The Quill
A Production of the South Carolina Writers Workshop
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Thank you for your patience as we revamp and improve the QUILL. We are working toward a more updated subscription roll and more consistent delivery with monthly deadlines. Please let us know how we can serve you better! Please ask your local chapters if all members in good standing are receiving The Quill. If not let us know by contacting SCWWQUILL@GMAIL.COM.
FROM NOW ON, PLEASE EXPECT MONTHLY DELIVERY OF THE QUILL ON:
~THE 10th OF EACH MONTH~
MEMBER CHATTER DEADLINE: THE 6th OF EACH MONTH
COLUMN/ARTICLE DEADLINE: THE 6th OF EACH MONTH
The next edition of The Quill will release on December 10th.
Please submit all Member Chatter, columns, articles, and contributions by
December 6th.
Thank you for subscribing to The Quill and for your efforts as a member of SCWW!
Some Important Notices!
Notice I:
We are adding a Speakers Bureau page to the website. If you are a published author and are willing to speak to local groups, please send your information to scwwwebmaster@gmail.com. Please indicate ‘Speakers Bureau’ on the subject line and in the body of the email include the following:nameemail address
location
genre/subject
published work
Notice II:
Include your published works on the SCWW website. Go to http://myscww.org/members-published-works/ for guidelines.
Notice III:
Include your website and blog addresses on the SCWW website. Go to http://myscww.org/members-websites-and-blogs/ for guidelines.
Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award
Novel First Chapter
1st Place – “Salvations Lullaby” – S. C. Jeffers
2nd Place – “Dead to Rights” – Sarah Pulliam
Honorable Mention – “Parthian Shot” – Steve Gordy
Short Fiction
1st Place – “Killer and Cocktails” – Torie Amarie Dale
2nd Place – “Squirrel Stew” – William Thrift
Honorable Mention – “Obituary” – Douglas Wyant
Non Fiction
1st Place – “Home Is Where The Heart Is” – Barbara V. Evers
2nd Place – “Brotherly Love Bridges The Gap” – Janet Sheppard Kelleher
Honorable Mention – “Passionata Incarnata” – Bobbi Adams
Chapter Submissions Challenge Winners
Chapter Winners
1st Place: Columbia II – 10 submissions
2nd Place: Sumter – 8 submissionsIndividual Winners
1st Place: Richard Lutman, Surfside Chapter – 7 submissions
2nd Place: Laura P. Valtorta, Columbia II – 6 submissions
The Petigru Review, 2013!
Links are brokento avoid spam filters, but please copy-paste them!
Please buy your copy at:
https://www.createspace.com/4444898
Please view the trailer at:
The Petigru Review editor has nominated authors for the Pushcart Prize!Fiction:
William Thrift for “Squirrel Stew”
Bob Strother for “Traveling Mercies”
Donna Campbell for “Shooting Stars”
Nonfiction:
Sandy Richardson for “Nana’s Basket”
Poetry:
Michael Hugh Lythgoe for “Florida Keys, Spring”
Will Jones for “A Language not Spoken for Many Years”
~Save the date for our return to the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort October 24-26, 2014!~
Please scroll down to the President’s Post below for more information.
It’s That Time of Year Again:
General Membership Meetings!
Last Year’s Minutes for the General SCWW Membership Meeting
Hilton Hotel, East Ballroom, 20 Oct 2012
President Ginny Padgett called the meeting to order at 1:00 pm. There were twelve attendees.
The previous year’s minutes were read and approved, with a motion by Kim Boykin and a second by Charles Duke.
Treasurer Jim McFarlane reported an approximate bank balance of $53,000 and anticipated that amount will not be adequate to cover all the conference expenses. Last year the Hilton allowed us to pay the remainder of our bill in installments.
The President introduced the Board members who were present: Ginny Padgett, President; Jim McFarlane, Treasurer; Kim Boykin, Quill Editor; Beth Browne, Publicity; and Linda Cookingham, Grants.
The President requested nominations for next year’s Board.
During open discussion, David Maring asked how to start a chapter in Georgetown. The answer was to find several interested people; to agree upon a leader, meeting place and time; and to inform the Board so the Board can help publicize the incipient chapter.
A motion to adjourn was made by Linda Cookingham, seconded by Kim Boykin and approved at 1:15 pm.
Reported by Jim McFarlane
THIS YEAR’S PROPOSED MINUTES
PROPOSED
General SCWW Membership Meeting Minutes
October 26, 2013
Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
Call to Order – The annual membership meeting of the South Carolina Writers’ Workshop was called to order by President Ginny Padgett at 9:04 a.m.
Kia Goins welcomed approximately 60 attendees and faculty to the SCWW Symposium.
Secretary’s Report – Minutes from the October 20, 2012, meeting were not available and will be presented in addition to the current minutes. Members will receive copies of both minutes.
Treasurer’s Report – Jim McFarlane reported that after expenses for the Symposium the treasurery will stand at $7000.
Fred Field moved to accept the report and Steve Gordy seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Unfinished Business – None
New Business – None
Additional Notes –
Beth Browne has planned an after party to follow the symposium at a nearby restaurant: open mic, food availabile
Conference 2014 will be back at the Myrtle Beach Hilton.
A member brought up the possibility of expanding our website to include more info on member authors: genre sorting, availability for book clubs, speaking, etc.
Steve Gordy moved to thank Ginny Padgett for three years of serving as the president of SCWW. Trilby Plants seconded. Motion passed by acclamation.
A member suggested publishing the minutes in the Quill and information about buying the new Petigru Review.
Fred Fields moved to adjourn, seconded by Bobbi Adams. Motion passed.
Submitted by Trilby Plants, Secretary
President’s Post
President’s Post
SCWW experienced one of the best attended general membership meetings at the 23rd annual conference on October 26 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. About 65 attendees participated in the focused, informative day and nearly all were present for the meeting prior to the symposium. After the business portion of the meeting, there was a wonderful exchange of ideas and suggestions between members and the Board. You may read the minutes from 2012 and 2013 in this issue. A big round of applause is due our 2013 Conference Chair, Kia Goins. She organized and delivered a great curriculum, professional slate of faculty and pleasant meeting space – all at a profit!! SCWW will begin 2014 on the best financial footing since 2008. Sample the flavor of the symposium at our website: http://myscww.org/category/blog/ and http://myscww.org/gallery/ (symposium photos will be uploaded soon).
The Board meets on Saturday, November 18. The major thrust of our business is to elect officers for 2014-15. We have five impressive candidates. The election results will be announced here next month.
Happy Thanksgiving and keep writing!
Ginny Padgett
[Editor's note! Please copy-paste links. They have been broken to avoid spam filters.]
Member Chatter
Glad tidings of great writings by our membership! Please send your news to scwwquill@gmail.com.
GREENVILLE
Bob Strother’s short story “High Season” will be included in the winter edition of moonShine review, a literary journal published by Thrift poetic Arts.
COLUMBIA II
Bonnie Stanard‘s short story “Maggie and the Snake” was awarded Third Prize in the Savannah Authors Anthology contest and will be published in the anthology. A reception for the winning writers is being held in Savannah on November 22.
Laura P. Valtorta‘s documentary, White Rock Boxing, will be shown at the Shadow Box Film Festival in New York City on December 6-7, 2013. White Rock Boxing won Honorable Mention at the Sunset Los Angeles Film Festival and aired twice on South Carolina ETV in August 2013.
Mike Long‘s 2nd novel, DOG SOLDIER MOON, has tied for a Gold Medal (First Place) in the 2013 Historical Fiction competition, Military Writers Society of America. Also, my short story CHOTEAU’S CROSSING has been selected for publication in a Western anthology being assembled by Brett Cogburn (great grandson of Rooster Cogburn).
Send your Member Chatter to scwwquill@gmail.com! If you sent your MEMBER CHATTER and don’t see it, the editor apologizes and asks that YOU click HERE to resend it directly to the editor for inclusion in next month’s issue.
The Stealth Poet: Death by Murder
By Nan Lundeen
When my husband was leaving for work this morning, I wished him well: “May you have no murders.”
Ron is a newspaper editor and we had just been discussing precision in language. We’re a wordsmith family, so such topics are common around our house. He pointed out that “murder” is a legal term whereas “homicide” is more encompassing. If you’re writing a legal thriller or a whodunit, that could be an important distinction.
The topic led me to a book that holds a place of honor next to Strunk & White on my writing shelf, The Careful Writer by Theodore M. Bernstein.
Words are our tools, and the English language carries its imperfections. However, Bernstein says we can “make the best and most precise use of the tools at hand. One way to do that is to let each word express a meaning of its own and not burden it with some additional meaning that is more exactly expressed by another word.”
On the other hand, we don’t want our language to become stilted. Language is a living, breathing creature and as such changes often, hence the need for new dictionaries. New words pop up all the time like weeds in an overgrown garden. Usage that you decried yesterday may already be winging its way to legitimacy on the popular tongue especially in this day of tweets and acronyms like OMG!
There’s usage in my last sentence that could be challenged. Back in the day, careful writers would have used “such as” rather than “like.” Many still would. And what are your feelings about “the likes of” which have never been seen? Should we write, “the like of?” Both phrases seem imprecise to me.
I like Bernstein’s example of “leave” and “let.” He says that “leave alone” exclusively means to cause to be in solitude whereas “let alone” exclusively means to go undisturbed. If we leave it alone, it will be lonely.
He reminds us to be precise about our monsters, as well. Frankenstein was the dude who constructed the monster, not the monster itself.
For years, “founder” and “flounder” were bugaboos for me. If you founder you’re disabled and may eventually sink, but if you flounder, you struggle. If you’re a ship carrying too much flounder you could founder.
Some grammarians wince when they hear nouns used as verbs, but alas, the language, it’s a changin’. We now “friend” each other, “message” each other, and “IM” each other. Common sense is called for. Pretend your book will become a classic. Will readers 50 years from now know those terms and their ilk?
Indeed, the goal—and always the bottom line for the careful writer—is clarity.
In conclusion, I’ve stolen a line from my husband (a habit of mine) that he dropped as he was going out the door—”Why use a word that has two meanings when you can use a word that has one meaning?”
Happy writing!
Nan Lundeen
www.mooingaround.com
The Freelance World
By Helen Aitken
I came upon an article by Dan D’Addario, “When should a young writer write for free?” on
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/29/when_should_a_young_writer_write_for_free/, that is worth reading. I’m sure the word “young” had nothing to do with age, but rather the “youngness” in writing professionally. The article touched on a dilemma that all freelance writers face; can I afford to give away my writing, if so, for how long.
The answers depend on the writer’s goals. If the goal is to obtain clips or to say, “I’m published,” then writing, for free, can accomplish this. However, if the goal is to become a writing professional, then too many “freebies” may stifle a blooming career.
The freelance writing business takes a different kind of stamina. First, you have to love that kind of writing, get used to deadlines, word limits, adjusting to the needs of the editor, and negotiating payment. The writer must also find the “right” publication to print it. It may take a trip to a store with a big magazine selection, using Writer’s Market, or searching online. Being familiar with potential magazines over several months gives the writer insight into the editor’s viewpoint and direction; so, will the article fit? Looking at the masthead indicates whether freelancers are welcome, gives writer direction, and lists names with addresses to query.
Each topic should be fresh and timely. Think about supermarket magazines that feature dieting, month after month. To get your dieting article in the magazine, it must be written with a different slant or focus. It may require interviewing experts in many fields and being knowledgeable on the subject before the interview. There may be statistics and data needs interpreting, or actually testing out specific recipes for the thumbs up approach. Depending on the subject, this part may take hours, days or months to accomplish, therefore, other articles are worked on during the interim.
What if the magazine does not accept the query? Many times an editor will not respond in a timely manner, sometimes not at all. In general, queries are sent out as multiple submissions, stated in the query. This allows the writer to shoot at several targets, hoping for an acceptance and applying a certain pressure on an editor debating the choice. Waiting for a response is nerve wracking, so the writing process begins again. The best dilemma is choosing from several acceptances; price vs. prestige, or the opportunity to break into a “big” market.
Freelance writing is concise, factual, and requires good interviewing techniques, time management and excellent organizational skills. Working from home is different than going into an office for eight hours; distractions will happen, and an urge to check Facebook cuts into productivity.
As a business, it requires immaculate bookkeeping for tax documentation, perhaps paying quarterly taxes, purchasing self-employment insurance, or creating an LLC, Limited Liability Corporation; a tax preparer will be your best friend.
Do you need a degree in English or journalism to become a freelancer? Absolutely not. Many freelancers start out in other careers before transitioning. My background was in Biology and Chemistry, and I was an educator for many years. My greatest challenge was to gain the self-confidence to change careers. I learned about writing by reading hundreds of books, going to workshops and conferences, and by writing, writing and writing. Then I had to learn to edit, edit and edit some more.
When there were things going on in my community, I wrote about them, for free, in the local newspapers and magazines. I established my signature writing style, honed my writing skills, and editors accepted articles as written. Eventually, I felt confident to tackle almost any topic, and took the leap to professional writing. How long did this take? About five years, and for me, the timing was right.
Do I still write for “free”? Only for organizations I’m involved in, and if I feel a need to write a timely op-ed piece, otherwise, no. I knew when it was time to cut the freebie strings and begin my freelancing career.
Every day, I grow as a writer. I set short and long-term goals, revising as needed. I want to master the art of creating titles, strive for multiple magazine articles published each month, to have a syndicated humor column, write a second humor book and other nonfiction books. If I feel like I’m over my head, have questions, or need a cheering section, I count on my network of other freelance writers like those in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
Freelance writing isn’t for everyone, but I recommend that every writer try it for the experience, and to get publishing credits. Local sources are a terrific entry; however, it’s important to study the media to model the writing, do the necessary research, state the facts without a slant, develop great interviewing skills, and learn to write “killer” queries. Writing for free, can transition into paid venues, while sharpening one’s writing skills.
To get you started, here is my recommendation of books for freelancer writers. A great dictionary and thesaurus, The Writer’s Digest 2013 Writer’s Market, The Associated Press Guide to News Writing, Merriam-Webster’s Manual for Writers and Editors, Freelancing for Newspapers by Sue Lick, Writer’s Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing, You Can Write a Column by Monica Cardoza, Sell and Resell Your Magazine Articles by Gordon Burgett, Robert’s Rules of Writing by Robert Masello, Heads You Win: An Easy Guide to Better Headline and Caption Writing by Paul LaRocque, and Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript by Chuck Sambuchino and the Editors of Writer’s Digest Books.
Contest Hound
Know of a great contest or competition? Share it with your SCWW friends!
PLEASE NOTE, ANY LINKS BELOW MUST BE BROKEN TO AVOID SPAM FILTERS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GOOGLE CONTEST DETAILS.
NEW! BEST AMERICAN EXPERIMENTAL WRITING ANTHOLOGY
Deadline: November 15
Fee: $9
The Best American Experimental Writing anthology (“BAX” for short) will be an annual anthology of approximately 200 pages. The first issue will be published in the spring of 2014. Neither this anthology nor its Editors or Publishers subscribe to a single definition for the term “experimental writing.” No definition suffices; experimentation in the literary arts is by definition a moving target. Individual submitters must decide for themselves whether their work sufficiently challenges conventional literary mores to warrant submission to this project. While we anticipate that the bulk of submissions and selections will be authored by individuals who at least partially self-identify as poets, and that the bulk of submissions and selections will exhibit some manifestation of form or concept that reasonably may be attributed to a poetic impulse, our interest is equally in genre, cross-genre, and non-genre work.
NEW! ANTHONY HECHT POETRY PRIZE
Deadline: December 1
Award: $3,000, publication, reading
Fee: $27
The Waywiser Press is now receiving book-length submissions for the ninth annual Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, which is open to poets who have published no more than one previous full-length collection. The winning manuscript will be published by Waywiser on both sides of the Atlantic, and its author will read with the judge at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., in the autumn of 2014.
NEW! MINERVA RISING CHAPBOOK CONTEST
Deadline: December 1
Award: $250 and 10 contributor copies
Fee: $20
Minerva Rising is sponsoring its first ever chapbook contest! We will publish two chapbooks, one in prose and one in poetry. We’re asking for submissions that speak creatively, powerfully, thoughtfully and maybe even uniquely to our theme “Daring to be the Woman I Am.” For prose we will consider a collection of short stories or a long short story (up to 45 pages) and for poetry we are asking for a collection of poems (12 – 15 pages ).
NEW! TLAA: A COLLECTIVE OF INDIGENOUS EXPRESSION
Deadline: December 1
New Mexico State University’s new online literary and art journal is accepting submissions focused on progressing Indigenous arts and scholarship, including, but not limited to fiction, creative nonfiction, scholarly criticism (MLA format), visual art, multimedia, poetry, and photographic expressions of your creative voice. We welcome all contributions that support Indigenous communities.
NEW! VERMILLION LITERARY PROJECT CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: December 15
The Vermillion Literary Project (VLP) at the University of South Dakota is currently seeking submissions of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction for its April 2014 issue of the VLP magazine, the University’s only student-produced literary journal.
NEW! NCPS ADULT CONTESTS
Deadline: January 10, 2014
Awards: Vary
Fees: Vary
The North Carolina Poetry Society offers annual awards in many different poetry categories. All judges will be distinguished poets residing outside North Carolina. All winning poems will be published in the NCPS poetry contest anthology Pinesong. Winning poets will be invited to read their winning poems at Awards Day in May 2014.
NEW! BETHLEHEM ROUNDTABLE SHORT STORY AWARD
Deadline: January 15, 2014
Award: $200 / $200 / $50 and publication
We are now accepting submissions (2,000 words or fewer) on the theme of “Food Stories” for the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award.
NEW! SPECULATIVE FLASH-PROSE POEM CONTEST
Deadline: January 15, 2014
Award: $500 and membership
Seventh Annual OddContest, sponsored by OdysseyCon, a science-fiction convention in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, April 4-6, 2014. Send 500 words max of speculative (science-fiction, fantasy, or horror) fiction or prose poetry (paragraph form). No previously published work.
NEW! BROCKMAN-CAMPBELL BOOK AWARD
Deadline: May 1, 2014
Award: $200
Fee: $10 (members) / $20 (non-members)
The Brockman-Campbell Book Award is open for a book-length (20 or more pages of poetry) volume of poetry published in 2013. Entrants must be native-born North Carolinians or current residents who have lived in the state for at least three years at the time of the book’s publication. Sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society.
NEW! PER CONTRA CALL FOR FICTION SUBMISSIONS
Per Contra welcomes submissions of literary fiction to 4,500 words, including literary flash fiction to 1,000 words. We publish both well-established authors and occasionally also talented writers with few previous credits.
FLYWAY CREATIVE NONFICTION CONTEST
Deadline: November 10
Award: $500 / $50 / publication / 2 contributor copies
Fee: $15
Notes from the Field is a nonfiction contest celebrating writing about experience—whether that’s abroad, at home, in your line of work, or in any other unexpected environment. Surprise us! Submit 1 essay of nonfiction of up to 5,000 words. Essay must be author’s own work and previously unpublished.
LENA M. SHULL BOOK AWARD
Deadline: November 15
Award: $250, 50 contributor copies, reading, publication
Fee: $25
The Lena M. Shull Book Award is an annual contest for a full-length poetry manuscript written by a resident of North Carolina. The manuscript must not have been previously published, although individual poems within the collection may have been published elsewhere. The winning manuscript will be published by a NC press. Sponsored by the Poetry Council of NC.
RASH AWARDS IN FICTION AND POETRY
Deadline: November 15
Award: $500 and publication
Fee: $15
The Broad River Review invites submissions to the 2013 Rash Awards in Fiction and Poetry. We will award $500 to the winner of each contest, as well as publication in the next volume of the Broad River Review, which will appear in Spring 2014. Finalists will also be considered for publication. Wiley Cash will judge the fiction contest, while Joseph Bathanti will judge the poetry contest.
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS/NEW ORLEANS LITERARY FESTIVAL
Deadline: November 15
Award: $1,500 (fiction) / $1,000 (poetry) plus acess to 2014 New Orleans Literary Festival and publication
The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival’s Poetry Contest is now accepting submissions. For poetry, Robert Pinsky will serve as the contest’s judge. We’re also offering a $1,000 grand prize, a VIP All Access Pass ($500 value) for the 2013 Festival and publication in Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine. Only open to writers who have not yet published a book of poetry. We are also accepting submissions for our annual Fiction Contest. Victor LaValle and Emily Raboteau are the judges. This contest is open only to writers who have not yet published a book of fiction.
2ND ANNUAL WNBA NATIONAL WRITING CONTEST
Deadline: November 15
Award: $250 and publication
Fee: $15 (members) / $20 (non-members)
The WNBA is now accepting submissions for its second annual Writing Contest. Fiction: 2,500 word limit. Short fiction only. No memoir or novel excerpts. Poetry: 3-5 pages, 35 lines per page. Unpublished work only. Fiction judge is Meg Waite Clayton; poetry judge is Molly Peacock. Sponsored by the Women’s National Book Association.
RAIN, PARTY, & DISASTER SOCIETY CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: November 22
The Rain, Party, & Disaster Society is an online literary publication with the purpose of giving a voice to individuals who wish to raise questions about our society, our culture, and our lives. Contributors to the magazine will be comprised of writers, artists, and photographers of all walks of life. The RP&D Society serves to represent the unpopular opinion, the unspoken idea, or the incendiary subject. The works our readers find here are meant to excite, infuriate, and challenge them.
LEE SMITH NOVEL PRIZE
Deadline: November 30
Award: $1,000 and publication
Fee: $20
Carolina Wren Press will choose one unpublished novel to receive the Lee Smith Novel Prize, an award of $1,000 and publication in honor of esteemed Southern author, literary mentor, and teacher Lee Smith. The award will be presented to a novel by an author from, living in, or writing about the American South–authors need only meet one of these qualifications, not all three. It is our hope to find and promote novelists from the South and their novels and, in the process, to explore and expand the definition of Southern literature. Submissions must be original, previously unpublished novels, written by one person, in English, at least 50,000 words in length.
PEDESTAL MAGAZINE CALL FOR POETRY SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: November 30
North Carolina’s Pedestal 73 will be posting on December 21, 2013, in conjunction with the journal’s 13-year anniversary. We will be accepting submissions of poetry from September 1-November 30. There will be no restrictions on length, theme, style, or genre.
SCARECROW PRESS CALL FOR ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: November 30
Scarecrow Press seeks submissions to two anthologies: Women, Work, and the Web: How the Web Creates Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Writing After Retirement: Tips by Successful Retired Writers. Both anthologies will be edited by Carol Smallwood. Chapters of 3,000-4,000 words.
SURVIVOR’S REVIEW CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: November 30
The Survivor’s Review, a not-for-profit online journal encouraging the creative expression of cancer survivors, is seeking stories, essays and poems by those who are intimately familiar with the cancer journey. If you have written a piece that explores the heart of what it means to be a cancer survivor or caregiver, please consider submitting your work to us. Our word count is flexible, but most of our features range from 100 to 1,000 words.
THE WRITERS’ WORKSHOP 25TH ANNUAL MEMOIRS COMPETITION
Deadline: November 30
Award: Varied choices
Fee: $25
Submit a memoir of 5,000 words or less. Multiple entries are accepted. All work must be unpublished.
ANTHOLOGY SEEKS STORIES ABOUT ANIMALS
Deadline: December 1
The After Coetzee Project, an anthology of fiction, seeks short stories that bring forth a new kind of writing about animals, one that disengages from speciesist fictional strategies (animals as metaphors and allegories) and reimagines animals as subjects.
HEAVY FEATHER REVIEW POETRY CHAPBOOK CONTEST
Deadline: December 1
Award: $250 and publication
Fee: $10 (includes 1-yr. digital subscription)
Heavy Feather Review is hosting a Poetry Chapbook Contest judged by Noah Eli Gordon. 40 pages maximum. Blind reads. Enter as many times as you wish.
JUDITH KITCHEN CREATIVE NONFICTION PRIZE
Deadline: December 1
Award: $1,000, publication, contributor copies
Fee: $20
Water-Stone Review announces the 2014 Judith Kitchen Prize in Creative Nonfiction in honor of Judith Kitchen, distinguished author and long-time friend of the review. Literary nonfiction submissions only. Excerpts from larger works must be able to stand on their own.
MINERVA RISING FICTION AND POETRY CHAPBOOK CONTEST
Deadline: December 1
Award: $250 (each genre), publication, and 10 contributor copies
Fee: $20
Minerva Rising is sponsoring its first ever chapbook contest. We will publish two chapbooks, one in prose and one in poetry. We’re asking for submissions that speak creatively, powerfully, thoughtfully, and maybe even uniquely to our theme “Daring to be the Woman I Am”. For prose we will consider a collection of short stories or a long short story (up to 45 pages) and for poetry we are asking for a collection of poems (12–15 pages ). Publication is planned for March 2014 to coincide with Women’s History Month.
OUT OF SEQUENCE: THE SONNETS REMIXED
Deadline: December 1
From that very first line, Shakespeare tells us “we desire increase.” First published in 1609, the 154 sonnet sequence has not only proven to be a seemingly immortal book of poetry, but also a series that changed the art form itself endlessly. Even if unbeknownst, we have never stopped revisiting the Sonnets, revising and remixing them at every turn. Out of Sequence, a media event from Upstart: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies, seeks responses to Shakespeare’s sonnets from poets, writers, and visual artists. Resulting in a 154-part publication with editorial introduction accessible both online and in print, we expect the project to be available by the end of summer 2014. We are particularly interested in responses that remix the sonnets in a contemporary context while also speaking back to the historical moment of Shakespeare’s original. We ask that you choose a sonnet and respond to it through a poem or brief essay of no more than 500 words.Will you help us create in every bad a perfect best, as fast as to our beams assemble?
SONORA REVIEW CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: December 1
Fee: $3
Our upcoming double-issue will feature explorations of the Mind & Body. We invite you to submit fiction, nonfiction, poetry, artwork, and screenplays that connect, separate, interrogate, unpack, pack up, misinterpret, and examine in every which way the body, the mind, and their intersections.
THE VESALIUS PRIZE
Deadline: December 1
Award: $1,000
To commemorate the 500th birthday of Andreas Vesalius and his spirit of excellence and inquiry. Art Flashes: art and disease, and medical themes in the visual arts. Physicians of Note: portraits of famous physicians. Moments in History: notable events relating to medicine. Literary Vignettes: extracts with commentaries related to medicine and literature. Famous Hospitals: articles about historical or current hospitals. Articles should not be longer than 800 words.
NEW DELTA REVIEW POETRY CHAPBOOK COMPETITION
Deadline: December 2
Award: $100, publication, 20 contributor copies
Fee: $15
New Delta Review is opening submissions for our annual chapbook competition, judged this year by acclaimed poet and novelist Mark Yakich, author of the poetry collection The Importance of Peeling Potatoes in Ukraine (Penguin 2008) and the novel A Meaning for Wife (Ig Publishing 2011), among others. NDR is looking for brilliant, inventive, mind-bending manuscripts of unpublished poetry, fiction, or hybrid work.
BLACK-EYED PEA REVIEW CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: December 5
The new online international journal, the Black-eyed Pea Review, invites submission of poetry, short fiction, scholarly articles, book reviews and interviews connected to the historical and triumphant African Diasporan experience. Submissions, by experienced as well as emerging voices, should adhere to MLA literary guidelines. Black-eyed Pea Review is published by the Creative Writing Program at North Carolina A&T State University.
LADIES HOME JOURNAL ESSAY CONTEST
Deadline: December 6
Award: $3,000 and possible publication
Annual Ladies’ Home Journal personal essay contest—now in its third year! This year’s theme is “The Best Decision I Ever Made,” and we’re calling for genuine, original essays. Every story is read by an editorial staffer as we judge the entries, and we’ve published entries that didn’t win the contest as well (and paid the writers, of course).
CALL FOR WOMEN- AND NATURE-THEMED ISSUE
Deadline: December 15
In honor of the 35th year since the publication of Susan Griffin’s eco-feminist classic Woman and Nature: the Roaring Inside Her, The Fourth River announces a 2014 themed issue on Women and Nature. We are looking for poetry and creative nonfiction, written by women, inspired by the natural world or addressing environmental concerns. Although we will accept lined poems and traditional essays, we are most interested in seeing prose poetry or lyric essays. In the words of Adrienne Rich, who reviewed Griffin’s book, we are looking for any work that “demands of us activity, not passivity; which enlarges our sense of female presence in the world; . . . which uses language and sensual imagery to impart a new vision of reality, from a woman-centered location; . . . which expands our sense of the connections among us in the bonds of history; . . . which drives us wild, that is, helps us break out from tameness and repetition into new trajectories of our own.”
PERMAFROST MAGAZINE CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: December 15
Fee: $3
Permafrost Magazine: the farthest north literary journal for writing and the arts. We’re proud of Permafrost’s thirty-five years as interior Alaska’s foremost literary magazine. We welcome prose submissions of less than 8,000 words (more if it’s really great).No length maximums for poems.
NASSAU REVIEW CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: December 20
The Nassau Review’s open submission period has begun. ALL literary work submitted during this period will be under consideration for the Writer Awards. You do not have to send any separate submissions for the contest. The THEME for the submission period of 2013-2014 is The Art of Science. Biology, geology, chemistry, physics, and so many other realms of reasoning and discovery constantly overlap with the world of art and writing. Please submit works inspired by your interaction with and observation of science. Please do not submit works written for the sole purpose of catharsis, works that are overly-sentimental, or scientific papers or studies. Rather, submit creative works that delve into the scientific mind in some way. We welcome submissions of many genres, preferring work that is innovative, captivating, well-crafted, and unique, work that crosses boundaries of genres and tradition. You may be serious. You may be humorous. You may be somewhere in between. We are looking simply for quality. New writers and seasoned writers are both welcome. All work must be in English.
FOURTH RIVER CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ISSUE ON WOMEN AND NATURE
Deadline: December 15
In honor of the 35th year since the publication of Susan Griffin’s eco-feminist classic Woman and Nature: the Roaring Inside Her, The Fourth River announces a 2014 themed issue on Women and Nature. We are looking for poetry and creative nonfiction, written by women, inspired by the natural world or addressing environmental concerns. Although we will accept lined poems and traditional essays, we are most interested in seeing prose poetry or lyric essays. In the words of Adrienne Rich, who reviewed Griffin’s book, we are looking for any work that “demands of us activity, not passivity; which enlarges our sense of female presence in the world; . . . which uses language and sensual imagery to impart a new vision of reality, from a woman-centered location; . . . which expands our sense of the connections among us in the bonds of history; . . . which drives us wild, that is, helps us break out from tameness and repetition into new trajectories of our own.”
PRESS 53 AWARD FOR SHORT FICTION
Deadline: December 31
Award: $1,000 cash advance, publication, travel
Fee: $30
Press 53 is proud to announce the Press 53 Award for Short Fiction, to be awarded annually to an outstanding, unpublished collection of short stories. This contest is open to any writer, regardless of his or her publication history, provided the manuscript is written in English and the author lives in the United States. The winner of this contest will receive publication, a $1,000 cash advance, travel expenses and lodging for a special reading and book signing party at Press 53 headquarters at the Community Arts Café in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina, attendance to the 2014 Press 53/Prime Number Magazine Gathering of Writers, and ten copies of the book; all prizes will be awarded upon publication.
JULIE SUK PRIZE FOR BEST POETRY BOOK
Deadline: December 31
Award: $500
Fee: $10
Jacar Press is pleased to announce the first annual competition for the $500 Julie Suk Prize for Best Poetry Book. The award competition is open to any poetry book published by an independent press in 2013. All books published by a literary, university, non-profit or any press not considered one of the major commercial publishing houses are eligible. There is no length limit on books submitted. No limit on how many books a poet may submit. All submitted books must contain a Copyright page that shows a 2013 Copyright. Books published by Jacar Press are not eligible.
PRESS 53 CALL FOR SHORT FICTION
Deadline: December 31
In the 21st century, knowledge of the world around us grows increasingly important, and fiction set in other countries has become extremely popular. Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet (Edited by Clifford Garstang, to be published by Press 53 in Fall 2014) is an anthology (and potential series) of short fiction (short stories of any length, short shorts, and flash) set around the globe, including the United States. The anthology will consist of 20-25 fictions, with no more than one story set in any one country. Included stories will be a mix of previously published and new work. Each contributor will be entitled to a contributor copy and author discounts on additional copies. Stories may be any length.
SOUTHERN WRITERS SYMPOSIUM EMERGING WRITERS CONTEST
Deadline: January 3, 2014
Award: $300 / $200 and their work read aloud at symposium
Fee: $15
Entries are now being accepted for the 2013 Southern Writers Symposium Emerging Writers Contest. This year categories will feature fiction and poetry. The contest is open to writers who meet at least two of the following criteria: currently live in the South; are natives of the South; write about the South. Additionally, writers must have not yet published a full-length volume in the genre that they are entering. For example, writers are still eligible for the emerging fiction writers contest if published in volume form in nonfiction or poetry.
BETTER LITERARY CONTESTS (FICTION AND POETRY)
Deadline: January 7, 2014
Award: $1,000 and publication (each genre)
Fee: $15
For Fiction: Submit either one previously unpublished story up to 10,000 words in length, or up to five previously unpublished works of flash fiction totaling no more than ten pages. For Poetry: Submit up to five previously unpublished poems in one document, no more than fifteen pages in length.
PIEDMONT LAUREATE APPLICATIONS
Extended Deadline: January 9, 2014
The Piedmont Laureate program is accepting applications from writers of short fiction for 2014. The mission of the Piedmont Laureate program is to promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts throughout the Piedmont region. The program is sponsored by the Alamance County Arts Council, City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, and United Arts of Raleigh and Wake County.
THE GOVER PRIZE FOR VERY SHORT FICTION
Deadline: January 10, 2014
Award: $250 and publication
The Gover Prize, named after groundbreaking author Robert Gover, awards an annual prize and publication in Best New Writing for the best short fiction and creative nonfiction. Entries limited to 500 words or less. The Gover Prize includes $250 to Gover Prize Winner and finalists published in the upcoming Best New Writing edition.
LABEL ME LATINA/O CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: January 12, 2014
Label Me Latina/o is an online, refereed international e-journal that focuses on Latino Literary Production in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The journal invites scholarly essays focusing on these writers for its biannual publication. Label Me Latina/o also publishes creative literary pieces whose authors self-define as Latina or Latino regardless of thematic content. Interviews of Latino authors will also be considered. The Co-Directors will publish creative works and interviews in English, Spanish, or Spanglish whereas analytical essays should be written in English or Spanish. Scholarly submissions should be between 12-30 pages in length and should follow the MLA Style Manual. Creative poetry, essays and short fiction should not exceed 30 pages, 12 point font, double-spaced.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE SOUTHERN POETRY ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME VII: NORTH CAROLINA
Deadline: January 15, 2014
Editors William Wright, Jesse Graves, and Paul Ruffin now seek submissions for the seventh in our series, The Southern Poetry Anthology, featuring North Carolina poets. The anthology will be published by Texas Review Press in 2014. If you are a North Carolina native, or if you have lived in North Carolina for more than one year, please feel free to send up to five poems for consideration. This anthology is not limited to those who have published before; we invite first-time submitters as well as those who have had full-length works of poetry published with national presses. The only rules: Poems must be original and of high quality. We consider formal poems and free verse. Poems about North Carolina are not necessarily championed over other motifs and themes, as we wish for the “sense of place” to manifest in different ways, with different voices. Please note that the success of this anthology depends a great deal on word of mouth. Notify your poetry students, poetry-writing friends, and gifted nemeses of this opportunity.
GREAT WEATHER FOR MEDIA CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: January 15
great weather for MEDIA seeks poetry, flash fiction, short stories, dramatic monologues, and creative nonfiction for our annual print anthology. Our focus is on edgy and experimental themes and styles. We highly recommend coming to one of our events, or reading our collections The Understanding between Foxes and Light and It’s Animal but Merciful, to see the type of work we are interested in. Let us know in your cover letter how you found us, and any feedback on what we have done so far. We are based in New York City and welcome submissions from both national and international writers.
THE INDIAN RIVER REVIEW CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: January 15, 2014
The Indian River Review is currently soliciting submissions for its third issue scheduled for publication in late spring/summer 2014. The theme for this issue is “Technology,” and we plan to take a very broad view of this theme. As man moved from an oral to a literate culture, technology has affected the way we communicate and live. At one time, even the simple number 2 pencil was a technological advancement. From quills to computers, from knitting needles to the Mars Rover, technology comes in many forms, and we would like to explore this concept in our third issue. Genres include short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, critical essays, black and white photography, and book reviews.
SLIVER OF STONE CALL FOR POETRY SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: January 15, 2014
We are a bi-annual, online literary magazine dedicated to the publication of work from both emerging and established poets, writers, and visual artists from all parts of the globe. Check out our past contributors, such as Lynne Barrett, Kim Barnes, Joe Clifford, John Dufresne, Denise Duhamel, Allison Joseph, Winty W. Moore, Matthew Sharpe, and many talented others. Past interviews with Edwidge Danticat, Dean Koontz, Susan Orlean, Les Standiford, and Mark Vonnegut. We’re now looking for submissions for our eight issue!
ANTHOLOGY CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: POEMS INSPIRED BY PUBLIC RADIO
Deadline: January 31, 2014
Seeking submissions of poetry and artwork for an anthology of work inspired by NPR and PBS to be published on Nine Toes Press, an offshoot of Lummox Press and tentatively entitled The Liberal Media Made Me Do It!. The poems may have been inspired by stories, quotations, or lines heard/seen on NPR or PBS, and should, if possible, name their original source (the show and subject matter of the story). These can include poems with subject matter and/or lines taken from interviews and news stories, recipes, even book reviews or documentaries. Contributors will receive an e-copy of the book or reduced cost on the hard copy. Previously published poems or poems printed on blogs are permissible, if the author owns the rights, though the place of first publication should be named.
WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING
Deadline: January 31, 2014
Award: $5,000 (each genre)
Nominations are now being accepted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for works of fiction and nonfiction. Co-sponsored by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, the awards are intended to “encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan legacy of originality, vitality, and stylistic innovation.”
CUTBANK CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: February 15, 2014
CutBank magazine is now open for submissions! We welcome original, unpublished work from established and upcoming writers alike. We’re looking first and foremost for excellent writing. We love to read, and are always excited to find a piece that startles us, engaging us emotionally and challenging us intellectually. For the print version of CutBank, we accept poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Please only submit online; paper submissions will be recycled. Submit unpublished, original work.
THE HEKTOEN ESSAY CONTEST
Deadline: March 1, 2014
Award: $1,500 / $1,000
Suggested topics include medicine and art or literature, history of medicine, ethics, music, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, etc. Clinical studies or case reports are not eligible. Essays should be 1,500 to 2,000 words.
SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
Deadline: March 3, 2014
Award: $1,000 and publication
Fee: $35
The South Carolina First Novel Prize recognizes one of South Carolina’s exceptional writers by providing a book contract with Hub City Press. The competition is a highly competitive, anonymous process. Publication by Hub City of at least 1,500 copies of the book will bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and opportunities. The book will be nationally distributed. Six to eight novels will be judged by nationally recognized novelist Ben Fountain.
NEIL SIMON FESTIVAL NEW PLAY CONTEST
Deadline: March 15, 2014
Award: Staged reading, production consideration
Fee: $25 ($55 with critique)
The Neil Simon Festival announces its fourth annual New Play Contest. The winning script will receive a staged reading during the 2014 Neil Simon Festival in Cedar City, Utah, July 9 – August 9. The selected script may also be considered for full production in a future season. The winning playwright will be invited to be a part of the staged reading process and will be offered a stipend to help them attend. Script must be full-length (80-120 minutes) and be a character-driven American comedy.
GLINT CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: March 31, 2014
Glint Literary Journal is a creative endeavor produced by the student body of Fayetteville State University to provide an outlet for the literary and artistic. The literary, journalistic, and artistic works contained within Glint are that of the highest quality, created by a diverse group for a diverse audience. Accepting fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, reviews, and more.
TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN WRITERS EXCALIBUR AWARD
Deadline: June 1, 2014
Award: $500 and publication
Fee: $20
Tennessee Mountain Writers announces the Excalibur Award for a first-time novelist of a full-length juvenile (for middle school level readers) or young adult novel manuscript of publishable quality. Only first-time novelists who have never published or self-published a novel are eligible.
2S THEATRE PLAY CONTEST
Award: $25 per performance; staged reading
2S Theatre is currently accepting submissions for new, previously unproduced plays by emerging playwrights for its 2013-2014 Season. Plays are being accepted in each of the following categories: Comedy, Christmas, Romantic Comedy, and Children’s Theatre. Selected plays will receive a fully produced staged reading before a live audience in the Los Angeles area. Authors of selected works will be awarded an honorarium of $25 per performance. Scripts must be unpublished and non-professionally produced at the time that they are being staged by 2S. Workshops and readings are acceptable. Submissions must be of plays written expressly for the stage. Submissions should be of plays that include at least two characters that can be realistically portrayed by actors of any ethnicity. For example, a play about a family from the foothills of South Dakota must also include at least two characters who are not members of that family. Selected playwrights must be in attendance for all performances of their work.
BULL CITY CHAPBOOK FELLOWSHIP AT THE FROST PLACE
The Frost Place, a nonprofit center for poetry and the arts at Robert Frost’s old homestead in Franconia, NH, in partnership with Bull City Press, has established a new poetry chapbook fellowship. We invite submissions to the Second Annual Frost Place Chapbook Competition sponsored by Bull City Press. In summer 2014, the winner’s chapbook will be published by Bull City Press, and the winner will receive 10 complimentary copies (from a print run of 200), and a $250 stipend. The winner will also receive a full fellowship to attend the five-and-a-half-day Poetry Seminar at The Frost Place, August 3-9, 2014, including room and board (a cash value of approximately $1,500), and will give a featured reading from the chapbook at the Seminar. As well, the chapbook fellow will have the option to spend one week living and writing in The Frost Place House-Museum in September 2014 (peak leaf season in the White Mountains), at a time agreed upon by the fellow and The Frost Place. The 2nd Annual Frost Place Chapbook Final Judge is David Baker.
BYTESTORIES CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Bytestories, a web ‘zine that publishes short prose under 1,500 characters (about 200-250 words), is 100 percent dedicated to sharing stories based on personal experiences. It’s about sharing the funny, sad, dangerous, and/or embarrassing things that happen while at home or abroad.
FUTURECYCLE PRESS CALL FOR ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSIONS
North Carolina-based publisher FutureCycle Press is calling for poetry and flash fiction submissions for three new anthologies. Part of the Good Works Projects, the revenues from sales of the anthologies will go to an appropriate charity. Please submit your writings for any or all of the anthologies: Homeland: Writings About Homelessness; Our Place: Writings About the Earth (environmental or nature-related); (Not Yet Titled): An Anthology about Aging. Robert S. King and David Chorlton are co-editors. No submission deadline has been set, but a 2014 target date is planned for all three volumes.
MOBILELOVESTORIES SEEKS SHORT ROMANTIC FICTION
MobileLoveStories seeks short stories of 2,000 words or less for inclusion into a Short Romance Anthology to be released in time for Christmas. The stories need to illuminate something meaningful about love, desire, and passionate human relationships. The stories need not have a happy ending, but they can. The stories need not be explicit, but they can be. The stories can be new or previously published. What is important is that they are the kind of story people will remember for a li