Now in it’s 5 year, The Blue Mountain Review was launched from Athens, Georgia in 2015 with the mantra, “We’re all south of somewhere.” As a journal of culture the BMR strives to represent life through its stories. Stories are vital to our survival. Songs save the soul. Our goal is to preserve and promote lives told well through prose, poetry, music, and the visual arts. Our editors read year-round with an eye out for work with homespun and international appeal. We’ve published work with Jericho Brown, Kelli Russell Agodon, Robert Pinsky, Rising Appalachia, Nahko, Michel Stone, Genesis Greykid, Cassandra King, Melissa Studdard, and A.E. Stallings. www.southerncollectiveexperience.com/submission-guidelines/
NewPages Blog
At the NewPages Blog readers and writers can catch up with their favorite literary and alternative magazines, independent and university presses, creative writing programs, and writing and literary events. Find new books, new issue announcements, contest winners, and so much more!
Call :: Club Plum Wants Powerful yet Subtle Pieces
Deadline: Rolling
Submissions open for flash fiction of no more than 800 words and prose poems. Send powerful yet subtle pieces. Send strong voices. Send dreamy words that don’t gush. Skate on the edge of realities. Club Plum also seeks art: Please send one image only of pen-and-ink line art, watercolor, bold colors, experimental work, collage, impressionistic or abstract pieces. Tell the editor about your piece. The editor will pass on photography. See clubplumliteraryjournal.com for details.
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James Braun Brings Readers Back to Winter
Magazine Review by Katy Haas
Everything is green and warm outside my window right now, but James Braun takes readers back to winter in his story “The Salt Man” from the Spring 2020 issue of Zone 3.
The story centers on two young sisters mid-winter. They are sent outside to wait for the salt man to come salt their roads before they’re allowed to play outside their yard. This is a dark piece. Poverty hangs heavy over the story. What once was green and beautiful has been covered by rocks. They have no heat in the house. Their neighbor loses fingers to frostbite. A woman cries on a couch while they go door to door asking if they can shovel driveways for cash to pay for a doctor bill. And the person they’re told will bring them a level of safety—the salt man—ends up being a source of danger in himself.
I enjoyed Braun’s writing style. There’s a level of flippancy with all the characters who view their lifestyle as ordinary. The story is short but holds a lot inside it. We’re able to discern as much meaning in what isn’t said as in what is clearly stated. And even though it is warm enough that I have my window open, a warm breeze blowing into my living room as I write this, Braun’s writing still makes a reader feel that inescapable cold of winter.
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Resources for Young Writers
Among the many wonderful resources NewPages offers to readers and writers is our Young Writers Guide to Publications, which features publications by and for young readers, and our Young Writers Guide to Contests, which includes carefully vetted legitimate contests. These are open-access ad-free guides that I personally curate out of my commitment to supporting young readers and writers as well as parents and teachers.
Despite the pandemic which surrounds us, great efforts are still going on to create opportunities and provide motivation and encouragement for young writers. I recently heard from Sophia Hanson, who is one of three founders of the National Youth Foundation. This Pennsylvania-based non-profit seeks to improve literacy and educate youth on topics related to social justice. Each year, they run two book competitions: Student Book Scholars – which involves players from the NFL, NBA, and MLB; and Amazing Women’s Edition – a national writing contest focused on gender equality. Past competition winners have been honored at the Smithsonian Museum as well as having their images included in a statue honoring the late Marian Spencer, who was the subject of the winning book.
I am so heartened to know that this kind of outreach to young writers persists through these difficult times. When I asked Sophia how this has impacted their work, she responded, “The global pandemic has more parents at home than ever. We have also seen a major increase in emails from parents about our contests and programs. We even had NBA and NFL players contact us to host a Bounce Back art contest to help kids process the pandemic. On the flip side of that, we had two writing workshop series planned in Philadelphia with two amazing women, and those are on hold.”
Still, like so many efforts, the National Youth Foundation will find ways to continue to engage young writers. Now more than ever, online resources like ours are here to help. If you have young people in your life or know of others who do, please tell them about NewPages Guides for young readers and writers!
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David Chorlton Interviewed in The Bitter Oleander
The Spring 2020 Issue of The Bitter Oleander includes a special feature. Editor Paul B. Roth interviews poet David Chorlton. Readers can also find a selection from Chorlton’s Speech Scroll. Below, check out an excerpt from the interview and visit The Bitter Oleander website to get a taste of Speech Scroll.
PBR: In your Speech Scroll, a sampling of which follows this interview, you’ve put the urban and the desert world together so expertly over some 158 poems. Did this particular project start off with that in mind or was it just your current ongoing consciousness of where you were in that environment and who you are that brought it forth?
DC: . . . While there are the times I sit down to commit words to paper, the actual writing of poetry is never turned off. Without placing a title or thinking of a poem’s shape, I had an ongoing path to follow and that helped me shift a little in the way I see images come together. Thinking about the political happenings of our tumultuous time might become too consuming, and for some people it is. Others seem to remain oblivious to anything that goes on in that realm. Writing poetry, being the most natural form of communication for me, has been a good place in which to scatter comments and observations that, I hope, provoke more thought than argument. Life encompasses a wide range of pleasures and frustrations, comfort for the fortunate and responsibility toward those who are not, and so with the help of various bird and animal species, plus a view of the sunrise from our front door when I’m up early to see it I take, as I mentioned earlier, what is given, and transform it the best way I can.
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Emi Nietfeld Investigates Her Past
Magazine Review by Katy Haas
Opening the Spring 2020 issue of Boulevard is the winner of the journal’s 2019 Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers: “My Mom Claims I Had a Drink with My Rapist. I Investigate.” by Emi Nietfeld.
In this piece, Nietfeld looks back to June 28, 2010 when she was raped while in Budapest and to the conversations she had with her mother immediately after and eight years later about the incident. This investigation focuses on the drink that Nietfeld did or didn’t have and the influence the drink had on her mother’s reaction to the rape.
Nietfeld breaks the piece up into sections, investigating in-person conversations, emails that were sent in 2010, and her old computer documents. After she presents the “evidence,” she breaks it down and discusses it. I found this approach to be interesting and impactful as she turns a critical eye on past conversations, her memory, and her relationship with her mother.
Not only is this piece a strong start to the issue, but it demonstrates why Nietfeld deserves to have won the Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers.
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Feel the Pulse of LitMag
Guest Post by Jamie Tews
LitMag is a literary magazine published annually from New York City. The magazine’s pulse is found on page sixty-three with a quote from Aryeh Lev Stollman’s fiction piece “Dreams Emerging,” which states “true art is the condensation of ineffable yearning.” An ineffable yearning is a longing so strong it cannot be described; however, this issue’s work attempts description, and through writing, pieces of the unsaid become real. With fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and tributary letters, LitMag’s third issue holds work that embodies the condensation of ineffable yearning.
Meghan E. O’Toole’s fiction story “Abditory” carries the loudest pulse. It is a hazy and dreamlike exploration of how longing can manifest in dreams and become necessary for engaging with reality. O’Toole uses the image of milk to connect the main character’s past and present with their dream-images, and it is in the way the milk moves, the way it rises in the bedroom or pools on the road, that the story supplements the issue’s character of yearning. O’Toole’s story successfully employs elements of magical realism, which create a vivid sense of place that is consistent in every scene. I instantly believed in the fictional world she created, and this lack of hesitancy to trust and settle into the story’s place drew me back for a second and third read.
The magazine’s cohesion comes from every piece having its own sense of magnetism, and I read the magazine in one sitting. Each piece easily pulled me into the next, and it is for this ease and sense of connectivity that recommend LitMag.
Reviewer bio: Jamie is an MFA candidate at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington and holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from Indiana Wesleyan University. She has contributed work to Appalachian Voice, Appalachia Service Project, and has work forthcoming in the Chestnut Review.
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August Poetry Postcard Festival
Considering all the cancelled or postponed or modified conferences and workshops, it’s comforting to know the August Poetry Postcard Festival is up and running this year just as it has been for the past twelve years!
The concept is simple: You sign up and your name is added to a group along with 31 others. Once the group is “full,” you each get the list with names and addresses of participants in your group. The week before August, you start writing and sending you postcards (so that the first one arrives around the first of August). You write one postcard per day and send it to the person listed after your name in the group. The next day, you write another poem and send it to the next person – and so on until you go through the list. One for each day.
The idea is spontaneous writing without editing, censoring, or revision. You can use the postcard as your prompt or not. Some people choose a theme to write on for the month. The postcards vary from store bought to homemade, contemporary to vintage. It’s really wide open to your creativity, imagination, and passion. Then, throughout the month of August, you will receive poems in the mail from the others in your group.
This year – the one change in the event has been year-round registration – so you can register now. Some participants have already started sending cards instead of waiting until August – in response to the pandemic – since we could all use a bit more poetry and a bit more connection in our daily lives. A few ambitious writers have already completed their 31 cards and have signed up for another group! The organizers welcome repeat participation.
This is a safe and fun way to connect, motivate your writing, and enjoy the wonderful gifts that others will send your way. Sign up today!
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Call :: Red Planet Magazine Wants Speculative Work
Deadline: Rolling
Red Planet Magazine is an independent literary magazine emphasizing a theme of speculative fiction, and is open for submissions year-round on a rolling basis. Contributors receive a digital copy of the issue in which their work has been featured. Please visit www.redplanetmagazine.com for additional information.
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Call :: borrowed solace seeks mystical work
Deadline: July 31, 2020
borrowed solace is looking for “Mystical” works for the fall themed 2020 literary journal. We accept nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and art. Submissions close July 31, 2020; and you can review our guidelines, what the editors are looking for, and submit here at www.borrowedsolace.com. We want to read what mystifies you!
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Sponsor Spotlight: Mom Egg Review
Mom Egg Review is an annual print journal focused on motherhood. Their issues featured varied voices at all career phases.
This year’s issue is on the theme of “Home,” an apt focus for all of us currently staying at home and practicing social distancing. It’s a nice reminder that we’re not alone. Like many other journals at the moment, the editors have put together a virtual reading for readers. “Voices from HOME” links to contributors inviting everyone into their homes as they explore the theme.
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Call :: The Petigru Review Seeks Submissions for Annual Issue
Online literary magazine The Petigru Review is looking for surprising stories, poems, essays, and first novel chapters for their annual journal. They are especially interested in supporting diverse and emerging voices. Submissions close 7/31/20 or when they hit 500 submissions. $3-4 fee. www.thepetigrureview.com
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Contest :: Laux/Millar RR Prize Closes June 1
This is just a reminder that literary magazine Raleigh Review is open to submissions for its 2020 Laux/Millar RR Prize until 5 AM EST on June 1.
Initial judges for the prize are the poetry team of the literary magazine, stacked with award winners. Joseph Millar and Dorianne Laux will then judge the finalists. All entrants will receive a copy of the prize issue (a $20 value) to be released in Fall 2020.
Entry fee for the contest is $15 to submit up to 5 poems. First prize is $500 and publication. Finalists will receive $15 and publication. All poems submitted will be considered for normal publication along with Raleigh Review‘s standard pay rate.
Submissions are accepted via Submittable only.
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NewPages Book Stand – May 2020
We have a new Book Stand at NewPages. This month, find new and forthcoming book titles, including five featured books at our website.
Audubon’s Sparrow: A Biography-in-Poems by Juditha Dowd is an indelible portrait of an American Woman in need of rediscovery. The biography-in-poems focuses on Lucy Blackwell and John James Audubon.
Gerry LaFemina’s Baby Steps in Doomsday Prepping pauses time, letting us examine the world with love and intelligence.
Back to the Wine Jug: A Comic Novel in Verse by Joe Taylor is a cross-genre title following Hades as he teleports to Birmingham, Alabama.
Frank Paino’s Obscura sheds light on the most obscure corners of history and human nature, a hagiography of unorthodox saints.
You’ve Got Something Coming by Jonathan Starke is the winner of the Black Heron Press Award for Social Fiction and follows a down-and-outer and his young daughter across the country.
You can learn more about each of these New & Noteworthy books at our website. Our featured titles can also be found at our our affiliate Bookshop.org. You can find out how to place your book in our New & Noteworthy section here: https://npofficespace.com/classified-advertising/new-title-issue-ad-reservation/.
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Call :: About Place Journal Works of Resistance, Resilience
Deadline: August 1, 2020
Each issue of About Place Journal, the arts publication of the Black Earth Institute, focuses on a specific theme. From 6/1 to 8/1 we’ll be accepting submissions for our Fall 2020 issue Works of Resistance, Resilience. Our mission: to have art address the causes of spirit, earth, and society; to protect the earth; and to build a more just and interconnected world. We publish prose, poetry, visual art, photography, video, and music which fit the current theme. More about this issue’s theme and our submission guidelines: aboutplacejournal.org/submissions/.
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Call :: Xi Draconis Books Seeks Socially Engaged Manuscripts
Don’t forget that Xi Draconis Books is open to socially engaged, book-length works for publication in 2020 and 2021. They accept novels, short story and poetry collections, memoirs, essay collections, and cross-genre works. Their mission is to publish works examining social justice issues of all kinds. Head to xidraconis.org/submission-guidelines/ to submit. Check out a recent title from their catalog—it’s free. There is no fee to submit. Deadline: July 31.
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Call :: This Is What America Looks Like Anthology Closes to Submissions on June 1
If you are a poet or writer living in or with ties to Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, don’t forget that you have until June 1 to submit fiction or poetry to Washington Writers’ Publishing House for their first anthology in 25 years!
They are a 47-year-old nonprofit, cooperative, all-volunteer press and are looking for new and established writers, a cross-section of diverse voices, to write on America today. Be provocative, be personal or political (or both). They want writing that helps us see and reflect on this moment we are living in. More information at www.washingtonwriters.org. Submit at wwph.submittable.com/submit. There is a $5 fee.
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Sponsor Spotlight: RHINO
RHINO publishes some of the best and most innovative poetry, short shorts, and translations in their annual issues. For their 2020 issue, the editors have organized an ongoing virtual reading event for the month of May. You still have some time to join in the fun, and you can learn more about these virtual readings here.
To learn more about the annual journal, visit their sponsored listing at NewPages.
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Modern Espionage in Ancient Rome
Guest Post by Bill Cushing
Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey is probably best known for his books dealing with China, where his father served as a missionary, but in The Conspiracy, he takes readers back to the first century AD and Nero’s imperial and mainly insanity-tinged reign.
Like the works of Robert Graves or Leon Uris, Hersey uses a historical backdrop to present a political thriller of the first order. Employing two main characters—Tigellinus, co-consul of the Praetorian guard, and Paenus, tribune of the Roman secret police, along with a series of memos, assorted notes, intercepted letters, and interrogation transcripts—the two members of Nero’s intelligence community try chasing leads concerning a potential assassination attempt against their emperor.
The primary suspects involved in this plan?
The philosopher Seneca and a cadre of poets, artists that Nero had earlier supported and entertained, are surveilled, bringing up images from the Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others.
However, as the layers of the plot open, it begins to reveal Nero’s descent into madness.
Soon, the reader begins to wonder if this is an actual investigation or a means to create a paper trail pointing to others in order to establish scapegoats while the members of Nero’s own security people become the real perpetrators.
One interesting aspect of this book is that it was released in 1972, when news and revelations of the Watergate incident dominated worldwide media and occupied American minds. Hersey’s story produced numerous parallels between the subterfuge and hidden messages of the novel with the events of those days. If readers want to make those connections or draw any parallels with current events is their choice, of course, but the fact that it’s possible only verifies what a relevant story Hersey concocted in any age when he conceived and delivered The Conspiracy.
The Conspiracy by John Hersey. 1972.
Reviewer bio: Bill Cushing writes and facilitates a writing group for 9 Bridges. His poetry collection, A Former Life, was released last year by Finishing Line Press.
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Zone 3 – Spring 2020
The issue of Zone 3 includes poetry by Darius Atefat-Peckham, Colin Bailes, Brian Bender, Daniel Biegelson, Christopher Citro, Lynn Domina, Alexandria Hall, Lauren Hilger, Angie Macri, Martha McCollough, A. Molotkov, Kell Nelson, Amy Seifried, Pui Ying Wong, and more; fiction by James Braun, Janice Deal, Tammy Delatorre, Maura Stanton, and Terry Thomas; nonfiction by Rebecca McClanahan, Katherine Schaefer, and William Thompson, and art by Khari Turner.
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The Chattahoochee Review – Spring 2020
In this issue, poetry by Ruth Bardon, Mirande Bissell, Darren Demaree, Eli Eliahu, Stuart Gunter, Marlon Hacla, Ted Kooser, Len Krisak, Komal Mathew, and more; stories by Margherita Arco, Erin Flanagan, and more; essays by George Choundas, and others; and art by Deedee Cheriel. This issue also features the 2020 Lamar York Prize Winners: Lisa Nikolidakis in Fiction & Rachel Toliver in Nonfiction.
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The Bitter Oleander – Spring 2020
The Spring 2020 issue of The Bitter Oleander features the contemporary Arizona poet David Chorlton, interviewed by our editor and including a generous selection of poems from his forthcoming book, Speech Scrolls. The issue also presents translations from the fiction of Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (Portugal); and poetry in translation by Paula Abramo (Mexico), Alberto Blanco (Mexico), Maritza Cino (Ecuador), Andre du Bouchet (France), and Elaine Vilar Madruga (Cuba).
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Call :: ode to Queer
Deadline: September 1, 2020
ode to Queer is an unabashedly queer literary and artistic journal looking for art from LGBTQIA+ artists that is experimental, fringe, and vulnerable. Our journal exists to create a queer cannon that centers and celebrates marginalized and rural voices without hiding behind diluted language or imagery to appease cis-hetero-centered viewership. We don’t wish to bottleneck the creativity of our artists, which is why we welcome all forms of visual and written art that are conscious of our guidelines. Visit odetoqueer.com/submissions for more details and to see what we’re about!
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AGNI – No 91
With AGNI #91 we welcome a roster of new editors. Collectively chosen work explores impending crises as well as acts of mitigating goodness; elegies marking losses sit side by side with expressions flashing pure surprise. Cover and portfolio artist Christopher Cozier captures the sly globalized vectors of use and misuse, tracing a long history forward to now. Poems by Sandra McPherson, Steven Sanchez, Emily Mohn-Slate, Colin Channer, and others offer the sensory grab of the immediate, as do stories by Shauna Mackay, David Crouse, and Aurko Maitra and essays by Debra Nystrom, Jiaming Tang, and Ann Hood.
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Call :: Writings on Domestic Verbal, Emotional, and Physical Abuse
Deadline: October 15, 2020
We are seeking work by survivors of domestic abuse. Creative nonfiction, memoir, flash nonfiction. Please note that at this time we are not accepting poetry. Deadline: October 15, 2020. The book will be published by McFarland & Company; contributors will receive a complimentary copy. Please send your submission in Word, with a brief cover letter and 50 word bio to Judith Skillman, [email protected] and Linera Lucas, [email protected]. This text is dedicated to all those who dared to break the silence.
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Contest :: Poet Hunt 25 from The MacGuffin
Deadline: June 15, 2020
The MacGuffin’s 25th Poet Hunt Contest runs April 1 through June 15! One first place winner will receive $500 and publication; up to two Honorable Mentions also selected. We’re happy to have Matthew Olzmann as guest judge! Send up to five poems per $15 entry fee. On a cover page, list your contact info and poem titles. On the following page(s), include your poems, beginning each poem on a new page devoid of personally identifiable information to preserve the blind review process. Enter via Submittable (themacguffin.submittable.com/submit), or to enter by email or post, see full rules at our website (schoolcraft.edu/macguffin/contest-rules).
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AGNI Offers Something Special
AGNI is currently offering something really special for readers: the Virtual Launch of AGNI 91.
Here, the editors present videos from their contributors from all over the world and invite readers (or viewers!) to join the audience. All the pieces from the new Spring 2020 issue are available online, most of which have an accompanying video of the writer reading their work.
This is great not only for people who might not be able to spare extra cash to get their own copy (though if you can, please do consider it), but it’s also great for those of us who are having a hard time sitting down and concentrating on reading while we’re social distancing, and those who currently miss attending readings in person.
You can also learn more about the editors who have put this fantastic project together at the AGNI website.
I for one can’t wait to hit “play” and start hearing quality reading in my own home.
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Visual Poetry by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram
Magazine Review by Katy Haas
The Fall 2019 issue of Seneca Review includes four pieces by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram. These visual pieces draw in the eye with text boxes layered over one another, reminding me of a house of cards that’s fallen, the cards now strewn in overlapping angles. They’re all titled “World Map:” with a different year following the colon.
In these pieces, Bertram speaks about race and sexuality. The exploration of these themes comes in snippets that repeat and fade away like memories that resurface repeatedly: instant messenger conversations, conversations with her mother, antagonization on the basketball court.
Bertram uses the visuals in an inventive way that helps the poetry move along and creates a bigger impact for the message. I read the four pieces over and over, fully admiring the way in which they were presented.
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2020 Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction
This annual national short fiction contest features a first place $2,000 cash award and invitation to an awards dinner on Friday, October 9, on the campus of Rosemont College; a second place cash prize of $500; and third place cash prize of $250. Requirements: unpublished works of fiction up to 8,000 words; $15 reading fee. Deadline: June 15. philadelphiastories.org
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Gival Press Sponsored Contests: Novel Award Deadline Approaching
Gival Press is hosting three contests in 2020: the Gival Press Novel Award, the Gival Press Oscar Wilde Award, and the Gival Press Short Story Award. The Novel Award deadlines is May 30. The prize is $3k and book publication in 2021. The Oscar Wilde Award for the best LGBTQ poem deadline is June 27. The prize is $500 and online publication. The Short Story Award deadline is August 8. The Prize is $1,000 and online publication. For complete details on each contest, visit: www.Givalpress.Submittable.com.
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Explore Your Wild at the Elk River Writers Workshop
The Elk River Writers Workshop embodies the idea that deep, communal experiences with the wild open the door to creativity. We bring together some of the most celebrated nature writers in the U.S. with students who are serious about fostering a connection with the environment in their writing, all under the big Montana skies. Rolling application deadline. Offering full refunds for coronavirus-related cancellations. elkriverwriters.org
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Contest :: 2020 Red Wheelbarrow Prize 2020
Deadline: August 15, 2020
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2020: Judged by Dorianne Laux and Joseph Millar. $1,000 for first place and a letterpress broadside, $500 for second, $250 for third. Top five published in Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine. Submit up to 3 original unpublished poems. $15 entry fee. Deadline: August 15. For complete guidelines, see redwheelbarrow.submittable.com.
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2020 Chesapeake Writers’ Conference: Words. Water. Woods: Write on the River.
Spend the first week of summer on the St. Mary’s River! The 9th Annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference offers an immersive experience featuring daily workshops with accomplished faculty in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and songwriting; a diverse schedule of craft talks, lectures, panels, and readings; a youth workshop for high school students; and a Teachers’ Seminar for educators. All levels welcome. www.smcm.edu/events/chesapeake-writers-conference/
**They are monitoring the current situation and are optimistic they will be able to host the June conference as planned. A final decision will be made this month.**
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Call :: Four Quartets: Poetry in the Pandemic
Tupelo Press has announced they are moving their Tupelo Broadside Contest submission period to the month of September. This is so they can accept folios for Four Quartets: Poetry in the Pandemic to be published in late fall. They seek four 12-page folios of poetry. Submissions are open now through midnight on June 30. Judges for selection will be Publisher Jeffrey Levine, Editor In Chief Kristina Marie Darling, and Poetry Editor Cassandra Cleghorn. Selected writers will receive a $250 honorarium.
There is a $22 reading fee.
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Contest :: 1 Month Left to Submit to Swan Scythe Press Chapbook Contest
Swan Scythe Press is accepting manuscripts for its 2020 Poetry Chapbook Contest through June 15. Submit a manuscript of 20-32 pages of poems that includes a title page with author’s name, address, phone number, and email address and a second title page without personal identifiers, book title only. Manuscripts can be mailed to 1468 Mallard Way, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 or submitted online, visit swanscythepress.submittable.com/submit. Entry fee is $18.00 payable to Swan Scythe Press. Winner receives $200 and 25 perfect-bound chapbooks. For full guidelines and details, please visit www.swanscythepress.com.
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Call :: Awakenings Review Seeks Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Photography, and Art
Established in 2000, The Awakenings Review is an annual lit mag committed to publishing poetry, short story, nonfiction, photography, and art by writers, poets and artists who have a relationship with mental illness: either self, family member, or friend. Our striking hardcopy publication is one of the nation’s leading journals of this genre. Creative endeavors and mental illness have long had a close association. The Awakenings Review publishes works derived from artists’, writers’, and poets’ experiences with mental illness, though mental illness need not be the subject of your work. Visit www.AwakeningsProject.org for submission guidelines.
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Contest :: 2020 Rattle Poetry Prize
Deadline: July 15, 2020
The 15th annual Rattle Poetry Prize has grown to $15,000 for a single poem. Ten finalists also receive $200 and publication, and are eligible for the $5,000 Readers’ Choice Award. With an entry fee that is simply a one-year subscription to the magazine—and a runner-up Readers’ Choice Award to be chosen by the writers themselves—the Rattle Poetry Prize aims to be one of the most writer-friendly and popular poetry contests around. Visit www.rattle.com/prize for the complete guidelines and to read all of the past winners.
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A Call to Artful Rebellion
Guest Post by Erin H. Davis
A Measure of Belonging: Twenty-One Writers of Color on the New American South, edited by Filipino-American author Cinelle Barnes, showcases some of the brightest and most poignant work of southern writers of color. Published by Hub City Press located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, this anthology features authors from various backgrounds and ethnicities who, in the joyful spirit of Southern America, explain the idea of a “new” south, an ever-evolving triumph against traditional stereotypes and racial discrimination.
Barnes, anthology editor and author of memoir Monsoon Mansion and Malaya: Essays on Freedom states, “I decided that every one of my projects . . . would be an invitation for other people of color to come, to be visible, and to thrive here [The American South].” Her anthology certainly does just that, and she’s not afraid to let traditionally taboo subjects rise to the surface, bleed through the page, and strike the heart of the reader—independent of race or class.
For example, Soniah Kamal in “Face” explores her personal grief and the collective spirit of women of color as they experience the horrors of miscarriage and the social stigmas attached to the female body. In a similar vein, Devi S. Laskar’s “Duos” dives into the idea of living a dual life between dominant white culture and the culture of the home. She writes, in stunning prose, “Often, I smiled. I learned later that is what primates do when threatened: grin.”
A Measure of Belonging is a stark reminder that, behind the draping magnolias and weeping willows, the south has a loaded history, the effects of which still ripple through today’s society. Cinelle Barnes’ anthology is but one call to awareness, a call to artful rebellion.
A Measure of Belonging: Writers of Color on the New American South Edited by Cinelle Barnes. Hub City Press, October 2020.
Erin H. Davis is an MFA (fiction) graduate student at the College of Charleston. She was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina.
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Call :: Jay Lit Review Seeks Submissions on a Rolling Basis
Remember Jay Lit Review, the companion journal to the Journal of African Youth Literature, seeks critiques, commentary, research, essays, and translations on a rolling basis. Fields of interest: African (youth) literature and literacy; African (youth) culture and language studies; African language education; feminist/gender, post/decolonial, reader-response, linguistic, comparative, etc. analysis; translation into/from African languages; related areas of study. Topics: African youths, youth culture and literature; reflections on teaching African languages; multilingualism in Africa, linguistics, related subjects.
Educators, academics, and translators are invited to showcase knowledge and skills in their professional field. Postgrad essays on a variety of African youth concerns will be considered. Double-blind peer review. Visit africanyouthliterature.art.blog/the-jay-lit-review for more info. Email [email protected].
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Sponsor Spotlight: Litowitz Creative Writing Graduate Program, MFA+MA
This new and distinctive program offers intimate classes; the opportunity to pursue both creative and critical writing; close mentorship by renowned faculty in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction; and three fully supported years in which to grow as writers and complete a book-length creative project. Our curriculum gives students time to deepen both their creative writing and their study of literature. Students will receive full financial support for three academic years and two summers. Both degrees—the MFA in Creative Writing and the MA in English—are awarded simultaneously at graduation.
Program faculty include Chris Abani, Eula Biss, Brian Bouldrey, John Bresland, Averill Curdy, Sheila Donohue, Stuart Dybek, Reginald Gibbons, Juan Martinez, Shauna Seliy, Natasha Trethewey, and Rachel Jamison Webster.
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Sponsor Spotlight: University of New Hampshire MFA in Writing
The MFA Program at the University of New Hampshire has a clear goal: to help you mold your gifts and passion for the art and to prepare you for the opportunities and demands that all writers will experience in a long career. What happens to you after you leave this program—how you will sustain yourself and your work—is one of our strongest concerns. This supportive community of students and faculty shares a belief that writing matters and that the best books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction are made out of both the creative imagination and rigorous work.
Focus on fiction, narrative nonfiction or poetry in our graduate M.F.A. program, which has launched the careers of hundreds of poets, novelists, storywriters, essayists and memoirists. What is notable is not just how hard students work on their own creative writing, but how much effort goes into their response to the work of their peers. Writers here care deeply about each other, and the production of honest work that captures life on the page.
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Ekphrastic Poetry Bringing New Meaning & Depth
Guest Post by Madhuri Palaji
In the Dark, Soft Earth by Frank Watson is a book of poems about love, nature, spirituality, and dreams.
The specialty of the book is the amazing paintings from historic to contemporary presented in it. There are paintings done by Lenoir, Kandinsky, Dali, Somov, and many more. Some poems are inspired by these paintings, though not all.
Each poem is unique and deep. There is a beauty in the way the author has woven the words. I have seen most of the paintings in the book in some art books and exhibitions but when I look at these paintings after reading the poems, I feel like I’m seeing the painting for the first time. The author has brought a whole new meaning and depth to the art. It’s like the author has translated the painting and colors into words.
There is one poem named “Vanished” where the author says:
there was no fish
that day
but even worse
for the fisherman
there was no sea
This made my heart clench, literally. How true, given the kind of world we are living in right now; there is major destruction happening all around and we are left with too little to fix.
In The Dark, Soft Earth has many wonderful poems which I have read again and again because they make so much sense. The magic, love, pain, dreams and hope in the book give a whole new meaning to the way we look at life!
In the Dark, Soft Earth by Frank Watson. Independently Published, July 2020.
Reviewer Bio: Madhuri Palaji is a writer and book reviewer from India. Her book ‘Poems of The Clipped Nightingale’ is available on Kindle. Find her at http://www.theclippednightingale.com/
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Seneca Review – Fall 2019
In this issue of Seneca Review you’ll find poems and essays by Carl Dennis, Donald Revell, Katrina Vandenberg, Adam Clay, Lyllian-Yvonne Bertram, Karen Brennan, James Longenbach, Joshua Marie Wilkinson, Tyler Mills, Katharine Coles, Maya Pindyck, Emma Bolden, Geneviève Paiement, Timothy O’Keefe, and more.
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Kenyon Review – May/June 2020
The May/June 2020 issue of the Kenyon Review features the sixth edition of “Nature’s Nature” includes twenty-nine new works by eighteen poets, selected by Poetry Editor David Baker. Featured contributors include Madhur Anand, Elizabeth Bradfield, Stephanie Burt, Stuart Dischell, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Paul Guest, Christian Gullette, Leslie Harrison, Didi Jackson, Devin Johnston, Joanna Klink, Phillis Levin, Leslie Adrienne Miller, Carol Muske-Dukes, Atsuro Riley, Nicole Stockburger, Hannah VanderHart, and Shelley Wong.
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Boulevard – Spring 2020
In this issue of Boulevard the winning essay from the 2019 Nonfiction Contest by Emi Nietfeld. An interview featuring Téa Obreht. A new fiction piece by Joyce Carol Oates, and a story by Mary Troy. The winning poems from the 2019 Poetry Contest by A.D. Lauren-Abunassar. A collection translated by Yifei Wu of the initial days of the Wuhan quarantine.
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Call :: Mizmor Poetry Anthology – Spirituality
Deadline: August 15, 2020
“Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all…”
No reading fee. Contributors will receive one free copy mailed to U.S. address, only. Please visit the website for the complete guidelines: www.poeticapublishing.com.
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Call :: Chestnut Review (for stubborn artists) Invites Submissions
Chestnut Review (“for stubborn artists”) invites submissions year round of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, and photography. We offer free submissions for poetry (3 poems), flash fiction (<1000 words each & up to 4 pieces), and art/photography (20 images); $5 submissions for fiction/nonfiction (<5k words), or 4-6 poems. Published artists receive $100 and a copy of the annual anthology of four issues (released each summer). Notification in <30 days or submission fee refunded. We appreciate stories in every genre we publish. All issues free online which illustrates what we have liked, but we are always ready to be surprised by the new! chestnutreview.com
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A Quick Yet Powerful Read
Magazine Review by Katy Haas
In the Spring 2020 issue of Southern Humanities Review, Heather Corrigan Phillips dives into the use of language in “A Scattershot Approach.” Broken up into different sections, this piece looks at the idioms and metaphors relating to gunfire that English uses. Each section is a different phrase or word.
This nonfiction piece looks at a span of time immediately after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Her brother-in-law was a first responder at the school that day and we learn about him and the way his health and family were impacted. Phillips writes about this while living out of the country and learns more in spurts through Skype and phone calls, and readers subsequently learn about this in similar ways. Little bits of his story are revealed and then explorations of gun-adjacent language is placed in between.
Reading this really does bring to light the amount of idioms and metaphors that we use which relate back to guns, and this only scratches the surface. There are plenty more that weren’t included. We’re lead to question why this language is so prevalent while also seeing into the lives of humans who have gone through a traumatic event. Here is the perfect balance of fact and emotion, a quick yet powerful read.
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Sponsor Spotlight: Cutthroat
Have you visited Cutthroat lately? They publish an online edition and an annual print anthology with high-quality poetry and prose with an edge.
They offer three awards every years: the Joy Harjo Poetry Award, the Rick DeMarinis Short Story Award, and the Barry Lopez Nonfiction Award which open for submissions in August.
Readers can look forward to Issue 25 which will drop sometime this month. You can learn more about Cutthroat and their past contributors at their listing on our website.
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Jenni(f)fer Tamayo Answers “The Citizenship Question”
Magazine Review by Katy Haas
The Spring 2020 issue of The Georgia Review was released around the time U.S. citizens were receiving census information in the mail, and the work inside the issue relates back to this: the census and citizenship. Jenni(f)fer Tamayo’s “The Citizenship Question” is a stand-out among these.
The piece reimagines the Application for Naturalization, or the U.S. Citizenship Application. This piece spans three pages, and Tamayo rewrites the questions and options given. The first two pages are straight forward enough, with the third falling into a more chaotic format with text written upside down, overlapping other text, or fading away into blank space.
I always enjoy this type of writing that mixes the cold format of a form (Marissa Spear does something similar with her medical reports in “How Many Ways Can One Spell Hysteria?” found in Moonchild Magazine) and reworks it with heart, feeling, and poetry. It can be a bizarre feeling to see personal information about yourself reduced to a few lines and checkboxes in someone’s files, and Tamayo takes that information back, reclaims it as hers, and connects it back to her life and identity in an inventive and enjoyable read.