Deadlines: April 16 - May 31

4/16: The Foley Poetry Contest ++
Entries must be received by this date
Individual poems of 30 lines or less. America is a national weekly Catholic magazine founded by Jesuits in 1909.

4/30: Betsy Colquitt Award for Poetry +
This annual prize of $500 is for the best poem or series of poems published in an issue of Descant. There is also a $500 Frank O'Connor Prize for Fiction awarded annually to the best story.

5/1: John Ciardi Lifetime Achievement Award in Poetry +++
Honors Italian-American poets "of a mature status" who have published at least two books of poetry, excluding chapbooks, and have published poetry criticism or edited poetry-related works.

5/1: Mosaic Poetry Competition +
Individual poems: Open to anyone who considers themselves disabled. Prize consists of publication. Caution: This contest may be inactive. We haven't received a response to our inquiries.

5/1: SouthWest Writers: Young Writers Contest +
This contest for New Mexico students in grades 9-12 is suspended this year.

5/2: Sam Ragan Poetry Prize +
Entries must be received by this date
Individual poems: All submissions to the Crucible, published by Barton College, are considered for this contest.

5/15: Cave Canem Poetry Prize +++
Poetry manuscript: All African-American poets who have not yet published a book are invited to enter. Winner receives $500 and publication by a prestigious press.

5/15: James Laughlin Award +++
Sponsored by The Academy of American Poets. Prize honors the second book of poetry published by a living US author. Winner receives $5,000, and the Academy buys 10,000 copies of their book for distribution to its members.

5/28: Hazel Hall Award for Poetry (Oregon Book Awards) +
Entries must be received by this date
This contest for current full-time residents of Oregon is no longer free to enter, so we are removing it from our guide to free contests. Seven categories of awards including poetry.

5/31: The Bordighera Poetry Prize ++
Seeks the best manuscripts of poetry in English by an American poet of Italian descent and surname or middle maiden surname. The winning poet will receive $1,000 and their work will be translated into modern Italian.

See our complete list of free poetry contests by deadline date

Key to Ratings
Highly Recommended: +++
Recommended: ++
Neutral: +

All deadlines are postmark deadlines unless otherwise specified.

FREE CONTESTS WITH ROLLING DEADLINES
There are seven active free contests with rolling deadlines. These typically accept entries at any time of year. See them now at:
http://www.winningwriters.com/winfree/contests/indexbydate.htm


Sponsors' Messages

Perigee Anniversary Issue, Plus Contest!
Postmark Deadline: April 30
The April 15th, 2005 issue of Perigee marks our two-year anniversary. Included in the redesigned web site are the winning poetry contest entries, along with verse and prose from new and established writers. Come visit us online to read the new issue, to subscribe for free, and to submit your work. Remember, we are currently accepting submissions to our second annual fiction contest. With cash prizes and publication, you'll want to submit your best stories before the April 30th deadline. Check out the new issue with all new content, plus poetry contest winners and fiction contest guidelines at
http://www.perigee-art.com/


Free Poetry Contest at Write On
Email Deadline: May 15
Write On's Poetry Place will pick one outstanding poem to showcase on the Poetry Place web page. Email poem on any subject to writecmchale@earthlink.net. One poem per person, 55 lines maximum. See www.writeoncopy.com/Poetry%20Page.html for more details.

Get feedback on your poetry before you send it out. In addition to our free contest, you can check out Write On's poetry services by visiting www.writeoncopy.com.


$1,000 and Book Publication: Autumn House Poetry Prize
Postmark Deadline: June 30
All finalists considered for publication. Final judge Jean Valentine. 50-80 pages of poetry. Enclose $25 reading fee. Autumn House Press, P.O. Box 60100, Pittsburgh, PA 15211. See website for complete guidelines:
www.autumnhouse.org.


The Litchfield Review Summer Contest
Postmark Deadline: July 31
The Litchfield Review ( www.thelitchfieldreview.com ) seeks original, unpublished poems, essays and short stories for its Summer Contest. The overall winner will receive $250. Other prizes of $100 may also be awarded. The reading fee is $10 per essay, short story, or set of 1-3 poems. All prizewinners will be published in The Litchfield Review. Runners-up may also be published. All writers we publish will receive a free copy of the issue in which they appear. We are a new journal offering a forum to emerging and established writers; our only criterion for acceptance is excellence. We look for good stories beautifully told, quality poetry of substance, and creative nonfiction that lingers long in the minds of readers. See the complete contest guidelines:
http://www.winningwriters.com/special/0731-litchfield.htm


ANNOUNCING The Catfish Poetry Publication Prize
Postmark Deadline: December 31
Winner receives $500, publication and a residency at Salmon Publishing, based in County Clare, Ireland, half a mile north of the world-famous Cliffs of Moher. Early submissions are encouraged. Finalist judge: Jessie Lendennie, editor of Salmon. Submit 48-80 paginated pages of poetry, table of contents, acknowledgments, bio, email address for results, no SASE (manuscripts will be recycled), and a $20.00 reading fee per manuscript payable to Catfish Poetry. All entries will be considered for publication. Both free and formal verse styles are welcome. Complete Guidelines: www.catfishpoetry.com or SASE to Catfish Publishing, P.O. Box 96, Elaine, Arkansas 72333. Questions: editor@catfishpoetry.com.


Healing the Rift.com
An online magazine for serious, open-minded Christians featuring poetry, essays on Biblical themes, and outlets for reflection and comment on the issues of the day. We especially seek submissions of well-crafted rhyming or metrical poetry reflecting spiritual values, as well as Biblically-based, well-researched essays and informative opinion pieces. Our theme is "Affirming Believers, Exalting the Word". All are welcome. Be sure to check out our special feature for "National Poetry Month". Visit us at http://healingtherift.com/.


Attention Poets! Looking for poetry markets, contests and reviews?
Then subscribe to the free monthly ezine, The Poetry Market Ezine. Log onto www.thepoetrymarket.com or send any email to: poetrymarket-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe.


Make the Most of Your Contest Efforts with Poetry Contest Insider
If you're serious about attracting attention to your poetry, you might spend $500-$1,500 per year entering contests. Unless you have many years of experience, you could be wasting half of that money or more on contests that are wrong for your work or won't do you much good even if you win. Worse, you might be missing dozens of quality contests that would suit you well, if only you knew about them.

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Read more testimonials from our subscribers

Free trial. Try Poetry Contest Insider free for 10 days. Access all our 650+ contest profiles. If you like it, you'll pay just $5.95 for three months of access. If not, cancel and owe nothing.

A Million Stories
Diverse, well-written online archive of personal anecdotes submitted by readers from around the world. Editors say: "Some moments in our lives seem to stay with us forever...an incident that seemed to sum up all our feelings and make life stand still for a few seconds." Submit your own literary snapshots (length is usually one paragraph to one page), or just read a new story online every day.

Directory of Writers' Circles
Bulletin board with listings for major UK competitions, plus information about local writing workshops and organizations.

"On Publishing: A Rhapsody"
Brian Lalor's satirical poem on the travails of hapless writers won the 2004 Swift Satire Poetry Competition. The biennial prize honors Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels.

On the Survival of Rats in the Slush Pile
British book-world commentator Michael Allen advances a provocative thesis about the role of randomness in determining a book's commercial success, and how this information can help both writers and publishers manage their expectations. Available as a free PDF download. If you need Adobe Reader to view it (also free), it's here.

Operation Homecoming
The National Endowment for the Arts created Operation Homecoming to help US troops and their families write about their wartime experiences. Their letters, poems, stories and memoirs will be collected into a national archive, and the best submissions will be published in a literary anthology. The anthology submission deadline is May 31, 2005; submissions after this date will still be included in the archive.

PDF Online
Convert your word-processed documents into PDF or HTML files with this free online service. Works for both Windows and Mac documents. Writers can use this service to create ebooks or HTML newsletters featuring their work.

Short-short Stories by Bruce Holland Rogers
Award-winning science fiction and mystery writer will email you three short-short stories per month, for the unbeatable price of $5 per year. Also check out Rogers' book Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer.


Selected Prose Contests

Blogfest 2005 Writing Contest
Online Submission Deadline: April 20
Sponsored by Twenty Twenty Publishing. "What's the one thing you've always wanted to write, but never got around to writing? A novel, a screenplay, a children's picture book, a short story, a memoir, a book of poetry? Whatever it is, we challenge you to get started writing it this May. And you can win $2,000 just for deciding to do it! All you have to do is tell us what you want to write, why you want to write it, and what it would mean to you to be given the chance to write it. If you can convince us that it means the world to you, you could be our $2,000 winner. Nine runners-up will also share in $1,000 prize money." Entry fee is $5.

Me Three 2005 Literary Criticism Contest
Email Submission Deadline: May 31
$200 and publication for a work of literary criticism, maximum 3,000 words. Enter and pay ($8 fee) online only. This new journal of fiction, essays and cultural criticism is a worthwhile read.

Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa
Entries must be received by June 30
We highly recommend this free contest, which seeks fiction for children and is open to African writers. Macmillan is a major international publishing house. Two prizes of $5,000 and one prize of $3,000 will be awarded. Macmillan will publish and promote the winning entries.

The One Soldier's Story Project
Entries must be received by September 30
The One Soldier's Story Project is currently accepting literary nonfiction personal accounts from soldiers and veterans for a book-length anthology to be published in 2006. Any US Army soldier or veteran in service on or after September 11, 2001, is eligible to submit an account to The Project for consideration. The Project is a non-partisan, privately-financed enterprise seeking to publicize the efforts of Army veterans in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the entire worldwide War on Terror - in a soldier's own words. The vast scope of this effort is outside the knowledge of most Americans, and The Project will enable soldiers to relate their experiences to this larger audience. Refer to the appropriate sections on the web site for requirements, guidelines and suggestions on what to submit for consideration. While a submission may not be accepted for publication, it will at least have been put down in words now, before fading memory takes its toll.


More Sponsors' Messages

Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse
Postmark Deadline: June 30
The Margaret Reid Poetry Contest seeks poems in traditional verse forms, such as sonnets and haiku. $2,000 in prizes will be awarded, including a top prize of $1,000. The winning entries will be published. The entry fee is $5 for every 25 lines. Submit online or by mail. You may submit poems that have been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the anthology and online publication rights. Unpublished work is also welcome. Winning Writers is assisting with entry handling for this contest. Guidelines:
http://www.winningwriters.com/margaret.htm


Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest
Postmark Deadline: September 30
Open to poems in any style, theme or genre. $2,000 in prizes will be awarded, including a top prize of $1,000. The winning entries will be published. Early submission is encouraged. The entry fee is $5 for every 25 lines. Submit online or by mail. You may submit poems that have been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the anthology and online publication rights. Unpublished work is also welcome. Winning Writers is assisting with entry handling for this contest. Guidelines:
http://www.winningwriters.com/tompoetry.htm


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InstantPublisher.com will take your manuscript over the Internet from any Microsoft Windows-based program. Publish a book in trade quality from 25 to 5,000 copies in about 7-10 working days. Ideal when you want to publish books to give as gifts, sell at events and readings, or sell from your website. Specify the kind of book you want to print and get an instant price quote. Customers say, "the published book is exactly what I had envisioned. And the cost was so reasonable, I'd recommend InstantPublisher.com to anyone." "I experimented with several different short-run and POD printers during my 90-day adventure from self-published to major book deal, and I have to say that the quality of your books was BY FAR the best. When sending press kits to the media, and anyone we wanted to impress, we'd always send your books, which we affectionately referred to as 'The GOOD books.' "
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IMAGINE YOUR STORY IN A BESTSELLING BOOK!
Do you have a personal story that belongs in today's bestselling anthologies, like Chicken Soup for the Soul, A Cup of Comfort, and Chocolate for Women? You could get PAID for it and get published! Julia Rosien, a publishing veteran and editor at ePregnancy Magazine, will mentor you and show you how to turn your memories into essays that warm the heart...and sell.
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WriteSuccess Newsletter
Sign up now for WriteSuccess's free biweekly newsletter for freelance writers. Editor Mary Anne Hahn has a knack for finding the most interesting literary sites and markets. It's easy to feel lonely as a freelancer. Mary Anne's inspiring attitude and success notes from readers create a sense of community.
http://www.listpartners.com/cgi-local/subscribe?4338


Mother's Day Is Coming! Put Your Poems and Pictures on Apparel, Cards, Gifts and More
CafePress.com makes it easy to put your words and images on shirts, greeting cards, postcards, mugs, magnets and posters. Order them for yourself or for gifts, or sell them online at a profit. CafePress makes each item to order, so you don't have to commit to a large batch all at once. It's quick and easy to set up your store, and there's no set-up charge. We've been getting a kick out of our Judge Jendi mugs. Get started here:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/storeref.aspx?refby=winwrit


Poet's Market - 2005 Edition On Sale
We recommend Poet's Market: 1,800 Places to Publish Your Poetry ($16.49 at Amazon). Published each August by Writer's Digest, this is the best annual directory of journals, magazines, book publishers, chapbook publishers, websites, grants, conferences, workshops and contests. Helps you find publishers who are looking for your kind of work. Also recommended: Writer's Market for works of prose ("the most valuable of tools for the writer new to the marketplace," says Stephen King in On Writing).


Write Ways to Win Writing Contests
John H. Reid, a widely published Australian novelist and award-winning poet (under the name Tom Howard), has written a witty and practical guide to finding the best contests for your work. Topics include identifying the judges' tastes, "popular" versus "literary" styles of writing, preparing a professional-looking manuscript and avoiding scam contests. Though his examples are drawn from fiction, poets will also find this guide indispensable. Order it now for $14.99 from Amazon.


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Save on all your writing supplies at Office Depot. Free delivery in select areas when you order $50 or more. This coupon expires on April 30.
Save $30 off Purchases of $150 or More!


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Public Service Announcement

PLAN A VACATION AND HELP PROLITERACY
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson offers an in-house lending library, "Book It And Return", at its 300+ hotels in North America. Each library includes a section of books for children. For every book returned to a Country Inns & Suites hotel in North America through the Book It And Return program, the company makes a $5 donation to ProLiteracy Worldwide. To date, Country Inns & Suites has donated $46,000 to ProLiteracy.

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Advertise to 14,000 Poets and Writers
Promote your contests, websites, events and publications in this newsletter. Reach over 14,000 poets and writers for $35. Ads may contain up to 100 words and a headline. Place your reservation at:
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"I want to thank all of you at Winning Writers again for providing such a wonderfully beneficial service for poets and writers.... The staff at Perigee is impressed with how many of our readers and contributors learned about our online publication through Winning Writers."
Ben Arnold, Co-Editor, Perigee

This month, the Critique Corner is pleased to present Dana Bailey's sestina, "Inspired by Starlight".

If you would like a chance to be critiqued, please email your poem to me at critique@winningwriters.com. Send the poem in the body of your email message (no attachments) and put "poetry critique" in the subject line. One submission per poet per month. Thanks!

Inspired by Starlight
by Dana Bailey

Sparks fall like starlight
And a child runs inside,
Where her mother comforts with a promise.
But the streets have all been stained,
Soaked with tears and washed by blood
And covered over by long hours of winter.

No one knows when the end of winter
Will bring hope among the starlight
And the endless reign of blood
Will creep back to hide inside
A psyche that has been forever stained
By the treason of a shattered promise.

Who can trust a promise?
Time brings unto all things winter
Even after life, sun-stained,
Is soothed by cleansing starlight.
Water flows deep, forgotten inside
For it is far less viscous than blood.

Even so, oil is thicker still than blood
And vastly more powerful than a promise
Negotiated by important men inside
Offices guarded, safely out of winter.
They shake hands before the starlight
But with their blood those hands are stained…

The innocent whose eyes are stained
With visions flowing down like blood
Obscuring gentle shafts of starlight
Thinking wistfully of a promise
Made to a maiden with cheeks of winter
Who will now forever wait inside.

Waiting, hopefully, but slowly dies inside,
Clutching a letter with ink all smeared and tear-stained
Heart freezing slowly into winter
Until it refuses even its own life-blood
Making silently a sacred promise
To gaze into eternal starlight.

But what meaning lies inside a drop of blood
Spilled onto already-stained streets? Hardly a promise
Leftover from winter, cracks illumined by starlight.


Copyright 2005 by Dana Bailey


Critique by Jendi Reiter

This month's critique poem, Dana Bailey's "Inspired by Starlight", is an example of one of my favorite poetic forms, the sestina. I love writing sestinas because adherence to a pattern is a great way to discipline a poem, but the sestina's freestyle line length allows for a more contemporary sound than forms requiring rhyme and meter. Forms involving repetition, such as sestinas, rondeaus and villanelles, also help the author stay focused on a particular theme and set of images.

As is evident from the poem above, the sestina consists of six stanzas of six lines each, plus a three-line "envoi" or final stanza. The word at the end of each line is called a "teleuton". Each stanza uses the same six teleutons in a specific order, and the envoi uses all six words. Rules for writing sestinas can be found here.

The best sestinas take advantage of the repetition to disclose new facets of the original image. This quality attracted me to "Inspired by Starlight", a poignant lament for youthful innocence crushed by a world at war. Though verging on sentimentality, this poem moved me because of its gentle tone and vivid, tangible imagery. The compact lines transition easily from one required end-word to the next without feeling forced.

The writer of a sestina should look for teleutons that are elemental and multivalent enough to generate powerful reactions in more than one context. This poem's key words are starlight, inside, promise, blood, stained, winter. The list by itself already conjures up an intense world of relationships: heat (blood) versus cold (winter), purity (winter, starlight) versus defilement (blood, stained), and intimacy and security (inside, promise) versus the indifferent, violent outside world (starlight, winter, blood). These oppositions generate the poem's central message....

critique continues

This poem, our critique and contest suggestions for poems in this style appear in full at:
http://www.winningwriters.com/critiques/2005/0504-bailey.htm


We are pleased to announce that Jendi Reiter was a finalist in The St. Louis Poetry Center's 45th Annual Best Poem Contest. Read Ms. Reiter's award-winning poetry at http://www.jendireiter.com


Coming in the May 15 Winning Writers Newsletter
Best Free Poetry Contests for May 16-June 30