May Sarton New Hampshire Book Prize

Book PrizeDeadline: June 30, 2017
JudgeJennifer Militello
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000 & publication
Submit: 50-80 page poetry manuscript
Website: http://www.bauhanpublishing.com/may-sarton-prize/

Last Day for Submissions for the 2017 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Book Prize!

Online submissions click button belowGuidelines and mailing address for paper submissions:

This year’s judge is Jennifer Militello, author of A Camouflage of Specimens and Garments (Tupelo Press, 2016), and Body Thesaurus (Tupelo Press, 2013), Flinch of Song, and the chapbook Anchor Chain, Open Sail. Her poems have been widely published in such journals as American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, and Ploughshares, among others. Militello teaches in the MFA program at New England College and lives in Goffstown, New Hampshire. This contest does not pre-screen manuscripts.

 The Prize:

It costs $25 per manuscript to submit, this fee helps cover contest costs so we can continue to find and publish great poets!

2017 marks the seventh annual May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize. Past winners include Louder than Hearts by Zeina Hashem Beck (selected by Betsy ShollDevil’s Paintbrush by Desirée Alvarez (selected by Mekeel McBride), Life of the Garment by Deborah Gorlin (selected by Gary Margolis), Twine by David Koehn (selected by Jeff Friedman) Come Down to Earth by Nils Michals (selected by Alice B. Fogel), and The Wreck of Birds by Rebecca Givens Rolland (selected by Walter Butts).  Be sure to check out their winning collections. Continue reading “May Sarton New Hampshire Book Prize”

Barrow Street Poetry Book Prize

Barrow Street Poetry Book PrizeDeadline: June 30, 2017
Prize:
$15K & publication by Barrow Street Press
Judge
: Patricia Spears Jones
Submit: 50 – 80 pages of poetry
Email:
infobarrow@gmail.com
Contest Inquiries: Laura Marie Marciano at wilde@my.uri.edu
Website: http://www.barrowstreet.org

2017 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

  • Click here for detailed guidelines.  
  • Use Online Submission Manager to submit.
  • Submit 50-80 page unpublished  original poetry in English.
  • Simultaneous submissions okay, but must inform if manuscript is selected elsewhere.
  • Paginate.
  • Include a table of contents.
  • Include acknowledgments page for any previously published poems.
  • Include two (2) title pages.
    • The author’s name, address, and telephone number should appear on the first title page only and should NOT appear anywhere else in the manuscript.
    • The second title page should contain only the manuscript title.

2016 Barrow Street Book Prize Winner:

Sarah Ann Winn of Manassas, VA was chosen by contest judge, Elaine Equi as the 2016 winner. Winn’s collection Alma Almanac will be published in 2017.

Barrow Street Press, Book Prize, P.O. Box 1558, Kingston, RI 02881

Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers

SHORT STORY AWARD FOR NEW WRITERS

Powell’s Picks of the Month June 2017

The Moth International Short Story Prize

Moth International Short Story PrizeDeadline: June 30, 2017
Entry Fee: $13
1st Prize: €3K (approximately $3,170) & publication
2nd Prize: Week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France with small travel stipend & publication
3rd Prize €1K (approximately $1,060) & publication
Email: editor@themothmagazine.com
Website: http://www.themothmagazine.com

Moth Story Contest Belinda McKeonJUDGE: Belinda McKeon. Her debut novel Solace won the Faber Prize and was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Her essays and journalism have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian and the Paris Review. As a playwright, she has had work produced in Dublin and New York, and is currently under commission to the Abbey Theatre. She lives in Brooklyn and is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Rutgers University.

Previous Judges include John Boyne, Martina Evans, Donal Ryan and Mike McCormack.

SUBMIT: Previously unpublished story of up to 6,000 words. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

The Moth, International Short Story Prize, Ardan Grange, Milltown, Belturbet, County Cavan, Ireland. Rebecca O’Connor, Editor.

LA Review Awards

LA Review AwardsLA Review Bi-annual Awards: Summer 2017

Deadline: June 30, 2017
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000 & publication
E-mail: editor@losangelesreview.org
Website: http://losangelesreview.org/awards/

Short Fiction Award:
  • 2,500 word max
  • Judge: Bryan Hurt
Flash Fiction Award:
  • 500 word max
  • Judge: Siel Ju
Creative Nonfiction Award:
  • 1500 word max
  • Judge Chelsey Clammer
Poetry Award:
  • 50 line max
  • Judge:  t’ai freedom ford
 Guidelines:
  • Prizes include a $1000 honorarium and publication via LAR Online and in the best-of annual print edition of The Los Angeles Review, issue no. 22, set to be released in spring 2018.
  • Submissions for each contest are accepted via Submittable only. Entry fee is $20 USD.
  • Contests close for entries on June 30, 2017.
  • Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us immediately via Submittable if the work is accepted elsewhere.
  • Only previously unpublished writing will be considered. Entries are not considered for general inclusion in The Los Angeles Review.
  • In the cover letter field of each submission, include author’s name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number. Do NOT include this information in the submitted file.
  • The winners will be announced in fall 2017.
  • Please direct questions to editor@losangelesreview.org

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Literature PrizeDeadline:  6/30/17
Prize:  $15,000
Entry Fee: None

The Drue Heinz Literature Prize offers a prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book of fiction or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in nationally distributed magazines or literary journals are eligible. Submit a manuscript of 150 to 300 pages between May 1 and June 30. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

University of Pittsburgh Press, Drue Heinz Literature Prize, 7500 Thomas Boulevard, 4th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.

Continue reading “Drue Heinz Literature Prize”

Hidden River Arts Awards

Hiddern River Arts AwardsPrize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $17
Deadline: Extended to 7/31/17
Genre: Fiction and Drama
Email: hiddenriverarts@gmail.com
Website: http://hiddenriverarts.wordpress.com

Hidden River Arts Awards 2017 — GUIDELINES

PLEASE NOTE: DEADLINES FOR BOTH THE WILLIAM VAN WERT FICTION AWARD AND THE HIDDEN RIVER PLAYWRIGHTING AWARD ARE EXTENDED TO JULY 31, 2017.

An annual prize of $1,000 from Hidden River Arts, a literary arts organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will be given in the following categories: (1) to the best unpublished short story or novel excerpt (2) the best unproduced full-length play

Guidelines (Please read FULLY): Continue reading “Hidden River Arts Awards”

Katherine Anne Porter Prize

Katherine Anne Porter PrizeDeadline: June 30, 2017 by 5pm
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000 & Publication
Website: http://untpress.unt.edu/contest

Katherine Anne Porter Guidelines:
The University of North Texas Press announces the 2018 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. The winner of this annual award will receive $1000 and publication by UNT Press. Entries will be judged by an eminent writer.

Dates for submission: Manuscripts may be submitted between 9:00 a.m. on May 1 and 5:00 p.m. on June 30. The winning manuscript will be announced in January 2018.

  • We only accept electronic submissions through Submittable.
  • Our online submissions manager is available here: Online Submissions
  • The $25 entry fee can be paid online via credit card or PayPal.

Entries can be a combination of short-shorts, short stories, and novellas, from 100 to 200 book pages in length (word count between 27,500 and 50,000). Material should be previously unpublished in book form. Once a winner is declared and contracted for publication, UNT Press will hold the rights to the stories in the winning collection. They may no longer be under consideration for serial publication elsewhere and must be withdrawn by the author from consideration.

Manuscript Guidelines:

  1. Please be sure manuscript pages are numbered.
  2. Please include a table of contents.
  3. Please use a standard, easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman in twelve-point size.
  4. Stories included in the submission may have appeared previously in magazines or anthologies but may not have been previously published in a book-length collection of the author’s own work.
  5. Authors may submit more than one manuscript to the competition for consideration as long as no material is duplicated between submissions. Each submission will require a separate entry fee.
  6. Manuscripts under consideration for this competition may be submitted elsewhere at the same time. Please withdraw your manuscript if it is accepted by another publisher and should no longer be considered for the Katherine Anne Porter Award competition. Withdrawal can be completed via the submissions manager website. Entry fees are not refundable.

Blind review: Manuscripts will be considered on the merits of the fiction and neither the initial reading committee members nor the final judge will be aware of the names or publication records of the authors. Please do not include your name on the pages of the manuscript—only in the form boxes of the electronic submission manager. The first page of the manuscript should include the title of the collection only.

Previous Winners

The Expense of a View by Polly Buckingham was our 2016 winner, judged by Chris Offutt

Last Words of the Holy Ghost by Matt Cashion was our 2015 winner, judged by Lee K. Abbott

The Year of Perfect Happiness by Becky Adnot-Haynes was our 2014 winner, judged by Matt Bell

In These Times the Home Is a Tired Place by Jessica Hollander was our 2013 winner, judged by Katherine Dunn.

Venus in the Afternoon by Tehila Lieberman was our 2012 winner, judged by Miroslav Penkov.

Out of Time by Geoff Schmidt was our 2011 winner, judged by Ben Marcus.

A Bright Soothing Noise by Peter Brown was our 2010 winner, judged by Josip Novakovich.

Irish Girl by Tim Johnston was our 2009 winner, judged by Janet Peery.

Last Known Position by James Mathews was our 2008 winner, judged by Tom Franklin.

Wonderful Girl by Aimee LaBrie was our 2007 winner, judged by Bill Roorbach.

Body Language by Kelly Magee was our 2006 winner, judged by Dan Chaon.

What Are You Afraid Of? by Michael Hyde, was our 2005 winner, judged by Sharon Oard Warner.

Let’s Do by Rebecca Meacham was our 2004 winner, judged by Jonis Agee. Let’s Do was selected for the Spring 2005 Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Program.

Here Comes the Roar by Dave Shaw was our 2003 winner, judged by Marly Swick.

The Stuntman’s Daughter, a collection of stories by Alice Blanchard, was the 1996 winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. Ms. Blanchard went on to sign a lucrative contract with Bantam for her first novel, Darkness Peering.

Vice-Chancellor’s Poetry Prize

Poetry PrizeDeadline: June 30, 2017
Entry Fee: $26
Prize: $15,000 & eBook Publication
Email: vcpoetryprize@canberra.edu.au
Website: http://www.canberra.edu.au/vcpoetryprize

University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize

The 2017 University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize will be open for entries from 2 December 2016 to 30 June 2017. Final Judge: Billy Collins

ENTER HERE

About the Prize

The University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize has been offered annually since 2014. On behalf of the University, this is administered by the International Poetry Studies Institute (IPSI), part of the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research in the Faculty of Arts and Design.

The prize celebrates the enduring significance of poetry to cultures everywhere in the world, and its ongoing and often seminal importance to world literatures. It marks the University of Canberra’s commitment to creativity and imagination in all that it does, and builds on the work of the International Poetry Studies Institute in identifying poetry as a highly resilient and sophisticated human activity. It also builds on the activities of the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research, which conducts wide-ranging research into human creativity and culture.

The 2017 prize will be announced in September 2017 and prize winners and short-list will be notified prior to that.

Important details are:

  • The winner will receive AUD$15,000
  • The runner-up (second-placed poem) will receive AUD$5,000
  • Four additional poems will be short-listed
  • All poems entered for the prize will be single poems that have a maximum length of 50 lines (see the Conditions of Entry for further details)
  • Each entry of a poem will cost AUD$15 if submitted by 11:59pm GMT, 28 February 2017 and AUD$20 if submitted between 1 March and 30 June 2017. There are discounts for students.
  • Judges
  • Full Conditions of Entry
  • How to Enter page

Continue reading “Vice-Chancellor’s Poetry Prize”

New American Fiction Prize

New American Fiction Prize
Prize: $1,000 & publication
Entry Fee: $25
Deadline: 6/30/17
Genre: Fiction

JUDGE: Final Judge for the New American Fiction Prize this year is Lori Ostlund, author of the novel After the Parade and a story collection, The Bigness of the World.

PAST WINNERS: Gina Frangello selected Welcome to Freedom Point, by Marina Mularz of Los Angeles, to receive the 2016 New American Fiction Prize.

Finalists for the 2016 Prize include:

—The Rink Girl, a collection by Mark Brazaitis of Morgantown, VA
—X, a novel by Peter Grandbois of Granville, OH
—The Gravity of Longings, a collection by Kathryn Paulsen of New York, NY
—Locked Gray/Linked Blue, a collection by Kem Joy Ukwu of Bloomfield, NJ

Semifinalists for the 2016 Fiction Prize include:

—South of Wall, a novel by Michael Bourne of Vancouver, BC
—Long White Robe, a novel by Polly Buckingham of Medical Lake, WA
—Motherland and Other Stories, by Alix Christie of Nevada City, CA
—Going Under, a collection by H. E. Francis of Huntsville, AL
—Report from a Place of Burning, a collection by George Looney of Erie, PA
—Bringing Back Bobbie, a novel by Mary Lotz of Hudsonville, MI
—Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons, a collection by Keith Rosson of Portland, OR
—Come Again No More, a novel by David Wesley Williams of Memphis, TN

CONTESTS IN PROGRESS:
Submissions for the 2017 New American Poetry Prize are currently being read with interest. The winner will receive $1,000 and a publication contract. Jesse Lee Kercheval will serve as the final judge.

Gabriel Gudding selected The Underneath, by Christopher Cokinos, to receive the 2016 New American Poetry Prize. Finalists for the 2016 Prize include:

—Nostalgia for a World Where We Can Live, by Monica Berlin
—The Ghosts of Lost Animals, by Michelle Bonczek
—The Iron Staircase and Other Disturbing Tales of Woe, by Sydnee Brower
—Nimrod in Hell, by James Capozzi
—Sentences, by Richard Carr
—Pause, Now Pause, by D. Gilson
—Taking the Homeless Census, by Alexis Ivy
—Overseeing the Downfall, by Jeff Nesheim
—The Listening Room, by Kathleen Rooney
—If the Girl Never Learns, by Sue William Silverman

While you’re here, check out the jaw-dropping lineup for the most recent volume of New Stories from the Midwest:

1.  Thomas M. Atkinson “Grimace in the Burnt Black Hills”
2.  Charles Baxter “Forbearance”
3.  Catherine Browder “Departures”
4.  Claire Burgess “Upper Middle Class Houses”
5.  Peter Ho Davies “Chance”
6.  Stephanie Dickinson “JadeDragon_77”
7.  Jack Driscoll “All the Time in the World”
8.  Nick Dybek “Three Summers”
9.  Stuart Dybek “Tosca”
10.  Abby Geni “Dharma at the Gate”
11.  Albert Goldbarth “Two brothers”
12.  Baird Harper “Patient History”
13.  Rebecca Makkai “Dead Turtle”
14.  Monica McFawn “Out of the Mouths of Babes”
15.  John McNally “The Magician”
16.  Emily Mitchell “Three Marriages”
17.  Devin Murphy “Levi’s Recession”
18.  Joyce Carol Oates “A Book of Martyrs”
19.  Lori Ostlund “The Gap Year”
20.  Nicole Louise Reid “A Purposeful Violence”
21.  Christine Sneed “In the Bag”
22.  Anne Valente “The Lost Caves of St. Louis”
23.  Lauren van den Berg “Lessons”
24.  Josh Weil “Long Bright Line”
25.  Theodore Wheeler “On a Train from the Place Called Valentine”

Oregon Literary Fellowships

Oregon Literary FellowshipsDeadline: June 23, 2017
Prize: $3,500
Email: susan@literary-arts.org
Website: http://www.literary-arts.org

Oregon Literary Fellowships of $3,500 each are given annually to Oregon writers to initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. One Women Writers Fellowship and one Writer of Color Fellowship of $3,500 each are also given annually. Submit three copies of up to 15 pages of poetry or 25 pages of prose with the required entry form by June 23. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Literary Arts, Oregon Literary Fellowships, 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR 97205. (503) 227-2583. Susan Moore, Director of Programs for Writers.

Writer’s Bone June 2017 Book Recommendations

Writers Bone Matthew Desmond 20 Books That Should Be On Your Radar: June 2017

Every month, the Writer’s Bone crew reviews or previews books they’ve read or want to read. “This series may or may not also serve as a confessional for guilty pleasures and hipster novels only the brave would attempt.” Feel free to share your own suggestions in the Writer’s Bone comments section or tweet them @WritersBone. Auspiciously, two of of the following Writer’s Bone picks overlap with the Kenyon Review’s summer reading suggestions: Evicted by Matthew Desmond and The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli.  Julie Buntin, author of Marlena, also comes recommended by KR.

Evicted by Matthew Desmond

Matthew Desmond

Daniel Ford: I’ve had a little time to sit with Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Evicted, and I’m still speechless and awed by both his research and prose. Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they struggle to keep what so many of us take for granted on a daily basis: a home. Desmond puts you inside eviction hearings, grimy, roach-infested apartments, deteriorating trailer parks, homeless shelters, and, at times, the bitter cold of Milwaukee’s streets. From emotionally and physically damaged mothers choosing between food and rent to those in the conflicted and ambitious landlord class, Evicted shines a light on people often forgotten or overlooked in urban areas.

The epilogue is a rousing and convincing call to arms, and Desmond’s breakdown of how he managed this project will leave you just as slack-jawed as all the award-winning prose that came before it. As Desmond points out, this issue isn’t about resources; it’s about political will and rejection of the status quo. I encourage you not only to read the book, but also get involved in the author’s Just Shelter initiative. The program seeks to raise “awareness of the human cost of the lack of affordable housing” and “to amplify the work of community organizations working to preserve affordable housing, prevent eviction, and reduce family homelessness.”

Go to the Writer’s Bone for their remaining June picks:

Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou

Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give by Ada Calhoun

The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Exit Strategy by Steve Hamilton

She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper

IQ by Joe Ide

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

Apollo 8 by Jeffrey Kluger

White Fur by Jardine Libaire

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli

Girl at War by Sara Nović

There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé by Morgan Parker

American Bang By Doug Richardson

The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs

Trajectory by Richard Russo

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker

The Force by Don Winslow

Young Poets Network “Melting Ice” Contest

Young Poets NetworkMelting Ice” Poetry Contest

Young Poets Network has teamed up with the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, to present you with a challenge to write about the changing face of the Polar Regions.
  • Open to poets aged 25 and under, from all over the world.
  • You can send a page poem written down, or a performance poem as a video or as an audio file.
  • Send as many poems as you like.
  • If you are sending a written version of your poem, please include it in the body of an email.
  • If you are sending a video or audio file, please attach it to the email (making sure it’s no bigger than 4MB or it won’t come through) or send us a link to where we can see/hear it.
  • Send your poems to educationadmin@poetrysociety.org.ukwith your name, age & address.
  • By entering, you give permission for Young Poets Network and The Maritime Museum to reproduce your poem in print and online, though copyright remains with you.
  • The deadline is Sunday 30 June 2017 (U.K. time).

Continue reading “Young Poets Network “Melting Ice” Contest”

Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction

Marguerite McGlinn Prize for FictionPrize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $15
Deadline: 6/15/17
Genre: Fiction

Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction

The Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction is an annual national short fiction contest that features a first place $2,000 cash award and invitation to an awards dinner on the campus of Rosemont College; a second place cash prize of $500; and third place cash prize of $250. The winner stories will be published in the print issue of Fall of Philadelphia Stories. The Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction is made possible by the generous support of the McGlinn and Hansma families.

Contest Submission Guidelines:

  • Deadline: January 1 – June 15, 2017.
  • Previously unpublished works of fiction up to 8,000 words. Please note, “published” includes any work published in print or online, including online magazines, blogs, public social media sites, etc.
  • Multiple submissions will be accepted for the contest only. Simultaneous submissions are also accepted, however, we must be notified immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  • Only authors currently residing in the United States are eligible.
  • Submissions will only be accepted via the website. Please email contest@philadelphiastories.org if you are having any trouble with your submission.
  • There is a $15 reading fee for each story submitted.
  • All entrants will receive a complimentary copy of the Philadelphia Stories contest issue.
  • Winners will be announced by October 1, 2017.

Submit Your Story Continue reading “Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction”

Cultural Center of Cape Cod Poetry Competition

Cultural Center of Cape CodPrize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Deadline: 6/19/17
Genre: Poetry
Website: http://www.cultural-center.org/

11th Annual National & Regional Poetry Competition

The Cultural Center of Cape Cod will award a National Prize of $1000  for a single, unpublished poem that has not won 1st prize in any national competition. Open to all U.S. residents 18 years & older. A Regional Prize of $250 will be awarded for a single, unpublished poem (that has not won 1st prize in any national competition) by an adult resident of Cape Cod, Nantucket, or Martha’s Vineyard. All Cape and Islands poets are also eligible for the National Award. A committee will judge.

General Guidelines

Submit up to three poems of any style or subject totaling no more than five pages with an entry fee of $15 by June 19, 2017 (postmark).

All entries should be typewritten on plain, white paper. The poet’s name should not appear on any page except the cover page, which should include name, address, phone number, and email address, the titles of the poems submitted, and a brief bio.

Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but please notify immediately if submissions are accepted for publication elsewhere.

Manuscripts will not be returned.

Winners will be notified and their names posted on the Cultural Center’s web site by September 2017. No other notification will be made.

Make checks payable to Cultural Center of Cape Cod. Mail submissions to Poetry Competition, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth, MA 02664

For more information, contact Associate Director Lauren Wolk at lwolk@cultural-center.org

PAST WINNERS:

The Cultural Center would like to thank all who submitted work to the 2016 National and Regional Poetry Competition. There were many excellent poems from which our committee of eight readers could choose only two:

2016 National Winner of the Cultural Center poetry Competition is Angela Patten, of Burlington, Vermont, for Tracks.
2016 Regional Winner is Carole A. Stasiowski of Cotuit, Massachusetts, for Why the Cat Has Not Died.

Finalists:
J. Lorraine Brown of Mashpee, Massachusetts, for Alone on Sage Lot Pond
Michele Herman of New York, New York, for The Human Condition at the CVS
Heidi Seaborn of Seattle, Washington, for Hypothermia Survival Guide
John Surowiecki of Amston, Connecticut, for Little Pink Man

National winner Angela Patten is the author of three poetry collections, In Praise of Usefulness (Wind Ridge Books), Reliquaries and Still Listening (both from Salmon Poetry, Ireland), and a prose memoir, High Tea at a Low Table (Wind Ridge Books). Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Patten now lives in Burlington, Vermont, where she teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Vermont.

Tracks
By Angela Patten

After surgery the stitch-marks look
like bird-feet walking up my arm.
But what strange bird has left
its bone-white prints embedded
in my wrist like needle-tracks?
Perhaps it was the raven,
that faux-sorrowful funeral director
walking beak-forward, gloved hands
folded behind his back, who walks the
twin trajectories of a railway line
that leads to a long-defunct station
where I might meet myself returning
from the beach with two scabbed knees
embossed inoculations against disease
the weals of ancient injuries like medals
from the battlefields of childhood
and my mother’s crowsfeet
inching toward my eyes.

Kenyon Review’s Summer Reading List

What books are on your summer reading list? Each year, the Kenyon Review asks their staff, editors, and advisory board to share books they recommend or are looking forward to reading themselves. Here are some suggestions for your summer list from the Kenyon Review June 2017 Newsletter.

David Lynn, Editor

Moonglow summer readingTo my mind, Michael Chabon has for years purveyed tales full of wit and astonishment. Yet they have ultimately seemed gossamer, lacking a satisfying or illuminating substance. His latest, however, Moonglow, is a magnificent blend of memoir and fiction about his grandfather. I came away feeling nourished as well as deeply moved.

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift. Swift made his international reputation early on with Waterland and followed that dazzling performance with other notable fictions, including Last Orders. And yet it seems he’s rarely mentioned in the same breath as other contemporary British or Irish writers of the first rank such as Ian McEwan or Zadie Smith or Colm Tóibín. That should change with Mothering Sunday, a brief, crystalline, potent tour de force. Here is a master of the form playing a contemporary riff on Mrs. Dalloway. I loved it.

KR Reviews!

If these book recommendations aren’t enough for you, be sure to check out the new KR Reviews page on the KR website. New book reviews are posted every Friday.

Continue reading “Kenyon Review’s Summer Reading List”

Akron Poetry Prize

Akron Poetry PrizeUniversity of Akron Press Poetry Prize

Deadline: June 15, 2017
Entry Fee: $25
Prize:  $1,500

Information

The Akron Series in Poetry was founded to bring to the public writers who speak in original and compelling voices. Each year, The University of Akron Press offers the Akron Poetry Prize, a competition open to all poets writing in English. The winning poet receives $1,500 and publication of his, her, or their book. The final selection will be made by a nationally prominent poet. The final judge for 2017 is Oliver de la Paz. Other manuscripts may also be considered for publication in the series.

Guidelines for Submission

1. Manuscripts must be a total length of at least 48 pages and no longer than 90 pages. Individual poems may have appeared in chapbooks or literary magazines, but we are unable to consider collections that have been previously published as a full-length volume. Translations are not eligible.

2. Manuscripts must not include identifying information, but should have a title page, and may include an acknowledgments page listing poems previously published in periodicals (if applicable). Please do not submit manuscripts that have the author’s name on each page, or any biographical information. Manuscripts will go to the judge without identifying information. Be sure that your Submittable account reflects your updated contact information, as we will use this information when contacting you.

3. Manuscripts will be accepted via Submittable between April 15 and June 15 of each year. Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but The University of Akron Press must be notified immediately if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are accepted.

4. An entry fee of $25 is required for each manuscript submission, and will be collected through Submittable.

5. Contest results will be posted on our website www.uakron.edu/uapress/poetryprizewinner by September 30. Questions may be sent to uapress@uakron.edu.

6. Intimate friends, relatives, current and former students of the final judge (students in an academic, degree-conferring program or its equivalent), and current faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the University of Akron or the Northeast Ohio MFA Program (NEOMFA) are not eligible to enter the Akron Poetry Prize competition.

2017 Final Judge

Oliver de la Paz is the author of four collections of poetry: Names Above Houses, Furious Lullaby, Requiem for the Orchard, and Post Subject: A Fable. He also co-edited A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. A founding member, Oliver serves as the co-chair of the Kundiman advisory board. Additionally he serves on the Executive Board of Trustees for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs. His work has been published or is forthcoming in journals such as American Poetry Review, Tin House, The Southern Review, and Poetry Northwest. He teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at PLU.

Spokane Prize for Short Fiction


Spokane PrizeWillow Springs Books is pleased to announce the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction!

Willow Springs Books invites submissions for the 2017 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction  until June 5,  2017 .

PRIZE: $2,000 plus publication
OPEN TO: All U.S. authors regardless of publication history
DEADLINE: June 5th, 2017

Submission Guidelines: 

To enter, please submit:

A book-length manuscript. Manuscripts should be no less than 98 pages (with no maximum page count) and include at least 3 short stories. Manuscripts should be organized with page numbers and a table of contents. Stories may have been previously published in journals, anthologies, or limited edition volumes. However, selected story collections (stories previously published in books) will not be considered. Please do not send novels.

A SASE for notification (if submission is by mail)

A cover letter including your name, address, phone number, and email address, as well as a short bio.

A $27.50 reading fee paid through Submittable or via check made out to “Willow Springs Editions” (check or money order only) for each manuscript entry.

♦ Entries must be submitted through Submittable or postmarked by June 5, 2017

Submit online via Submittable:
submit
or send entries by mail to:

Willow Springs Books
c/o Inland Northwest Center for Writers
668 N. Riverpoint Blvd. 2 RPT– #259
Spokane, WA 99202

For questions related to the prize, email willowspringsbooks@gmail.com

Recent Winners Include:

2016 Ventriloquisms by Jaclyn Watterson

2015 Suffering Fools by Glori Simmons
2014 Here Among Strangers by Serena Crawford
2013 All the Wrong Places by Molly Giles
2012 The Empty House Stories by Nathan Oates
2011 You are Not Alone by Sherril Jaffe
2010 Love Songs for the Quarantined by K.L. Cook
2009 Strange Weather by Becky Hagenston
2008 This Is Not Your City by Caitlin Horrocks
2007 Forgetting English by Midge Raymond
2006 The High Heart by Joseph Bathanti
2005 Woman in the Woods by Ann Joslin Williams

Past judges have included Rick Bass, William Kittredge, Jess Walter, John Keeble, Shawn Vestal, and Sharma Shields.

Linda Flowers Literary Award

Linda Flowers Literary AwardPrize: $1,500 & Writers Residency Stipend
Deadline: June 16, 2017
Email: nchc@nchumanities.org
Website: http://www.nchumanities.org/content/linda-flowers-literary-award

Description

The North Carolina Humanities Council invites original, unpublished entries of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for the Linda Flowers Literary Award. Submissions should detail examinations of intimate, provocative, and inspiring portraiture of North Carolina, its people and cultures, bringing to light real men and women having to make their way in the face of change, loss, triumph, and disappointments.

Guidelines

  • Entries must be deeply and palpably engaged with some aspect of North Carolina, must draw on particular North Carolina connections and/or memories, and profoundly celebrate excellence in the humanities.
  • Authors must be at least 18 years of age and live in North Carolina
  • Entries, regardless of genre, should be original, unpublished works of 3 to 10 pages. Entries that fall outside these length stipulations will be disqualified.
  • All entries should be typed in a standard 12 point font.
    • Prose should be double-spaced.
    • Poetry, whether a suite of poems or one long poem, should be single spaced.
    • If you submit an excerpt from a larger work, include within the 10-page maximum a one-page synopsis of the work as a whole.
  • The author’s name should not appear anywhere on the submis­sion.
  • Only one entry per writer will be accepted.
  • Submissions will only be accepted electronically from March 10, 2017 – June 16, 2017.  Submission instructions and link will be provided at the opening of the cycle.

Submission Instructions

  • Submissions will only be accepted electronically from March 10, 2017 – June 16, 2017
  • Submit original, unpublished work as a Microsoft Word document (the author’s name should not appear anywhere on the submis­sion)
  • Email your submission to lfsubmission@nchumanities.org 
  • Please include the following information in the body of the email:
    • Author’s full name
    • Institutional Affiliation (if any)
    • Telephone number
    • Email address
    • Mailing address
    • Title of the submission(s)

Incomplete submissions and entries that fall outside these guidelines and submission instructions will be disqualified.

Selection Process

A panel of judges will select the Linda Flowers Literary Award winner.

Timeline

Submission deadline:  June 16, 2017

Winner announced: November 3 – 5, 2017 at the North Carolina Writers Network Fall Conference in Wrightsville Beach.

Recipient

The winner of The Linda Flowers Literary Award will receive a cash prize of $1,500 and a stipend for a writer’s residency at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

About the Award

The North Carolina Humanities Council was privileged to have Linda Flowers as one of our trustees from 1992 to1998. During the years we shared with her, she taught us many things. Above all, Linda showed us what it means to live by one’s belief that “the humanistic apprehension is as necessary for living fully as anything else… [it must ] be recognize[d] and nurture[d]… to realize more fully the potential of the human spirit.”
In addition to honoring Linda Flowers (1944–2000) with an award named for her, the Humanities Council seeks to draw to the attention of others something special that Linda passed on to us. We want to celebrate excellence in the humanities achieved by people like her, those who not only identify with our state, but who explore the promises, the problems, the experiences, the meanings, in lives that have been shaped by North Carolina and its many cultures.

Linda Flowers was somewhat surprised by the strong connections readers made to her book Throwed Away: Failures of Progress in Eastern North Carolina in 1990. She believed they were responses to “the book’s humanistic dimension: the focus on real men and women having to make their way in the face of a changing, onrushing and typically uncaring world.” This is true to the portraits in Throwed Away; it is just as true of “I Have Come Home,” the essay Linda wrote about her experience with cancer for NC Crossroads (May 1999). Both are superb examinations of intimate, provocative, inspiring portraiture of North Carolina, its people and cultures. The Linda Flowers Literary Award is intended for a literary work that demonstrates these powers of recognition.

Previous Linda Flowers Award Recipients:

Please note: No winner was selected for the 2015 Linda Flowers Literary Award.