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June 2009
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Welcome to our June newsletter. This is the companion to our online database, The Best Free Poetry Contests. It alerts you to upcoming contests and important contest changes, highlights quality resources for writers, and announces achievements and great poems by our readers.
Lost one of our newsletters? Graphics don't look right? Not to worry. All our recent newsletters are posted online at http://www.winningwriters.com/news
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FEATURED SPONSOR'S MESSAGE
13th Annual Robert Frost Foundation Annual Poetry Award
Postmark/Email Submission Deadline: September 15
The Robert Frost Foundation welcomes poems in the spirit of Robert Frost for its 13th Annual Award. The winner will receive $1,000 and an invitation to present the winning poem this fall at the Frost Festival located at the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the library in which Frost first explored the traditions of English and Irish poetry.
This year's judge, Jarita Davis, is a poet and fiction writer who earned a B.A. in classics from Brown University and both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. She was the writer in residence at the Nantucket Historical Association and has received fellowships from the Mellon Mayes program, Cave Canem and Hedgebrook. In addition, she was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Travel Research Grant, a Neiheisel Phi Beta Kappa Award, and a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. Her work has appeared in the Southwestern Review, Historic Nantucket, Cave Canem Anthologies, Crab Orchard Review and Plainsongs.
Please submit two copies of each poem, one copy with contact information (name, address, phone number, email address) and one copy free of all identifying information. Reading fees are $10 per poem (send fees via regular mail, please). Make your check payable to The Robert Frost Foundation. Mail your entry to: The Robert Frost Foundation, Attn: Poetry Award, Lawrence Public Library - 3rd Floor, 51 Lawrence Street, Lawrence, MA 01841. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) or an email address if you'd like to receive the contest results. Email submissions are accepted at frostfoundation@comcast.net if you send your entry fee by regular mail.
You may submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each. Both published and unpublished works are accepted. See the complete contest guidelines at www.frostfoundation.org.
Please enjoy "Aristaeus Forgiven" by Ned Balbo, winner of the 2003 Robert Frost Award:
Aristaeus Forgiven
by Ned Balbo
Eurydice died...
That's where it often begins,
but remember how she died, the adder's bite
as she fled headlong from the lecherous Aristaeus,
the cause of it all, or, less clear-cut than that,
mixed up somehow in the causes, part of them...
—Virgil, Georgics, IV, David R. Slavitt, translator
I'd watched Eurydice, bees edging near
The bouquet as she reached out, shooed them off
And stepped back, laughing, steadied by her bridesmaids,
Meadow in bloom, fierce humming underfoot
And overhead, snake unseen till it struck
—Such grief. Was I the cause? Desire repressed,
I'd watched her from a grove but stood revealed
Only when it was too late, angry swarm
Confusing everyone, those panicked women,
Spirits of wood and water, shrieking out
Despair and accusations as I fled—
Could they be right? I wondered: had I called
The bees to act as I could not, an impulse
Toward destruction—tear the veil away—
Still unacknowledged as I rose to witness—
Cause the tragedy? And when my bees,
Queenless themselves, mere husks, were dying off
In waves, I should have known my luck had turned
Against me for good reason: secretly,
The angry women watched, waiting their turn,
A grief for a grief, while time and fortune brought
Vengeance against the uninvited guest,
Bridesmaids-in-mourning loyal to the end...
What had I done, or not done? I'd forgotten,
Or fought back the thought, till Proteus
Reminded me. I flinched, but let him speak,
Tale garbled in the telling and retelling,
As I heard the rites that would appease
Mistaken enemies, though in my rage
I'm sure in time I would have sought the bulls
And heifers anyway, slaughtered them all,
And left them gutted somewhere, fury quenched
And vision darkened....So this is forgiveness,
I thought bitterly before the altar,
Newly purified....
But when I placed
My hand inside the carcass where new bees
Had gathered in the wound, and felt the nectar
Oozing at my touch, I had to laugh
At such grotesque fulfillment of my prayers,
False respite, restoration that meant less
Than full forgiveness. No, my guilt would last
As long as flesh—grief, too—and more would follow
In the years to come, stung hand recoiling,
Sticky with gold, defiled, a bridesmaid’s laughter
Almost audible, sun streaming down
On bloodied altar, carcass, living bees
And empty meadow, all the years ahead.
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Last Call!
Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse
Postmark Deadline: June 30
Now in its sixth year, this contest seeks poetry in traditional verse forms such as sonnets and free verse. Both published and unpublished poems are welcome. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. The entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines you submit. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. This contest is sponsored by Tom Howard Books and assisted by Winning Writers. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest
Postmark Deadline: September 30
Now in its seventh year, this contest seeks poems in any style, theme or genre. Both published and unpublished poems are welcome. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. The entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines you submit. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. This contest is sponsored by Tom Howard Books and assisted by Winning Writers. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
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RECENT HONORS FOR OUR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS
Congratulations to Harrison Solow. Her book Felicity and Barbara Pym is forthcoming in May 2010 from Welsh publisher Cinnamon Press. This cross-genre work—part epistolary novel, part literary criticism—pays homage to British novelist Barbara Pym through the protagonist's conversations with her reluctant literature student, Felicity. Read more and pre-order the book on the Cinnamon Press website.
Congratulations to Katherine K. Walker. Her poem "Hungering and Thirsting After" won a poetry contest on the Christian literary forum Lukevi.com. Another poem of hers, "The T-Shirt", placed second in that contest. Ms. Walker's poetry collection Songs of the Feathered Wind is available on Amazon.com.
Congratulations to Annie Dawid. Her new book, And Darkness Was Under His Feet: Stories of a Family, was a finalist in the Short Story category of the 2009 Indie Book Awards. This book also won the 2008 Litchfield Review Award for Short Fiction. Dawid's collection of linked stories spans a century in the lives of a Jewish family from Bukovina, whose descendants spread from Eastern to Western Europe, America and China. Read a sample chapter here.
Congratulations to Helen Lowe. Her novel Thornspell received the award for Best Book: Young Adult at this year's Sir Julius Vogel Awards ceremony. The prizes are given annually by the New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Association for achievement in science fiction, fantasy and horror. Lowe also took home the Best New Talent award for four poems from her "Ithaca Conversations" sequence. Read about the winners here.
RECENT HONORS FOR POETRY CONTEST INSIDER SUBSCRIBERS
Congratulations to John Alexanderson. His poem "One Slant on Hunger" won an honorable mention in the 2009 Alabama Writers' Conclave Writing Contest, an opportunity he discovered in our newsletter. He kindly shares the poem with us below. This contest offers prizes up to $100 for formal and free verse poems, stories, essays and first chapters of unpublished novels. The most recent deadline was April 30.
RECENT PUBLICATION CREDITS FOR OUR SUBSCRIBERS
Vicki Julian's article "An Uplifting Experience" is included in The Healing Project's Voices of M.S. anthology, due out this fall from LaChance Publishing.
Daniel de Culla's poem "A Book of Hours" was published in the May 2009 issue of the online literary journal Pirene's Fountain. Read it here. His poems "Memory of Nothing", "No More Love Poem", and "Snow Dancer" were published on youpoem and can be read here.
Omosun Sylvester's poetry and prose collection Silence Speaks is available from his website. This is the Nigerian author's third book. As described in a review in the Compass newspaper, "The author packs in the text lines that are meant not only to encourage those who are medically challenged by hearing impairment but some hope-inspiring and self discovery notes to anyone facing any problem in life. The message of the book is simple: There is ability in disability, depending on how you boldly face the challenges of life....One common feature in the author's works is his love for the African culture, natural vegetations and the message of peace and encouragement to those who are hopeless."
Ladee Basset's book The Journey Home, a collection of poems in traditional forms, is available from her website and online retailers including Amazon.com. She kindly shares a poem from this book below. "Time Is Not a Barrier" was read on BBC Radio 2 on the evening of Princess Diana's funeral. Read more about the inspiration behind her book here.
Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's poem "Of Color" was accepted for the Summer 2009 issue of Naugatuck River Review. This journal's new contest for narrative poetry, with prizes up to $1,000, will be accepting submissions July 1-September 1.
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TRY POETRY CONTEST INSIDER
If you enjoy using The Best Free Poetry Contests, consider upgrading to Poetry Contest Insider. The Best Free Poetry Contests profiles the 150 or so poetry contests that are free to enter. With your Poetry Contest Insider subscription, you'll get access to all of our 750+ poetry contest profiles, plus over 300 of the best prose contests. Contest rules, addresses and deadlines change constantly. We update Poetry Contest Insider nearly every day to stay on top of them. Search and sort contests by deadline, prize, fee, recommendation level and more. Access to Poetry Contest Insider is just $7.95 per quarter, with a free 10-day trial at the start. Cancel at any time.
Most contests charge entry fees. You can easily spend hundreds of dollars and many hours entering these contests each year. Don't waste your time or money. Out of hundreds of contests, there might only be two or three dozen that are especially appropriate for your work. We help you find them fast. Interviews and links to award-winning entries help you refine your craft. Learn more about Poetry Contest Insider.
Our customers say...
"...about a year ago I shifted my writing focus (novels, nonfiction) to poetry. I use your site exclusively to select contests. I've won, placed, and/or published 13 poems. The site is great. I can't
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Lee Whipple, Florida
"Your website is invaluable: definitely the best around. I have benefited greatly from the database of contests. Thank you and keep up the fantastic work!... Last year I received first prize in both the Dorothy Prizes and the Room of One's Own poetry competition—both of which I learned of through your database."
Vicki Duke, Alberta, Canada
See more testimonials here, plus coverage of Winning Writers in Writer's Digest and The Writer, or start your trial now.
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Deadlines: June 16-July 31
Here is a summary of upcoming free poetry contests. Click the contest names to be taken directly to their profiles (you may be asked to login on your first click of the day). You may also view the profiles by logging in to The Best Free Poetry Contests here and clicking the Find Free Contests link to search for contests by name.
Forgot your password? Need a password?
Please go to http://www.winningwriters.com/forgot_password.php
We will email your password to you within minutes.
Winning Writers gathers contest information from a wide variety of sources including publishers' press releases, online link directories, Poets & Writers Magazine, and e-newsletters such as TOTAL FundsforWriters, The Practicing Writer, and CRWROPPS. We encourage readers to explore these useful resources, and let us know about worthwhile contests we may have missed.
6/19: Teachers & Writers Collaborative Fellowships +++
Entries must be received by this date
Highly recommended free contest offers two fellowships of $20,000 for emerging writers, aged 35 and under, who demonstrate a significant commitment to a writing career and financial need. Writers must live in the New York City area or be willing to relocate for the duration of the fellowship. Submit 3 copies of entry form plus a writing sample of 10-25 pages of poetry or prose. See website for application form and additional requirements.
6/24: Costa Book Awards +++
Entries must be received by this date; formerly June 25
Formerly known as the Whitbread Book Awards, this highly recommended free contest offers a top prize of 25,000 pounds, plus prizes of 5,000 pounds in each genre, for books first published in the UK or Ireland by authors who have lived in the UK or Ireland for at least six months of each of the preceding three years. Awards given in the genres of poetry, novel, first novel, biography, and children's literature. Books must have been published between November 1 of the previous year and October 31 of the current year. Must be submitted by publisher.
6/25: Utah Arts Council Original Writing Competition ++
Formerly June 27
Recommended free contest for Utah residents offers prizes up to $1,000 for unpublished full-length manuscripts of poetry, novels, general nonfiction and juvenile literature, plus smaller awards for individual poems, stories and essays. Manuscript prizes are for authors with no published books in the genre they are entering; other prizes are open to all.
6/30: FIL Literature Prize in Romance Languages +++
Entries must be received by this date
Highly recommended contest offers $150,000 lifetime achievement award (by nomination only) for a writer whose work is in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Galician, Catalan, Basque French or Romanian. This is one of several awards sponsored by the Guadalajara International Book Fair. Formerly known as the Juan Rulfo Latin American and Caribbean Literary Award, changed name in 2009.
6/30: John Glassco Translation Prize +
Formerly July 31
Neutral free contest offers C$1,000 for an author's first book-length translation into French or English, published in Canada during the previous calendar year; work may be poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or children's book (all genres compete together). Contest is open to Canadian citizens or landed immigrants.
7/4: Ishar Singh Poetry Contest +
Entries must be received by this date
Neutral free contest for students in grades 1-12 offers top prize of C$100 in each of 5 age categories. Send 5 copies of a 1-page poem, one copy with contact information and the others anonymous. Themes change annually. 2009 theme is "Peace".
7/25: GLCA New Writers Awards ++
Recommended free contest offers a reading tour of 12 midwestern colleges, with a $500 honorarium per visit, for the author of a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction that is the author's first published book in that genre. One winner in each category. Publisher should submit 4 copies of book along with publicity material. Book must have been published in the US or Canada between spring 2008 and spring 2009. Selection process favors recipients of major first-book awards.
7/31: Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award +++
Highly recommended free contest for unpublished poems by authors aged 11-17 offers free books, anthology publication, and tuition to a writing course (for UK entrants only). Online entries accepted.
7/31: Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize +++
Entries must be received by this date
Highly recommended free contest offers 3,000 pounds and a reading at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival in Suffolk for the best first full-length collection of poetry published in Great Britain or Ireland since August 1 of the preceding year. Either publisher or author may submit 3 bound or proof copies of the book with a note indicating the date of publication. Include cover letter with contact information.
7/31: Linda Bruckheimer Series in Kentucky Literature ++
Don't enter before July 1
Recommended free contest offers publication by Sarabande Books, a high-quality literary press, for a manuscript of poetry, fiction or essays (all genres compete together) about Kentucky or by Kentucky authors. Winner must agree to travel to readings within the state. You are eligible if you were born in Kentucky or have lived there for at least five years, or your book is set in or about Kentucky. Poetry manuscripts should be 48-100 single-spaced pages, prose manuscripts 150-250 double-spaced pages. No genre fiction.
Login to The Best Free Poetry Contests now to view these and all our profiles of free contests. You can browse contests by deadline date, name, recommendation level and more.
Key to Ratings
Highly Recommended: +++
Recommended: ++
Neutral: +
All deadlines are postmark deadlines unless otherwise specified.
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SPONSORS' MESSAGES
 FUNDSFORWRITERS - Editor C. Hope Clark
From a long-time reader...
"Dear Hope, Do you know how many other writers I know who have had a 'Hope Awakening'? Didn't fully understand the gold in these newsletters until they finally had that epiphany of what a mine they're sitting on? You are SUCH a force in the writing world. I swear, you're the Oprah of the writing world." ~Courtney Mroch
Come visit www.fundsforwriters.com and see why Hope's readers love FFW.
Last Call!
2009 Autumn House Poetry Prize and Autumn House Fiction Prize
Postmark Deadline: June 30
The winners will receive book publication, a $1,000 advance against royalties, and a $1,500 travel grant to participate in the 2009 Autumn House Master Authors Series in Pittsburgh. All finalists will be considered for publication. Final judge for the Poetry Prize is Alicia Ostriker. Final judge for the Fiction Prize is Sharon Dilworth (bio, interview).
All full-length collections of poetry 50-80 pages are eligible. Fiction submissions should be approximately 200-300 pages. All fiction sub-genres (short stories, short-shorts, novellas, or any combination of sub-genres) are eligible. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope (SASE) for contest results. Autumn House Press assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged manuscripts. All entries must be clearly marked "Poetry Prize" or "Fiction Prize" on the outside envelope. $25 entry fee (check or money order) must be enclosed. Send manuscript and fee to:
Autumn House Press
P.O. Box 60100
Pittsburgh, PA 15211
Click for the complete guidelines. Please note: Manuscripts will not be returned, so please keep a copy.
Please enjoy this selection from Lori Wilson's House Where a Woman, published by Autumn House Press.
Green Glass Bird
by Lori Wilson
From a box marked Lillian's Desk
I lift the green glass bird
I bought when I was seven
the Christmas I was old enough
to buy her present myself
with two dollars my father
pressed into my hand.
I hold it up to the basement bulb,
remember how she kept it
on the coffee table all those years,
glass-to-glass, remember her hands
cradling its weight, remember
the bristle of rug on my arms,
my cheek, as I watched her wait
for late-afternoon sun to ignite
the green heart of that bird.
North Carolina, West Virgina,
Michigan—green glass bird
in and out of packing boxes,
onto the sill, the curio shelf, at last
her desk the winter and spring
of oxygen tanks and feeding tubes,
where it caught the inadequate light
until there were no more breaths.
In my basement with boxes
I rock on my heels,
cold bird cuddled to my neck
like a frightened cat. And I stroke it,
murmur Stupid bird, poor fat green bird,
A careless move could crack you
On this painted concrete floor.
Did you think it was you that she loved?
Poor bird, it was me.
It was me.
Copyright 2009 by Lori Wilson. Reprinted by permission of Autumn House Press
Last Call!
The Litchfield Review Writing Contest
Postmark Deadline: June 30
We seek poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction for our semi-annual magazine competition. Prose entries should be 3,000 words or less. Poetry entries may be of any length.
To be considered for both publication and a cash prize, please enclose $10 with each essay, short story, or set of 1-3 poems. Enclose $15 and you may submit an unlimited number of entries. Mail your manuscripts to:
The Litchfield Review
7 Bonna Street
Beacon Falls, CT 06403
Exceptional entries of poetry, memoir and short fiction will be considered for publication as books by The Litchfield Review Press. For more information and news about our ongoing writing contests, please check our redesigned website, litchfieldreview.com, or email Theresa C. Vara at tvdannen@sbcglobal.net.
Please enjoy this excerpt from a poem by Ryan P. Harper, published in the current issue of The Litchfield Review:
Opening Our Eyes During Prayer, Tuesday Night Bible Study
by Ryan P. Harper
We are caught in our early rising
from this circle
two thieves colliding on a rooftop of silent heads
still wide-eyed
we who love light rather than darkness
lifted up.
What seek we over this span
of skulls brought low
in golgotha silence?
To look upon
faces praying as on French cathedrals
lip tremors and hands wanting blood
thigh-brushes swift as the death angel
or to catch
the ash-flakes of Sodom on our powdering tongues
the face of Yahweh through his desert fingers?
How would that good apostle find us
he whose midnight sermons
dropped dulled disciples like basin water
out upper room windows?
Would he who found life in a fallen sleeper
find it in two drugged awake
by the pious cadence of divine conversation?
How quickly surprise yields
delight bulbs your cheeks
you see me smile faithfully
you want to laugh
I want to
pour your laughter into this yawning space
so that we may run surely
ever over flat earth
and never again check our steps
almost tearful I sing in myself
the glory of hidden sunlit heresies
perched atop these sunken temples
that they would ever sink
under our weight
that we would bury amen
alive
deep
true...
Last Call!
2009 Omnidawn Poetry Contest Judged by Ann Lauterbach
Postmark Deadline: June 30
The 2009 Omnidawn Poetry Contest, judged by Ann Lauterbach, is Omnidawn Publishing's second annual contest for a first or second full-length collection of poems by a poet writing in English. (If you have two or more books published or accepted for publication, you are not eligible, although chapbooks do not count for this purpose.)
The recommended length of manuscript entries is 40 to 70 pages. Simultaneous submissions and multiple submissions are acceptable. The prize includes $2,000, Fall 2010 Publication by Omnidawn, and 100 complimentary copies of the book. The entry fee of $25 entitles you to one free Omnidawn title of your choice, if you send $2.92 in postage and your return-mailing-address typed on a piece of paper. See full explanation at
www.omnidawn.com/contest/contest_guidelines.htm
The prizewinning book will be produced, distributed, and advertised to full Omnidawn standards. As with other Omnidawn books, we will encourage the winning poet to participate in the design of the book, including choice of typefaces, cover artwork and design, with all stages subject to the approval of the winning poet. All costs, including production, distribution and advertising, will be fully paid for by Omnidawn. Omnidawn abides by the CLMP Code of Ethics.
The winner of last year's contest, judged by Marjorie Welish, is Michelle Taransky for her manuscript, Barn Burned, Then, to be published this September.
For the complete guidelines to this year's contest, visit
www.omnidawn.com/contest/contest_guidelines.htm
For information on last year's contest and winner visit
www.omnidawn.com/contest/contest_2008.htm
For other information about Omnidawn, including a list of Omnidawn titles, subscription to our mailing list, and more, visit www.omnidawn.com
Closing Next Month
Dream Quest One Poetry and Writing Contest
Postmark Deadline: July 31
This writing contest is open to anyone who loves to express their innermost thoughts and feelings in poetry or to write a short story that's worth telling everyone! We're accepting poems, 30 lines or fewer on any subject, and short stories, 5 pages maximum on any theme (single- or double-line spacing). Multiple entries welcome.
Prizes
Short Story First Prize: $500, 2nd: $250, 3rd: $100
Poetry First Prize: $250, 2nd: $125, 3rd: $50
Entry fees
$10 per story
$5 per poem
How to Enter
Send your work with a cover page that lists the title(s) of your poem(s)/story(ies), name, address, phone number, and email address, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for entry confirmation. Make your entry fee payable to "DREAMQUESTONE.COM" and mail to Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest, P.O. Box 3141, Chicago, IL 60654. Electronic entries accepted via PayPal. Visit www.dreamquestone.com for details and to enter.
Please enjoy this excerpt from "The Alavarian Princess" by J. Renae Conlee of Lubbock, Texas, first-prize story winner in our Winter 2008-2009 contest:
The scars on her face were evident, a blatant reminder of the scalding water Master had thrown on her a week ago in a fit of fury, when she had not gotten all of the stains out of his garments on laundry day.
Oh no. Those stains, those that spoke volumes of his affair, were not leaving his silk shirt, and it was her fault, for her inadequacy.
She could only hope that the scars, which, thank the heavens, were only skin deep, would fade in time and her lovely face, her biggest pride, would be restored to its former beauty. She had never seen her face in a mirror, because a mirror was something a servant girl such as she could never afford, but she had caught glimpses of it in still water, the pale skin, the violet eyes, and she had seen the men and the boys in town staring at her unabashedly on market day...
[click for the rest of the story]
 Closing Next Month
2009 Kore Press First Book Award
Postmark Deadline: July 31
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Kore Press is given annually for a manuscript of poetry. Claudia Rankine will judge. Women poets who have not published a book-length poetry collection are eligible. Submit a poetry manuscript of 48 to 70 pages with a $20 entry fee. Please visit www.korepress.org/firstbook/FirstBook2009.htm for submission guidelines, as we will only accept electronic submissions. Last year's winner is Heather Cousins of Atlanta with Something in the Potato Room, selected by Patricia Smith, to be published in Fall 2009 and distributed by Northwestern University Press.
Of Cousins' book, Patricia Smith says:
"Sparse and stunning, an addictive cinema unwinds with a lyrical and dramatic certainty. I am committed to its sound, its unerring craft and, above all, a story I just can't shake. I'd like to thank this poet for twisting my perspective and shoving me outside my comfort zone, for showing me how poems can enter the body and take root."
Whether writing about intimacy or alienation, Claudia Rankine's voice is one of unflinching and unrelenting candor, and her poetry is some of the most innovative and thoughtful to emerge in recent years. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, and educated at Williams College and Columbia University, Rankine is the author of four collections of poetry, including the award-winning Nothing in Nature is Private. In The End of the Alphabet and Plot, she welds the cerebral and the spiritual, the sensual and the grotesque. Her latest book is Don't Let Me Be Lonely—an experimental multi-genre project that blends poetry, essays, and image—a deeply personal exploration of the condition of fragmented selfhood in contemporary America.
Rankine co-edited the anthology American Women Poets in the 21st Century: Where Lyric Meets Language, and her work is included in several anthologies, including The Garden Thrives: Twentieth Century African-American Poetry. Her work has been published in numerous journals including Boston Review, TriQuarterly, and The Poetry Project Newsletter. THE PROVENANCE OF BEAUTY / A SOUTH BRONX TRAVELOGUE, a play written by Rankine and directed by Melanie Joseph, will premier in NYC in September 2009.
Snake Nation Press: Serena McDonald Kennedy Award
Postmark Deadline: August 30 (deadline extended)
Submit a novella of up to 50,000 words or a manuscript of short stories up to 200 pages long. Fiction and nonfiction accepted. Any well-written manuscript on any topic will be considered. Previously published works may be entered. An entry fee of $25 must accompany the submission. Winner receives $1,000 award and publication. Final judge to be announced.
Please mail your entry and fee to:
Snake Nation Press
Attn: Serena McDonald Kennedy Award
2920 North Oak Street
Valdosta, GA 31602
Snake Nation Press is proud to announce the winner and finalists of the 2009 Serena McDonald Kennedy Award for fiction, nonfiction, and novellas. The prize is named after Barbara Passmore's grandmother, who valued reading and education.
Winner
Wendy Marcus of Seattle, WA, for Pollygot
Finalists
Cecilia Pinto of Chicago, IL, for Imagine the Dog
Perry Glasser of Haverhill, MA, for Ballsy
Jean Braithwaite of Edinburg, TX, for Fat
Starkey Flythe of North Augusta, SC, for Driving With Hand Controls
Norton Girault of Norfolk, VA, for Dragon in the Box
Terry Marshall of Las Vegas, NV, for American Model
Hal Ackerman of Los Angeles, CA, for Long Women, Short Stories
Michael Schiavone of Gloucester, MA, for Skin
Eleanor Swanson of Lakewood, CO, for Fireflies
Wayne Harrison of Eugene, OR, for Wrench
Snake Nation Press provides an informative, non-threatening venue for writers to submit their work in the midst of an often chaotically diverse publishing world. Over the twenty-year history of the Press, the staff and volunteers have found great satisfaction in forging personalized editorial relationships with both emerging and established writers. The Snake is committed to keeping an honest and open dialogue with authors and to furthering the literary arts on a local and global scale. Many hours of volunteer labor and the electronic resources of the Web have allowed a small press to help present many new literary voices to the world-wide community.
The editors of Snake Nation Press look for manuscripts that concretely render the writer's actual and imaginative experiences. We publish writing that both newly interprets life in its everyday reality and that opens the reader's eyes to internal landscapes that have not yet been envisioned. We believe that good writing fortifies a belief in the value of human life and effort, but above all the work must connect intuition and experience to cast a spell of surprised recognition that shocks the reader with what was thought to be familiar.
The Fourth River – Two New Contests
Postmark Deadline: October 15
Fourth River Award for Poetry
Fourth River Award for Creative Nonfiction
The Fourth River is looking for poetry and creative nonfiction that capture the places—natural, built and imagined, urban, rural or wild—where humans and nature converge and collide. First-place winner in each category will be published in The Fourth River and will receive a $500 cash prize upon publication.
Contest Guidelines
- Previously published works and works accepted for publication elsewhere are not eligible. Students, faculty and employees of Chatham University are not eligible.
- Include a title page with your name, address, phone number and the title of your submission(s). Your name must not appear on the actual manuscript.
- The reading fee is $5 for three poems or one essay (7,000 words maximum), and includes a copy of Issue 7. Please make checks payable to Chatham University. Multiple submissions are acceptable, but each submission must be accompanied by a reading fee. Manuscripts will not be returned.
- Send your submission, your reading fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
The Fourth River
Attention: Fourth River Award for Poetry or Fourth River Award for Creative Nonfiction
Chatham University
Woodland Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
For additional information, visit us on the web at fourthriver.chatham.edu or email us at fourthriver@chatham.edu.
Please enjoy this excerpt from "Lost" by Katie Fallon, published in The Fourth River, Issue 4:
Lost
by Katie Fallon
A week after she escaped, we organized a search-and-rescue-style sweep of the forest. Volunteers met at the Center in late morning. The sun blazed above us in the sky, melting most of the snow and daring underground bulbs to stir. We formed a horizontal line, about ten of us, and stood fifty feet apart from each other. Our plan was to keep the line as we walked, eyes scanning the ground. We'd also search the bare tree branches for movement, a flash of a white throat patch, anything. A collapsed cardboard box stuck out the top of a backpack slung over my shoulders. The pack also held heavy welding gloves, a large towel, flashlights, and a cell phone—everything I would need if I found her.
We began moving slowly at first, heads bent to the forest floor. The ground, thawing and muddy in spots, was covered in soggy leaves. I climbed the gentle slope of a hill and then descended, startling three deer. Their white tails bounced away and disappeared. A red-bellied woodpecker scolded from somewhere above me. I stopped and squinted at empty oak branches and prayed for a flutter of owl wing. But there was nothing.
Bubo, a Great Horned Owl, had lived in captivity almost her entire life. Her name came from the scientific taxonomy for Great Horned Owls, Bubo virginianis. Dropped off at the West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center still covered in fluffy down feathers, she had either fallen or been pushed from her nest. The latter is not unusual; Great Horned Owl parents sometimes resort to infanticide when prey is scarce or if a chick is weak. We raised Bubo and freed her twice, but both times we found her a few days later, hungry, on the ground near the Center. We surmised that maybe brain damage, either inherent or trauma-induced, kept her from hunting. Or maybe, despite our best efforts, we couldn't teach her what she needed to know about being wild. We decided that two failed releases were enough, and that her best chance for survival was to remain in captivity. Our veterinarian agreed, so we trained Bubo, and for the last three years she had been the star of hundreds of environmental education programs throughout West Virginia.
But now, Bubo was lost...
[click for the rest of the story]
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These free prose contests with deadlines between June 16 and July 31 are included as a bonus in The Best Free Poetry Contests.
Click the contest names below to go straight to their profiles, or login to The Best Free Poetry Contests here. After you login, please click the Find Free Contests link, then search by Prose Contest Type to find prose contests.
6/26, 8/7: Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize ++
Entries must be received by these dates; former deadlines were April 25, June 27, and August 8
Recommended free contest offers C$25,000 for novels or short story collections published in Canada during the calendar year by Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. Deadline varies depending on when your book was published: books published between January 1 and April 23 must be received by April 24; those published between April 24 and June 25 must be received by June 26; and those published between June 26 and September 30 must be received by August 7. Publishers should submit 5 copies of the book (or 3 bound galleys, to be followed by at least 2 copies of the book), press kit, entry form, and list of titles published by that publisher, to establish eligibility. See website for detailed requirements.
6/26, 8/7: Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize ++
Entries must be received by these dates; former deadlines were April 25, June 27, and August 8
Recommended free contest offers C$25,000 for nonfiction books published in Canada during the calendar year by Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. Deadline varies depending on when your book was published: books published between January 1 and April 23 must be received by April 24; those published between April 24 and June 25 must be received by June 26; and those published between June 26 and September 30 must be received by August 7. Publishers should submit 5 copies of the book (or 3 bound galleys, to be followed by at least 2 copies of the book), press kit, entry form, and list of titles published by that publisher, to establish eligibility. See website for detailed requirements. Formerly known as the Nereus Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize, changed name in 2009.
6/30: Bank of New Zealand Katherine Mansfield Awards ++
Recommended free contest for short fiction offers top prize of NZ$10,000, plus prizes of NZ$1,500 each for writers aged 13-18 and entrants who have not previously had creative writing (including, but not limited to, a novel, short story, poetry or other work of fiction) published or broadcast for payment. Entrants must be New Zealanders by birth, naturalization or by residence in New Zealand for three years continuously immediately prior to the Closing Date. See website for rules and entry form. Enter by mail or online. No simultaneous submissions.
6/30: Delacorte Dell Yearling Contest for a First Middle-Grade Novel +
Neutral free contest offers $1,500 cash plus $7,500 advance against royalties for an unpublished novel for readers aged 9-12. Authors must be US or Canadian residents who have not previously published a novel for middle-grade readers. Novels may be contemporary or historical fiction set in North America. Sponsor is an imprint of Random House, a major international publisher. No simultaneous submissions. We've rated it Neutral because this sponsor has a habit of not awarding the prize (10 such incidents since 1992), which we feel is unfair to authors who spent money on postage and printing, and refrained from sending their work elsewhere for several months.
6/30: Drue Heinz Literature Prize +++
Highly recommended free contest for an unpublished book-length collection of short fiction (150-300 pages) includes $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Open to writers who have published a book-length collection of fiction or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals of national distribution.
6/30: Goi Peace Foundation International Essay Contest for Young People ++
Entries must be received by this date
Recommended free contest offers top prize of 100,000 yen (about $1,000) for short essays by children and youth on themes of cross-cultural reconciliation. Prizes awarded in age categories under-14 and 15-25. See website for details on the annual theme and formatting rules. Entries may be written in English, Spanish, German or French. Send by mail or email.
6/30: L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest +++
Highly recommended free contest for emerging writers of short science fiction, fantasy and horror offers quarterly prizes of $1,000 plus an annual $5,000 grand prize for one of the four winners. Send only one story per quarter, maximum 17,000 words. See website for eligibility rules. Entrants may not have professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium.
7/1: Richard J. Margolis Award ++
Recommended free contest offers a $5,000 stipend and a month-long residency at the Blue Mountain Center, a writers' and artists' colony in the Adirondacks in Blue Mountain Lake, New York, to a promising new journalist or essayist whose work combines warmth, humor, wisdom and concern with social justice. Send at least two nonfiction pieces (published or unpublished), up to 30 pages total, with a short biographical note including a description of your current and anticipated work.
7/1: St. Francis College Literary Prize +++
Entries must be received by this date
Highly recommended free contest offers $50,000 for an author's fourth published or self-published book of fiction (novel or short story collection). Translations are eligible. This contest runs in odd-numbered years only; for the 2009 contest, books must have been published between January 2008 and July 2009. Send 6 copies of the book. Contest sponsor St. Francis College was founded by Franciscan Brothers in 1859 as St. Francis Academy, the first private school in the diocese of Brooklyn.
7/1: Tamarack Award +
Formerly May 15
Neutral free contest offers publication in Minnesota Monthly for a short story, 4,000 words maximum. Residents of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan may enter. 2008 prize included $10,000 cash award, but no cash award is mentioned in 2009 guidelines, so we've downgraded our rating from "Highly Recommended" to "Neutral".
7/4: Hands Along the Nile Essay Contest +
Neutral free contest offers prizes up to $5,000 for essays by US college or graduate students and college-bound high school seniors. Essays should address the importance of community development in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt. Submit one essay, maximum 2,500 words, along with proof of school enrollment.
7/15: Bard Fiction Prize +++
Entries must be received by this date
Highly recommended free contest offers $30,000 for US authors aged 39 and under who have published a book of fiction. Winner also receives one-semester appointment as writer-in-residence at Bard College. Send 3 copies of book, proposal for new project, and CV.
7/31: Landfall Essay Competition ++
Entries must be received by this date; formerly June 12
Recommended free contest for New Zealand citizens offers NZ$3,000 for the best essay on any topic, maximum 6,000 words. Sponsored by the literary journal Landfall. The purpose of the competition is "to encourage New Zealand writers to think aloud about New Zealand culture, and to revive and sustain the tradition of vivid, contentious and creative essay writing in this country." One entry per person. Entries must be received by 5 PM local time on the deadline date.
7/31: Platt Family Scholarship Prize Essay Contest ++
Recommended free contest for full-time US college students offers prizes up to $1,000 for essays, 1,500-5,000 words, on an annual theme relating to Abraham Lincoln. Enter by mail or email. The Lincoln Forum's mission is "to enhance the understanding and preserve the memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War."
Login to The Best Free Poetry Contests now to view these and all our profiles of free contests.
Key to Ratings
Highly Recommended: +++
Recommended: ++
Neutral: +
All deadlines are postmark deadlines unless otherwise specified.
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ABC Tales Radio
A joint venture between UK-based online writers' forum ABC Tales and the online broadcaster Short Story Radio, ABC Tales Radio is a unique website offering writers and poets the chance to self-publish their work in an audio format. Fees start at 20 pounds for a story under 2,000 words, and increase with length.
Arts and Faith
Online forum hosted by the literary journal Image, for discussions of literature, music, visual arts and performing arts from a spiritual perspective.
BookTour.com
Large, free directory of author events. Authors can create a page showcasing their biography, books and upcoming engagements. Publishers, booksellers, events managers and even just well-informed readers can add tour dates by simply filling in a few blanks. Nice feature: Website can detect the visitor's location and automatically pulls up events in your region when you access their home page.
Collective Fallout
This literary magazine is dedicated to queer-themed sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and mystery fiction and poetry. Fiction submissions must be queer-related, and fall into one or more of the science fiction, fantasy, horror, or mystery genres. Stories may not be longer than 10,000 words. Poetry submissions must be queer-related, both form and free verse, and of a surreal, metaphysical, or similar nature. Up to 5 poems per submission, no more than 450 total lines. No "blatant erotica", fan-fiction or "slash". Send entries as MS Word, RTF or PDF attachments to collectivefallout@gmail.com. Issue deadlines are June 1 and December 1 annually.
Damazine
Online literary journal based in Damascus, Syria publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in English. Enter online. Modest payment for published authors. Editors say, "We aim to become the treasure house for quality literature related to the Muslim world. For those of you who search for truths that can't be expressed in news reports or feature articles, we pray that Damazine will become one of your regular stops."
Fringe Magazine
Quarterly webzine publishes literature, art and criticism with a progressive or experimental flavor. See website for upcoming themed issues and submission periods for each genre. Editors say, "We founded Fringe to fight against the homogenization of culture and the loss of revolutionary literature at the high-literary and popular levels. This loss of variety stems from the politics of market capitalism and mass media. Because larger retailers market to mainstream perspectives, magazines that cater to specific groups (feminist, Afrofuturist, environmental) find themselves going the way of the eight-track. Such journals provide the natural mechanism by which fringe writers mix into the mainstream. Without them, corporate media rules unopposed, eliminating competing voices, or worse, co-opting their style while stripping these voices of their content. To combat this trend, we founded a free and readily available magazine to disseminate progressive voices to everyone."
J Journal: The Literary Journal of John Jay College of Criminal Justice
This literary journal, launched in 2008, is published by a well-regarded college in the CUNY system. J Journal presents perspectives on contemporary justice issues through the medium of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Contributors have included Paul Mariani, Erika Dreifus, Randall Brown, Paul Hostovsky and Kathryn Howd Machan.
MAKE: A Chicago Literary Magazine
Biannual print journal of poetry, literary prose, articles and interviews. Contributors have included Joyelle McSweeney, Eula Biss, Gabriel Gudding and Joe Meno. See website for upcoming themed issues. Editors say, "Chicago is a storyteller's city, and MAKE is the story's magazine. Chock full of fiction, poetry, essays, art, and reviews, MAKE is substantial in both feel and scope. MAKE expands on the Chicago tradition to entertain and to inform."
Memorious: A Journal of New Verse and Fiction
Online literary journal founded in 2004 publishes poetry, short fiction and interviews with contemporary writers. Contributors have included Kevin Prufer, G.C. Waldrep, Mark Conway, Lynn Chandhok and Bob Hicok. Their website is attractively designed, with original artwork for each issue.
Pirene's Fountain
Attractive online journal combines artwork with poetry by emerging and established writers. Contributors have included Mark Doty, Rebecca Seiferle and Linda Pastan. Pirene's Fountain takes advantage of the possibilities of online media to create a dialogue between poetry and the visual arts.
Readerjack.com Awards Listing Page
Online self-publishing company Readerjack maintains this alpabetical directory of links to several hundred literary contests.
Small Press Database at Poets & Writers
Poets & Writers Magazine offers this free online database featuring submission guidelines for over 100 small literary presses. The database is searchable by name, keyword, genre, openness to simultaneous and electronic submissions, geographic region and more. A very useful service.
Tachyon Publications
This San Francisco-based small press specializes in science fiction and fantasy, with titles by James Morrow, Thomas M. Disch, Peter S. Beagle, Charles de Lint and other leading authors in that genre, as well as "steampunk" and "cyberpunk" anthologies.
The Lutheran Writers Project
The Lutheran Writers Project seeks to make connections among writers and readers who are influencing and influenced by Lutheran traditions. They offer resources for book clubs, pastors and educators, and also sponsor a literary festival at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.
Versal
Versal is the literary journal of wordsinhere, an international collective of writers, based in the Netherlands. Visit their blog for the editors' thoughts about their submission review process and the wide(ning) aesthetic that Versal seeks out. Contributors have included Peter Shippy, Jennifer Chapis and Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé.
See our complete directory of resources at http://www.winningwriters.com/resources/ur_web.php. This is also the gateway to our recommended books, magazines, service providers, advice for writers (with manuscript tips) and poetry critiques.
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The Best American Short Stories 1999
Edited by Amy Tan and Katrina Kenison. A particularly fine installment of this annual series, the 1999 anthology includes a wide spectrum of styles and ethnic backgrounds, with emotionally compelling tales that leave the reader with much to ponder. Standouts include Nathan Englander's "The Tumblers", which casts the shadow of the Holocaust over Yiddish folklore's mythical village of Chelm; Sheila Kohler's "Africans", a quietly chilling account of a family's disintegration under apartheid; and Heidi Julavits' "Marry the One Who Gets There First", an unlikely love story told through wedding-album outtakes.
Wrestling with the Angel: Faith and Religion in the Lives of Gay Men
Edited by Brian Bouldrey. Contributors to this profound and heartfelt anthology of spiritual memoirs include Mark Doty, Andrew Holleran, Alfred Corn, Fenton Johnson and Lev Raphael. The authors touch on such topics as the connection between spiritual and erotic ecstasy, family secrets and reconciliations, and AIDS as a modern crucible of faith.
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One Slant on Hunger
by John Alexanderson
...we thank Thee that darkness reminds us of light. (T. S. Eliot)
A decade spent, they're famished full
recalling love of courtship days.
Ears and speech strange locked
like gates around a manor house,
silent, straight, and cool as cliffs.
And yet, seductions soon
could slip beneath the bars.
This hope delights them real
slow and smooth, like
dreams of pepperoni pizza, or
mashed potatoes flowing gravy.
Anticipation. Delectable as the first taste.
Copyright 2009 by John Alexanderson
This poem won an honorable mention in the 2009 Alabama Writers' Conclave Writing Contest.
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Time Is Not a Barrier
by Ladee Basset
Time is not a barrier for love so true
Though we have parted your presence is felt near
Memories of us both are so crystal clear
Forever I shall continue loving you
Time is not a barrier for love so pure
Surely sharing love with you was destined fate
Memories of us together simply great
Our hearts romantically entwined for sure
Time is not a barrier for love so strong
Precious were the moments spent with you my dear
Memories of your sweet whispers in my ear
My heart now yearns for whom it does belong
Time is not a barrier for love so real
Sensational feelings that made my heart race
Memories of your unforgetable face
Nothing could possibly change the way I feel
Time is not a barrier for love so right
The strength of my love shall keep away all fear
Memories of you once immortally here
The love we shared shall glow like stars in the night
Copyright 2009 by Ladee Basset
This poem was read on BBC Radio 2 on the evening of Princess Diana's funeral. It is reprinted from her book The Journey Home, a collection of poems in traditional forms, available from her website.
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Advertise to 25,000 Poets and Writers
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http://www.winningwriters.com/advertisers.php
"We can tell by our data readings that Winning Writers is an economical and efficient way to advertise both the Anderbo Poetry Prize and The RRofihe Trophy/Open City Short Story Contest."
Rick Rofihe, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief, anderbo
"I'm very pleased with the variety of responses we've received, and I very much appreciate the
care you took in adding links and generally improving the copy I sent you."
Mark Schorr, Executive Director, The Robert Frost Foundation
See more testimonials.
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
"Silent Crisis" as Adult Learners and Literacy Programs Devastated by Funding Cuts
State funding cutbacks and fewer donations are forcing adult literacy programs to reduce services, programs, and staff, according to a national survey by ProLiteracy, the world's largest organization of adult literacy and basic education programs. These cutbacks come even as demand for classes in reading, writing, math, and computer instruction increase as a result of rising unemployment rates.
More than one-third of the programs responding to the survey say they have had to cut services, eliminate positions, and reduce business hours because of state funding cuts. This is despite the fact that the majority of those served report increased demand for GED and job skills training by adults who have recently lost their jobs. Specific highlights from the survey include:
- Stanislaus Literacy Center in Modesto, California, reports that demand for its GED preparation class doubled, serving approximately 350 people in the last six months, the same number that they served in all of the previous 12 months. The Center served approximately 1,300 adult learners in various programs in 2008.
- Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse, Inc., in Syracuse, New York, was forced to end its successful small classroom program due to funding cuts.
Programs that do not receive state funding directly report a trickle-down effect. "We've had a 17 percent cut in funding coupled with a decline in grant revenue, individual donations, and United Way allocations," said Nancy Williams, executive director of Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry in Bluffton, South Carolina. "We are seeing the same demand as last year with less funding, so we are forced to shorten our program year, reduce staff hours, freeze wages, and are operating with a deficit budget."
"There is an urgent need for Congress, the Administration, and state governments to address this growing funding gap for adult literacy and education programs," said David Harvey, President and CEO of ProLiteracy. He added that research has shown that adult literacy programs return $33 to the economy for every dollar invested in them.
 ProLiteracy supports adults and young people in the U.S. and internationally who are learning to read, write, and do basic math by training instructors, publishing instructional materials, and advocating for resources and public policies that support them.
Support ProLiteracy's vital mission. Click
here to learn more. Click to contribute.
Send this page to a friend and we'll donate 15 cents to ProLiteracy for each friend you refer.
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This month, Critique Corner is pleased to present "Pouring Shade" by Hzal.
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!
Pouring Shade
by Hzal
if you had the power to pour shade
what color would you use
the color of honey because you like sweet things
or the oil of menthol because it invigorates the nose
my shade would change with the time
rose red rendering incandescent mornings
pink daffodils rising into a noon shower
an afternoon with an orange mist hanging in the air
at night I would announce the moon's etchings
semi-circles surrounded by colored sunbeads
cast on the flowers of heaven
if I had the power to pour shade
I would add laughter
to see how water looks when it smiles
Copyright 2009 by Hzal (Anthony Fudge)
Critique by Jendi Reiter
This month's critique poem comes to us from "Hzal" (the pen name of the poet Anthony Fudge). In "Pouring Shade", he mingles different modes of sensory perception to create a unique experience of an exuberant life force.
Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which real information from one of the five senses is accompanied by a perception in another sense. For instance, a person may see a certain color when hearing a particular sound, or perceive letters and numbers to be associated with different colors. Researchers have noted the similarity between this condition and an artist's creative process, in that both involve unexpected associative leaps and fresh ways of perceiving our common reality....
Click to continue reading this critique
This poem, our critique and contest suggestions for poems in this style appear in full at:
http://www.winningwriters.com/resources/critiques/2009/urc_0906hzal.php
See
all of our poetry critiques.
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VISIT JENDI REITER'S BLOG
Visit Reiter's Block for poetry, cutting-edge Christianity, book notes and cultural insights. Subscribe free to get Jendi's latest posts as they happen. Go to the home page, see the Subscription box on the left.
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COMING IN OUR JULY 15 NEWSLETTER
The Best Free Poetry Contests for July 16-August 31
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