourne Writers Festival.

For this contest, we are accepting electronic submissions only. To submit, go here.

Writing Competition: 2012 International Literary Awards

2012-01-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

2012 International Literary Awards Guidelines

Here are basic guidelines for the 2012 International Literary Awards competition.
2012 Awards Over $4,000 in prizes!

Reynolds Price Short Fiction Award for a single short story up to 5000 words
Judge: Kate Bernheimer

Rita Dove Poetry Award for a poem up to 100 lines (up to two poems per submission, any style)

Judge: Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award for a single piece of creative nonfiction, including personal essay and memoir, up to 5000 words

Judge: Sigrid Nunez

The winner in each genre will receive $1,200. The two honorable mentions in each genre will receive $150.
Competition Rules and Requirements

All entries should be mailed to
Amy Knox Brown
Director of the Salem College Center for Women Writers
601 South Church Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

Competitions are open to both women and men who write in English except Salem Academy and College employees and students. All submissions must be unpublished. Postmark deadline: February 3, 2012. Winners will be announced by May 15, 2012. The author's name and address must not appear on the manuscript.

For each entry, you must include all of the following:

--three clean typed copies of your manuscript (double space all prose entries)
--one cover sheet per entry with your name, address, telephone number, email, the genre in which you're submitting (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry), word count (for nonfiction and fiction)/ line count (for poetry), and the title of the work(s)
--a check/money order for the $15 (in US dollars) reading fee per submission, made out to the Salem College International Literary Awards; and an optional SASE for notification of winners.

For further information, visit www.salem.edu/go/cww; or email:

cww(at)salem.edu (replace (at) with @);

or contact Amy Knox Brown,
Director of the Salem College Center for Women Writers
601 South Church Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

No phone calls, please.

Short Fiction Book Competition: OSU Prize

2012-01-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

2012 The Ohio State University Prize in Short Fiction
Sponsored by The Ohio State University Press and the MFA Program in Creative Writing at The Ohio State University

Rules
This annual award is given to the manuscript collection of short fiction selected by an independent judge to be the best submitted. The winning author will receive publication under a standard book contract that includes a cash prize of $1,500 as an advance against royalties. The winner and finalists will be announced before June 30, 2012.
Eligibility Requirements

Submissions may include short stories, novellas, or a combination of both (but a single novella is not an eligible submission).
The competition is open to all writers in English.
Previously published stories or novellas may be included in the manuscript.
Current students and employees of The Ohio State University are ineligible.
Manuscripts must be between 150 and 300 typed pages (approx. 40,000 to 80,000 words).
Individual stories or novellas in the collection may not exceed 125 pages (approx. 35,000 words).
No translations unless done entirely by the author.

Submission Format

Manuscripts must be typed, double-spaced, on quality white 8 1/2" x 11" paper, 250–300 words per page, one side only, pages numbered consecutively.
Crisp photocopies are acceptable.
Your identity is not revealed to the judges, so your name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Instead, please include the following with your submission:

a cover sheet with name, street and email address, and phone numbers
an acknowledgement page with publication history for any previously published work
a title page listing title and approx. word count
a table of contents page listing only the stories and/or novellas and page numbers

Include a self-addressed stamped envelope so we can notify you of the contest results.
Include a self-addressed stamped postcard if you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your manuscript.
OSU Press assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged manuscripts.
Do not send your only copy. Manuscripts will not be returned.

Deadline information
Manuscripts must be postmarked in the month of January and be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of $20 (U.S. dollars). Send check or money order (no cash) made payable to The Ohio State University.

Mail to:

Fiction Editor
The Ohio State University Press
180 Pressey Hall
1070 Carmack Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1002

Call for Poetry Submissions: Two Hundred New Mexico Poems

2012-01-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

Two-hundred New Mexico Poems, a blog celebrating New Mexico's centennial through poetry, is now accepting previously unpublished submissions of poetry.

Send 1-3 poems of 40 lines or fewer which focus on the Land of Enchantment. Suitable themes include: New Mexico history (especially between the years of 1912 and 2012), environment and place, culture, and personal significance of the region. Poems may be formal or free verse and utilize narrative or lyric voice. Submissions are open to all poets regardless of residence, just as long as the poems are clearly connected to New Mexico. Poems written in Spanish will be considered as long as they are accompanied by an accurate English translation. Submissions are open until 200 poems have been selected.

Please send unpublished work. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know if your poem(s) has been accepted elsewhere.

Please do not send multiple submissions. Wait until you hear from us about your manuscript before sending additional poems. Submissions which do no meet minimum criteria will not be considered.

Email your typed submissions with line count for each poem and 50 word bio as a
word document to:

200nmpoems(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @).
Include name in subject line.

Our website.

Writing Competition: "Intimate Landscape," Open to Interpretation Book Project

2012-01-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

"Intimate Landscape" Juried Writing Competition

Open to Interpretation is now calling on writers to submit images for consideration in a juried book competition.

Project Details

Open to Interpretation is a collaborative book project bringing together photographers, poets and writers. Each book begins with a themed call for photos. The chosen photos become the literary inspiration for the writers' submissions. A book is created that matches each winning photo with two stories or poems that offer different interpretations of the image. The unique collaboration adds new dimensions to both the photos and the written word.

Book Title: Open to interpretation

Theme: Intimate Landscape

Judge: Patrick Thomas, Editor + Program Manager at Milkweed Editions

Submission Fee: $10 per entry

Deadline for Submission: March 29, 2012

Results Announced: April 19, 2012

Awards

$300 Judge's Selection Award

Judge

Patrick Thomas is the editor and program manager at Milkweed Editions. As an editor, his work focuses on acquisitions that consider our relationship to the more-than-human world. As program manger, he works to find the best way to bring literary art to the widest possible audience. He lives in Minneapolis, MN.

For further details go here.

Fiction Competition: Elephant Talk Indie Music Magazine

2012-01-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

Elephant Talk to Hold Writing Contest

Elephant Talk Indie Music Magazine will hold its first short fiction writing competition starting in January of 2012. We are looking for the best stories under 10,000 words in which music plays a role—whether it be a character that is a musician, a scene at a venue, a dialogue at a music shop, a trip to a record store, or anything else music related.

Submissions will be accepted from Jan 1 until March 31. Multiple submissions will be accepted. Simultaneous submissions will not.

Pieces will be judged by Elephant Talk founder Jerry Ryan, editor John Arthur, and contributing writer Cris G.S. The winning piece will be announced in April. For information about the judges, see their bios at the bottom of this page.

The winning story will be published on Elephant Talk’s blog and the winning writer will win a prize package that includes a lifetime pass to all Elephant Talk events, Elephant Talk posters, and CDs and records by bands that have performed at an Elephant Talk event.

Guidelines:

All submissions must be emailed to:

elephanttalksubmissions(at)gmail(dot)com (Please change (at) to @ and (dot) to .)

Please write SUBMISSION in the subject field of your email, followed by the title of your story in quotes. Include the story in the body of the email as well as in a PDF, word file, or RTF attachment. Include brief biographical information at the top of the email. Stories that have previously been published will not be considered.

Judges:

Jerry Ryan founded Elephant Talk Indie Music Magazine in 2009 and has organized an annual music festival in Atlantic City for the past two years, as well as other Elephant Talk sponsored events around New Jersey. The Elephant Talk blog was launched in late 2011, and plans for print editions of Elephant Talk magazine are in the works.

John Arthur works as a news editor and freelance journalist. He also edits Elephant Talk’s blog, plays in a band called The Deafening Colors, and writes fiction in his spare time. His short stories have appeared in Corium Magazine and Rewrites Literary Magazine.

Cris G.S. plays guitar in the band The Deafening Colors and is a writing and English teacher at an undisclosed high school somewhere in New Jersey. His band has released two EPs, and will release its first full-length, “Upstairs,” in 2012.

Poetry Competition: The Country Dog Review

2012-01-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

The Country Dog Review, an online journal of poetry and poetry book reviews, is now accepting submissions for its first annual poetry contest, The Argos Prize, named in honor of Odysseus's faithful dog. This year's contest will be judged by Kate Northrop. The winner receives $500 and publication in the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of The Country Dog Review.

The entry fee is $10 for three poems, and the postmark deadline is April 15. Please include a cover letter with your entry, and remove all identifying information from your manuscript. In the cover letter, please include your name, address, phone number, email address, and bio. Make checks payable to The Country Dog Review.

Submissions must be unpublished. We accept simultaneous submissions, but if a submitted poem is accepted elsewhere for publication, you must let us know immediately. Entry fees cannot be refunded.

Multiple submissions with corresponding fees will be accepted. All entries will be considered for publication.

Winner will be announced in May.

Send submissions to:

Attn: Danielle Sellers
The Country Dog Review
P.O. Box 1476
Oxford, MS 38655

For more information, please visit our website.

Wisconsin Writers Awards

2012-01-11T09:36:00.000-08:00

Wisconsin Writers Awards for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published in 2011.

POSTMARK DEADLINE is January 31, 2012, for the Wisconsin Writers Awards for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published in 2011. Submit published work in the categories of book-length fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; short fiction and nonfiction; a set of five poems; or children's literature. Authors must be current Wisconsin residents.

The entry fee is $20.

Out-of-state judges make the selection. First place winners in each category receive $500 and a week-long writing residency at Shake Rag Alley or Maplewood Lodge in Mineral Point. See our website for additional information and entry forms.

Nominations are also open for the $500 Christopher Sholes Award, given to recognize a Wisconsin resident or organization for outstanding encouragement of Wisconsin writers. The Council for Wisconsin Writers is a nonprofit organization devoted to celebrating the accomplishments of published Wisconsin writers and nurturing an appreciation of Wisconsin writing.

Call for Submissions: The Destroyer

2012-01-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

The Destroyer, a biannual online publication, is currently looking for poetry, innovative prose, texts with no determinate genre, video, and audio. We are also seeking to publish public opinion pieces by established writers and civic journalists in our section The Vent. Current contributors include Joshua Marie Wilkinson, Amaranth Borsuk, Brandon Downing, and Joe Hall. Please visit our website for submission guidelines.

Poetry Competition: Poetry of the Sacred

2012-01-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

Accepting Submissions for the Poetry of the Sacred 2012 Contest
Deadline January 31, 2012
The Annual Poetry of the Sacred contest is now accepting submissions. The guidelines follow:

First Prize, $500; Three Honorable Mention Prizes, $100 each.
Winning Poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of scholarly articles about noted spiritual leader Thomas Merton and will be posted on the Merton Institute website.
Only ONE unpublished poem type written in English may be submitted per poet.

Please limit the poem to no more than 100 lines.

Type your name, address, phone number, email address, and the title of your poem on a cover page.

Submit your poem on a page with no identifying information. Place all identifying information on your cover page. Include a submission fee of $15.00 with the poem.
Poems will not be accepted via email. The poem must be sent via through the postal service.

Deadline to submit poems is January 31, 2012.

Submit poem to:
The Poetry of the Sacred Contest, The Merton Institute
415 West Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Louisville, KY 40202

Include the $15 submission fee payable to The Merton Institute.

No poems will be returned.

Poems will be judged on literary excellence, spiritual tenor, and human authenticity.
Winners will be announced by April 1, 2012. Please visit the Institute website for contest results.

All contestants will be notified via email of the contest results.

The mission of the Merton Institute for Contemplative Living is to awaken an interest in and deepen the understanding of contemplative living through the works of Thomas Merton and other spiritual masters.

Call for Submissions from American and Swedish Writers: Rufous Press

2012-01-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

CALLING ALL AMERICAN AND SWEDISH WRITERS!

Rufous Press will publish an anthology of contemporary writers from the United States and Sweden. The book will be available worldwide as a paperback. It will be called Over Yonder.

We editors believe that there are many interesting parallels and differences between these countries. Americans do not need to have Swedish ancestry to participate in the project, of course.

We are looking for poetry, short stories and flash fiction. There is no particular theme, despite the Swedish/American focus. Yet, we are looking for work that is chiselled, concise and vibrant. All texts should be written in English. The deadline is 30 January 2012.

How to Submit:

Poetry: 1-3 pieces in the body of an email. Visual poetry or images with integrated poems should be in black and white and in the jpg. format.

Short short stories or short stories: 1 piece as a Word/Works attachment.
Include your full name and a short bio (10-60 words) in the third person. Mark the email as “American/Swedish” and indicate whether you are submitting poetry or fiction. We do not consider previously published material or simultaneous submissions. All rights remain with the creators. However, Rufous Salon and Rufous Press will claim the rights to archive links to the publication.

We will not read submissions that do not follow these guidelines!

Please send your submission to:
journal(at)rufoussalon.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Jenny & Ande (the editors)
For more information, please visit our website.

Call for Winter Maine Fiction: Portland Magazine

2012-01-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

Call for Winter Maine Fiction

Maine's award-winning magazine, Portland Magazine, seeks Maine-based fiction. What we publish often reflects the seasons, so we are currently looking for winter-based stories. For consideration, send us your unpublished, original story of 400-1500 words.

Visit our website to get a better feel for the magazine. Due to the number of submissions,
please do not follow-up on your submission. We'll reply in 1-5 months.

Send all submissions to:
david(at)portlandmonthly.com (replace (at) with @) and please include a very brief bio.

Flash Contest: Switchback

2012-01-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

FLASH CONTEST:
Each month Switchback provides a prompt and we want you to send us your best work inspired by that prompt. The winning entry as decided by our editors will be featured on Switchback. Contest submissions can be poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or even art but must be 500 words or under. Please send us only one submission per prompt and only previously unpublished works. We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us immediately of acceptance elsewhere. Make sure your name DOES NOT appear on the submission itself. The deadline for submissions is 5:00 pm on the last day of the month.
The January prompt is: "No, that's not funny."
LITERARY REVIEWS:
Switchback publishes reviews of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We greatly prefer reviews of lesser reviewed books or works from small presses published within the last two years. Reviews should be unpublished and run between 500-1500 words. In your cover letter please specify to which genre editor the review should be directed.

Switchback is a publication of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program of the University of San Francisco. For more information visit Switchback online.

Holiday Greetings to All!

2011-12-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

and

Call for Science Fiction Submissions: LQQK

2011-12-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

LQQK Magazine is a new science fiction magazine currently looking for new writers. We are interested in stories that speculate about the future of contemporary phenomena like social networking, mobile devices, filesharing, hacking, and online lifestyles. We are also interested in far-out, surrealist, or anarchic stories in general, with or without lulz. Full submission guidelines can be found here.

Short Story Competition: Gemini Magazine

2011-12-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

Gemini Magazine is pleased to announce its 2012 Short Story Contest featuring a grand prize of $1,000.

Absolutely no restrictions on content, style, genre or length--just send your best. Second place wins $100 and there will also be three honorable mentions. All five finalists will be published online in the June 2012 issue of Gemini.

Entry fee: $4. Deadline: March 31, 2012. Full details here.

Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry Competition: Cutbank

2011-12-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

CutBank is proud to announce our call for submissions to our annual Montana Prize in Fiction, Montana Prize in Creative Non-Fiction, and the Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry!

Submissions have already begun, but the contests run through Feb 29, 2012. Winners receive $500 and publication in CutBank 77. All submissions will be considered for publication in CutBank. The contests' $17 entry fee includes a one-year, two-issue subscription to CutBank, beginning with the prize issue, CutBank 77.

Please send only your best work. With all three of these awards, we are seeking to highlight work that showcases an authentic voice, a boldness of form, and a rejection of functional fixedness. For more information, guidelines, and to apply, visit our website.

Our judges this year are the following:

Montana Prize in Fiction: Benjamin Percy
Montana Prize in Creative Non-Fiction: Eula Biss
Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry: Bhanu Kapil

Judges' bios as follows!

2012 Montana Prize in Fiction, Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry

Montana Prize in Fiction Judge – Benjamin Percy

Ben teaches in the MFA program at Iowa State University and at the Low-Res MFA program at Pacific University. He has also taught as guest faculty at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and regularly lectures at conferences and universities around the country. He is the author of two novels, Red Moon (forthcoming from Grand Central / Hachette in 2012), The Wilding (Graywolf, 2010), and two books of short stories, Refresh, Refresh (Graywolf, 2007) and The Language of Elk (Carnegie Mellon, 2006). His fiction and nonfiction have been read on National Public Radio, performed at Symphony Space, and published by Esquire, GQ, Men's Journal, Outside, Paris Review, Chicago Tribune, Glimmer Train, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. When he isn't hunched over the keyboard, hammering out stories, Ben enjoys hiking, canoeing, fishing, skiing, and throwing back a few pints with friends and family. He lives in Ames, Iowa, with his wife and two children.

Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction Judge – Eula Biss

Eula Biss holds a BA in nonfiction writing from Hampshire College and an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa. Her second book, Notes from No Man's Land, received the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. Her work has also been recognized by a Pushcart Prize, a Jaffe Writers' Award, and a 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library. She teaches writing at Northwestern University and is working on a new book about myth and metaphor in medicine with the support of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Howard Foundation Fellowship. Her essays have recently appeared in The Best American Nonrequired Reading, The Best Creative Nonfiction and the Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Nonfiction as well as in The Believer, Gulf Coast, Columbia, Ninth Letter, the North American Review, the Bellingham Review, the Seneca Review, and Harper's.

Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry Judge – Bhanu Kapil

Bhanu Kapil lives in Colorado where she teaches writing and thinking at Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, as well as Goddard College’s low-residency MFA. She has written four full-length cross-genre works--The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers (Kelsey Street Press, 2001), Incubation: a space for monsters (Leon Works, 2006), humanimal [a project for future children] (Kelsey Street Press, 2009), and Schizophrene (forthcoming, Nightboat Books).

Fiction Competition: 2012 Ohio State University Prize in Short Fiction

2011-12-20T20:37:00.000-08:00

2012 The Ohio State University Prize in Short Fiction
Sponsored by The Ohio State University Press and the MFA Program in Creative Writing at The Ohio State University

Rules
This annual award is given to the manuscript collection of short fiction selected by an independent judge to be the best submitted. The winning author will receive publication under a standard book contract that includes a cash prize of $1,500 as an advance against royalties. The winner and finalists will be announced before June 30, 2012.

Eligibility Requirements
Submissions may include short stories, novellas, or a combination of both (but a single novella is not an eligible submission).
The competition is open to all writers in English.
Previously published stories or novellas may be included in the manuscript.
Current students and employees of The Ohio State University are ineligible.
Manuscripts must be between 150 and 300 typed pages (approx. 40,000 to 80,000 words).
Individual stories or novellas in the collection may not exceed 125 pages (approx. 35,000 words).
No translations unless done entirely by the author.

Submission Format
Manuscripts must be typed, double-spaced, on quality white 8 1/2" x 11" paper, 250-300 words per page, one side only, pages numbered consecutively.
Crisp photocopies are acceptable.
Your identity is not revealed to the judges, so your name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript.

Instead, please include the following with your submission:

a cover sheet with name, street and email address, and phone numbers
an acknowledgement page with publication history for any previously published work
a title page listing title and approx. word count
a table of contents page listing only the stories and/or novellas and page numbers

Include a self-addressed stamped envelope so we can notify you of the contest results.
Include a self-addressed stamped postcard if you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your manuscript.
OSU Press assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged manuscripts.
Do not send your only copy. Manuscripts will not be returned.
Deadline information
Manuscripts must be postmarked in the month of January and be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of $20 (U.S. dollars). Send check or money order (no cash) made payable to The Ohio State University.

Mail to:
Fiction Editor
The Ohio State University Press
180 Pressey Hall
1070 Carmack Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1002

Call for Submissions: 2012 Holiday Anthology

2011-12-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR A HOLIDAY ANTHOLOGY

Imagine your favorite holiday stories. Chances are good the protagonists are a man and a woman, possibly even with children. But where are the stories that feature men together, or women together, that will also warm our hearts at this special season?

That’s where you come in. We’re collecting holiday stories for two anthologies, one featuring male protagonists/couples/families, the other featuring female protagonists/couples/families, and we’d like to hear from you!

Your story should run between 2,000 and 4,000 words, contain no erotica, and be in a winter holiday setting. The only requirement is that it be historical fiction. We’re looking for tomorrow’s classics in time for next year’s holiday season!

Pay will depend on securing a publisher and will be negotiated at that time for accepted stories. Deadline is June 15, 2012, but the earlier, the better.

Send Word docs to Jeannette de Beauvoir.

E-mail:
angevine(at)aya.yale.edu (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Call for Submissions: Kweli Journal

2011-12-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

Kweli Journal, an online literary journal that celebrates the shared cultural experience of people of color, is currently seeking literature of occupation for its January 2012 social justice issue. The Occupy Movement is a national movement of men and women from all races, backgrounds, and religions with the shared goal of ending corporate greed from the wealthiest 1%. Kweli Journal invites submissions of short stories, poetry, and essays that bear witness to the day to day realities and frustrations of the 99%, poor working class and middle class folks living on the edge.

Recent issues of Kweli have featured the work of Jennine Capó Crucet and Amaud Jamaul Johnson. Upcoming issues of the journal will feature Camille Dungy, Aaron Michael Morales and Neela Vaswani.

Kweli will accept submissions for the Literature of Occupation Call from November 19, 2011 to January 7, 2012. Any submissions received after this deadline will not be considered and will be discarded.

For prose submissions, submit one (1) short story or one (1) self-contained novel excerpt or creative non-fiction piece of no more than 7,000 words in one single file in doc., rtf, or .pdf format.

For poetry submissions, submit up to three poems totaling no more than 6 pages in one single file in doc., rtf, or .pdf format.

Submit your work here.

Payment is upon publication.
Sincerely,Kweli Journal

Call for Submissions: Rio Grande Review

2011-12-16T18:57:00.000-08:00

Last issue’s themed was The Apocalypse. Our purpose was to examine the meaning of the word in relation to what is happening in the world today. We received many magnificent submissions.

For the Spring 2012 issue we are extending that idea to include the aftermath that occurs after this great change. Entitled the Rebirth Issue, it will explore the rebuilding of the material, mental and literary landscape.

The DEADLINE for submissions for the Spring 2012 Rio Grande Review issue is Friday February 10th 2012.

Submission Guidelines:

Rio Grande Review is a Bilingual Journal and accepts submissions in both English and Spanish.

Only 3 submissions per person. We accept POETRY, SHORT STORIES, NONFICTION, and ORIGINAL ARTWORK.

SHORT STORIES, NONFICTION should be no longer than 4,000 words.

Please include a brief biography with your submission (1-4 sentences maximum).

We do not accept simultaneous submissions.

Please attach a Word document and send to:
rgreditors(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Fiction Competition: Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize

2011-12-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

NORTH CAROLINA—The North Carolina Writers' Network is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize. This annual award is administered by poet Anthony S. Abbott, the Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of English at Davidson College in Davidson, NC.

The Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize honors internationally celebrated North Carolina novelist Thomas Wolfe. on. The winner receives $1,000 and possible publication in The Thomas Wolfe Review. The competition is open to all writers regardless of geographical location or prior publication. The postmark deadline is January 30, 2012.

Acclaimed author Josephine Humphreys will serve as the final judge. Humphreys is a recipient of an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is the author of Dreams of Sleep (winner of the 1985 Ernest Hemingway Award for first fiction), Rich in Love, The Fireman's Fair, and Nowhere Else on Earth. She lives with her husband on Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, South Carolina.

The 2012 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize
Postmark deadline: January 30 (annual)
Submissions accepted: December 1 – January 30

Eligibility and Guidelines:

The competition is open to all writers regardless of geographical location or prior publication. Submit two copies of an unpublished fiction manuscript not to exceed 12 double-spaced pages (1" margins, 12-pt. font).

Author's name should not appear on manuscripts. Instead, include a separate cover sheet with name, address, phone number, e-mail address, word count, and manuscript title.

An entry fee must accompany the manuscript: $15 for NCWN members, $25 for nonmembers. Checks should be made payable to the North Carolina Writers' Network. You may pay the member entry fee if you join the NCWN with your submission. Checks should be made payable to the North Carolina Writers’ Network.

Entries will not be returned.

The winner is announced each April.

Send submission to:

Professor Anthony S. Abbott
PO Box 7096
Davidson College
Davidson, NC 28035

2011 saw the highest number of submissions in the history of the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize. Winner Kristin Fitzpatrick of Alameda, California, took home the $1,000 purse.

The nonprofit North Carolina Writers’ Network is the state’s oldest and largest literary arts services organization devoted to writers at all stages of development. For additional information, go here.

Fiction Competition: Escape Into Life

2011-12-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Escape Into Life is excited to announce its First Annual Fiction Contest, judged by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler.

In addition to cash prizes, five finalists will receive works by Escape Into Life artists and have their stories nominated for at least one nationally recognized award in 2012 (Best American, Pushcart, O'Henry, Story South, or Sundress). This strikes us a great opportunity for both established and emerging author.

You'll find more information here.

Call for anthology submissions: Submitted: Women Finding and Leaving Extreme Religion

2011-12-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

The anthology, Submitted: Women Finding and Leaving Extreme Religion (to be published by Seal Press in Spring, 2013), will chronicle the lives of women from a variety of restrictive religious backgrounds who chose a religious path only to eventually reject it or alter it in whole or in part.

We are seeking contributions from women of all faiths, as well as all ages and backgrounds. The book explores, through story, the questions of how and why women choose to get involved in rigid religion, what keeps them invested, and then how and why they leave (and what they miss---or don't---once they're gone).
Each story included should explore one of the following:
--the getting IN
--the staying IN
--the getting OUT
Themes might include food, modesty, religious meetings, holidays, work, children, clothing, secrets, converting others, prayer, or marriage/sex.

The book will be divided into three parts: Conversion, Life Inside, and Leaving.

Submissions should be 2500-3000 words in length.

For more information and to submit your work go to our website.

Call for Submissions: Pegasus

2011-12-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Pegasus, the literary magazine at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, invites submissions of poetry, short fiction (flash fiction welcome), creative nonfiction, artwork and photography for the upcoming spring 2012 issue. The submission deadline is February 29, 2012.

Pegasus is an award-winning regional journal that publishes writers enrolled in Georgia high schools or Georgia colleges and universities. Submissions by other writers will be ignored.

Pegasus accepts electronic submissions only. Please see our website for full submission guidelines.

Submissions not following stated guidelines will be ignored.

Call for Submissions: Switchback

2011-12-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

Each month Switchback will provide a prompt and we want you to send us your best work inspired by that prompt. The winning entry as decided by our editors will be featured on Switchback. Contest submissions can be poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or even art but must be 500 words or under. Please send us only one submission per prompt and only previously unpublished works. We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us immediately of acceptance elsewhere. Make sure your name DOES NOT appear on the submission itself. The deadline for submissions is 5:00 pm on the last day of the month.

The December prompt is: "They realized they were not alone."

For information on how to submit, please visit our website.

Writing Scholarships: Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway

2011-11-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and Murphy Writing Seminars Present 19th Annual WINTER POETRY & PROSE GETAWAY
With Special Guest Stephen Dunn
January 13-16, 2012

Several scholarships are being offered for first-time participants of the 19th Annual WINTER POETRY & PROSE GETAWAY, January 13-16, 2012, at Seaview.

The Jan-ai Scholarship will sponsor two poets, writers or song writers between the ages of 18 - 30 who are residents of NJ, NY or PA. Deadline: December 1, 2011.

Winners may choose from workshops in poetry, including a special advanced section with Stephen Dunn, Beginning Your Novel, Children's Market, Writing and Publishing Your Fiction, Memoir, Creative Nonfiction and more.

The conference also includes talks, receptions, open mics, optional tutorials, a bookstore café, sunrise yoga and dancing at the Getaway Disco.

To learn more please visit our site.

Call for Poetry Submissions: Phantom Limb Press

2011-11-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

PHANTOM LIMB is a new online poetry journal. We are dedicated to publishing poetry from all types of poets: new, emerging and established.

Please submit by June 1, 2012.

For more information and submission guidelines, visit our site.

phantomlimbpress(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending email)

Call for Submissions: CavanKerry Press

2011-11-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

CavanKerry Press will be having an open submission period from January 1-31, 2012 for its Laurel Books imprint.

LAURELBOOKS are collections of poetry or prose memoirs that explore in depth poignant and critical issues associated with personally confronting serious and life-threatening physical or psychological illness. CavanKerry seeks work written from a personal perspective by the individual who has experienced the illness or by the individual personally and deeply involved with the person who suffered from the illness.

For more information go here. Click on Submissions.

Call for Submissions: The Indian River Review

2011-11-21T16:37:00.000-08:00

The Indian River Review is currently soliciting submissions for itsinaugural issue slated for publication in late spring 2012. The theme for this issue is "Time and Place." The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2012. Genres include short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, critical essays, black and white photography, and book reviews.

All work is peer reviewed. The journal accepts only electronic submissions, no hard copies. Do not send simultaneous submissions. Please follow the requirements listed below for all submissions:

Send short fiction attachments to:
hraulers(at)irsc.edu

Send poetry and photography attachments to:
ariddles(at)irsc.edu

Send creative non-fiction attachments to:
dhoey(at)irsc.edu

Send critical essays and book review attachments to:
tpowley(at)irsc.edu
(replace (at) with @ in all sent e-mail submissions)

Text-based submissions must use 12 point font and MLA format. Short fiction, creative non-fiction, and critical essays are limited to 4,000 words. Book reviews are limited to 1,000 words. Send no more than 5 submissions for poetry or photographic pieces. Text files must be sent as .doc, .docx, or .rtf email attachments. Photography files must be sent as .tiff or .jpg email attachments.

In your email, make sure to include your full name, phone number, address, institutional affiliation (if you have one), and the title(s) of the work you submit.

Payment upon publication will include one copy of The Indian River Review. Accepted authors will receive a discounted rate (not including shipping charges) for additional copies.

For more information, please go here.

Poetry and Fiction Competition: REAL

2011-11-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

REAL: Regarding Arts and Letters, the literary journal at Stephen F. Austin State University, has extended the deadlines for the Larry D. Thomas Prize for Poetry and the William J. Stuckey Memorial Prize for Fiction. These are two great opportunities for young writers looking to pick up a publication. The new deadline is December 31, 2011.

The Larry D. Thomas Prize for Poetry
$500 Prize and publication
Entry fee: $10 for up to 3 poems

The William J. Stuckey Memorial Prize for Fiction
$500 Prize and publication
Entry Fee: $10 per story up to 4000 words
Entrant must attend a creative writing program (BFA, MA, MFA, Ph.D.)

Deadline:
December 31, 2011

All entrants receive a year's subscription.

Make checks payable to REAL, and send them to:

Andrew Brininstool, Editor
REAL: Regarding Arts & Letters
Stephen F. Austin State University
P.O. Box 13007, SFA Station
Nacogdoches, TX 75962-3007

For more information, email us: reallitmag(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @)

Call for Submissions on Widowhood: Silver Boomer Books

2011-11-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

Silver Boomer Books seeks submissions for an anthology on the widowhood experience. We are interested in all aspects of widowhood—grief, memories, glitches, triumphs. Either prose or poetry is acceptable. You can even send a 6-word memoir if you like. Submissions will be read between December 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012.

Visit our website and click on Call for Submissions for additional information.

Writing Competition: Unstuck

2011-11-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Unstuck Contest (No Fee)

To celebrate the upcoming release of the first issue of Unstuck, we're holding a fee-free contest with some unusual prizes. This is a micro-lit contest; we'll consider miniature stories, miniature essays, and poems.

Entry fee: $0, natch, although the contest is open only to our Twitter followers.

Last day entries will be accepted: December 31, 2011.

Theme: Lovemarks

While your submission should respond in some way to this prompt, we encourage you to be imaginative in your interpretation of the theme. (Be sure to click the hyperlink above if the term "lovemark" is unfamiliar to you.) One caveat: while we're theoretically open to anything, we would prefer that you didn't submit an ad parody.
Acceptable genres: fiction; poetry; non-fiction.

More info here.

Call for Submissions: Vinyl Poetry

2011-11-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

We are now open to unsolicited submissions through our submission manager.
Submissions for Volume 5 are open from November 1, 2011 to December 1, 2011.

Poetry: submit 4-8 unpublished poems.
Fiction: submit a handful of flash pieces or a single short story totaling not more than 15 double-spaced pages of unpublished work.
Mixed Genre: not more than 15 double-spaced pages of whatever it is.
Grocery List: you decide the boundaries - make it interesting.

Regarding bios: we don’t care about those until we have accepted pieces. At that point we will give you all the props you deserve.

Simultaneous submissions are fine, of course. Just let us know at kmasullivan [at] yesyesbooks [dot] com if a portion of your submission needs to be withdrawn due to acceptance elsewhere.

Submit your work here. Good luck!

Fiction and Poetry Competitions: Yalobusha Review

2011-11-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

Yalobusha Review's Barry Hannah Fiction Prize and Yellowwood Poetry Prize are now open to submissions with a deadline of November 30, 2011.

This year's judges are William Gay (The Long Home, Provinces Of Night, I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down, Twilight) and Sandra Beasley (Theories Of Falling, I Was The Jukebox, Don't Kill The Birthday Girl).

Yalobusha Review is also accepting submissions of original work for its next issue, YR: 17. The deadline is November 15, 2011. We are looking for poems, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art.

Please visit the YR website for details.

Artists' Residency and Fellowship: Fine Arts Work Center

2011-11-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Fellowships at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts

For the last forty years, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown has run the largest and longest residency Fellowship in the United States for emerging visual artists and writers. Artists who have not had significant recognition for their work and 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 -May 1) 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 visual arts Fellows include Ellen Gallagher, Jack Pierson, Lisa Yuskavage, Angela Dufresne, Geoffrey Chadsey, and Lamar Peterson. Former writing Fellows 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, and Yusef Komunyakaa.

The postmark deadline for the 2012-13 Writing Fellowships is December 1, 2011.

For details, please visit our website.

Call for Submissions: damselfly press

2011-11-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

damselfly press, an online literary journal for women, is pleased to announce our seventeenth issue.

We are seeking electronic submissions of original fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by female writers only. Our eighteenth issue will be available January 15, 2012. If you'd like to submit, please visit our guidelines.

Send us your submission by December 15th, 2011.

These are the e-mails per genre editor:

Fiction- jennifer(at)damselflypress.net (replace (at) with @)

Poetry- lesley(at)damselflypress.net

Nonfiction- nonfiction(at)damselflypress.net

Call for Maine Fiction: Portland Magazine

2011-11-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

Call for Maine Fiction

Maine's award-winning magazine, Portland Magazine, seeks Maine-based fiction. For consideration, send us your unpublished, original story of 600-1500 words. Visit our website to get a better feel for the magazine. Due to the number of submissions, please do not follow-up on your submission. We'll reply in 1-5 months.

Send all submissions to:

david(at)portlandmonthly.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail), and please include a very brief bio.

Call for Submissions: Switchback

2011-11-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Each month SWITCHBACK will provide a prompt and we want you to send us your best work inspired by that prompt. The winning entry as decided by our editors will be featured on SWITCHBACK.

The November prompt is: "Nobody ever knows anything for a fact."

• Contest submissions can be poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or even art.
• Submissions must be 500 words or under.
• Please send us only one submission per prompt.
• Please submit only previously unpublished works.
• We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us immediately of acceptance elsewhere.
• Make sure your name DOES NOT appear on the submission itself.
• The deadline for submissions is the last day of the month.

Visit our website for more information.

Call for Submissions: A Handful of Dust (H.O.D.)

2011-11-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

With its 5th Issue just published H.O.D. (A Handful Of Dust) announces it is currently accepting submissions of UNPUBLISHED writing for Issue Issue #6 (02/14/2011) and Issue #7 (06/2?/2012). H.O.D. is mainly looking for UNPUBLISHED grit-lit poetry and short-short-short fiction/prose poetry (200 words--1-2 paragraphs preferred) submitted in the body of an e-mail.

Cut off date for #6 will be January 15th or so, but all submissions will be considered for either issue. While the dates of the next issues (Valentine's Day and The First Day Of Summer) may suggest themes, H.O.D. will consider any subject and style, even poems about eating leftover chocolate hearts on your summer vacation.

H.O.D. asks that you send 3-5 UNPUBLISHED poems in the body of an e-mail:

h.o.d.submissions(at)gmail.com(replace (at) with @) no attachments. No Attachments. NO ATTACHMENTS. I make sure each poem is accurate when it goes to publish.

H.O.D. is also seeking artwork for future issues. Black & White photography preferred. Gritty subject matter a plus. PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED OKAY, just let me know who and when. Submit 3 pieces to:

h.o.d.submissions(at)gmail.com

Low-res .jpeg Attachments preferred. If interested, H.O.D. will request higher-res copies.

Website. E-mail: h.o.d.submissions(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Call for Submissions: Tech Support Stories

2011-11-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Call for Submissions
Sometimes, tech support requires more patience than what’s in the job description. For an anthology of humorous tech support stories, the editors seek quality non-fiction accounts of bizarre requests, inane questions, and pitiful pleas for help untangling technology.

Entries should be between 500 and 1500 words. The anthology will be published in e-book format, and authors may appear anonymously if so desired. Preference will be given to stories involving face-to-face tech support rather than support given over the phone.

To submit a story for consideration, email your entry as a MS Word, RTF, or Open Office document to:

usererror(at)nicomachus.net (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Please include your name and contact information (phone number and preferred email address) as well as a brief description of your job responsibilities (e.g. network administration for a large health insurance provider; end-user support for a major research university) in the body of the email.

Submission deadline January 31, 2012.

Poetry Chapbook Competition: Omnidawn

2011-11-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Omnidawn's OPEN BOOK Poetry Contest

Winner receives $3,000, publication, and 100 copies.

Accepting electronic & postal submissions August 1 - November 15, 2011.

Carl Phillips will judge.

Entry fee: $25.00

All entrants with a U.S. mailing address who pay an extra $3 to cover shipping costs will be mailed a copy of any Omnidawn book of their choice, or a copy of the winning book when it is published. A complete list of all current Omnidawn titles is available here.

For full details about all three of Omnidawn's Poetry Contests (current & future) click here.

Writing Residency: 2012 Baltic Writing Residency

2011-10-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

Accepting applications for the 2012 Baltic Writing Residency through December 15th, 2011. Applications can be sent via submishmash or through the post.

The BWR is a funded month-long, annual summer residency in Riga, Latvia for poets, playwrights, and writers of fiction working in English. Though, neither the writer nor their project need be connected with Latvia.

Both emerging and established writers are encouraged to apply. Recent finalists and winners range from those who have yet to conceive of their first manuscripts, to writers who have been finalists for the National Book Award and numbered in the New Yorker's "20 Under 40".

Joshua Cohen, last year's resident, is author of the trio of novellas, Emission, which will be published by Graywolf in 2012. He is the author of the 800-page story of the Last Jew, Witz, named one of the 10 best books of 2010 by the Village Voice. Previous winners include Salvatore Scibona, Emma Jones, and Amity Gaige.

Spouses and partners are welcome to accompany the winning writer on the residency. Details about the residency, about Riga, and about the application process can be found on the website.

Poetry Competition: Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award

2011-10-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
$1000 Prize

Judge: A.M. Juster
Deadline: November 15, 2011
Sponsored by The Formalist

Competition Rules for the 18th annual Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award:

1.Sonnets must be original and unpublished. No translations. Writers may enter as many sonnets as they wish. 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, phone number, and e-mail address (if available) should be typed on the back of each entry.

2.Final Judge for the 2011 competition will be A. M. Juster. The winning poem and the poems of eleven finalists will be published in a 2012 issue of Measure.

3.Entries must be sent to the address below and postmarked no later than November 15, 2011. Enclose an SASE if you would like to be notified of the contest results. Entries cannot be returned.

Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
The Formalist
320 Hunter Drive
Evansville, IN 47711

Make all 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.

Call for Submissions: The Cincinnati Review

2011-10-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

The editors of The Cincinnati Review are pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions through our online submissions manager. We accept submissions of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. To submit your work online, please visit our website.

Guidelines
The Cincinnati Review welcomes submissions from writers at any point in their writing careers. We read between September 1 and May 31. Submissions arriving during June, July, and August will be returned unread. Please note simultaneous submissions in cover letter. Our usual response time is one month.

Format
Poetry: Please submit up to ten manuscript pages at a time. Poet's name and contact information should appear at the top of every poem.

Fiction: Submissions should be under forty double-spaced pages. Include name and contact information at the beginning of the work. We do not consider genre fiction.

Nonfiction: We consider essays of all type, creative nonfiction, and reviews of new books of poetry. Submissions should be under forty double-spaced pages.
We look forward to reading your work.

Call for Submissions: New Purlieu Review

2011-10-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

New Purlieu Review, an online publication devoted to modern life, seeks poems,
stories, essays and images for its next issue, "Desire."

Deadline extended to Oct. 31st.
Submit through our submisison manager.

Questions? Contact the editor at:

newpurlieureview(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Book Contest: Sol Books

2011-10-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sol Books grants one annual award for a novel and/or collection of short stories or essays. The winning entry will receive a standard royalty contract, with a $500 advance.

Finalists may also be offered a publishing contract.

GUIDELINES

* Submit at least 30,000 words of prose (fiction or nonfiction) without any identifying information appearing on the manuscript.
* Entry should be typed and double-spaced
* Entry can be of any style, form, or theme
* Portions of the entry may be previously published as long as entrant retains copyrights to the work and provides proper acknowledgements
* Entry may be simultaneously submitted; however, Sol Books must be notified if the submitted collection is accepted for publication elsewhere
* Postmark date: October 31st

WHAT TO INCLUDE

* $15 Reading Fee, payable to Skywater Publishing Company
* Completed entry form
* Complete manuscript, without any contact information

MAIL PAYMENT AND ENTRY FORM TO

Skywater Publishing\Sol Books
Prose Contest
398 Goodrich Ave
St. Paul MN 55102

Call for Submissions: Fiction International

2011-10-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Fiction International is the only literary journal in the United States emphasizing formal innovation and progressive politics. It features a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, indeterminate prose, and visuals by leading writers and artists from around the world.

We will consider submissions of narrative, anti-narrative and indeterminate texts but only accept submissions reflecting the current issue’s theme. For the Fall 2011 issue we will accept submissions on the theme About Seeing: Addressing the Visual Arts (cinema, video, painting, photography, etc). Our 2011 reading/submission period began September 1, 2011 and ends December 15, 2011.

All submissions, including those from agents, must be made in writing, accompanied by SASE, and mailed to:

Harold Jaffe, Editor
Fiction International
San Diego State University
Dept. of English and Comp. Lit.
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-6020 USA

Recent themes have been: DV8, Walls, The Artist in Wartime, Freaks, Animals, Abject/Outcast, and Sacred/Shamanic. You can review sample texts from these past issues to become familiar with Fiction International’s thematic focus. Visit our website for more information.

Poetry Competition: 2012 Colorado Review Prize for Poetry

2011-10-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

2012 Colorado Prize for Poetry : $2,000 Honorarium & Book Publication

Manuscripts accepted now through the postmark deadline of January 14, 2012.

The final judge is Elizabeth Willis. Friends & students (current & former) of the judge are not eligible to compete, nor are Colorado State University employees, students, or alumni.

The winning book-length collection of poems will be published by the Center for Literary Publishing in the fall of 2012.

The $25 entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Colorado Review (to US addresses only).

Manuscripts may consist of poems that have been previously published, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.

Manuscripts must be at least 48 pages but no longer than 100 pages.
The winner will be announced by May 2012.

The Colorado Prize for Poetry adheres to the Contest Code of Ethics, as adopted by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses.

To submit by mail:
1. Include two title pages: first with manuscript title, your name, address, phone number, & e-mail address; second with manuscript title only. Your name should not appear anywhere else in the manuscript.
2. Do not send originals: manuscripts will not be returned.
3. Please enclose an SASE for contest results & a self-addressed stamped postcard for notification of the manuscript’s safe arrival.
4. Please make checks payable to Colorado Review.

To submit online:
1. Please note that there is an additional $3 charge to submit online. Of this, $1.11 is a credit card fee, and $1.89 goes to the tireless, good people at Submishmash who designed the program, gave it to us for free, and provide support for it seemingly 24/7.
2. The manuscript title, your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address should be in your cover letter, separate from your manuscript. Be sure your name is not anywhere in the manuscript itself.
3. Submit online here.

Questions? Please call 970.491.5449, visit our website, or send an e-mail to:

creview(at)colostate.edu (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Call for Submissions of Flash Fiction: Switchback

2011-10-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

FLASH CONTEST GUIDELINES:

Each month SWITCHBACK will provide a prompt and we want you to send us your best work inspired by that prompt. The winning entry as decided by our editors will be featured on SWITCHBACK.

The October prompt is: "I do, always, what I must do because I cannot undo it."

Deadline: Oct. 31, 2011

Visit our website for more information.

Scholarships: 19th Annual Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway

2011-10-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Several scholarships are being offered for first-time participants of the 19th Annual WINTER POETRY & PROSE GETAWAY, January 13-16, 2012, at the Jersey Shore.

+ The Toni Brown Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by the Getaway faculty and staff, is for a poet or writer age 31 or over. Deadline: Nov. 7, 2011.

+ The Jan-ai Scholarship will sponsor two poets, writers or song writers between the ages of 18 - 30 who are residents of NJ, NY or PA. Deadline: December 1, 2011.

Winners may choose from workshops in poetry, including a special advanced section with Stephen Dunn, Beginning Your Novel, Children's Market, Writing and Publishing Your Fiction, Memoir, Creative Nonfiction and more.

The conference also includes talks, receptions, open mics, optional tutorials, a bookstore café, sunrise yoga and dancing at the Getaway Disco.

Learn more about the Getaway here.
Questions? Email Peter Murphy at:

peter(at)murphywriting.com (replace (at) with @)

ABOUT THE WINTER POETRY & PROSE GETAWAY
Not your typical writers’ conference. Join us at the 19th Annual Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway, January 13-16, 2012 at the Jersey Shore. Energize your writing with challenging and supportive workshops that focus on starting new material. Advance your craft with feedback from our award-winning faculty.

Call for Submissions: 40th Annual Louisville Conference on Literature & Culture

2011-10-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

The 40th annual Louisville Conference on Literature & Culture since 1900 will be held at the University of Louisville, February 23-25, 2012. The conference committee invites submissions by creative writers of fiction, nonfiction, and/or poetry. Submissions should be suitable for a 20-minute reading. For full consideration, submissions must be received by 11:59 PM EST on October 17, 2011.
GUIDELINES

Send an email to:

submissions(at)thelouisvilleconference(dot)com

with two attachments in pdf, rtf, or word format. The first attachment is to contain poetry or short fiction/nonfiction selections suitable for 20-minute reading. The second attachment should contain a cover page. Submitter's name to appear on the cover page only. Creative submissions may be published or unpublished works. Manuscripts cannot be returned. Full guideline s.

Call for Submissions: Rock and Sling

2011-10-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Rock & Sling, a journal of witness, is considering submissions in poetry, fiction, art, and creative nonfiction for its upcoming issue.

The word “Witness” means to testify: to tell the truth. The demands of the word are bracing in its charge to the writer to understand that his and her work matters not just as expressions of experiences and responses but as an active language engaged morally as well as aesthetically. To tell the truth is an act of responsibility as well as an expression of hope. To testify is an act of responsibility as well as an expression of faith.

Recent contributors include Ray Amorosi, Barbara Crooker, Christopher Howell, Kent Leathem, Nancy Mairs, Shann Ray, Jonathan Weinert, and Kelley White.

Visit our website for more details.

Call for Submissions: Ontologica

2011-10-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ontologica, a Bi-annual literary magazine of art and thought is open for submissions starting 10/1/2011 to 10/31/2011. We will be accepting submissions in Non-Fiction, Fiction, Poetry and Art.

Ontologica aims to present an eclectic mix of prose and art. Ours is a journal of differing perspectives. Readers will be just as likely to encounter the Christian as the Marxist, the relative as the absolute, the liberal as the conservative in the essays we present. We want to offer material that is illuminating, challenging, and, if need be, antagonizing. Above all it must accessible. Accessibility here doesn't just mean a lack of specialized language, but a writing style that invites the reader in. Work with a philosophical slant is preferred, but not required. What is required is contemporary relevance and, more or less, general appeal. (An essay on the difference between Transcendentalist and Romantic poetry, no matter how well written, will most likely not find a home in Ontologica). Unless you lived a sublimely amazing life, no so-called creative non-fiction or memoirs.

We will include a small amount of poetry, fiction, and visual art in every issue. There is no clear-cut definition of what we're looking for in fiction and poetry, though, like non-fiction, accessibility is a good keyword. We want fiction and poetry that moves beyond simple entertainment. In the words of Robert Bly, we want work that punches a hole in the pervading culture of denial: The health of any nation's soul depends on the capacity of adults to face the harsh facts of the time. Pieces that point to the injustices of the world and reminds us of our own mortality, rather than giving us reason to ignore them, will be greeted here. Genre pieces are okay as long as, like the work of Cormac McCarthy or Robert Heinlein, the story transcends the limitations of the genre. Pieces that treat intense subjects without linguistic finesse or subtlety will not likely appear in the magazine--bring us to the battle lines without blatant preaching, childish whining, or melodrama.

All this applies equally to visual art submissions. Above all the work must have a distinct sense of subject. No ultra-modern, Jackson Pollock slapdashery. This doesn't mean we want black-and-white photos of your lawn furniture. The art we present must engage our readers, whether through shock or awe. Ontologica wants art that fantastically suggests the possible, or horrifically portrays the actual.

Non-fiction and fiction submissions should be no more than 20 pages in length. Flash fiction is generally discouraged. Please send no more than five poems. Send all submissions as attachments. For more submission information, please see our Submissions page.

Send all submissions to:
ontologicaljournal(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Call for Submissions: Tawdry Bawdry

2011-10-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

Tawdry Bawdry, a bi-monthly journal of all things sexual, is seeking submissions for our October 15th issue. Since this is our first Halloween, we are happy to go for the obvious: sexually adventurous ghosts, masquerade mishaps, zombies with an undead appetite for love... you get the picture.

As usual, our tastes run toward the unexpected. Send us poems and stories that wouldn't fly elsewhere because there is just a little too much honesty in them (and we don't mean the kind of honesty that would get you arrested in real life). Visit our website to read what we've published in the past to get a sense of what it is we are looking for.

Please send all submissions to:
submissions(at)tawdrybawdry.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail).

We want essays, short stories, poems, flash fiction... we'll look at it all so long as it is included in the body of the e-mail (no attachments, please) and is accompanied by a brief author bio. If you would prefer to use a pseudonym, please let us know.

Thank you for submitting!

The Editors

Call for Submissions: The Common

2011-10-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Common publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and images that embody particular times and places both real and imagined: art powerful enough to reach from there to here.

Previously published authors include Rafael Campo, Ted Conover, Lauren Groff, Honor Moore, Sabina Murray, Mary Jo Salter, Jim Shepard, and Marina Tsvetaeva. Poetry submissions are closed due to a specially curated portfolio of work from South Africa in Issue 03, but will reopen in the spring. However, subscribers may continue to submit their work, in any genre, year-round.

Reading period for submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and images for Issue 03 is from September 15th through December 15st. Visit our website for more information.

Writing Workshop: Beginning Fiction Writing

2011-10-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

I will be teaching a four-hour workshop, Beginning Fiction Writing, on October 8, 2011 at the Rio Vista Recreation Center in Peoria, AZ. We will discuss developing plot and conflict, creating interesting characters, writing believable dialogue, using your setting as a character, overcoming writer's block, and more. Details below:

Beginning Fiction Writing

Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011

12:30--4:30 p.m. (with short break)

Rio Vista Recreation Center, 8866 W. Thunderbird Rd. (north of Thunderbird and west of the 101 Loop), Peoria, AZ

Tel. Reg. 623-773-7725

Register Online.

Fee: $35.00
Supply fee paid to instructor for resource materials: $2.00
Deadline to register: Oct. 8, 2011 (before 11:00 a.m.)

Call for Poetry Submissions: Blast Furnace

2011-10-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

Blast Furnace seeks submissions
Call for Submissions: Volume 1, Issue 4 - Autumn
FOR PUBLICATION CONSIDERATION IN OUR FOURTH ISSUE (Volume 1, Issue 4) SLATED FOR DECEMBER 2011 RELEASE:

Please submit no more than three (3) of your BEST poems via SUBMISHMASH, the online submission manager,

or, if you prefer to create an audio recording of yourself reciting your poetry, send ONLY ONE (1) .mp3/.wav file attachment of NOT MORE THAN 2 MINUTES/120 seconds in total duration to:

rclever(at)blastfurnacepress.com (replace (at) with @ in sending email)

The theme for Issue 4 is poetry inspired by a song, film, or work of art. However, as always, we are happy to consider poetry outside of this theme.

DEADLINE: November 15, 2011

Fiction Competition: Ruminate Magazine 2012 William Van Dyke Short Story Prize

2011-10-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

RUMINATE Magazine is currently accepting entries for the 2012 William Van Dyke Short Story Prize. $1000 will be awarded to the winner and publication in the Spring 2012 Issue will be awarded to both the winning and runner-up stories. The winning story from the 2011 contest, selected by author Leif Enger, appears in Issue 19 of Ruminate. 2009's winning story, selected by author Bret Lott, was awarded a notable mention in the Best American Short Stories anthology.

The entry fee is $15 and includes a free copy of the Spring 2012 Issue. You may submit one short story per contest entry and it must be 7000 words or less. There is no limit on the number of entries per person. To read the complete submission guidelines and to submit, please visit our website.

The deadline for submissions is midnight on October 15th, 2011.

Writer-in-Residence: James Merrill House

2011-09-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

James Merrill House Writers-in-Residence for 2012

The James Merrill House in the seaside village of Stonington, CT is now accepting applications for 2012 Writers-in-Residence.

The James Merrill House Writer-in-Residence Program preserves James Merrill's Residence in Stonington CT as a tribute to him and a cultural asset to the local community. In recognition of Merrill's own contributions to the Stonington community and his longstanding generosity to fellow writers, the fellowship provides living and working space to a writer in search of a quiet setting to complete a project of literary or academic merit.

It is in this spirit that the Merrill House Committee wishes writers-in-residence not only to be enriched but to enrich the community of Stonington. We ask that writers spending an extended (4-1/2 month) residency give a reading of their work during their time of residency and contribute to the literary life of Stonington Borough in some other fashion. Opportunities for readings or workshops will be available during the brief term.

In an effort to make the James Merrill House Writer-in-Residence Program available to a greater number of qualified candidates, the Merrill House Committee has adjusted the residency periods to include one extended residency of 4-1/2 months between mid-January and the end of May and three shorter residencies of 2 to 6 weeks in duration during the months between Labor Day and mid-January.

The specific dates of these brief residencies will be determined according to the needs of the Merrill House Committee and the applicants. The Writer-in-Residence program includes a $5,000 stipend for an extended term. Smaller stipends will be offered for the brief residencies.

To learn more about the James Merrill House, its Writer-in-Residence Program, and to apply, please go here.

Call for Submissions: The Citron Review

2011-09-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Citron Review is still accepting submissions for Fall and Winter 2011 Publication.

The Citron Review is an online literary journal edited by alumni of the esteemed Antioch University Los Angeles Creative Writing Program, listed as a top five low residency program in Poets and Writers and Atlantic Monthly.

What should you submit? The Citron Review accepts submission of Micro-Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry and Creative Non-Fiction. For word count specification, see guidelines below. Ultimately, we are looking for works that have that unmistakable magnetic pull. Stories that make us jump up from our seats or throw our head in our hands and cry, yes! Make us feel, make us think, be captivating, be moving, be infinite.

General Information: To submit to The Citron Review, send your work to:
submissions(at)thecitronreview.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail), with a subject heading of "Citron Review Submission: (Genre)."

In the body of the e-mail, please include a short bio in the third person (by way of introduction--no more than a paragraph) and the text of the submission. For photography and digital arts, please attach as a standard web-readable file (.jpg preferred, but .gif, and .png, are fine as well). We have no thematic requirements for submissions, but do require all work to be of the highest quality.

For Micro-Fiction: Submissions should be no more than sixty words. You may submit up to five micro-fiction selections per quarter.

For Flash-Fiction: Submissions should be no more than one-thousand words. You may submit up to two flash-fiction selections per quarter.

For Poetry: Submissions should be no more than 30 lines. You may submit up to five poetry selections per quarter.

For Creative Non-Fiction: Submissions should be no more than 1,000 words. All genres of non-fiction (memoir, essay, articles, reviews etc.) are acceptable. You may submit up to two Non-Fiction selections per quarter.

Reading of Submissions: We read submissions quarterly. Typically, we will respond to you at the beginning of each month. However, in times of high submissions (in the case of contests and the like), our turnaround time may be a bit longer. You can expect a response in less than a month, in most cases. If you have not heard from us in six weeks, please feel free to contact us for an update.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but it is expected authors must notify us immediately if their work is published elsewhere.

Call for Poetry Submissions: Tapestry

2011-09-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

The editors of Tapestry, the annual literary magazine of Delta State University, welcome poetry submissions that focus on the Mississippi Delta or small-town southern life. For the Spring, 2012 issue, submissions should be sent as Word attachment by December 3rd to:

tapestry(at)deltastate.edu (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail). (Please include in the body of the e-mail complete contact information, including mailing address.

Payment will be one copy of the issue in which the accepted work appears.)

Tapestry, founded in 1988 by Dorothy Shawhan and Marion Barnwell, is supported by Delta State University and the Garrard Library Fund. To order Tapestry, you may write to:

Division of Languages and Literature
P.O. Box 3215, Delta State University
Cleveland, Ms 38733.

Current issues are $5.00 each and back issues may be purchased for $3.00 each. For more information phone: 662-846-4060 or E-mail whays(at)deltastate.edu

Call for Submissions: The Jet Fuel Review

2011-09-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Jet Fuel Review
Call for Submissions: Fall 2011 issue (November, 2011)
Submission deadline extended to OCTOBER 8!
The Jet Fuel Review is a new, online literary journal. It is a student-run publication of Lewis University, edited by students under advisement of the English department. Our first issue was released this spring featuring the work of students, alumni, and many nationally-published authors. We are now accepting submissions for the fall issue, to be released November 29th of this year.

We are accepting fiction (short stories, flash fiction, micro shorts), non-fiction (lyrical essays, memoirs, hybrid works, etc), poems, and artwork. Please consider submitting!

General guidelines for submissions:

Fiction: Submissions should be 3000 words or less.

Non-Fiction: May also include critical literary essays of 3000 words, reviews of chapbooks or novels of 3500 words, and personal narratives of 5000 words or less are preferred.

Poetry: Poems or prose poems of less than 100 lines. Please do not send more than 6 poems within a reading period.

Artwork: You may send up to 3 pieces of artwork within a reading period. When submitting artwork, we request that you caption the artwork with a title, if available, and the medium in which you worked. We can only literally publish virtual art, that is, art that is transferable to an online format. If you wish to submit a painting or a sculpture, you are welcome to send a photo of the piece.

Please email all submissions as attachments to:
lewislitjournal(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @)

Please use a subject line in this format: last name/genre/title.

All art submissions must be sent in .jpg or .png format for ease of viewing and posting.

All text submissions must be sent in .doc format or .rtf format; please do not send documents in .docx format.

Please include a short bio and contact information with your submissions in the body of the email. If we don’t have your contact information, we cannot publish your work! This would make us sad.

The content for The Jet Fuel Review’s fall 2011 Issue is exclusively online. Jet Fuel Review claims first publishing rights, which revert back to the author upon publication. While we allow simultaneous submissions, please do notify us as soon as possible if your work becomes unavailable as we do not publish previously published work, whether that publication occurred online or in print.

If you submit work, expect to hear back from us in October or November of this year (publication is scheduled for November). If you become concerned that we have overlooked your submission, please verify that you sent contact information.

You can see the current issue of The Jet Fuel Review here.

Call for Submissions: CALYX

2011-09-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women is committed to publishing the diverse voices of new and emerging women artists and authors. We will be open for submissions of poetry and prose via our online system from October 1-December 31. Submit your work online.

Please visit our complete guidelines before submitting.

The writer/artist guidelines are as follows:

-Prose (includes essays, flash fiction, short stories, etc.) should be double-spaced and not exceed 5,000 words.
-Poetry submissions are limited to 6 poems. When submitting through our online submission manager, please put all poems into the same document (.doc, .docx, .txt, .pdf)
-Interviews should be double-spaced and limited to 2,500 words. Please submit these in the prose category
-Book Reviews if you are interested in reviewing books, please send a resume and published samples of review writing to editor(at)calyxpress.org. After reviewing these, we will contact you about the book review list. Reviews should be double-spaced and from 500 to a maximum of 1,000 words. Reviews of chapbooks should be limited to 50-100 words. We’re always open for book reviews. Replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail.
-Visual Art should be submitted (1) electronically to ; (2) on a CD; or (3) 5"x7" or 8"x10" glossy photographs. Limit of 6 images and/or slides and/or photos. All art media are considered and diverse approaches are encouraged. Please include a list of all titles, media, and dimensions for each piece; a 50-word biographical statement; and a 50-word statement about your artwork with your submission along with your contact information (address, phone number, and email). Submit art separately from prose and poetry.

Online submissions (preferred):
please include a 50-word bio statement in the “comments” field. Upload your document as a .doc, .docx, .pdf, or .txt and include your name, email, and address on each page. Submit poetry and prose separately.

Click here to submit work through our online submissions manager

Postal submissions:
We will continue to accept paper submissions this year, but we prefer that you submit electronically to help us reduce waste. When sending paper submissions, include a 50-word bio statement; SASE; and please include your name, address, phone, and email on each page of your submission.

Send materials to:
CALYX Journal
PO Box B
Corvallis, OR 97339

Fiction Competition: 2011 Mary C. Mohr Editors' Award, Southern Indiana Review

2011-09-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

2011 Mary C. Mohr Editors' Award Guidelines

Southern Indiana Review will award a prize of $1500 for a short story, novella, or stand-alone novel excerpt submitted under the following guidelines. Each submission must:

Be available for exclusive publication in Vol. 19, No. 1 of SIR. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but if the entry is published/accepted by another publication while under consideration, the author must promptly notify SIR in writing to withdraw the entry.

Include an entry fee of $20 ($5 for each additional entry). This non-refundable fee includes a year's subscription to SIR. Make check or money order payable toSouthern Indiana Review.

List the author’s name, street address, email address (if applicable), phone number, and title of submission on a cover page.

List only the title of submission on each page thereafter.

Be fewer than 40 typed pages (12-point font) per each individual submission.

Be addressed to
Mary C. Mohr Editors' Award, Southern Indiana Review
University of Southern Indiana
8600 University Boulevard
Evansville, IN 47712.

Be postmarked by October 1, 2011.

Include SAS postcard for receipt acknowledgement and/or SASE for contest results. All manuscripts will be recycled. Results will be posted on the SIR web site.

Current and former students and employees of the University of Southern Indiana are not eligible for the Award.

Call for Submissions: Catch Up

2011-09-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

We at Catch Up have an exciting upcoming issue we think might be perfect for writing students and recent alumni. The issue will feature work from writers of a college and graduate school age. Catch Up is a new journal of literature and comics, a print journal with an online aspect.

We’re open to submissions, in general, but we’re also accepting submissions for a special online issue for emerging writers. This issue invites submissions from people between the ages of 20 and 28, who have not previously published a chapbook or full-length book. These writers do not have to be students of creative writing to submit. We will consider unpublished and previously published work (assuming the rights have reverted back to the writer). There are more details at our website.

Also, the first issue of Catch Up is out in the world. It includes work from Celan & Amichai, Donald Revell, Karen Weiser, Aime Cesaire, D.A. Powell, Amy Gerstler, Cal Bedient, Miranda Field, Paul Muldoon, Amal al-Jubouri, and many more. You can buy the journal, see extra material from contributors (video, audio, and text), and more here.

One Story Writer's Conference & Workshop: Sirenland 2012

2011-09-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Applications for Sirenland 2012 are now open, from September 15 to Oct. 31, 2011.

Join writers Dani Shapiro, Jim Shepard, and Susan Orlean, along with One Story magazine March 35-31, 2012 for the Sirenland Writers Conference. Experience advanced fiction and memoir workshops in an intimate, supportive environment at one of the most beautiful five star luxury hotels in the world--La Sirenuse--in Positano, Italy.

Participation in this conference is limited to ensure individual attention and create a close, friendly community. Each day features an intensive, small group workshop with acclaimed writers Dani Shapiro, Jim Shepard, and Susan Orlean, as well as private time for writing, and excursions to nearby Pompeii and the Isle of Capri. Evenings will include talks about publishing and living the writer's life, with Dani Shapiro, Jim Shepard, Karen Shepard, Susan Orlean, screenwriter Michael Maren, and Hanna Tinti (co-founder and editor-in-chief of One Story), distinguished visiting authors, student and instructor readings, and fantastic meals overlooking the islands of Li Galli, formerly called the "Island of the Sirens."

To apply, writers must submit a brief statement of purpose (about 250 words) and a writing sample (no more than 7,000 words). All applications will be taken online. Due to limited participation, early application is encouraged. Deadline: Oct. 31, 2011

Editors
One Story

Fiction Competition: Crab Creek Review

2011-09-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Crab Creek Review's Annual Fiction Contest has now begun!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES for the CRAB CREEK REVIEW FICTION PRIZE:

Original, previously unpublished fiction up to 3,000 words, double spaced.
Name and contact info must NOT appear on any pages of the fiction piece.
Please include a cover letter with your name, address, telephone number, email address, and the title of your story with a brief bio.

Please include a $10 entry fee (check made payable to Crab Creek Review).
Check back on our website in January 2012 for contest results.

Postmark deadline is Dec. 15, 2011

Mail submissions to:

Crab Creek Review Fiction Contest
c/o 7315 34th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98117

Do not send contest submissions via email
Winner will receive $150 and publication in Crab Creek Review.
All contest submissions will be considered for publication.
Simultaneous submissions are permitted as long as Crab Creek Review is notified immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Contest Judge: TBA

Crab Creek Review is a 28-year-old non-profit literary journal printed in Seattle, Washington.
More information about Crab Creek Review can be found here.

Call for Submissions: Artichoke Haircut

2011-09-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

Call for submissions: Artichoke Haircut

Artichoke Haircut is currently accepting submissions for its Winter 2012 issue.

We accept fiction, poetry, memoir (though very little, so make it good), and artwork.

Submissions will remain open thru Dec.19th.
Guidelines for submission to our magazine are fairly open. Send up to three poems of any length, or one prose piece not to exceed 3,000 words. We do not have style guidelines per say, but keep in mind we are a magazine with tendencies more toward newer and experimental modes of seeing. That being said, we only really have one rule of thumb: If it's good it goes in, if it is not it doesn't.

Send all submissions to:

submit(at)artichokehaircut.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail), making sure to include contact info in the body of the email (please no cover letters, bios will be requested upon acceptance), and the type of submission (e.g. fiction, poetry, art, nonfiction) in the subject.

You may find more information here.

Call for Submissions: Mason's Road

2011-09-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Mason's Road is an online literary journal sponsored by Fairfield University's MFA in Creative Writing. Run by the graduate students in the program, each issue focuses on a writing craft theme. Contributions are accepted in Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Art, and Audio.

As a literary journal with an educational twist, Mason’s Road aims to focus each issue on a particular element of the writing craft. For our upcoming issue, we are looking for submissions that engage us in considering the opportunities and complexities of “image”— whether you’re building a two or three dimensional picture in our mind’s eye, developing an abstract metaphor, or creating your own interpretation only limited by your imagination.

The reading period for Issue #4 is August 15 – November 15, 2011.

Submissions Link.

Call for Submissions: Hinchas de Poesia

2011-09-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Hinchas de Poesía seeks submissions of poetry, short fiction, and art for their fifth issue. We plan on publishing the fifth issue online by the end of November, 2011.

* * *
Hinchas are Spanglish speakers, 18-45, who grew up in populous Latino exurbs (Miami, Los Angeles, D.C.) and may or may not watch soccer, but know to call it fútbol. Hinchas are the homicidal fútbol fanatics of Latin America, particularly of the Argentine variety. Hinchas are denizens of the Americas and like Jose Marti do not distinguish between North and South America.

* * *
Our previous issues have featured work by James Cervantes, Campbell McGrath, Kristine Chalifoux, David Spicer, Luivette Resto, Tomaž Šalamun, Yaddyra Peralta, Abel Folgar, Chip Livingston, James Iredell, Nick Vagnoni, and Stephen Page.

* * *
GUIDELINES:

Please provide a cover letter telling us the title(s) of submitted work, current contact information (full name, mailing address, telephone number(s), e-mail address), and previous places where you’ve placed your work.

Please see the following link for complete instructions.

We will only be accepting submissions through the Submishmash online submission manager.

Residency: Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts

2011-09-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

Our next deadline is March 1, 2012

The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, NE offers 2- to 8-week residencies year-round for writers, visual artists, and music composers. Housing, studio space, $100/week stipend are provided.

Approximately 50 residencies are awarded per year. Two deadlines each year: postmarked March 1 for the following July through December 15; postmarked September 1 for the following January through June 15.
$35 application fee.

See website for complete information, guidelines and the online application portal.

The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts
801 3rd Corso
Nebraska City, Nebraska 68410
402-874-9600
info(at)KHNCenterfortheArts.org (replace (at) with @)

Poetry Competition: The Laureate Prize for Poetry, The National Poetry Review

2011-09-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

Each year The Laureate Prize for Poetry will honor one new poem that TNPR believes has the greatest chance, of those entered, of standing the test of time and becoming part of an ever-evolving literary canon. (Please, remember we are talking about the future, not about trying to replicate the past.)

We prefer electronic entries! To enter online, follow these instructions carefully:

Go to PayPal.com. Choose SEND MONEY. Choose PERSONAL. Choose OTHER.
Send $15 per group of 3 poems to:

editor(at)nationalpoetryreview.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Then email your entry with your name in the subject line and a copy of your PayPal receipt in the body of the email.

To enter, submit up to three of your best unpublished, uncommitted (not promised for first publication elsewhere) poems (10 page total maximum per group of three) (no SASEs, please; check website for winner), contact information, a brief bio, and a $15 fee for each set of up to three poems entered.

Fee: $15.00. * Postmark deadline: 9/30/11.

If you must enter by postal mail:
IMPORTANT: MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO "TNPR"

and send to:

The National Poetry Review, Post Office Box 2080, Aptos, California 95001-2080

The winner will receive $500 plus possible publication in The National Poetry Review.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but if the work is selected by TNPR for the prize or for publication, it must be withdrawn from elsewhere unless you have withdrawn it from us two weeks before our acceptance. Multiple submissions are acceptable with a reading fee for each group of three poems. Page limit per group: 10

Please note that close friends, relatives, and students of the judge or the editor are not eligible for the prize. The judge will be asked to send back to TNPR's editor any poem that s/he recognizes; should this happen, the entrant's fee will be refunded.

Poetry Competition: The Ledge

2011-09-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Ledge 2011 Poetry Chapbook Competition

PRIZE: Winning poet will receive a $1,000 cash award and 25 copies of the published chapbook.

SUBMIT: 16-28 pages of original poetry with title page, biographical note and acknowledgements, if any. Please include your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number (optional). Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but we ask that you notify us if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Poets may enter more than one manuscript.

ENTRY FEE: $18. All entrants will receive a copy of the winning chapbook upon its publication in the fall of 2012.

NO RESTRICTIONS on form or content. The Ledge Press is open to all styles and forms of poetry. Excellence is the only criterion.

PLEASE include a SASE for the competition results or manuscript return.

POSTMARK DEADLINE: October 31, 2011.

SEND ENTRIES TO:

The Ledge 2011 Poetry Chapbook Competition,
40 Maple Ave.,
Bellport, NY 11713

Call for Poetry Submissions: Whistling Fire

2011-09-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Whistling Fire is pleased to announce our November Guest Editor is Albert Abonado
Submission Deadline: October 23rd

Dear Writers,

The commonly held perception of the writer is that of the soloist, operating in isolation, probably dressed in black with a bottle of whiskey within arm’s reach. The act of writing is often perceived at its most romantic a pursuit often done best in solitude so that a person can assert one’s independent voice. But the truth for me is that writing is as much a social act as it is an individual one, a product of our myriad influences, from stock market crashes to the song a father sings to his daughter to an ant floating on a leaf in a puddle. What about those writers who take this notion of writing as a social act one step further, who choose instead to emphasize a sense of community and eschew this tradition of individuality by working collaboratively with others to produce a poem? The Surrealists are famous for employing this tactic, but other, more contemporary examples exist: Denise Duhamel and Maureen Seaton, John Gallaher and G.C. Waldrep.

Ms. Duhamel talks about a “ third voice, a voice that is neither Maureen's nor mine, but rather some poetic hybrid.” This month I’m interested in poetry written by two or more authors. No particular theme required. Send me poems that neither you nor your co-author(s) can claim as being wholly your own, but instead appears to exist outside of you—a mysterious, strangely cohesive, other voice that contains its own sensibilities. I’m open to any subject. So pass the bottle of whiskey around to your friends and let’s see what happens.

Good Luck!
Albert Abonado

Rules: Accepting poetry ONLY! Please send your submissions to:

whistlingfire(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Please include the words “November Editor” in your subject line. No more than five submission per writing duo or group, individuals can submit multiple times with different writing partners. Must be sent as an attachment (MS WORD preferred). Simultaneous submissions accepted. Previously published work is also allowed as long as the author retains the rights. Please include a short third person bio for each author. Submissions Close: October 23rd

About the Editor: Albert Abonado lives in Rochester, NY, the 10th smartest city in the US with his wife who is unhappy with the fact that he is allergic to cats. He is the Associate Director of Marketing and Production for BOA Editions. He holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Guernica, Rattle, Anti-, Gargoyle, Washington Square, New Ohio Review, No Tell Motel, and The Collagist.

Call for Submissions: Cake, A Journal of Poetry & Art

2011-09-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Cake, a journal of poetry & art from Florida A&M University seeks submissions of poetry, fiction, interviews, reviews, and art (b/w) for its sixth volume, to be printed in March/April 2012.
An emerging journal, CaKe has featured work from Amiri Baraka, Campbell McGrath, Samiya Bashir, Timothy Black, Uche Nduka, and Terese Svoboda. We are a small journal from the English Dept. at Florida A&M University that likes diversity and difference; we publish students and established writers, first-time writers and seasoned academics. All submissions are also considered for our online mag, SLICES.

GUIDELINES

POETRY: Submit up to five poems in one doc. as an attachment. Please also send a bio, phone number, and mailing address.

PROSE: Submit up to 15 pages of prose as attachment in one doc. Please also send a bio, phone number, and mailing address

BOOK REVIEWS: SHORT. As attachment. Bio, address, phone.

ART: We prefer black and white. Send as jpeg.

Response time is slow and may vary. We are a very small staff, and do our best to give you a timely response.

*Put your last name, genre, and submission in the subject line. For ex: Snodgrass_Poetrysubmission

Please send submissions to:

cakepoetryandart(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

To purchase a journal, please mail a check for $7 payable to Cake to:

Cake, a journal of poetry & art
Dept. of English
446 Tucker Hall
Florida A&M University
Tallahassee, FL 32307

Short Short Fiction Competition: Esquire and Aspen Writers' Foundation

2011-09-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

Esquire and Aspen Writers' Foundation Present THE SHORT SHORT FICTION CONTEST

No entry fee.

Win a trip to New York to study with Colum McCann, and a scholarship to the Aspen Summer Words Fiction Workshop. If you can beat Colum McCann (in 78 words). Full guidelines.

Can you top Hemingway? Colum McCann (below) sets the short bar high.

An Introduction (in 78 words)

The greatest short short of all time is, of course, Hemingway's: "For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn."

There is a whole life and death written there. The art of the short short is to compress yet not lose narrative power.

It is closer to poetry than it is to fiction. Everything matters. Just a simple paragraph break can have enormous narrative consequences. This is not a Twitter game. This is the search for a white star of language.

The Rules (in 78 words)

Entries must be 78 words, in honor of Esquire's 78th birthday. We're calling these short shorts Aspens.

Ten winners will be flown to New York for a fiction workshop, taught by Colum McCann, and literary party. Grand Prize winner receives a full scholarship for the advanced fiction workshop at Aspen Summer Words (June 17 to 22, 2012). All entries due by October 7, 2011. Must be submitted electronically at:

www.esquiresubmissions.com.

What are we looking for, exactly? Beat this...

"Soldier's Field" By Colum McCann

Sweeney was a dreamer. Sweeney was from Galway. Sweeney went to Chicago. Sweeney wanted a green card. Sweeney met a woman who made his vowels curl. Sweeney had a baby. Sweeney bought a swing set. Sweeney joined the army. Sweeney flew helicopters. Sweeney rose. Sweeney could execute beautiful landings. Sweeney went on a second tour.

Sweeney was brought home. Sweeney asked everyone he met to kindly remove the sheet that had somehow been pulled up over his head.

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Short Short Fiction Contest. Sponsored by Hearst Communications, Inc., and presented by Aspen Writers' Foundation, a program of the Aspen Institute. Beginning September 1, 2011, at 12:01 A.M. (ET) through October 7, 2011, at 11:59 P.M. (ET), submit entries at esquiresubmissions.com. Winners will receive a travel stipend up to $500. Must be age of majority and a legal resident of the 50 United States, District of Columbia, or Canada. Void in Puerto Rico, the Province of Quebec, and where prohibited by law. Contest is subject to complete official rules available at esquire.com/fiction-contest.

Call for Submissions on Social Justice: The Little Patuxent Reveiw

2011-08-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

The Little Patuxent Review Seeks Social Justice Submissions

The Little Patuxent Review invites poets, writers and visual artists of all hues and cultural corners to respond to the call for submissions on the theme of Social Justice. Tell us what it is tell it like it is. In the context of our upcoming Winter 2012 issue, we are looking for well-crafted work that explores principles of equality and justice, meditates upon and values human rights or touches on the dignity of every human being. Truth Thomas, working with Editor Laura Shovan, serves as our guest editor for the issue.

The submissions period extends from August 1 to November 1, 2011.

General Format
You may submit one piece of prose no longer than 3500 words, up to five poems or up to six images. All submissions must be identified with the genre of the submission, the submitter's name and pseudonym (if any), the word count (if applicable), and complete contact information.

Poetry and prose must be typed using a standard, legible font (i.e, the equivalent of 12-point Times New Roman) with flush-left margins and submitted as a .doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf, or .txt electronic file.
Artwork and photography must be submitted either as .jpeg or .tif files no larger than 5mb.

For full guidelines, go here.

Call for Short Stories: Paramourtal 2 Anthology

2011-08-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Call for Submissions: "Paramourtal 2" (paranormal romance short stories)

Cliffhanger Books is looking for new, previously unpublished short stories (approx. 6500-8000 words) for "Paramourtal 2," the second volume of our award-nominated paranormal romance series. We are eager to read truly original fiction with unique (i.e. think beyond vampires and werewolves, though they are welcome, as well), well-defined, emotionally complex characters.

Give us an innovative take on an established paranormal character type. Approach your love story from a fresh angle or motivation. Hook us in with an imaginative and perplexing plot that will keep readers engaged until the very end.

Our first book was nominated for 2010 Romance Anthology of the Year and we hope to win with this new edition.

Submissions are open to all U.S. and international writers age 18 and over. Stories must be submitted in English. While paranormal romance authors are generally female, we want story submissions from talented male writers as well.

Interested writers are invited to review our submission guidelines here.

Deadline for submissions is midnight, October 31, 2011 (Halloween!).

Flash Fiction Competition: Compass Rose Magazine

2011-08-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

Compass Rose Magazine is pleased to announce its inaugural contest in flash fiction. The final judge is Tim Horvath.

Horvath is the author of Circulation, published by sunnyoutside press in 2009, and stories in Conjunctions, Fiction, Alimentum, Puerto del Sol, and various other places. His debut collection, Understories, will be published by Bellevue Literary Press in early 2012. He is an associate prose editor for Camera Obscura, a contributor to the literary/cinema blog Big Other, and teaches creative writing at Chester College of New England and Grub Street, as well as through Turnstyle, an intensive program for high school students. His website is www.timhorvath.com

GUIDELINES
ALL contest entries must be made via our new submission manager.

Please submit no more than three (3) pieces of no more than 1,000 words between August 1 and November 15, 2011.

The contest fee is $5.

We read our contest entries blind. Please do not put your name or your contact information on the work itself; instead enclose a cover letter with your name, titles of your work, and contact information. Entries that include your name and/or contact information will not be read and fees will not be refunded. No postal submissions, email submissions or previously published work will be accepted. Relatives, friends, students, and colleagues of the judge are not eligible.

PRIZE
The winning entry will be selected in January 2012 and published in Compass Rose Vol. XII in May 2012. A cash award of 50 percent of total entry fees will be paid to the author. A list of finalists will be published at www.compassroseonline.wordpress.com and emailed to all entrants.

We do not accept email submissions, but are happy to answer questions that way. Contact us compass.rose(at)chestercollege.edu (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Call for Submissions: Birmingham Arts Journal

2011-08-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

Birmingham Arts Journal

CALL FOR WORKS:

storm-related poems, stories & art to be published in the April 2012 "Storm" issue of Birmingham Arts Journal

The editors will consider work inspired by ANY storm in ANY location (geographic, emotional or otherwise).

This is the first themed edition in our ten year history!
We need your help to make it the best it can be.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Submit WORD documents as 1) attachments or 2) within the body of the email to:

editor(at)birminghamartsjournal.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

FICTION & NON-FICTION: up to 1,000 words. Excerpts and quotes of fewer than 1,000 words from longer works are published, too.

POETRY: All types up to 50 lines. Shorter works preferred.

ARTWORK & PHOTOGRAPHY: 300 dpi or higher digital files (.jpg or .tif) of artwork.
Submit via email or on disk.

NOTE: Please include a biography (3rd person) of 50 words or less with your submission.
Payment: one copy of the issue in which the accepted submission appears.

FOR ALL WORKS: Birmingham Arts Journal has readers young and old, from all walks of life. For this reason, works containing strong profanity, explicit sex, gratuitous violence, and overtly religious or political material will not be accepted. No simultaneous submissions, please.

Call for Submissions: Missouri Warrior Writers Project

2011-08-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

Missouri Warrior Writers Project

Holding Each Elephant's Tail: Voices from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars 2011 Prose & Poetry Contest and Call for Submissions

Genres: Poetry, Fiction and Creative Nonfiction

Prizes: $250 awarded as top prize in each genre

Word Limits: 5,000 words for Prose (Fiction and Creative Nonfiction); up to 3 poems (5 pages) for Poetry. Submissions exceeding these limits will be automatically disqualified. Limit one submission per person per genre.

Entry Fee: None

Deadline: December 30, 2011 Winners announced by April 1, 2012

To Submit:

submissions(at)mowarriorwriters.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

The Missouri Writers’ Guild and Missouri Humanities Council have partnered in the Missouri Warrior Writers Project to produce an anthology of writing by veterans and active military service personnel of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars about their wartime experience. The first volume will be published by Southeast Missouri State University, with an expected release date of Armed Forces Day, May 19, 2012. All branches of the military who have had multiple deployments, who have been deployed once, or who have never been deployed, are invited to participate. Family members of these warriors are also encouraged to submit.

- Manuscripts must be submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word document. (Save with a *.doc extension). Please combine all poems into one document and use first poem as title.

- Put your name and contact information on the first page of your submission document and nowhere else within the manuscript.

- Please include a brief (75 words or less) bio with your submission.

- Send to:
submissions(at)mowarriorwriters.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Work previously published will be considered, but new work is preferred. All entries will be considered for publication in the anthology.

Call for Submissions: Teen Writers

2011-08-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Call for Submissions—Young Writers

If you are a teenager currently enrolled in high school, grades 9-12, Crashtest, the new online literary magazine for high school writers, would like to hear from you!

Crashtest publishes poetry, stories and creative non-fiction in the form of personal essays, imaginative investigation, experimental interviews, or whatever else you would like to call it. We’re looking for writing that has both a perspective and a personality. We’re looking for authors who have something to say. Check us out here.

Guidelines: Crashtest only accepts email submissions. Send submissions, in the
form of a .doc or .rtf attachment only, and any queries to:

editor(at)crashtestmag.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

Poetry: 3-5 poems at a time.

Fiction: 1 piece at a time (no word or page limit)

Creative Non-Fiction: 1 piece at a time (no word or page limit)

Please go to our website for complete guidelines.

Poetry Competition: Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award

2011-08-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

2011 Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award

Postmark Deadline: August 31, 2011
Final Judge: David Mason
$3,000 Award

Hear ye! Hear ye! The deadline for Red Hen's annual Benjamin Saltman Award for a poetry manuscript is swiftly approaching!

Established in 1998, in honor of the poet Benjamin Saltman (1927-1999), this award is for a previously unpublished original collection of poetry. Awarded collection is selected through an annual competition which is open to all poets. This year’s final judge will be David Mason.

Award is $3,000 and publication of the awarded collection by Red Hen Press. Entry fee is $25.00. Name on cover sheet only, 48 page minimum. Send SASE for notification. Entries must be postmarked by August 31.

Please check out our website for info on all our awards, and we wish you the best of luck!

Call for Submissions: I-70 Review

2011-08-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

The I-70 Review is open for submissions through December, and we hope you will be interested in entering your work. Also, we hope you will encourage other fellow writers to submit as well.

We accept 3-5 poems under 40 lines and fiction or non fiction of fewer than 200 words. Contributors receive one copy of the magazine.

We also encourage you to enter the Gary Gildner Poetry contest. You will find submission guidelines at our website for both submitting poems and for entering the contest at our website.

Our latest issue will be available in September, and contributors in that issue will be reading at The Writers Place on Sept 30 at 7:00. Readers will include Walter Bargan, Kevin Rabas, Robert Stewart, William Trowbridge, Susan Whitmore, Tom Averill, Stan Banks, Judith Bader Jones, and others.

We hope to hear from you soon. Submit your work to:

i70review(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)

You can paste the work into the email or attach a word document that is not an X document.

Thanks so much,
Editors of I-70 Review

Guest Blogging

2011-08-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that I was invited to be a guest blogger today at The Write Now Coach Blog. Rochelle Melander asked me to blog about submitting your work to literary magazines. It was fun to write the post for her, but I would encourage you to visit the blog and check out other posts as well. She has lots of useful information and tips for writers.

Writing Competition: Rosebud

2011-08-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Prize For Imaginative Fiction -- original works of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, or horror; 4000 words or less.

Awards: Grand prize: $1,000, 4 runners-up receive $100. All winning pieces published in Rosebud.

Entry fee: $10. Rosebud acquires first rights for the five winning entries.

Deadline: September 1, 2011.

Info: Acquisitions: J. Roderick Clark, editor, Jrodclark(at)rsbd.net (Replace (at) with @ )

Guidelines on website.