The Writing Pool’s Weekly Writing PostTM
2016 February 13-20 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.
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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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Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there’s an explosion—that’s Plot. |
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We’ve been discussing how to make characters more interesting in your writing. One of the best ways to guarantee interesting characters, besides making them ROUND is to make your characters DYNAMIC as opposed to STATIC. Granted, literature needs its share of static characters, because sometimes the stories just need the characters to be the same. People come back to certain writers because their characters are the same, predictable, reliable. Procedural stories, which would be the basis of procedural drama in television, often have static characters. As the term suggests, static characters do not change. They remain the same from beginning to end. They often don’t grow older and they don’t generally have life-shattering experiences. There are hundreds of highly popular static characters in serial books, and there are quite a few I remember and enjoyed reading: Nancy Drew, Perry Mason, James Bond, the Bobbsey Twins, the Dana girls, the Hardy Boys, Miss Marple, and Sherlock Holmes. More recent serial publications with static characters? To some extent, the Bourne series and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoos series. Sometimes, the static characters don’t age, sometimes they do, but in every book, they pretty much think, act, and speak the same way. They do not undergo deep transformations. That’s why they’re suited to adventure and action series. Don’t get me wrong, you can write static characters and they can be very successful, as you can see from the examples I’ve given. They serve a very good purpose, and that is, the series. When the characters grow up, change, achieve their goals and move on, the series either ends or changes. Best example? The Harry Potter series. That’s a limited series because Harry Potter has achieved his goal of seeking revenge on his parents’ killer. Anything else after that time will be a new story. Those characters are prime examples of DYNAMIC characters. You’ve probably surmised by now, that dynamic characters are the opposite of static characters. They develop, change, become different, grow into someone else. They have life-changing and eye-opening experiences that alter their characters so that the way they are when you first encounter them is not who they are by the end of the book. Sometimes, the change is almost indiscernible. It could be a change in attitude or values that show how a character matures. These changes are not always accompanied by life-shattering events or dramatic physical changes. It also depends on the time span of your work. A story that takes place over a longer time is more likely to affect the characters or show how characters change in many different ways. No matter what the situation, your story involves characters with human sentiments, human traits, human foibles. What makes humanity makes your story. What moves humanity will move your readers.
Read all the article on character development in The Writing Pool™. You can also read more on other aspects of writing at Creativity Unlimited .
Happy writing!
~cpl
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NEWS
PEI LOCAL/ATLANTIC
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/
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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
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Canada Reads 2016
CBC has announced the contenders for Canada Reads 2016. The Canada Reads 2016 books are all about transformation and second chances, including stories of migrants, immigrants and others who are choosing – or forced – to make major changes in their lives.
The 2016 contenders are:
- Bruce Poon Tip, defending Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
- Farah Mohamed, defending Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz
- Clara Hughes, defending The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
- Adam “Edge” Copeland, defending Minister Without Portfolio by Michael Winter
- Vinay Virmani, defending The Hero’s Walk by Anita Rau Badami
This year, Canada Reads will feature a social media panellist, Azita Ardakani. Azita Ardakani founded Lovesocial, a social media company with the mandate of “connecting people with things that matter,” in 2008. Azita will read the books with the rest of Canada and lead the conversation online. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The debates will take place on March 21-24, 2016.
For more details, please visit http://bit.ly/23keDPc
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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.
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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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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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The 12th Annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest
The writing contest whose name is almost as long as the entries! Extended Deadline: February 15, 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
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Don’t Talk To Me About Love Debut Contest
OPEN for SUBMISSIONS until Midnight, Valentine’s Day, Feb 14, 2016
EXPLORE LOVE IN OUR FIRST LITERARY CONTEST:
Fiction (maximum 2,000 words)*
Non-fiction (maximum 2,000 words)*
Poetry (1-3 poems per single submission) (total maximum 75 lines)*
FIRST PRIZE: $1000.00 CDN (per category) plus a full manuscript review** by the literary agency The Rights Factory
THREE HONOURABLE MENTIONS PER CATEGORY: Guaranteed publication in donttalktomeaboutlove.com
For more details, please visit http://www.donttalktomeaboutlove.com/contest/
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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/
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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
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Poetry for Kids Writing Contest
Five cash prizes: $650 for you when you win, $350 for second place,
and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places.
A winning entry can get you published, and some healthy prize money too.
In addition, we will publish the winning entries on our website and if you win, you can get a personalized critique from the judge during our follow-up webinar, free to entrants.
To enter our poetry writing contest, submit a single original, unpublished poem, rhyming story, haiku, limerick or anything that constitutes a poem, 500 words or less. Remember, longer doesn’t necessarily mean better!
Your submissions can be for any age child up to 18-years-old, and any topic you want.
Submissions will be judged on story line, characterization, and freshness, but also on structure, grammar, knowledge of meter and rhythm and ultimate publishability. Poems should be well-constructed. Your poem must be age-appropriate.
For more details, please visit https://katiedavis.leadpages.co/poetry-contest/
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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/
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The Nashville Live Read Screenplay Competition Is Now Open for Entries!
Enter your script now! The winning feature film screenplay will be celebrated with a live-read event at the Nashville Writers Conference, which is part of the Nashville Film Festival.
Winners will also receive VIP access to The Big Pitch event at the Nashville Writers Conference, a series of one-on-one pitch sessions between you and Hollywood producers, executives, agents and literary managers. The format will follow a ‘speed dating’ model – one-on-one rotating sessions with producers and execs – mixed with top writers and “pitch gurus” to give feedback and tips. Each participant will have dozens of pitching opportunities directly to deal makers.
Deadline for entries: March 1, 2016
For more details, please visit https://screencraft.org/nashville/
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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
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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/
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THRESHOLDS INTERNATIONAL SHORT FICTION
FEATURE WRITING COMPETITION
1st Prize of £500
2 x Runner-up Prize of £100
PLUS, a selection of short story titles for all shortlisted writers
DEADLINE: 06 March 2016, 11:59pm (GMT)
FREE TO ENTER
For more details, please visit http://blogs.chi.ac.uk/shortstoryforum/features-competition/
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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/
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Women’s Short Story Competition 2016
Closing Date: Mar. 14
It’s that time of year again when our Women’s Short Story Competition is open for business! As always, the 2016 competition welcomes writers of all levels of experience, writing stories on any subject – in any style. Up for grabs is a sumptuous £2,000 first prize, publication in the June 2016 issue of Mslexia and the fantastic exposure that this competition gives its finalists. So if you’ve got a story – or an idea – that could fit into our 2,200 word limit, we’d love to see your work.
1st prize: £2,000
Plus two optional extras: a week’s writing retreat at Anam Cara, and a day with an editor at Virago Press.
2nd prize is £500, 3rd prize £250. Three other finalists will each receive £100. All six winning stories will be published in the June issue of Mslexia.
Entry fee: £10 per story
For more details, please visit https://mslexia.co.uk/competition/short-story-competition/
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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/
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9th Annual 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.
The 9th Annual Silver Falchion Award™ will be awarded on August 20th, 2016.
Any book-length work published for the first time in 2015 may be nominated for the 9th Annual Silver Falchion Award™.
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.
The deadline for entering the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award™ is March 30, 2016.
For more details, please visit http://www.killernashville.com/awards/silver-falchion-award/
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Metamorphose Novella Contest
Metamorphose is currently accepting submissions for our novella contest (20,000 to 40,000 words, sci-fi, fantasy). Metamorphose strives to publish emerging writers with engaging stories, vivid characters, and fresh writing styles. One winner will be published in Metamorphose’s Anthology in the fall. All finalists will receive free professional tips on their submission and may considered for later publication. The prize for first place is $50 (USD) and publication in the anthology with potential for royalties. The winner will be announced publicly after April 15th, and featured on our website. Multiple entries accepted. International submissions welcome. Good luck to all our authors!
Opens: February 1
Deadline: March 31
Prize: $50 + royalties on anthology sales
Entry Fee: Free
For more details, please visit http://www.metamorphoselit.com/p/metamorphose-novella-contest-we-are.html
Contact Info: Tammy Davies, metamorphoseliterary@gmail.com
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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
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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
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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
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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/
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The Richard Snyder Memorial Publication Prize
This poetry book series honors the memory of Richard Snyder (1925-1986), poet, fiction writer, playwright, and long-time professor of English at Ashland University. He served for fifteen years as English department chair, and in 1969 co-founded and served as co-editor of the Ashland Poetry Press. He was also co-founder of the creative writing major at Ashland University, one of the first at the undergraduate level in the country. In selecting manuscripts for this series, Ashland Poetry Press editors keep in mind Snyder’s tenacious dedication to craftsmanship and thematic integrity.
The Winner of the Snyder Prize Receives:
- $1,000.00
- publication of winning manuscript in a paperback edition
- 50 copies of the published book (in lieu of royalties)
- featured reading at Ashland University (optional)
For more details, please visit http://www.ashlandpoetrypress.com/guidelines/snyder-prize
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Fall Lines – a literary convergence
Fall Lines – a literary convergence is a literary journal in its third year of publication based in Columbia, SC and presented by Jasper Magazine in partnership with the University of South Carolina Press, Muddy Ford Press, Richland Library and One Columbia for Arts and History.
With a single, annual publication, Fall Lines is distributed in lieu of Jasper Magazine’s regularly scheduled summer issue. Fall Lines will accept submissions of previously unpublished poetry, essays, short fiction, and flash fiction from February 1, 2016 through April 1, 2016. While the editors of Fall Lines hope to attract the work of writers and poets from the Carolinas and the Southeastern US, acceptance of work is not dependent upon residence.
Publication in Fall Lines will be determined by a panel of judges and accepted authors will be notified in May 2016, with a publication date in summer 2016. Accepted authors will receive two copies of the journal. Two $250 cash prizes, sponsored by the Richland Library Friends, will be awarded: The Saluda River Prize for Poetry and The Broad River Prize for Prose.
For more details, please visit http://jaspercolumbia.net/blog/?p=7531
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The Waterston Desert Writing Prize
The Waterston Desert Writing Prize (the Prize) was established in 2014 and inspired by author and poet Ellen Waterston’s love of the high desert of Central Oregon, a region that has been her muse for more than 30 years. The Prize provides financial and other support to writers whose work reflects a similar connection to the desert, recognizing the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative.
THE AWARD
The Waterston Desert Writing Prize will recognize one writer with a $1,500 cash award, a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, and a four-week residency at Playa at Summer Lake, Oregon. The award winner will be announced in June 2016.
Proposals can be submitted once each year beginning January 1 through April 1.
For details, please visit https://thewaterstondesertwritingprize.submittable.com/submit
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2016 Frost Farm Prize for metrical poetry
The Trustees of the Robert Frost Farm in Derry, NH, and the Hyla Brook Poets invite submissions for the 6th Annual The Frost Farm Prize for metrical poetry. The winner receives $1,000, publication in Evansville Review and an invitation, with honorarium, to read in June 2016 as part of The Hyla Brook Reading Series at the Robert Frost Farm. The reading opens the Frost Farm Poetry Conference, which is devoted to metrical poetry. The winner also receives a scholarship to attend the conference. We welcome international submissions (in English). Deadline is April 1, 2016.
For more details, please visit http://www.frostfarmpoetry.org/prize/
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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
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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.
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2016 Norton Girault Literary Prize in Fiction
$10.00 USD
Ends on 4/15/2016
Old Dominion University’s MFA Creative Writing Program and Barely South Review are pleased to announce the 2016 Norton Girault Literary Prize in Fiction! Submit one previously unpublished short story of no more than 5,000 words via our Submittable portal on or before April 15th, 2016.
1st Prize will receive $500 and publication in Barely South Review.
2nd Prize will receive publication in Barely South Review.
For details, please visit https://barelysouth.submittable.com/submit/10158
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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
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Earth Day Short Fiction Contest
1,500-3,000 words
Sapiens Plurum’s latest literary challenge is to personalize the consequences of climate change so readers feel as well as know them. But stories must offer hope, at least a possibility, for without hope people rarely act. Your job, as author, is to inspire scientists and states-persons around the world to live up to the promise of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Stories that promote the Sapiens Plurum mission will receive higher rankings than others. This does not mean that stories should be saccharine, naive or pollyanna-ish, but they should be heroic, even if the hero or heroine has feet of clay.
DEADLINE: EARTH DAY, APRIL 22, 2016
For more details, please visit http://www.sapiensplurum.org/fiction-contests.html
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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/
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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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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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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 | |||
DEADLINE: May 15, 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.
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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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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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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
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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/
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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/
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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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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
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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
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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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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
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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
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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
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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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http://www.thewritingpool.com
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The Writing Pool 