Welcome to The Writing Pool’s Weekly Writing PostTM! We provide you with a free weekly newsletter filled with notices about contests, events, conferences, and other information that might be useful or of great interest to writers of all leanings. Meanwhile, calls for submission to literary publications as well as information about publishers can be found at The Writing PoolTM, your bottomless pool for great writing resources.
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If you want to include a notice or announcement in the Weekly, please email your submission to weekly@thewritingpool.com
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One should use common words to say uncommon things. |
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Schopenhauer couldn’t say it any better, and to think that was in the 19th century. Despite all the wisdom of writers before us, we still encounter writers who try to use as many uncommon words as they can, most likely to sound more intelligent. It’s the same thing with jargon. There are still professionals in certain fields who like to use jargon nobody else understands. Among the worst offenders are legal, medical, and scientific professions. True, there are some terms that cannot be described in any other way, especially where medicine and science is concerned, but there really is nothing in the law that can’t be spelled out in plain English. More recently, as a result of technology, more and more computerese and technical language is spilling into everyday writing. Again, regardless of the technicality, we do need to try to express everything in more common terms. If you can’t explain something in common language, you can’t get your readers interested. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the same thing with teen jargon and texting language. Historically, young people have created a special language so they could not be understood by grown ups. When they extend that to everyday speech or even to writing, they automatically exclude the generations older than theirs. Unless you are addressing a very limited audience, stick with Schopenhauer’s advice. Otherwise, limit your publishing to trade and professional journals and publications.
Need more writing tips? Visit The Writing Pool™ where you can read more about writing. You can also read about various aspects of writing at Creativity Unlimited .
Happy writing!
~cpl
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NEWS
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Twenty-six “fresh and unexpected” stories make up the shortlist for this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize. In its fifth year, the prize is for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in English.
The shortlist covers a wide range of subject matter from rivalry between chefs, a community of puppeteers in Delhi, society and class in Jamaica to genocide and revenge, an advertising campaign for chewing gum in India, and the heartbreak of Alzheimers.
Chair of the judges, South African novelist and playwright Gillian Slovo, said of this year’s shortlist:
“As a novelist accustomed to the luxury of the long form it has been a treat to discover writers who manage to crystallise such different experiences into so few words. The stories we have chosen for the shortlist are in turn comic, touching, poetic, mysterious but always fresh and unexpected.”
See the shortlist and read a passage from each of the twenty-six stories here.
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PEI LOCAL/ATLANTIC
Staged reading of plays by Michael Hennessey
Join Bill McFadden and company for a stage reading of two plays by Island author, Michael Hennessey, “A Well-developed Sense of Guilt” and “The Trial of Minnie McGee,” Saturday 2:00 p.m. May 21 at Confederation Centre Public Library. “A Well-developed Sense of Guilt” is centered around a very human priest attempting to juggle the life issues of his parishioners along with a few of his own. “The Trial of Minnie McGee” focuses on one of PEI’s most infamous individuals, Minnie McGee who poisoned her children. Up for a bit of comedy and tragedy? Stop by and enjoy this interpretation by McFadden and his troupe.
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GREAT BLUE HERON POETRY CONTEST
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SHELDON CURRIE FICTION PRIZE
$2,400 in Prizes to be won!
Sheldon Currie Fiction Prize: Stories on any subject. Total entry not to exceed 20 pages.
Great Blue Heron Poetry Contest: Poems on any subject. Total entry not to exceed 4 pages. Maximum 150 lines. Entries might be one longer poem, or several shorter poems.
Deadlines: Fiction entries must be postmarked by June 1, 2016 and Poetry must be postmarked by June 30, 2016
For complete submission guidelines, please go to http://www.antigonishreview.com and click on contest.
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Peggy Hogan’s Milo’s Burden Book Launch
Local award-winning author, Peggy Hogan, is thrilled to announce that her second novel, Milo’s Burden, has been released by Double Dragon Publishing. She will host a launch at the Hunter River Memorial Library on May 18 starting at 6:30 pm. There will be readings, signings, refreshments, and Hogan will perform an original song based on a scene from Milo’s Burden.
“I began Milo’s story a few years ago and soon learned that what seemed to flow like magic from a page was not nearly as easy as putting it on the page in the first place! Writing is a craft, and a craft takes diligence and practice―lots of practice. Like anything precious, Milo’s Burden received care and attention until he was ready to reveal his story to the world,” Hogan explains.
In Milo’s Burden, a wooden carving is brought to life by the ancient and forgotten Lifefire. But the new-born woman, Malissa, has a terrible flaw: her only emotion is rage. It feeds the power that surges through her and will not let her rest until she holds the entire world in a vicious death grip. The crew of the Pride and the inhabitants of mythical Uamh struggle to thwart her plans. In a bloody battle, Captain Oprum is taken prisoner and all else is put aside to rescue him.
Milo, the young boy who animated Malissa, has inadvertently upset the forces of Lifefire and sundered its delicate balance. With his sister and her friend, and an old man and his mangy dog, he must travel deep within the mountains to discover the secrets of Lifefire before rage rules the world.
Hogan’s first novel, For a Song, was awarded second place in the adult fiction category of a recent Atlantic Writing Competition. Both Milo’s Burden and For a Song are available at Bookmark and Indigo in Charlottetown, as well as from a variety of distributors. Visit her website for details www.peggyhoganauthor.com.
Hogan and her husband live in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island, where she is working on her next story whose heroine was born just a few miles away in a small fishing village…
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Cargo Lit Submissions Open for Issue 6
Hey all you lovers of travel and passion and adventure, Cargo’s reading period is open for Issue 6, due out next month. Whether it’s a photo you took, an experience you want to share, or a piece of art you created inspired by your place in a new world, we at Cargo Lit want to hear about it.
Don’t forget we are always looking for portrait shots for our covers – your photo or art could make the next cover of Cargo.
To drop your submission in our box, follow the links here through Submittable: http://cargoliterary.com/submit/
We are waiting for you!
the cargo team
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Paul Vreeland’s Debut Novel
A friend confesses to you a crime he has committed. What do you do? What do you do when the crime is murder? And does it matter if the victim is someone you love? The ultimate question is this: Is it possible to lie to yourself? Paul Vreeland’s debut novel, I’ll Tell You One Thing is now available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions. Islanders can save shipping costs by ordering through the author. Check it out at http://amzn.to/1SJmKRt
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Open Invitation
The poetry engine awaits you at www.poetrypei.com!
New poets are always welcome to submit a poem to this site, especially if they have never have done so before. The submission form —with complete guidelines and formatting tips—is at www.poetrypei.com/submit.
Poets already on the site: remember that you are welcome to replace your existing poem with a new one at any time, provided at least three months have passed since your last update.
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CONTESTS AND CALLS
See more at www.thewritingpool.com
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Field of Words Writing Competitions
The 2016 Flash Fiction and Short Story competitions (round One) are now open. Send us your best work!
Field of Words is dedicated to helping emerging writers grow. To this end, we now run international writing competitions in the categories of short fiction and flash fiction three times per year. All entrants must be aged 18 and over. Both categories offer cash prizes for the winner and runner-up.
The names and works of competition winners and runners up will be published on our Home page. The names and works of all monthly finalists will be regularly published on either our Short Story Competition Finalists page, or our Flash Fiction Competition Finalists page. The announcement of finalists is dependent upon the quality of work submitted. If stories do not meet the high standard expected of a competition finalist, then no finalists will be chosen for that month.
For more details and guidelines, please visit http://fieldofwords.com.au/writing-competition/
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Tethered By Letters
Tethered by Letters has launched a new Twitter micro fiction contest, #Blink! Stories must be 140 characters or less. A winner will be selected every two weeks. For more details, follow @TethrdbyLettrs and @FrictionSeries on Twitter.
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Glimmer Train 2015 SUBMISSION CALENDAR AND CATEGORIES
We have five submission categories from which to choose, including our standard category (no reading fees and payment for accepted pieces is $700), and four contests (reading fees allow for 1st place prizes from $1,500 to $2,500). Contests vs. standards. Click on the names of the categories for details.
NOTE: There is always a one-week grace period after the deadline (last day of the month).
Very Short Fiction (1st place – $1,500): Welcome in January, April, July, and October.
Short Story Award for New Writers (1st place – $1,500): Welcome in February, May, August, November.
Fiction Open (1st place – $2,500): Welcome in June and December.
Family Matters (1st place – $1,500): Welcome in March and September.
Standard Category ($700): Welcome in January, May, September.
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The Monthly Writing Contest
Here at Writing Maps we believe good writing should be encouraged, cherished, shared, and most importantly, published.
We hold a monthly Writing Maps Writing Contest to coincide with the launch each month of a new Writing Map product. We challenge you to write and share a 150-word piece in response to our Prompt of the Month.
Each month’s two winning entries will be published in The A3 Review, the new Writing Maps Journal, a fold-out literary magazine to be published every six months. The first issue appeared in September 2014. Winning entries will also receive free Writing Maps and contributor copies of The A3 Review.
To make sure you don’t miss future contests, you can sign up to our newsletter by clicking on this link. Follow us on Twitter for conversation, updates and inspiration.
The Rules:
- Entry is $5 (approx £3). Multiple entries accepted.
- Enter online through Submittable. Click here to enter.
- The contest closes at midnight (GMT) on the fourth Saturday of the month.
- Any entries submitted after the deadline will not be eligible.
- The Writing Maps Writing Contest is open to all writers over 16.
- There is no restriction on theme or style. We encourage prose, poems, prose poems, graphic stories and hybrid forms.
- Maximum number of words is 150.
For more details, please visit http://www.writingmaps.com/pages/contest
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Flash Fiction Competition
Now in its sixth year, this quarterly open-themed competition for fiction up to 500 words has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December.
Entry fee: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories
Prizes: £300 plus publication in Words with JAM, £200 and £100
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Tillie Olsen Short Story Award
The Tishman Review is looking for the best story that captures the spirit of not only the writing of Tillie Olsen but her work to make our world a better place.
Entries should consist of unpublished (including online and personal blogs) short stories not longer than 5,000 words in length. Manuscripts and file names must not contain any identifying information. Please double-space and paginate your entry. Please use only one space after a period. All entries must be received through Submittable with the $15.00 entry fee per story. Writers may enter as many stories as they wish, but each one must be entered separately and with the $15.00 fee. Entries will be accepted between February 25 and April 25 of 2016. Simultaneous submissions are allowed—please withdraw your story immediately if it is accepted elsewhere for publication.
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The Cossack Review’s First Annual October Prizes
Entries open from February 1, 2016 to April 30, 2016
Submissions for the October Prizes will be accepted via The Cossack Review’s Submittable page. We cannot accept entries by mail.
Poetry: Submit up to six poems.
Fiction: Submit one story (10,000 words maximum).
The $15 entry fee also pays for a copy of the Winter 2016 issue of The Cossack Review. Winners will be announced by 1 September 2016.
For more details, please visit http://www.thecossackreview.com/octoberprize.html
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Dead Bison Editors’ Prize in Fiction
$15.00 USD
Ends on 4/30/2016
Submit up to 25 pages of fiction. We’re interested in both single stories and combinations of shorter pieces. That said, we’ll be judging the submission as a whole; multiple short-shorts must work together for the purpose of a singular effect, and won’t be judged one an individual basis.
For more details, please visit https://arcadiajournal.submittable.com/submit
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Dead Bison Editors’ Prize in Nonfiction
$15.00 USD
Ends on 4/30/2016
Submit up to 25 pages of nonfiction. We’re interested in both individual pieces and combinations of shorter pieces. That said, we’ll be judging the submission as a whole; multiple short pieces must work together for the purpose of a singular effect, and won’t be judged on an individual basis.
For more details, please visit https://arcadiajournal.submittable.com/submit
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Dead Bison Editors’ Prize in Poetry
$15.00 USD
Ends on 4/30/2016
Submit up to 10 pages of poetry. We’re interested in both single poems and combinations of poems. That said, we’ll be judging the submission as a whole; multiple poems must work together for the purpose of a singular effect, and won’t be judged one an individual basis.
For more details, please visit https://arcadiajournal.submittable.com/submit
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Canadian Authors 2016 Literary Awards – Part 2
Entries are now being accepted for two additional 2016 award categories:
The CAA Emerging Writer Award is for a body of work by a Canadian author under 30 deemed to show exceptional promise. Nominees need not be published. The postmark deadline for this award is April 30, 2016.
The Canadian Authors Fred Kerner Book Award is a brand new award given exclusively to members. Any genre is eligible. The postmark deadline for this award is April 15, 2016.
For details and submission forms, go to our website at
http://canadianauthors.org/national/awards/submit
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Metamorphose Short Story Contest
We are currently accepting short stories in the fantasy and science fiction genres ranging from 1,000 to 7,500 words. The short story contest winner from each category will be published as the featured short story in Metamorphose’s Anthology in the fall. Four finalists will be considered for publication in the fall anthology. Each finalist will also receive free professional edits on their submission. International submissions welcome.
Opens: March 1
Deadline: April 30
Prize: $25 and publication in the anthology
Entry Fee: FREE
URL: http://www.metamorphoselit.com/p/metamorphose-novella-contest-we-are.html
Contact Info: Tammy Davies, metamorphoseliterary@gmail.com
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Killer Nashville Claymore Award
Entry Fee: $30
Entry Fee with Critique: $50
What You Win
Over $3,000 in prizes, plus possible book advance, agent, and movie deal.
What Manuscripts Will be Considered
Enter the first 50 pages of your unpublished crime literature manuscript in the contest.
Judges will consider any subgenre of mystery or thriller, including political thriller, cozy, legal, police procedural, private eye, romantic suspense, paranormal mystery, and historical mystery.
Entry Deadline for the
2016 Killer Nashville Claymore Award is April 30, 2016
Finalists for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award will be announced before the conference on August 18-21, 2016.
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Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
Contest Opens: Oct 15, 2015
Deadline: Apr 30, 2016
Results Announced: Oct 15, 2016
Theme: All themes accepted
Length Limit: 6,000 words
Entry Fee: $18 per entry. Please submit entries one at a time.
Prizes:
- FICTION: First Prize, $1,500
- ESSAYS: First Prize, $1,500
- 10 Honorable Mentions will receive $100 each (any category)
- Top 12 entries published online
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/P2pmfW
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2016 Editor’s Reprint Award
$200 and publication in Sequestrum will be awarded to one previously-published piece of prose.
A minimum of one runner-up will receive $25 and publication. Finalists listed on the site.
Contest doors close April 30th 2016, dependent on submission volume.
- As always, our first obligation is to giving every submission the time and consideration it deserves, and we reserve the right to close contest doors early in order to do so.
- The short and long: Get your work polished and submitted and don’t dawdle about it.
Entry fee is $15.
For more details, please visit http://www.sequestrum.org/contests
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Entry Deadline for the
2016 Claymore Award is April 30, 2016
What You Win
Over $3,000 in prizes, plus possible book advance, agent, and movie deal.
What Manuscripts Will be Considered
Enter the first 50 pages of your unpublished crime literature manuscript in the contest.
Judges will consider any subgenre of mystery or thriller, including political thriller, cozy, legal, police procedural, private eye, romantic suspense, paranormal mystery, and historical mystery.
For more details, please visit http://www.killernashville.com/awards/claymore-award-2/
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The 2016 Shakespeare Selfie writing challenge for students
THE CHALLENGE
Write a modern-day soliloquy or monologue by a Shakespearean character. Your soliloquy should be based on a prominent news, pop culture or current affairs event from the last year (April 2015-April 2016). It can be in iambic pentameter or modern-day language.
You can write about one of the topics we’ve suggested below, or choose one of your own.
WHEN IS IT?
April 2016 (specific contest period to be announced).
WHO CAN ENTER?
Grades 7-9 and grades 10-12 students who are Canadian residents. (There are two separate age categories.)
WORD COUNT
200-400 words
PRIZES
There is an iPad mini for each category’s grand prize winner (grades 7-9 and 10-12).
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1QocGvV
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2016 Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Awards
Winning entries will receive $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place and will be published in The Petigru Review. One contributor copy will be given to each author for winning entries.
The contest is open to anyone, from any country, anywhere in the world. However, entries must be written in English. (See Manuscript Formatting for more specifics)
Submissions open March 1 and close May 1 each year.
The Carrie McCray Awards will feature four genres: First Chapter of a Novel, Short Story, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry.
- First Chapter of a Novel – 3,500 word limit
• Fiction – word count limit 3,000 word limit
• Creative Nonfiction – word count limit 3,000 word limit
• Poetry – submit up to three (3) poems, not to exceed 80 lines in total
Winning entries will receive $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place and be published in The Petigru Review. One contributor copy will be given to each author for winning entries.
For more details, please visit http://myscww.org/contests/#sthash.kQ0JY6Qn.dpuf
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Magic of Memoir Call for Submissions
SUBMIT TO OUR NEW ANTHOLOGY, MAGIC OF MEMOIR (NOVEMBER 2016 PUBLICATION DATE):
In this collection, we are asking writers to share their stories of hard-earned wisdom. We want to learn how you dealt with the inner critic, or the practical strategies that provided motivation to write about the dark times your story might have brought up. Share with us the lessons you learned from the mistakes you made on this journey, and how you overcame them. Tell us what inspired you, what kept you going, and most of all why you tackled the challenge of writing a memoir. For Magic of Memoir, editors Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and Brooke Warner, Publisher of She Writes Press, are looking for a broad perspective and specific tips on the discipline and inspiration you used to write your memoir.
The top 18-20 submissions will be published in Magic of Memoir: Inspiration for the Writing Journey (She Writes Press, November 2016), edited by Linda Joy Myers, PhD, and Brooke Warner. The top three entries will receive prize money in the amounts of:
1st place: $400
2nd place: $200
3rd place: $100
Submissions deadline is May 1, 2016, and the submissions fee is $20.
For details, please visit http://writeyourbookinsixmonths.com/call-for-submissions/
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Prize money: $1000
Entries due every May 1 (emailed or postmarked)
As a complement to the Novella and Long Poem prizes, the Far Horizons Awards are short-form contests, with the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction given during odd years and the Far Horizons Award for Poetry in even. Only open to writers who have yet to publish in book form for the genre in question. Winning entries appear in the Autumn issue.
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Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition
DEADLINE: May 6, 2016
Writer’s Digest has been shining a spotlight on up and coming writers in all genres through its Annual Writing Competition for more than 80 years. Enter our 85th Annual Writing Competition for your chance to win and have your work be seen by editors and agents! The winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the 85th Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection.
For more details, please visit http://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/annual-writing-competition
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Master’s Review Short Story Award for New Writers
The Short Story Award for New Writers will be open from May 15 – July 15, 2016 and will award $2000 to the winner of the best piece of fiction by an emerging writer. Second and third place prizes will be $200 and $100, respectively, and all three stories will earn publication on the site and agency review by Amy Williams of The Williams Agency, Victoria Marini by GELFMAN SCHNEIDER / ICM PARTNERS and Laura Biagi from Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. in New York.
OPEN: May 15 – July 15
PRIZE: $2000 and publication to the winner. $200, $100 and publication to second and third place stories, respectively. Considered by Victoria Marini of GELFMAN SCHNEIDER / ICM PARTNERS and Laura Biagi from Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. in New York for representation.
For more details, please visit https://mastersreview.com/short-story-award-for-new-writers/
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Raymond Carver Short Story Contest
From the website: “Featuring prominent guest judges and offering $2500 across five prizes, the contest delivers exciting new fiction from writers all over the world.” The Carve Magazine guidelines page lists all the details on submitting, but winners will earn $1500, publication, and review from three literary agencies.
Submission fee: $17 Deadline: May 15
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FINDING MR. RIGHT
OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
FINDING MR. RIGHT, an upcoming anthology, is currently open to essay submissions from female writers around the world. In addition to publication in paperback, cash prizes will be awarded to the top three authors that win our judges’ hearts. Deadline: May 15, 2016.
Of the 20 best essays chosen for publication, the top three will respectively receive $200, $100 and $75 as well as a feature interview. Entries will be judged on the basis of excellent wordsmithing (including flawless spelling, grammar and punctuation); a takeaway message that resonates and will makes readers smile, laugh, cry and/or reflect on the quest for companionship; and a strict adherence to what we think are pretty straightforward rules.
For more details, please visit https://findingmrrightsite.wordpress.com/
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PLOUGHSHARES Emerging Writer’s Contest
The Emerging Writer’s Contest is currently accepting submissions until May 15, 2016 at noon EST. Submit via our online submission manager. You must be logged in to access this page.
The Emerging Writer’s Contest is open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish or self-publish a book. The winner in each genre will be awarded $1,000. Read past winners of the contest here.
The winning story, essay, and poems from the 2016 contest will be published in the Winter 2016-17 issue of Ploughshares, and each writer will receive $1,000.
For more details, please visit https://www.pshares.org/submit/emerging-writers-contest/guidelines
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23nd Annual
DANCING POETRY CONTEST
Deadline May 15, 2016
Over $1,000 in prize money to be awarded
All DPF prize winners will receive a prize certificate suitable for framing, a ticket to the Dancing Poetry Festival 2016, and be invited to read their prize winning poem at the 2016 Dancing Poetry Festival at theFlorence Gould Theater at the Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco, CA.
Three Grand Prizes will receive $100 each plus the poems will be danced, and videotaped for the poet. Each Grand Prize Winner will be invited onstage for photo ops with the dancers and a bow in the spot light.
Six First Prizes will receive $50 each
Twelve Second Prizes will receive $25 each
Thirty Third Prizes will receive $10 each
For more details, please visit http://www.dancingpoetry.com/dpfpoetrycontestrules.html
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Joy
Deadline: May 16, 2016
For an upcoming issue, Creative Nonfiction is seeking new essays about JOY.
Creative Nonfiction editors will award $1,000 for Best Essay and $500 for runner-up. All essays will be considered for publication in a special “Joy” issue of the magazine to be published in winter 2017.
For more details, please visit https://www.creativenonfiction.org/submissions/joy
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THE ROBERT DANA ANHINGA PRIZE FOR POETRY
The Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry began in 1983. The competition is open to all poets for a manuscript of original poetry in English. The winner receives $2000, and a reading tour of selected Florida colleges and universities.
- February 15 to May 20 (postmark) each year
- Submit via our Submittable page
- Reading fee for each manuscript is $28
- Manuscripts must be 48-80 pages, excluding front matter. They may be single- or double-spaced.
For more details, please visit http://www.anhingapress.org/robert-dana-anhinga-prize/
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The Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award
-sponsored by the St. Jerome’s University English Department
Winning story: $1000
This contest is named in honour of Peter Hinchcliffe, who was instrumental in the founding of the magazine and has made an impact in the lives of many students in his longstanding role as lecturer at St. Jerome’s University.
The $1000 top prize will be awarded for a work of short fiction by a Canadian (citizen or resident) writer who has not yet published a first novel or short story collection. Though there is only one top prize, all submissions will be considered for paid publication ($250) in the magazine.
Entry fee: $40 per submission. Each submission includes a one-year Canadian subscription (or subscription extension) to The New Quarterly
There is no word limit. Entrants’ anonymity will be carefully preserved throughout the judging process; please ensure that your name does not appear on your document. Decisions will be made by August 31; finalists will be notified by email.
Deadline: May 28, 2016
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1QOC5km
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Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
Submission Guidelines: 2016Competition
Dates for submission: Manuscripts may be submitted between 9:00 a.m. on April 1 and 5:00 p.m. on May 31. Beginning in 2016 the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction contest will only have one winner per competition cycle. The winner will be announced by late summer.
We only accept electronic submissions. Our online submissions manager is available here: http://georgiapress.submishmash.com/submit
Tech support for using the submissions manager is available at 1-406-480-6274. The $30 entry fee can be paid online via credit card or PayPal.
Eligibility: The competition is open to writers in English, whether published or unpublished. Previous winners of this award are not eligible to win again. Writers must be residents of North America.
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Hourglass Literary Magazine Contest
Hourglass Literary Magazine with the cooperation, support and patronage of Krajina klass, BLC (Banjaluka College) and software company Literature and Latte, announces its maiden competition for:
BEST SHORT STORY
BEST ESSAY
BEST POEM
Awards
- The winning entry in each category (short story, essay and poem) will receive US$1000 as prize money, apart from a symbolic artifact (clepsydra), digital stamp and diploma.
- Winning entries will be published in the first issue of the Hourglass Literary Magazine, in the original language (English / BCMS languages) and translated (BCMS/English).
Special Awards
- The jury, comprising highly respected authors Sibelan Forrester, Jelena Lengold and John K. Cox has the right to give a special prize (US$ 500 for entry in each category).
- Ten Finalists in each category will be published in the first issue of the literary magazine.
- All published works will be financially compensated and finalists will be provided with one copy of the printed edition of the Hourglass Literary Magazine .
Scrivener Award
- Special prize of the Literature and Latte – Scrivener Award – consisting of the three licensed software solutions “Scrivener”.
- About Scrivener: Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.
Winners…
…will be officially awarded in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Hercegovina (September 1, 2016). The event winners and finalists will be informed via e-mail/phone. If an author cannot attend the awards ceremony, sponsors of the contest will provide the video conference; funds will be paid via PayPal or bank transfer.
- Final closing date: 11:59 P.M. May 31st 2016 (US Central time).
For more details, please visit http://hourglassonline.org/contest/
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CBC Poetry Prize
WHAT: Submit your original, unpublished, poem or poetry collection. The entry must be between 400 and 600 words.
WHEN: Competition runs from April 1 to May 31.
WHO: All Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.
HOW: While the competition is active, submit online by clicking the “submit” link below or, if you wish to submit by mail, you can download the submission form as of April 1, 2016.
A fee of $25.00 (taxes included) for administration purposes is required for each entry.
For more details, please visit http://www.cbc.ca/books/literaryprizes/poetry/
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New Letters Prizes
$4,500 in awards for writers
Deadline: May 18, 2016
The $1,500 New Letters Prize for Poetry for the best group of three to six poems.
The $1,500 Dorothy Cappon Prize for Nonfiction for the best Essay.
The $1,500 Alexander Cappon Prize for Fiction for the best short story.
Upload your writing online by midnight Monday, May 18th. Entries sent after midnight May 18th cannot be considered or refunded. Please read guidelines carefully to insure best service. For a printable version of the guidelines, click here.
Postmark by May 18, 2016.
For more details, please visit http://www.newletters.org/writers-wanted/writing-contests
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The Little Bird Writing Contest is open
The Little Bird Salon is live May 1st at 11 a.m. EDT.
Contest Closes May 27th, 2016.
SUBMIT NOW!
PRIZES
Winner: $1000
First runner-up: $250
Second runner-up: $250
***
The Nick Darke Writers’ Award 2016
Established in 2006 to celebrate the best writing for stage, screen and radio, the Nick Darke Writers’ Award is funded by Falmouth University’s Academy of Music and Theatre Arts, and the School of Writing & Journalism. The Award commemorates the playwright Nick Darke and was conceived following his death by his wife, the artist and filmmaker Jane Darke, with the support of his family. Nick Darke wrote in many forms but earned his living in the world of theatre, screen and radio.
Open to all national and international writers aged 16 or over, the £6,000 Award provides the time to write that financial support facilitates.
This year’s category is stage play.
The closing date for entries is 17:00 (GMT) Monday 30 May 2016.
For more details, please visit http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/nickdarkeaward
***
Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere Writing Competition
The story of Elgin’s past 1,000 years is now being developed into an exciting visitor experience through the Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere heritage initiative due to be completed by the winter of 2016 and which invites visitors to walk through Elgin’s historic streets and discover its rich history while accessing information onsite and online through an exciting variety of approaches. There will also be an interactive website for virtual visitors.
In short, the mission is to make Elgin a compelling city, giving visitors an unforgettable sense of place.
A key part of this initiative is to present and promote Elgin as a compelling experience through a collection of short stories.
Writers are therefore being invited to submit a previously unpublished short story of no more than 3,000 words set in Elgin and the surrounding area during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The winning entry will receive £350 and the second place £150.
The closing date for submissions is 31st May 2016. Entry is free.
Click here for Guidelines for Authors, a summary of Elgin’s Compelling History and the Entry Form.
***
THE 2016 Lummox Press Poetry Prize
Poetry Contest SUBMISSIONS will open on April 1st 2016.
A winner will be selected from entrants who pay the $15 reading fee to LUMMOX 5. Those entrants who do not win, will receive a copy of the Prize winner’s chapbook. If a copy of LUMMOX 5 is desired, it may be purchased for $18 + Shipping. Contact for questions.
ISM is the theme for LUMMOX 5 and the Poetry Contest. What’s an ISM? Visit the Wiki Page for answers (and here for examples).
The 2016 Lummox Press Poetry Prize will award publication of 40 copies of a chapbook of poetry (56 pages max), plus $200 to the winner, plus a mini-feature in LUMMOX 5 (L5); second and third place winners will also be published in the mini-feature in L5. All Contest entrants will receive a copy of the chapbook. Please read ALL of the guidelines .
There is a non-refundable online application fee of $15.
READING PERIOD: APRIL 1ST TO MAY 31ST.
SUBMIT via email no later than May 31, 2016 to Raindog
For details, please visit http://www.lummoxpress.com/lc/the-2016-lummox-press-poetry-prize/
***
Green Briar Review 2016 Poetry Prize
2016 Poetry Contest
The top ten entries will be selected by the GBR staff, and then handed over to Joanna Valente, who will select the top three.
ENTRY FEE: $10 (Up to three poems; more details in guidelines)
The top 10 list will be announced within 30 days of the end of the contest, and the winner and runners up within 45 days. The winner and runners up will also be published in our Summer 2016 online issue.
1st Prize: $250 and publication
Top Runners Up: Publication, with the possibility of a small honorarium if submissions are high.
***All entries will be considered for inclusion in the issue.
For more details, please visit https://greenbriarreview.submittable.com/submit
***
Green Briar Review 2016 Nonfiction Prize
2016 Nonfiction Contest
The top ten entries will be selected by the GBR staff, and then handed over to Carson Vaughan, who will select the top three.
DEADLINE: May 31, 2016
ENTRY FEE: $10 (Per Entry – more below)
The top 10 list will be announced within 30 days of the end of the contest, and the winner and runners up within 45 days. The winner and runners up will also be published in our Summer 2016 online issue.
1st Prize: $250 and publication
Top Runners Up: Publication, with the possibility of a small honorarium if submissions are high.
***All entries will be considered for inclusion in the issue.
For more details, please visit https://greenbriarreview.submittable.com/submit
***
Green Briar Review 2016 Fiction Prize
2016 Fiction Contest
The top ten entries will be selected by the GBR staff, and then handed over to Aaron Hamburger, who will select the top three.
DEADLINE: May 31, 2016
ENTRY FEE: $10 (Per Story)
The top 10 list will be announced within 30 days of the end of the contest, and the winner and runners up within 45 days. The winner and runners up will also be published in our Summer 2016 online issue.
1st Prize: $250 and publication
Top Runners Up: Publication, with the possibility of a small honorarium if submissions are high.
***All entries will be considered for inclusion in the issue.
For more details, please visit https://greenbriarreview.submittable.com/submit
***
The Backwaters Prize
Backwaters Prize 2016 , Poetry
$25.00 USD
Ends on 5/31/2016
Size limit: Minimum 60, maximum 85 pages
Our judge for the 2016 prize will be Henri Cole. The submission period begins April 1, 2016 and concludes May 31, 2016. Manuscripts must be submitted electronically. We adhere to the CLMP code of ethics for administering a literary contest.
The prize is a $2,000.00 cash prize plus publication of your book in trade paperback, plus 30 copies of the book to the poet. The next award will be announced in September 2016.
***
The Arch & Bruce Foundation Playwriting Competition
The 2016 playwriting competition will be open to submissions from March 1 through May 31, 2016. All manuscripts must be electronically submitted and received by midnight on May 31. (No hard copies sent by postal mail will be accepted.)
Only full-length works (dramas, comedies, musicals, screenplays) will be considered. One entry per author, please. Scripts must be original and in English. All must concern lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or genderqueer life and be based on, or directly inspired by, a historical person, culture, work of art, or event.
There is no entry fee. Prizes are as follows: First Prize, $3,000; Second Prize, $1,500; Honorable Mentions, $500. Prizewinners will be announced before the end of the year.
For more details, please visit http://aabbfoundation.org/comp-guidelines
***
Hillerman Prize
Sponsored by St. Martin’s Press and WORDHARVEST, the Tony Hillerman Prize is awarded annually for the best first mystery set in the Southwest. The winner receives a contract with St. Martin’s Press for publication of the novel and $10,000. Named after New Mexico’s best known mystery author, the Tony Hillerman Prize competition is open to any professional or non-professional writer who has never been the author of a published mystery, or under contract with a publisher for publication of a mystery. Murder or another serious crime or crimes must be at the heart of the story, with the emphasis on the solution rather than the details of the crime.
Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer. All entries must be received or postmarked no later than June 1 of the given year. All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the contestants; b) must not violate the rights of any third party, and c) must generally follow the guidelines.
For details, visit http://www.hillermanprize.com/
***
8th CANADIAN STORIES Contest for Short Stories, Poetry,
and Black & White Art
| A total of $2,700 in prize money will be awarded: | |||||
| CATEGORIES: | |||||
| True Stories | $350 | The Bruno Penner Prize | |||
| Creative Non-Fiction | $350 | The Marie Minaker/Beth Moore Prize | |||
| Fiction | $350 | The Ruth Zavitz Prize | |||
| Poetry | $350 | The Gary Miller Prize (judged by Dianne Ferris) | |||
| Canadian Essay | $350 | The Alvin Ens Prize | |||
| Lest We Forget | $350 | The Jeannie Parsons Prize | |||
| Black & White Line Art | $350 | The Harry Buller Prize (R&R Printing Plus) | |||
| “Wild Card” | $200 | The Krown Rust Prize) | |||
| First Honourable Mention | $50 | The Kay Parley Prize | |||
NEWS: Deadline extended until June 1st, 2016! Notification approximately one month later.
For more details, please visit www.canadianstories.net. Winners will be published in the August 1, 2016 or October 1, 2016 issue of CANADIAN STORIES.
***
Submit the first three chapters of your novel. Grand prize award of:
- A critique of the three chapters by star editor Anita Mumm.
- A guaranteed read of the winning manuscript by Lisa Gus, the managing partner of Curiosity Quills Press.
- The opportunity of having Chandler, a Hall of Fame Amazon reviewer, read and leave a review of your book when it is published. Chandler is also a contest judge.
- $200 cash.
- Free extra year of membership on TheNextBigWriter, valued at $69.95.
- The ability to use the Strongest Start logo on your book (when it is published).
Two runner-ups will receive:
- $100 in cash.
- Free extra three months of Premium Membership on TheNextBigWriter valued at $21.95.
- The ability to use the Strongest Start logo on your book (when it is published).
Everyone who enters receives feedback, motivation, and advice.
Keep Us Reading
We know that writing a compelling start isn’t easy. So, for the eighth year we’ve put together a motivational competition to help you hone your first three chapters to perfection (if you haven’t already). We’re looking for opening chapters that will create a burning need to find out what happens, how the characters turn out, how the novel resolves itself. The kind of start that gets an agent to call back, a publisher to show interest, and a reader to plunk down their hard earned money. Above all, give us three opening chapters that will keep us reading.
Submission deadline: June 3, 2016
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1WjiXez
***
International Writing Competitions 2016
We are very pleased to announce our judges:
Poetry (now in its 10th year) Roger Elkin; 1st prize £300
Short stories Amanda Hodgkinson; 1st prize £300
Vignettes Ed Briggs; Winner: £50
One-act plays Gordon Simms; Winner: £100
Closing date for all competitions 15th June 2016
For more details, please visit http://www.poetryproseandplays.com/
***
The Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize
Got something short, sharp and snappy to tell? Wow us with your most economical and brilliant storytelling. This contest is for short fiction under 1000 words. Want feedback on your story? Get a professional critique from one of the Pulp Literature editors for only $15 more.
Contest opens: 1 May 2016
Deadline: 15 June 2016
Winner notified: 15 July 2016
Winner published in: Issue 13, Winter 2017
Prize: $300
Entry fee: $15
Earlybird fee (before 15 May): $10
Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature.
This contest is for previously unpublished works of fiction up to 1000 words in length. Total entries limited to 300.
http://pulpliterature.com/contests/
***
New Millenium Writings
Submission and Guidelines
1996-2016 ♥ Celebrating 20 Years
Thank you to all of the amazing writers who have made this possible, and welcome to
all newcomers who will help make the next 20 even better! We’re glad you’re here!
· Contest 42 is underway with a deadline of June 19, 2016
· $1,000 Award plus publication for each category – $4,000 total awards
· Fiction, Nonfiction, Short-Short Fiction, Poetry
· Payment is $20 per submission and includes your free copy of the anthology!
For more details, please visit http://submit.newmillenniumwritings.org/
***
£5,000 Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2016
judged by jane yeh & glyn maxwell
prizes: 1st £5,000; 2nd £1,000; 3rd £500
first prize sponsored by cegin productions
plus (new!) £100 troubadour restaurant gift voucher
plus (new!) bottle of troubadour champagne (to be collected at troubadour coffee-house)
(both for poems from London & South-East)
plus 20 prizes of £25 each
plus an autumn 2016 coffee-house-poetry season-ticket
plus a prize-winners’ coffee-house poetry reading with jane yeh & glyn maxwell
on mon 31 oct 2016
…for all prize-winning poets
submissions, via e-mail or post, by tue 21 jun 2016
For more details, please visit http://www.coffeehousepoetry.org/prizes
***
The 2016 May Sarton NH Poetry Prize is now open for submissions!
Deadline: June 30th
Bauhan Publishing is pleased to announce our sixth annual May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize is now accepting submissions. The award goes to a book-length collection of poetry (50-80 pages).
The winning poet will receive $1,000, publication of their collection, and 100 copies of the published book along with distribution through the University Press of New England (UPNE). The cost for submission is $25 per manuscript. Entrants may submit multiple manuscripts.
For more details, please visit http://www.bauhanpublishing.com/may-sarton-prize/
***
Emerald Theater Company’s Out of the Closet Playwriting Contest
A liberating yet tense 10-minute play fest
Deadline: June 30, 2016
Scripts are being accepted in two categories:
Category 1: An LGBT individual’s self-disclosure about their sexual orientation.
Category 2: Any interpretation of “Out of the Closet” literal or figurative.
For more details, please visit http://www.etcmemphistheater.com/10-minute-play-fest-2016.html
***
2016 Banff Mountain Book Competition
As a key program of The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, the Banff Mountain Book Competition is an internationally recognized literary competition that celebrates mountain literature in all of its forms.
Over $16,000 in cash to be awarded with 7 awards selected by an international jury of writers, adventurers and editors.
View website for full details including criteria and selection process.
Entry deadline: June 30, 2016
***
Blue Mountain Arts
Announces Its Twenty-eighth Biannual Poetry Card Contest
Deadline: June 30, 2016
1st prize: $300 * 2nd prize: $150 * 3rd prize: $50
In addition, the winning poems will be displayed on our website sps.com.
For more details, please visit http://www.sps.com/poetry/index.html
***
Cider Press Review Editors’ Prize
The annual Cider Press Review Editors’ Prize offers a $1,000 prize, publication, and 25 author’s copies of an author’s first or second book length collection of poetry. Author receives a standard publishing contract. Initial print run is not less than 1,000 copies. Cider Press accepts submissions for the Editors Prize between April 1 and June 30 annually. For details, please visit http://ciderpressreview.com/bookaward/#.VttxERhGw4Q
***
Bellevue Literary Review Prizes
The annual Bellevue Literary Review Prizes award outstanding writing related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. The contest is open each year from February 1 – July 1.
The winners of the 2014 prizes are Abby Horowitz for “Pediatricology” (fiction), Will McGrath for “Forty-One Months” (nonfiction), and Laurie Clements Lambeth for “Chronic Care: ‘Broken Leg’ by Keith Carter, Photograph” (poetry). Find out more.
See more at: http://blr.med.nyu.edu/submissions/BLRPrizes#sthash.UNzlpPcL.dpuf
***
GLENNA LUSCHEI PRIZE FOR AFRICAN POETRY
Under the auspices of the African Poetry Book Fund and in partnership with the literary journal, Prairie Schooner, is an annual award of USD $5,000. Named for the literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei, this Pan African Poetry Prize is the only one of its kind in the world and was established to promote African poetry written in English or in translation and to recognize a significant book published each year by an African poet.
Each year, the prize will be judged by an internationally renowned poet. This judge for the inaugural prize is Nigerian poet and novelist Chris Abani.
Manuscripts are accepted annually between May 1st and July 1st.
For details, visit http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/?page_id=21#glenna
***
2016 NANO Prize
The 2016 NANO Prize, awarding publication and $1,000 to a previously unpublished work of fiction 300 words or fewer,
will open on March 1!
This year’s contest will be judged by Kellie Wells, and to celebrate NANO Fiction’s tenth birthday, the entry fee will only be $10 for up to three shorts. All entrants will receive issue 10.1 and winners will be announced in mid-August.
Deadline: July 1, 2016
Visit nanofiction.org for more information on how to enter.
***
Charlotte Mew Chapbook Contest
Headmistress Press, publisher of poetry books by lesbians, Lesbian Poet Trading Cards, and Lavender Review, is proud to announce our second annual Charlotte Mew Chapbook Contest.
Our first-prize winner will be selected by Ellen Bass and will receive a $250 honorarium plus 20 copies of the winning book. Headmistress Press will also announce finalists, and may choose to publish other books from among the submitted manuscripts.
Headmistress authors receive ten copies of their book and discounts on all further purchases. At your request, the mistresses of Headmistress Press will provide feedback on your manuscript.
We will be accepting submissions from May 4 to July 4, 2016 and will announce a winner in the fall. Although we do charge a reading fee, we have always had a sliding scale, and no one will be turned away for lack of entrance fee.
For more details, please visit http://headmistresspress.blogspot.ca/p/submissions_5396.html
***
“Royal Nonesuch” Humor Writing Contest
Welcome to the THIRD annual Mark Twain House & Museum’s “Royal Nonesuch” Humor Writing Contest for writers of all ages from all corners of the globe!
Recognizing that Samuel Clemens (aka: Mark Twain) began writing at an early age and to encourage other young authors, we welcome submissions for two categories:
- Adult (age 18 and over at time of submission) at $23 per submission, and
- Young Author (age 17 and under at time of submission) at $13 per submission.
- Submissions fees go towards the preservation of The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, CT. This contest is a whole new way for “Twainiacs” to support Mark Twain’s legacy. We thank you sincerely!
Celebrity Judges will be announced soon.
Your deadline is Sunday, July 10, 2016. Word limit is 7,000 words. Further guidelines and the submission portal will be released on February 1st.
Submit your original humorous essays and stories for a chance at a cash prize, and best of all – bragging rights! Last year’s winners took home $3,500+ in prizes.
For more details, please visit https://twainhouse.submittable.com/submit
***
The Central Coast Writers Contest
Call For Entries: Entries accepted beginning April 15, 2016.
Contestant Eligibility: All writers from any locale are welcome to submit entries.
Theme: The theme of the 2016 Central Coast Writers Contest is THE FINAL WORD. All entries must depict this theme, originally interpreted.
Prizes:
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
Short Fiction, Screenwriting and Poetry:
First Place $1,000
Second Place $500
Third Place $100
Flash Fiction:
First Place $500
Second Place $100
Third Place $50
Entry Fees:
Short Fiction $20.00
Poetry $20.00
Screenwriting $20.00
Flash Fiction $15.00
Deadline: The contest deadline is July 15, 2016. All entries must be received by midnight on this date to be eligible. All entries must be paid in full by this date to be eligible.
For more details, please visit http://centralcoastwriterscontest.blogspot.ca/p/basic-rules.html
***
Big Break Screenwriting Contest Now Open!
- Enter your screenplay or TV script by July 15, 2016 and launch your career
- 11 Feature Genre and TV Format Winners share over $80,000 in cash and prizes, including The Final Draft/New York Film Academy Fellowship in Writing for Film & Television
- Two Grand Prize Award Winners are flown to Hollywood for a series of meetings and networking with industry professionals
- Join past winners who scored representation with A-list executives and have seen their scripts optioned, sold, and produced
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/20M9xY3
***
Rachel Wetzsteon Chapbook Award
Map Literary is pleased to announce that the second Rachel Wetzsteon Chapbook Award is now open for submissions. Named after our late colleague, this award honors beautiful, original writing through publication as a high-quality chapbook.
This year the award will focus on prose. Using our Submittable portal, submit a manuscript of fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, or prose poetry of about 7,000-12,000 words. The manuscript may be a collection of mixed pieces–short stories, flash fictions, prose poems, essays, or a stand-along excerpt from a longer work–but should be unified by a common theme. We seek new, original work, though individual pieces that have been previously published elsewhere may be included.
The deadline for entries is July 30th, 2016. There is no entry fee.
The winner will receive a $250.00 honorarium and 25 copies of the winning chapbook, which will be printed and sold on Amazon.com.
For more details, please visit http://www.mapliterary.org/rachel-wetzsteon-chapbook-award.html
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Orlando Prize
Braced and strung up by the present moment she was also strangely afraid, as if every time the gulf of time gaped and let a second through some unknown danger might come with it. The tension was too relentless and too rigorous to be endured long without discomfort.
—Virginia Woolf, Orlando
Biannual Deadlines: January and July 31
Poetry (36 lines)
Flash Fiction (500 words)
Short Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (1500 words)
*Or download application form to submit and pay via post.
For more details, visit http://aroomofherownfoundation.org/awards/orlando/
***
Fourth Annual I Must Be Off! Travel Writing Competition!
It’s that time of year again: time to type up those travel articles, travel anecdotes and travel reflections. If it’s about travel, we want to read it. We want to read about that place that changed you. We want to read about the experiences you can’t wait to share with other travelers. Whether your work is humorous, informative, quirky or profound–we want to read it. We’re looking forward to your best writing.
- The Top essays will be published at I Must Be Off! (Authors retain copyright.)
- Second place prize: $50
- First place prize: $200
- Readers’ Choice Award ($50) based on unique hits and comments tallied on September 30.
Deadline for submissions: July 31, 2016
Send entries with a 50-word third-person bio to christopher@imustbeoff.com with the heading TRAVEL WRITING CONTEST.
For more details, please visit http://www.imustbeoff.com/2016/03/announcing-fourth-annual-i-must-be-off.html
***
Palooka Press Chapbook Contest
About Palooka Press
The press was founded in 2012 to offer a publishing opportunity for writers seeking a home for shorter manuscripts.
How It Works
As always, we take great pride in reading every word and giving each manuscript its due attention and thorough consideration. We consider manuscripts of all types, styles, and genres and aren’t looking for a particular aesthetic; we’re wiling to give anything a fair chance. Please send your best fiction, poetry, nonfiction, graphic narrative, or hybrid. Manuscripts should be roughly 35-50 pages, but we’re flexible with this in either direction. There is a $10 entry fee that comes with an electronic issue of Palooka. All pieces within entries are also considered for publication in the magazine.
The Winner Receives…
*Publication by Palooka Press (a professionally made perfect-bound book with a glossy color cover)
*20 free copies of the book
*$200 honorarium
*A bio and photo featured on our website
*Chapbook will be sent out for review and promotion
Deadline: 8/1/2016
For more details, please visit https://palookamag.submittable.com/submit/14464
***
Poetry & Politics Competition
By Holland Park Press:
We invite you to write a political poem
The theme of this poetry competition is poetry and politics, so in order to enter your poem it must be about any aspect of politics. Your poem can be about international politics or instead be about something political much closer to home.
The author of the winning poem will receive £200.
The winning poem and runners-up will be published in our online magazine.
You can send in your entries from 1 March and the competition closes on 31 August 2016 at midnight GMT.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1Wn95yB
***
The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award
Deadline: August 31, 2016
Now in its 10th year, the Award is an internationally renowned literary prize presented by Aesthetica Magazine. It is a fantastic opportunity for established and aspiring writers and poets to showcase their work to an international audience. Previous entrants have achieved further publication and wider recognition in the literary world.
- £500 prize money for the Poetry winner
- £500 prize money for the Short Fiction winner
- Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology
- A selection of books from Vintage and Bloodaxe Books
- One year print subscription to Granta
- Full Membership to The Poetry Society (Poetry Winner)
- Consultation with Redhammer Management (Short Fiction Winner)
- A complimentary copy of the Anthology
For more details, please visit http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/creative-writing-award/
***
The Raven Short Story Contest
We Pulp Literature editors collect stories like ravens in the woods, swooping down on what catches our eye and bringing the treasures — sometimes sparkling, sometimes grisly, but always fascinating — home to our nests. Want feedback on your story? Get a professional critique from one of the Pulp Literature editors for only $25 more. Show us your most scintillating treasures in the form of short fiction up to 5000 words in length and you could be the one bringing home $500 to line your nest!
Contest opens: 1 September 2016
Deadline: 15 October 2016
Winner notified: 15 November 2016
Winner published in: Issue 14, Spring 2017
Prize: $500
Entry fee: $25
Editorial critique: $25
Earlybird fee (before 15 September): $20
Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature
This contest is for previously unpublished short fiction between 500 and 5000 words in length. Multiple entries welcome. Total entries limited to 200.
http://pulpliterature.com/contests/
***
Neil Postman Award for Metaphor
Rolling Deadline
(no fee)
Although primarily known as an educationist and a media critic, Neil Postman was, at his core, a “noticer”—and he particularly noticed what we do with metaphor and how metaphor shapes and creates our cognitive world. Postman maintained that words (and words, in truth, are metaphors) are as much the driver of reality as they are the vehicle. Consequently, metaphor was not a subject to be relegated and limited to high school poetry units wherein a teacher drones on about the difference between “like” and “as” and considers the job finished. For Postman, the study of metaphor was unending and metaphors were as crucial as they were omnipresent; they served to give form to and dictate experience.
In honor and remembrance of Neil Postman, who died on October 5, 2003, we have established the Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. The motivation for the award is simple and two-fold: To reward a given writer for his or her use of metaphor, and to celebrate (and hopefully propagate) Postman’s work and the typographical mind.
Each spring the editors will choose one poem from all of the submissions received by Rattle during the previous year. The author of the chosen poem will receive $500. There are no entry fees or special submission guidelines. Send up to 5 unpublished poems plus a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to: Rattle, 12411 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604. To browse previous winners, and for information on how to submit electronically, visit our website: http://www.rattle.com/poetry/extras/postman/
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Nonfiction Book Awards
Welcome to the NEW Nonfiction Book Awards! As an extension of the Nonfiction Authors Association, we are committed to honoring excellence in nonfiction books and welcome submissions by self-published and traditionally published authors alike, in both print and ebook formats. Publishers are also welcome to submit books for award consideration.
– See more at: http://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/nonfiction-book-awards/#sthash.H0SVcAFl.dpuf
***
The Thistle Dew Theatre & KTDT Dramady seeks plays for Stage and Radio
http://thistledewtheatre.blogspot.com/
Call for play submissions: monologues, short plays, one act or full-length plays for stage and radio.
Monthly themed monologues and short plays needed. On-going, no submission fee, no deadline. This is a competition with one winner per production: $25.00.
Continuing call: No fees… no deadlines….
Tales/Lies for THE LIAR’S LAIR
***
Zone 3 Nonfiction Award
Zone 3 is accepting submissions for its nonfiction contest. For online submissions, click here to complete the submission manager form, choose “Zone 3 Nonfiction Award” for your genre, and upload your essay. You will be directed to another webpage for secure payment. For paper submissions, submit one essay with SASE and $10 entry fee to: Zone 3, APSU, P.O. Box 4565, Clarksville, TN 37044. No deadline. All entrants will receive a one-year subscription. The winner will be announced on our website. Prize: $250 and publication. For details, visit http://www.apsu.edu/zone3/contests
***
Zone 3 Fiction Award
Zone 3 is now accepting submissions for its twelfth annual fiction award. For online submissions, click here to complete the submission manager form, choose “Zone 3 Fiction Award” for your genre, and upload your story. You will be directed to another webpage for secure payment. For paper submissions, submit one story with SASE and $10 entry fee to: Zone 3, APSU, P.O. Box 4565, Clarksville, TN 37044. No deadline. All entrants will receive a one-year subscription to Zone 3. The winner will be announced on our website. Prize: $250 and publication. For details, visit http://www.apsu.edu/zone3/contests
***
Zone 3 Poetry Award
Zone 3 is now accepting submissions for its annual poetry award. Submit up to three poems via our online submissions manager. Click here to log in and upload your poems; choose “Zone 3 Poetry Award” for your genre. You will be directed to another webpage for secure payment. No deadline. All entrants will receive a one-year subscription to Zone 3. The winner will be announced on our website. Prize: $250 and publication. For details, visit http://www.apsu.edu/zone3/contests
***
Wielding Power Essay Writing Contests
Prizes
Winner- The winner will have their answer published, receive ten free copies of the issue (pdfs), and $1000. There will be one winner.
Finalists- The finalists will be published and receive ten free copies of the issue (pdfs). There will be two finalists.
Who May Submit
Submissions are open to all US and Canada residents (except Quebec) above the age of 18. Submission is free. You may submit up to 10 entries per question. Submissions cannot be the work of multiple authors.
How and What to Submit
IMPORTANT: failure to adhere to the following may result in disqualification. See Official Rules for complete details.
- All entries should be between 500 and 2000 words.
- To ease reading and ensure uniformity of entries- please format your answer in 12pt Times New Roman, double spaced.
- Please send your entries as a Microsoft Word or Google Document attachment to submit@wieldingpowerpublishing.com
For more information, visit http://www.wieldingpowerpublishing.com/submit/
Ongoing deadlines.
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The People’s Book Awards
Welcome to the people’s Book Awards where anyone can nominate or vote for titles available on the *Amazon sites worldwide, or support those important people who provide services to authors. Monthly winners.
The monthly and annual voting closes at 17:00 hours British Standard Time on the last day of each month and the votes of non-winning titles are carried forward, except in December. Monthly winning titles are taken out of the competition and will be returned in December if confirmed as a nomination for the Annual Awards by a direct message (DM) on Twitter or email to winner@thebookawards.com. Each year the voting closes on December 31st following the Annual Awards and all votes are returned to zero for the coming year.
To learn more, visit http://thebookawards.com/awards/
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Ekphrasis Prize for Poetry
Ekphrasis is a poetry journal looking for well-crafted poems, the main content of which addresses individual works from any artistic genre. Please identify the specific work that is the focus of your poem. Acceptable ekphrastic verse transcends mere description: it stands as transformative critical statement, an original gloss on the individual art piece it addresses.
All poems published in Ekphrasis within a given calendar year will be considered for the Ekphrasis Prize for Poetry.
The winning poem will be selected by the editors of Ekphrasis.
No entry fees are required and there is no self-nomination procedure for the prize.
For submission guidelines, visit http://www.ekphrasisjournal.com/home
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Diana Woods Memorial (DWM) Award
Creative nonfiction authors are invited to submit an essay of up to 5,000 words on the subject of their choice to be considered for the Diana Woods Memorial (DWM) Award in creative nonfiction. Winners will receive $250 and their work will be featured in the next issue of Lunch Ticket. Each award recipient must submit a 100-word biography, current photo, and send a brief note of thanks to the Woods’ family.
For more details and to submit, visit http://lunchticket.org/the-diana-woods-memorial-award/
The reading period for the award will be the month of February for the issue that publishes in June, and the month of August for the issue that publishes in December. Please note that previously published work will not be accepted.
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L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest
- ENTRANTS RETAIN ALL PUBLICATION RIGHTS
- NO ENTRY FEE IS REQUIRED
- ALL AWARDS ARE ADJUDICATED BY PROFESSIONAL WRITERS ONLY
- PRIZES EVERY THREE MONTHS: $1,000, $750, $500
- ANNUAL GRAND PRIZE: $5,000 ADDITIONAL!
- OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW AND AMATEUR WRITERS OF NEW SHORT STORIES OR NOVELETTES OF SF OR FANTASY
There shall be three cash prizes in each quarter: a First Prize of $1,000, a Second Prize of $750, and a Third Prize of $500, in US dollars. In addition, at the end of the year the winners will have their entries rejudged, and a Grand Prize winner shall be determined and receive an additional $5,000. All winners will also receive trophies.
The Contest has four quarters, beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1. The year will end on September 30. To be eligible for judging in its quarter, an entry must be postmarked or received electronically no later than midnight on the last day of the quarter. (Deadlines: December 31, March 31, June 30, September 30). Late entries will be included in the following quarter and the Contest Administration will so notify the entrant.
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EVENTS & WORKSHOPS
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Non-Fiction Authors Association Upcoming Teleseminars
April 13, 2016 at 10 am – Jody Rein on Pitches and Proposals: Tips for getting the attention of agents and editors
April 27, 2016 at 10 am – Raleigh Pinskey on How to Craft Great Media Pitches
Nonfiction Writers Conference Returns May 4-6, 2016
May 18, 2016 at 10 am – Stephanie Barko on How to Obtain Endorsements for Your Book
June 8, 2016 at 10 am – Brooke Warner on Publishing Industry Secrets to Self-Publishing Success
See more upcoming events here.
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The 6th Annual Nonfiction Writers Conference Returns May 4-6, 2016!
There is still time to register!!!
NFWC is completely virtual–with 15 sessions over three days, all delivered via teleseminar (phone or Skype). No travel required!
Check out our awesome speaker line-up:
- Pat Flynn – Passive Income for Authors
- Mark Schaefer – Author Branding: Become the Taylor Swift of Publishing!
- Jody Rein – How to Get a Book Deal: A Literary Agent’s Perspective
- Patrick Schwerdtfeger – Keynote Mastery: Become a Highly-Paid Speaker
- Nathan Munier – Find Success and Profits with Shorter Ebooks and Online Courses
- MJ Rose – Author Buzz: Book Reviews and Online Promotion Strategies
- Gina Carr – Periscope, Blab and Other Social Media Trends
- Stephanie Chandler – Marketing And Monetizing: Online Promotion and Revenue Streams for Authors
- Ray Ortega – How to Start and Promote a Podcast
- Penny Sansevieri – Sell More Books on Amazon
- Shelley Hitz – Improve Your Writing Productivity: Write More, Faster!
- Marika Flatt – Winning Book Publicity Strategies
- Dennis Yu – Facebook Advertising that Works
- Helen Sedwick – Protecting Your Rights and Your Wallet: Copyright, Trademarks and Other Legal Details for Authors
- Angela Bole – Self-Publishing Options
New for NFWC 2016: Pitch the Agents!
We’ve assembled a power panel of literary agents who work with nonfiction and they are anxiously awaiting your queries!
Join Us for a Game-Changing Event
No matter where you are in the process, whether you’re writing your first manuscript or you already have several books to your credit, we promise you’ll find tremendous value in the sessions we’ve lined up for you.
If you want to learn new book marketing strategies, add revenue streams to your author business, become a keynote speaker and get recognized as an authority in your field, the 6th annual Nonfiction Writers Conference is the event for you!
Registration Bonus (Don’t miss this!)
When you register for NFWC 2016, you can immediately download THREE bonus recordings from past NFWC events:
- Mark Coker – Hot Promotion Strategy: Sell Ebook Preorders
- Dan Poynter – Aiming at Potential Readers
- Stephanie Chandler – Build Your Online Book Marketing Plan
SAVE 30% OFF WITH THIS CODE: NFAA30
(HURRY! Discount expires Sunday 4/10/16 at midnight)
Click here to register for NFWC 2016 today!
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Banff Fall Literary Programs Registration Deadlines
June 22, 2016 The Art of Stillness Residency
June 29, 2016 Mountain and Wilderness Writing
Sept. 7, 2016 Emerging Writers Intensive
Ongoing Self-Directed Writing Residency
Click on each line to access the link or visit https://www.banffcentre.ca/programs/all/literary-arts
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River Teeth Nonfiction Conference
The River Teeth Nonfiction Conference is pleased to announce Dinty W. Moore and Elena Passarello as the 2016 featured presenters!
The tentative dates for next year’s conference are June 3-5, 2016.
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Port Medway Readers’ Festival
The Port Medway Readers’ Festival is a literary festival that takes place in Port Medway, Nova Scotia, during July and August.
Founded in 2002 by Cynthia Wine and Philip Slayton, the Port Medway Readers’ Festival is an opportunity for readers to listen to and meet writers in an informal and friendly village setting. The Festival continues the tradition of the Tennysonian Reading Circle, started by the ladies of Port Medway in 1903.
This year’s readers include Elizabeth Hay (July 9), Joan Clark (July 23), and Calvin Trillin (August 20).
For more details, please visit http://portmedwayreadersfestival.com/
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The Writing PoolTM
http://www.thewritingpool.com
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The Writing Pool 