The Writing Pool’s Weekly Writing PostTM
2016 Jan 17-23 Edition
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.
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thewritingpool/
Follow The Writing PoolTM blog at https://thewritingpool.com/. Share a link, an article, a poem, or something else literary. Send your submission to cindy@thewritingpool.com
If you want to include a notice or announcement in the Weekly, please email your submission to weekly@thewritingpool.com
| To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard. —Allen Ginsberg, WD |
***
Some amateur writers launch into writing with a purpose, the determination to be heard by sharing their knowledge with the world and hoping to impart their ‘wisdom’ through their works. This might be fine when writing non-fiction, although it could border on preaching. As a writer, you might sometimes feel you are full of ideas that you need to share and want to share, so you try to cram everything you have to say about just about every topic under the sun into your writing. This results in several problems, the first being that the writer’s personality projects onto everything written and the whole tone of the work, including the characters, take on the writer’s personality. This eventually becomes boring and leads to bad writing because there is no distinction between characters, nor between the characters and the narrator, nor the works and the author, especially if the author has more than one work. One of the most difficult things to do, as a writer, is to achieve distance between you and your work, so that your work becomes an entity that is not you, the writer. One way to solve this problem is to learn to focus. Each piece of writing you create should focus on a single theme if it is a short piece, or a very limited selection of related themes for longer pieces. The less themes you include in your work, the more focused it becomes; limiting yourself to one theme automatically gives your work unity of theme. Many times, in fact, it is better to write a work of fiction without thinking of a theme first, because the actions and choices of your characters will carry the theme and neither you, as a writer, nor your narrator, will need to worry about sending any message at all. In many great works, the protagonist often personifies the theme or message the author wants to convey, and it is the protagonist whose words, actions, and thoughts say whatever it is the author wants said. The ability to do that creates a voice, the author does not need to explain any further.
Share your favorite works with themes in The Writing Pool™. You can also read more on writing at Creativity Unlimited
Happy writing!
~cpl
***
NEWS
PEI LOCAL/ATLANTIC
Canadian Authors 2016 Literary Awards
Entries are now being accepted for the Canadian Authors Association’s 2016 Literary Awards.
Criteria and submission details are available in the CAA 2016 Literary Awards Guidelines. Complete the CAA 2016 Awards entry form online, print it and send it to us along with your submission and entry fee.
The deadline for submissions has been extended to January 30, 2016.
For more details, please visit http://canadianauthors.org/national/awards/
***
Literary Evening in the Cradle of Confederation
Open Mic and J. J. Steinfeld book launch
Baha’i Centre, 20 Lapthorne Avenue, Charlottetown
Wednesday, January 20, 2016, 07:00 pm – 09:00 pm
The next session of the Dianne Hicks Morrow Open Mic will feature a book launch by well-known Island writer, J.J. Steinfeld. Madhouses in Heaven, Castles in Hell (Ekstasis Editions), Steinfeld’s 16th book, is an eclectic mix of 30 stories embracing and exploring the themes and the psychological terrain—from the absurd to the existential, the surreal to the spiritual. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.
J.J. is a fiction writer, poet, and playwright with more than 300 short stories and 700 poems published in anthologies and periodicals in every Canadian province and internationally in eighteen countries, and over forty of his one-act plays and a handful of full-length plays have been performed in Canada and the United States. He lives in Prince Edward Island where he is patiently waiting for Godot and a phone call from Kafka.
Dianne Hicks Morrow recently completed her term as the Island’s fifth Poet Laureate, and the literary community awaits the announcement by the Ministry of Tourism of Culture of the next author to serve in that capacity. In the meantime, the monthly open mic sessions established by Dianne will continue. All are welcome at the Baha’i Centre, 20 Lapthorne Ave, Charlottetown. It is wheelchair accessible and alcohol-free.
Readers can sign up at 7 pm to read their own poetry or prose, anywhere from three to five minutes. Info: Paul Vreeland at 902 388 8697.
***
THE 29th COX & PALMER ISLAND LITERARY AWARDS
Deadline: February 26, 2016, 9:00pm
The 29th annual Cox & Palmer Island Literary Awards gala ceremony will take place in the spring of 2016. Prizes will be given out in five categories, and special awards may also be awarded.
ADULT (18+) AWARD CATEGORIES
Lucy Maud Montgomery* P.E.I. Literature for Children Awards
Milton Acorn Poetry Awards
Maritime Electric Short Story Awards
Clary Pottie Creative Non-Fiction Awards
STUDENT AWARD CATEGORIES
Rotary Club of Charlottetown Royalty Creative Writing Awards for Young People
School Participation Award
Entries must be postmarked or submitted by hand by 9 p.m., February 26, 2016. Those postmarked or delivered later will not be eligible.
A $25 entry fee is required for EACH Adult Category entry. There is no fee for Student entries.
For more information, contact the Cox & Palmer ILA co-ordinator, at peiliteraryawards @ gmail.com or visit http://www.peiwritersguild.com/ila-call-for-submissions-2016/
***
2016 Prince Edward Island Book Awards
The Prince Edward Island Book Awards are intended to promote and to celebrate excellence in creation and publication of books by Prince Edward Island authors, editors and creators. The book award was first presented in Prince Edward Island in 2006.
Criteria
The awards are presented biennially to the author, editor or creator of the book that best exemplifies excellence in creation and publication of books by Prince Edward Island authors, editors and creators. The award will be based on overall assessment of a book’s content, quality of design and production.
Authors, editors or creators must meet the residency requirements as described in the entry form, and must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. One award will be given in each of the following categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry.
Criteria and entry forms for the 2016 Prince Edward Island Book Awards now available!
2016 Prince Edward Island Book Award criteria
2016 Prince Edward Island Book Award form
Deadline: March 1, 2016
For more details, please visit http://www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/bookaward
***
Open Invitation
The poetry engine awaits you at www.poetrypei.com!
PEI poet laureate Dianne Hicks Morrow wants new poets to know they 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.
***
CONTESTS AND CALLS
See more at www.thewritingpool.com
***
3rd Ó Bhéal Five Words International Poetry Competition
Competition Overview
At around noon each Tuesday (GMT), from the 14th of April 2015, five words are posted on this competition page. Entrants have one week to compose and submit poems that include all five words given for the week.
The competition runs for 41 weeks, until the last week of January 2016.
For more details, please visit http://www.obheal.ie/blog/?page_id=2371
***
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.
***
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
***
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
***
TURNBUCKLE CHAPBOOK CONTEST SUBMISSIONS
$10.00 USD
Ends on 1/16/2016
Submission Deadline: January 16, 2016
Prize: $100 + Publication + 20 Author Copies
Final Judge: Sara Lippman, author of Doll Palace. More about Sara HERE.
Eligibility: Fiction, Poetry, CNF or a hybrid. Previously published, stand-alone works are fine, but the ms must be an unpublished body of work. So no book excerpts or do-overs. Simultaneous submissions are just fine; however, the reading fee is non-refundable. Please simply withdraw the ms from Submittable if the work is picked up elsewhere. All submissions must be in English. Translations are not ideal for this contest. If you have cover art, great, but please do not send it with your submission. B&W illustrations may be included within the body of the ms though.
Reading Fee: $10
For more details, please visit https://splitlip.submittable.com/submit
***
Magma Poetry Competition
Magma’s Poetry Competition has two contests, one for short poems of up to 10 lines, and one for poems of 11 to 50 lines. Poems of 11 to 50 lines will be judged by Daljit Nagra for the Judge’s Prize. Poems of up to 10 lines will be entered for the Editors’ Prize and, reflecting Magma’s unique rotating editorship, will be judged by a panel of Magma editors.
Deadline: January 18, 2016
Form more details, please visit http://magmapoetry.com/competition/
***
10th Annual Short Story Challenge
The 10th Annual Short Story Challenge is a creative writing competition open to writers around the world. There are 3 rounds of competition. In the 1st Round (January 22-30, 2016), writers are placed randomly in heats and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment. Writers have 8 days to write an original story no longer than 2,500 words. The judges choose a top 5 in each heat to advance to the 2nd Round (March 17-20, 2016) where writers receive new assignments, only this time they have just 3 days to write a 2,000 word (maximum) short story. Judges choose finalists from the 2nd Round to advance to the 3rd and final round of the competition where writers are challenged to write a 1,500 word (maximum) story in just 24 hours (April 29-30, 2016). A panel of judges review the final round stories and overall winners are selected. Sound like fun? Join the competition below and get ready for January 22nd!
It’s easy to register. First, download and read the Official Rules and Participation Agreement. After you have read the rules, you are ready to register by clicking here. The entry fee is US$55 until the final entry deadline of January 21, 2016.
For more details, please visit the official website.
***
THE DREAMQUESTONE POETRY & WRITING CONTEST
THE DREAMQUESTONE POETRY & WRITING CONTEST is open to anyone who loves expressing innermost thoughts and feelings into the beautiful literary art of poetry and/or writing a story that is worth telling everyone. Guidelines: (1) Write a poem, thirty lines or fewer on any subject, form or style. And/or (2) Write a short story, five pages maximum length, using single or double line spacing, on any subject or theme, fiction, nonfiction or creative nonfiction. Multiple entries are accepted. Prizes: Writing First Prize is $500; Second: $250; Third: $100. Poetry First Prize: $250; Second: $125; Third: $50. Entry fees: $5 per poem/$10 per story. How to enter, visit: http://www.dreamquestone.com
The next deadline is January 24, 2016.
***
William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
The Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation jointly award the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, a biennial competition for newly-published books.
The prize commemorates the life, legacy and intentions of William Saroyan – author, artist, dramatist, composer – and is intended to encourage new or emerging writers, rather than to recognize established literary figures.
We are currently accepting submissions for the 2016 Saroyan Prize for books published in 2014 and 2015. The deadline for entries is January 29, 2016. Please see our FAQ page for complete details.
***
Open House 2016
The Interpreter’s House Poetry Competition
Prizes:
First Prize £500
Second Prize £150
Third Prize £100
Seven Highly Commended
The winning poems will be featured in Issue 62 of
The Interpreter’s House
Competition opening date:
1st November 2015
Competition closing date:
midnight on 30th January 2016
Entry Fee:
£4 for single poems
£10 for three poems
All proceeds of the competition are used to fund future issues of TIH.
For more details, please visit http://www.theinterpretershouse.com/competition
***
AROHO’s 2016 Orlando Prizes
Our answer to the rigors of the Gift of Freedom grant, AROHO’s Orlando Prizes celebrate Virginia Woolf’s title character’s liberation from conventional constraints. AROHO’s multi-genre competition is an invitation and opportunity for women writers to bring their shorter works to publication via a brief online application process. We accept multiple submissions, and are on the lookout for diverse topics and styles. Simultaneous submissions are also welcome; please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Judged by esteemed writers and publishers, from Judith Freeman and Kim Barnes to poets Dana Levin and Cheryl Boyce Taylor, winning submissions in all four genres receive a $1,000 prize and publication.
Deadline: January 31, 2016
For more details, please visit http://aroomofherownfoundation.org/awards/orlando/
***
1000 Words or Less FLASH FICTION COMPETITION
1000 WORDS or LESS wishes to give as many amateur and professional writers as possible, the opportunity to develop and showcase their craft and creative skill in the shorter story genre. One entry will be selected for a $1,000 cash award. $100 cash prizes will be available for up to 5 other entries. Prizes will be paid in Australian dollars (AUD). Approximately 50 entries will be selected for publication to capture the creativity, inspiration, ideas and thoughts of a diverse range of writers and provide a permanent published record of contemporary, past or futuristic ideas or themes. The authors will retain copyright of their own work.
The entrant may choose any subject, theme, idea or inspiration. All eligible and valid entries will be read and reviewed. Additional guest judge/s may be appointed to assist with the final judging. The judge/s decision will be final and no correspondence or negotiation will be entered into or considered. Judge/s will be representative of a broad cross-section of people to ensure a wider selection of entries receive awards based on creative merit as well as appeal, popularity, interest and engagement.
How to Enter the Competition
Please send an email to 1000wordsorless@1000wordsorless.com.au to obtain a copy of the story template, entry form, eligibility criteria and guidelines.
For more details, please visit http://www.1000words-or-less.com.au/about-the-competition
***
The Kent and Sussex Poetry Society Open Competition
The deadline for the 2016 competition is 31st January 2016. The Judge is poet Anne-Marie Fyfe and she will read all the submissions.
First prize: £1,000
Second prize: £300
Third prize: £100
Plus 4 x £50
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1Ds8hj5
***
The Stringybark Short Story Award 2015
The Stringybark Short Story Award is our annual open themed award and will be presented to the writer whose story entertains the judges the most. You have a maximum of 1500 words in which to achieve this feat. International entries are most welcome. The story must:
- Have a connection, no matter how incidental to Australia (eg the protagonist might dislike Tony Abbott); and
- Be written for an adult audience (that is, we aren’t after children’s stories).
There is a total value of over $925 worth of prizes in cash and books available. Stories must be sent via email. Closing date for entries is 31 January 2016. Results will be posted on this website on 26 April 2016.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1Off9re
***
25th International Play Writing Competition 2016
The International Playwriting Competition – from the BBC World Service & British Council in partnership with Commonwealth Writers and co-produced by The Open University
The competition is open from 1 October 2015 to 31 January 2016. The competition is open to new and established writers, provided they live outside the UK.
There are three prizes
English as a First Language Winner
£2200 sterling will be given for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a first language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded for broadcast on the BBC World Service and to attend a prize-giving evening.
English as a Second Language Winner
£2200 sterling will be given for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a second language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded for broadcast on the BBC World Service and to attend a prize-giving evening.
The Georgi Markov Prize
In memory of the writer, BBC World Service journalist and broadcaster Georgi Markov (1929-1978) who championed freedom of creative expression, this prize is for the writer of the script identified by the judges as showing most promise. The script will be selected from the International Radio Playwriting Competition shortlist and will be an entry which, whilst not deemed ready for broadcast in its current form, shows outstanding potential.
The Georgi Markov Prize includes a standard return flight to London, with 2 weeks accommodation – a week of which will be spent with the BBC’s London Radio Drama department and a week with BBC World Service. These 2 weeks will coincide with the making of the winning plays from the International Radio Playwriting Competition and the winner of the Georgi Markov prize will attend the prize-giving ceremony and receive recognition at the same time.
For more details, please visit http://bbc.in/1LaBnos
***
Arc Poem of the Year
In 2016, Arc will be awarding one $5,000 grand prize to the Poem of the Year…and we’ll be accepting email submissions!
NEW THIS YEAR: a new $500 prize for the Honourable Mention!
DEADLINE: February 1, 2016.
The entry fee is $35 CDN, and includes a one-year Canadian subscription of Arc*
Contest entry fees may be paid online or by cheque or money order mailed with your hard copy contest submissions.
Arc welcomes Poem of the Year entries from Canada, the United States, and around the world. Entrants outside Canada must submit entry fees in Canadian funds. Please use the online payment option or mail a cheque or money order in Canadian funds.
Entrants may submit up to two unpublished poems with each $35 fee (extra poems: $5 per poem).
Deadline: Entries must be emailed or postmarked no later than 11:59 pm, February 1, 2016.
For more details, please visit http://arcpoetry.ca/contests-working-dw-draft/#poty
***
The 2016 Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize
Deadline: February 1, 2016
Prizes
- $350 First Place
- $100 Second Place
- $75 Third Place
All finalists will be published in THR´s spring 2016 issue. To enter the contest, participants should mail a $10 donation by check or money order (we cannot accept cash) made out to The Heartland Review and up to three (3) poems to:
2016 Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize c/o Sandi Howard Elizabethtown Community & Technical College 600 College Street Road Elizabethtown, KY 42701
Or you can enter the contest electronically here… (The subject line should read JBB2016)
For more details, please visit http://theheartlandreview.elizabethtown.kctcs.edu/
***
The 2016 Flash-Fiction Contest
What can you create in 1200 words?
Prizes
- $100 First Place
- $50 Second Place
- $25 Third Place
Award-winners and finalists will be published in THR´s special Flash-fiction Issue. To enter the contest, participants should mail a $5 donation by check or money order (we cannot accept cash) made out to The Heartland Review and one (1) 1200-word story per entry to:
2016 Flash Fiction Contest c/o Sandi Howard Elizabethtown Community & Technical College 600 College Street Road Elizabethtown, KY 42701
Or you can enter the contest electronically here… (The subject line should read FF2016)
Deadline for entries is postmark February 1, 2016. Winners will be announced in April.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1Zd3j2C
***
The 12th Annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest
The writing contest whose name is almost as long as the entries! Deadline: February 1, 2016.
How it works:
1) Send us a story and a postcard—the relationship can be as strong or as tangential as you like, so long as there is a clear connection between the story and the image.
2) If you’re not sure where to look for a postcard, you can make your own or visit Wikimedia Commons.
3) The story can be fiction or non-fiction; maximum length is 500 words.
For a classic example of a postcard story, read “Grizzly Bill” or “Nettie, Rose, Daphne and Ginger.”
Visit our postcard story archive for more examples of notable stories.
Prizes:
First Prize: $500 Second Prize: $250 Third Prize: $150
All winning entries will be published in Geist and on geist.com
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1UaTVuU
***
Aurora Poetry & Short Fiction Open Competition
“…And beat the twilight into flakes of a fire” Alfred Lord Tennyson
Enter our inaugural writing competition and let us light up the skies with outstanding poetry and short fiction. Our judges are renowned poet Pascale Petit and acclaimed short fiction writer and novelist Paul McVeigh. The prizes are: 1st £500, 2nd £100, 3rd £50, and the Stonewood Press Regional Prize £70 which includes a Writing School East Midlands course*, and an invitation to read at the prize-giving event in Nottingham.
Closing date is 1st February 2016.
Entry fees £7 for first poem or story and £5.50 for subsequent entries.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1Igp1Li
***
Grayson Books Chapbook Contest 2016
$20.00 USD
Ends on 2/1/2016
2016 Grayson Books Chapbook Contest
Prize: $500, publication of chapbook and 50 copies
Deadline: January 31, 2015 postmark
Reading fee: $20
Submit: 16-24 pages of poetry. Do not place identifying information on your chapbook manuscript. Put it in the submission form instead.
Simultaneous submissions are permissible if we are notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.
***
Learning from Nature
Deadline: February 1, 2016
For an upcoming issue, Creative Nonfiction is seeking new essays about LEARNING FROM NATURE.
The Biomimicry Center at Arizona State University will award $5,000 for best essay, and Creative Nonfiction editors will award $1,000 for runner-up. All essays will be considered for publication in a special “Learning from Nature” issue of the magazine to be published in fall 2016.
Guidelines: Essays must be previously unpublished and no longer than 4,000 words. Multiple submissions are welcome, as are entries from outside the United States.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1QRot5h
***
2016 Novella Prize
The Malahat Review, Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites entries from Canada, the United States, and elsewhere for the Novella Prize. One prize of $1,500 CAD is awarded. Previous winning entries have also won or been nominated for National Magazine Awards for Fiction and the O. Henry Prize. The Novella Prize is offered every second year, alternating with The Malahat Review’s Long Poem Prize.
Entries may be sent by regular mail or email.
Entry fee required:
- $35 CAD for Canadian entries;
- $40 US for American entries;
- $45 US for entries from Mexico and outside North America.
- $15 CAD for each additional entry (from anywhere)
2016 Deadline
The deadline for the 2016 Novella Prize is February 1, 2016 (postmark date).
For more details, please visit http://www.malahatreview.ca/contests/novella_contest/info.html
***
Postcard Story Contest
$15.00 CAD
Ends on 2/1/2016
Submit your entry to the 12th Annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest by following the contest guidelines.
Please make sure the cover letter field includes your mailing address, telephone number and email address. Even though you have already entered this information when creating your Submittable account, we still need it to appear in the cover letter.
Judging is blind, so please do not write your name on your entry.
The deadline is February 1, 2016.
***
The W.B. Yeats Poetry Award
These are complete guidelines. No entry form required.
First prize $500, second $250, honorable mentions. Unpublished poems in English up to 60 lines on any subject, each (judged separately) typed on an 8½ x 11-inch sheet without author’s name; attach 3×5-inch card(s) with name, address, telephone, e-mail. Entry fee: $10 for first poem and $8 each additional. Include SASE to receive a copy of the report, posted on our Web site mid March.
Winners and honorable mentions receive 2-year Yeats Society membership and are honored at a ceremony in New York. Authors retain rights, but permit the Society to publish or broadcast winning entries.
The deadline for the 2016 competition is February 1st. Awards will be presented at an event in April.
***
Doolin Writers’ Competition
Short Story Prize
Judged by Anthony Glavin
1st Prize €1000 + Banshee Lit Editorial Team will consider the story for publication
2nd Prize- free pass to Doolin writers’ weekend + 2 nights accommodation
Poetry prize
Judged by Dave Lordan
1st prize €1000 + banshee lit editorial Team will consider the poem for publication
2nd prize- free pass to Doolin writers’ weekend +2 nights accommodation
Deadline: February 5, 2016
For more details, please visit http://www.doolinwritersweekend.com/storyComp.php
***
2016 Psychopomp Magazine Short Fiction Award
*We will be accepting contest entries until February 28, 2016*
The Psychopomp Magazine Short Fiction Award recognizes outstanding pieces of fiction that push the boundaries of genre and/or form. Surprise us! Show us something we’ve never seen before. Note: As with our regular submissions, we ARE open to realist fiction and work that may veer towards the hard genre but are most interested in stories that work between these realms and/or is innovative in the way a story is told.
First Place Award: $500 and issue publication
All finalists will be considered for publication on our site as “special contest features.”
For more details, please visit http://psychopompmag.com/contests/
***
Flash 500 Short Story Contest
Welcome to the first year of our new short story category. This is an open-themed competition and we accept all genres, including those written by or for children. Adult material is also acceptable providing the content fits the story and is not gratuitous.
We are looking for stories ranging between 1,000 and 3,000 words, with strong characters, a well-crafted plot and realistic dialogue (where used). Make us laugh, make us cry, but most of all, make us feel!
This is an annual competition: entries open on 1st September and close on the last day of February each year.
For more details, please visit http://www.flash500.com/index_files/ss.html
***
CBC Creative NonFiction Prize
WHAT: Submit your original, unpublished work of creative nonfiction between 1200 and 1500 words.
WHEN: Competition runs from January 1 to February 29, 2016.
WHO: All Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada can submit.
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 offline submission form.
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/nonfiction/
***
NASJA East First Annual Communications Contest
Have a great snow sports story, photo or video? Enter the NASJA East Communications Contest and you could win $500.00 CASH!
NASJA East is seeking works that tell exceptional stories about snow sports. Theses stories should depict people having fun participating or watching snow sports. The goal is to promote snow sports. These works can be in the form of stories, photos or videos or any combination thereof.
Eligible entries:
Written content (photos are encouraged)
Photographs
Videos
All entries must relate to events that occurred between January 1, 2015 and March 1, 2016.
Submissions must be made by midnight (est) March 1, 2016 (as confirmed by organizers)
For more details, please visit http://www.nasja.org/east/contest16.cfm
***
On The Premises Current Contest
Short Story Contest #27 launched on December 13, 2015.
CHANGES
One or more character(s) have to deal with some kind of significant change. It can be any kind of change you like, and on any scale, from a change affecting only one person (or one place, or one thing) to something affecting everyone/everything everywhere, or anything between those extremes.
Your challenge: Write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long that clearly uses the contest premise.
GENRE RULES: No children’s fiction, no exploitative sex, no over-the-top grossout horror, and no stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors.
Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern US time, Friday, March 4, 2016.
One entry per author. There is no fee for entering this contest.
For more details, please visit http://onthepremises.com/current-contest/
***
The Wenlock International Poetry Competition 2016
This year, we are honoured to welcome one of Britain’s most respected poets, Don Paterson, as lead judge. The only poet to have won the TS Eliot prize twice, Don was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2009.
The long list of poems will be chosen by a panel of prize-winning, published poets including Festival Poet in Residence, Paul Francis.
Entry costs £5 per poem (maximum of 5 poems per person), and the competition prizes are:
– 1st prize: £500
– 2nd prize: £200
– 3rd prize: £100
One poem will be judged as Highly Commended.
The closing date for entries is Monday, 7 March 2016. Please read the rules below carefully before submitting.
For more details, please visit http://www.wenlockpoetryfestival.org/competitions/
***
Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award™
The purpose of the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award™ is to honor the best books readily available to a North American audience in any format within the past year. The categories include both fiction and nonfiction.
Any book-length work published for the first time in 2015 may be nominated for the 9th Annual Silver Falchion Award™.
JUDGING PROCESS
Entries and nominees will be evaluated by judges, who will choose up to eight finalists in each of the following generic categories (full category guidelines here):
*Best Novel
*Best First Novel
*Best Nonfiction
*Best Young Adult
*Best Children’s
*Best Young Readers
*Best Anthology or Collection
*Best Book by a Conference Attendee
Finalists will be announced the beginning of August and winners will be chosen by 2016 Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference attendees and announced at the Killer Nashville Guest of Honor Dinner and Awards Banquet.
DEADLINES
The deadline for entering the Silver Falchion Award™ is March 30, 2016.
For more details, please visit http://www.killernashville.com/awards/silver-falchion-award/
***
2016 Ghost Story Competition: open now!
If you fancy getting your 2016 off to a spooky start, you might like to know that this year’s ghost story competition is now open for entries.
The first prize this year is £500. Entry costs £8, and the deadline is midnight on 31st March. Word count should be between 1,000 and 7,000 words. Full details, along with the online entry form, are available on our website right here.
If you need inspiration, you can find our previous winners in the anthologies New Ghost Stories and New Ghost Stories II. If you’ve already read those, watch out for our next anthology, coming next month, which will contain the winning stories from 2015.
For more details, please visit http://www.thefictiondesk.com/s…/ghost-story-competition.php
***
The Masters Review Anthology
$20.00 USD
Ends on 3/31/2016
Submissions are open from January 15, 2016 to March 31, 2016. This year stories will be selected by author Amy Hempel who will select ten winners from a shortlist of forty. This category is open to ALL EMERGING WRITERS. Anyone who has not yet published a novel at the time of submission.
Deadline for entry is March 31, 2016. The shortlist will announce on April 15, 2016 and winners will be announced no later than May 15, 2016. The book is published in the fall.
For more details, please visit https://themastersreview.submittable.com/submit/52031
***
THE SEVENTH ANNUAL
GeminiMAGAZINE
SHORT STORY CONTEST
Entry fee: $5
Deadline: March 31, 2016
All Five Finalists Will Be Published Online in the
June 2016 Issue of Gemini.
We are open to ANY subject, style, genre or length. Stories
must be unpublished but work displayed on personal blogs is eligible.
Entries are read blind so EVERYONE gets an equal chance.
Both new and experienced writers have won our contests.
For more details, please visit http://www.gemini-magazine.com/contest.html
***
The Nivalis Short Story Contest 2016
BEGINS – 9:00 a.m. Jan 01, 2016 (US Central time)
ENDS – 11:59 p.m. Mar 31, 2016 (US Central time)
Nivalis 2016 is not theme bound. There is no restriction on genre either, and we are happy to read historical fiction, mystery/suspense, and horror. However, for consistency of presentation we cannot accept children’s stories, fantasy, young adult or chick lit; likewise hardcore science fiction is not something we are looking for, but are open to science based/alternative history based literary works. In case of doubt, it is best to query the editorial team before submitting.
For more details, please visit http://www.fabulapress.com/the-contest/
***
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Contest Opens: Aug 15, 2015
Deadline: Apr 01, 2016
Results Announced: Aug 15, 2016
Theme: Humor
Length Limit: Submit one poem only, with a maximum of 250 lines
Entry Fee: No fee
Prizes:
- First Prize: $1,000
- Second Prize: $250
- Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each
- Top 12 entries published online
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/15fB5iD
***
A Room of Her Own Foundation
The deadline for the next To the Lighthouse & Clarissa Dalloway Book Prizes, judged by Alicia Ostriker and Kate Gale respectively, is April 1st, 2016.
***
Spring 2016 Essay Contest
“In the Pink” $1000 Prize
Write an original essay between 500 and 1000 words, inspired by the photograph at left and the theme, “In the Pink” for an opportunity to win $1000 and publication.
Submissions may be a personal essay, memoir, narrative nonfiction, commentary, travel piece, historical account, biography, or short story, as long as it creatively embodies the theme and photo. Please review our Submission Guidelines before submitting your manuscript. Entry Fee: $20 USD
Deadline: April 15, 2016
For more details, visit http://highfieldpress.wix.com/contests#!contests/c1xh4
***
2016 Bath Short Story Award
Welcome to the 2016 Bath Short Story Award. We invite local, national and international entries from published and unpublished writers.
Closing date: Monday, April 25th, 2016 at midnight BST
Entry fee: £8. Enter online or by post
Short stories of up to 2200 words in all genres, styles welcome. No lower word limit. Check Rules for more information.
Shortlist Judge: BBC Radio 4 producer Mair Bosworth
Prizes:
- 1st £1000
- 2nd £200
- 3rd £100
- Local prize: £50 voucher
- The Acorn Award for unpublished writers of fiction: £50
For more details, please visit http://bathshortstoryaward.co.uk/
***
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
***
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
***
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/
***
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.
***
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/
***
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
***
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/
***
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.
***
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/
***
The Diode Editions 2015 Chapbook Contest Submission Guidelines
Open to all poets over the age of 18 who write in English.
Length: 22-32 pages (front matter is not included in count).
We will consider translations, and we welcome collaborations.
Your submission should include:
A title page with the title of your manuscript, your name, address, telephone number and email.
Your name should not appear anywhere else in the manuscript.
An acknowledgments page: poems included in your manuscript may be previously published as long as there is an acknowledgements page.
Deadline: January 15, 2016
For more details, please visit http://www.diodeeditions.com/contests.html
***
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/
***
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/
***
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
***
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
***
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
***
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.
***
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.
***
EVENTS & WORKSHOPS
***
Historical Fiction with Lawrence Hill
Author of The Book of Negroes (2007) and The Illegal (2015).
April 04 – April 08, 2016
Application Deadline: 13 January 2016
How accurate are historical details meant to be, in the context of historical fiction; do they play with, bend, or subvert the author’s understanding of history? How does the writer go about researching and attributing history which folds into their fiction, and what unwritten contract of authenticity does the writer owe its reader? Explore these challenges with national bestselling author Lawrence Hill (The Book of Negroes, The Illegal) during a four day intensive on historical fiction.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1L1NtQs
***
BANFF Writing Studio
May 02 – June 04, 2016
Application deadline: 20 January 2016
An ideal environment for artistic inspiration and growth, Writing Studio is structured to provide an extended period of uninterrupted writing time, one-on-one editorial assistance from experienced writers/editors, and an opportunity to engage with a community of working writers.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/1kfR4oU
***
30th Anniversary Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
March 30-April 3, 2016
The Festival takes place on one (usually) sultry weekend in March when the most illustrious and freshest names in the literary, theatrical, and cultural spheres descend on the French Quarter for five days of festivities.
For more details, please visit http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/festival
***
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.
***
The Weekly Writing PostTM is brought to you by
The Writing PoolTM
http://www.thewritingpool.com
***
The Writing Pool 