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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!

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.

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.

2020 Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction

Philadelphia Stories eLitPak flierThis 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

View the full May eLitPak newsletter here.

Gival Press Sponsored Contests: Novel Award Deadline Approaching

Gival Press Winter 2020 LitPak FlierGival 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.

View the full May eLitPak newsletter here.

Explore Your Wild at the Elk River Writers Workshop

2020 Elk River Writers Workshop FlierThe 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

View the full May eLitPak newsletter here.

Contest :: 2020 Red Wheelbarrow Prize 2020

Red WheelbarrowDeadline: 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.

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.**

View the entire May eLitPak newsletter here.

Call :: Four Quartets: Poetry in the Pandemic

Tupelo Press Call Four Quartets: Poetry in the PandemicTupelo 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.

Contest :: 1 Month Left to Submit to Swan Scythe Press Chapbook Contest

Swan Scythe Press logoSwan 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.

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.

Contest :: 2020 Rattle Poetry Prize

2020 RATTLE Poetry Prize flierDeadline: 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.

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.

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].

Sponsor Spotlight: Litowitz Creative Writing Graduate Program, MFA+MA

Northwestern University Litowitz MFA+MA logoThis 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.

Sponsor Spotlight: University of New Hampshire MFA in Writing

University of New Hampshire logoThe 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.

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/

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Jenni(f)fer Tamayo Answers “The Citizenship Question”

The Georgia Review - Spring 2020Magazine 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.

2020 Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference Moves Online

This year the Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference will be held online. With this change, the conference will still involve the same great faculty, craft discussions, readings, and literary camaraderie that the face-to-face conference promised.

The dates stay the same: July 15-18 with a similar schedule, and the price to participate has been discounted. Scholarships are still available.

Learn more about this year’s conference at The Rose O’Neill Literary House page on the Washington College website.

Documenting Awakening

Aimee Liu’s Glorious Boy opens in 1942 but begins in 1936 New York when Claire, aspiring anthropologist, meets Shep, a young British doctor being punished by exile.

They soon marry and depart to his duty station, Port Blair on the Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal. The island serves as a penal colony for political prisoners. Once there, they hire eight-year-old Nalia to care for their mute son, Ty, the “glorious boy” of the title. Nalia possesses “an uncanny ability to intuit whatever Ty wanted or needed—as if the children had their own spiritual language.”

As British hold over the island falters, they hear more of Japan’s rallying cry of “Asia for Asians.” When Rangoon, a neighboring Burmese city, falls, civilians are ordered out of Port Blair with a single standing order: “No local borns or natives.” Because of the connection between Nalia and young Ty, Claire promises to find a means of getting Nalia off-island as soon as she can.

During the departure, however, an earthquake separates Claire from the rest of her family along with Nalia. Not long after, the island falls to the Japanese army as Nalia hides Ty among the tribes Claire began studying. Claire dedicates herself to retrieving her son. Meanwhile Ty becomes more a creature of the jungle than a child of the empire, seeming to straddle the “primitive” and “civilized.”

Glorious Boy documents the awakening of Claire as nations dive into World War II. She learns “that ambition is worthless unless it’s rooted in human understanding” and is astute enough to understand that “prosperity” is often aligned with, almost synonymous with “slavery,” that those who are politically powerful and connected find deference to their desires, and that “colonial rules [prove to be] a tyranny of injustice, not to mention ineptitude.”


Glorious Boy by Aimee Liu. Red Hen Press, May 2020.

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.

Buy this book through our affiliate Bookshop.org.

Contest :: Fiction Southeast Story of the Month Contest

Online literary magazine Fiction Southeast has launched the Story of the Month Contest to honor the best short fiction under 1,000 words. Each month the winning story will grace the front page of the website for the entire month and will be listed on the Stories of the Month Page, as well as the Fiction Page. The reading fee is $10, and the winner will receive $50. Submit here: fictionsoutheast.submittable.com/submit/163713/story-of-the-month. Entries are accepted year-round.

Contest :: KAKALAK 2020 Poetry & Art Contest Closes May 18

KAKALAK 2019 coverDon’t forget that the deadline to submit poetry and art that evokes the spirit of the Carolinas from the Outer Banks and Low Country to the Piedmont and Appalachia is May 18. Anyone can enter. Entry fee: $12 for 1-3 poems or 1-3 images. All entries considered for publication. All contributors will receive one copy for each item selected for publication. Prize money ranges from $300 to $20. Details can be found on the Kakalak contest page of the www.MainStreetRag.com website.

Call :: Adanna Closes to Submissions for Special Issue on May 15

Don’t forget Adanna Literary Journal, a women focused print publication, is open to submissions for a special issue through May 15. They are seeking essays, poetry, and creative nonfiction that speaks towards the experience of mothering in a time of crisis—caring for children, especially those with children in college returning from affected areas, those with younger children exposed to media and the anxiety of school shut-downs, as well as women who are caring for elderly relatives or those in the medical profession. To submit, please go to adannajournal.blogspot.com/p/submission-guidelines.html. The subject line should read “Special Issue” to distinguish this from their annual issue.

Call :: little somethings press issue three

little somethings press flierlittle somethings press is open for submissions for issue three. We want work that breathes in the space of a page, even as the world falters. Send your flash memoir and fiction of up to 300 words, your poetry of up to 12 lines, and your visual art to [email protected] by June 15th.  Up to three pieces per submission are welcome. Contributors will receive compensation through a contributor copy. All rights revert back to the author/contributor upon publication. littlesomethingspress.com

Contest :: Conduit Books & Ephemera’s 2020 Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize Accepting Submissions

Conduit Books & Ephemera logoDeadline: June 30, 2020
Now in its third year, the Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize awards $1,000 and publication to a poet writing in English who has not yet published a full-length book of poetry. If you have a smoking hot manuscript or know someone who does, please give us a shot. The Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize champions poets who dance to their own tune not to be different but to be true. Previously unpublished manuscripts of 48-90 pages should be submitted through our Submittable page or via the USPS. Please visit www.conduit.org/book-prizes for details.

Deadline Extension :: 2020 Sandeen Prize in Poetry

Deadline has been extended to June 1 due to COVID-19.
The Sandeen Prize in Poetry is open to any author, with the exception of ND graduates, who has published at least one collection of poetry. We pay special attention to second volumes. A $15 administrative fee should accompany submissions. Make checks payable to University of Notre Dame. The volumes of the Sandeen Prize will be published in trade paperback format. The author will be offered a standard contract with the University of Notre Dame Press. There will be a $1,000 prize, a $500 award, and a $500 advance against royalties from the Notre Dame Press. Submission information on program website: english.nd.edu/creative-writing/.

Call :: Gold Man Review Open to Submissions from OR, AK, HI, CA, & WA

Deadline: June 1, 2020
Literary magazine Gold Man Review is a West Coast journal. They are currently looking for submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for Issue 10. They are open to all topics and themes and love work that pushes boundaries. Have work on the unusual side? They are probably the journal for you. Please note they only accept submissions from writers living in Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, California, and Washington. See their website for full submissions guidelines: www.goldmanpublishing.com.

Contest :: Flying South Accepting Submissions through May 31

Winston Salem Writers is offering $2,000 in prizes for its annual Flying South writing contests. Best in each category (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry) receives $500. One of the three winners will receive an additional $500 as the WSW President’s Favorite award. All entries will be considered for publication in the next issue of literary magazine Flying South. For full details, please visit our website: www.wswriters.org.

Only Nature Reveals Our True Colors

Guest Post by Helen Zapata

“. . . all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence.”Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This is a powerful essay filled with complicated sentences that I had to read over and over again to make sense (and make some justice) to the real meaning behind Emerson’s Nature.

Emerson was in love with nature and for him, we need to truly look at it, observe it, respect it, and acknowledge that nature and humans are the same. Although at times this seemed a little too philosophical for me, I still felt related to this beautifully portrayed subject.

Through every stage that divides this book, Emerson describes nature as the only mirror in which humans should trust, the same one that represents our behavior, personal relationships, and the way we communicate with each other.

There is a chapter regarding language and its links to nature that reminds me of an Intro to Linguistics class, but with a little less theory and a lot more of spirituality. “Language” sums this essay perfectly and makes you really think about the way the earth gives us everything we need to exist, even in the early stages of our lives.

I guess by the time he wrote this essay, grammatical structure and syntax were different than they are now and that definitely adds another layer of complexity. But I also think that the way he built the relationship between men and nature couldn’t be phrased in any other manner.


Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Penguin Books, September 1995.

Reviewer bio: I’m Helen Zapata, a freelance copywriter and editor specialized in independent digital publications.

Buy this title on Bookshop. Disclosure: NewPages earns a commission from any title purchased through our profile.

Valley Voices – Spring 2020

Visit this special issue on Mississippi. Poetry by George Drew, Jerry W. Ward Jr., Diane Williams, Charle R. Braxton, Kalamu ya Salaam, Angela Ball, Annette C. Boehm, Allison Campbell, Kendall Dunkelberg, and more; articles by John J. Han, Junying Jia, William Ferris, and Cassie Osborne Jr.; nonfiction by Hermine Pinson, Joseph Holt, and Kevin Baggett; and interviews with George Drew and Bennie Mae Fortune Harper. Plus, six book reviews.

The Tiger Moth Review – May 2020

Looking for new eco-poetry? Visit The Tiger Moth Review for Issue 4, featuring work by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, Tara Menon, Nsah Mala, Noriko Nakada, Sabrina Ito, Jikang Liu, Prasanthi Ram, Ang Xia Yi, Rachel Kuanneng Lee, Michael Garrigan, Lois Marie Harrod, Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, Remi Recchia, Joe Balaz, Mario Loprete, Edrie Corbit, Nisha Bolsey, and more.

Superstition Review – Issue 25

The latest issue of Superstition Review is featured at this week’s Magazine Stand. The issue offers art by Richard McVetis, fiction by Janelle Bassett, nonfiction by Marina Hatsopoulos, poetry by Grant Clauser, and interview with Roy G. Guzmán.

Southern Humanities Review – 53.1

In this issue, find nonfiction by Diane Mehta and Heather Corrigan Phillips; fiction by Raima Evan, Dewaine Farria, and more; and poetry by Catherine Carter, Julie Choffel, Catherine Esther Cowie, Jane Craven, Caleb Curtiss, Janice N. Harrington, Andrew Hemmert, Clay Matthews, and others. See more contributors at the Southern Humanities Review website.

Mayur Kalbag’s Mythical Voyage

Adventures of Poorna by Mayur KalbagGuest Post by Durdana Parveen

Adventures of Poorna, the debut work of Mayur Kalbag, is a mythical voyage of the protagonist Rudra who wakes up in a strange land and meets a monk there. Upon his guidance, he sets out on a long quest, gains a lot of mystical skills, discovers his past life, meets his guru and friends, and finally finds the purpose of his rebirth.

The plots and characters were so beautifully described that they could get struck in the reader’s mind forever. The concept of shivering was distinctly redefined in many instances. I personally liked the way author personified leaves and thorns in the story: “leaf would bite if not asked permission to pluck it” and “the thorns oozed ink when touched the leaf.” The colored water and the vapors that monk offers Rudra to quench his thirst and satiate his hunger were fascinating.

In addition to the detailed description of the plots and characters the author also mentions many rituals: havan pooja, third eye opening, appearance of Lord Shiva, and many other spiritual and mystical events.

The title is apt to the story and the author’s intentions and scope of the book are well-depicted. Although the story is little lengthy, I like the book as a whole and I’d recommend it for all the readers.


Adventures of Poorna by Mayur Kalbag. Penman Books, March 2020.

Reviewer bio: I’m Durdana Parveen Mohammad from India. I am currently pursuing my MBBS and writes poems, quotes, and reviews as a hobby at my own instagram page: @ifathwrites.

Contest :: Raymond Carver Short Story Contest Deadline is May 15

Don’t forget that May 15 is the deadline to submit short fiction of no more than 10,000 words to Carve Magazine‘s 2020 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest. Submissions welcome from writers world-wide as long as they are written in English. Prizes: $2,000, $500, $250, + 2 Editor’s Choice $125 each. All 5 winners published in Fall 2020 issue and reviewed by lit agencies. Entry fee $17 online/$15 mailed. Guest judge Pam Houston. www.carvezine.com/raymond-carver-contest/

Plume – May 2020

This month’s Plume Featured Selection includes work by and an interview with Fleda Brown. In nonfiction, David Kirby writes “Getting Stabbed Kidna Takes the Fight Out of Ya.” Chelsea Wagenaar interviews The Museum of Small Bones by Miho Nonaka. This month’s poetry selections include Steven Cramer, Terese Svoboda, Mark Irwin, Floyd Skloot, Denise Duhamel, Angie Estes, and more.

The Lake – May 2020

The May issue of The Lake features Jerrice J. Baptiste, Zoe Brooks, Holly Day, George Franklin, Nels Hanson, Jennifer A. McGowan, Warren Mortimer, Leah Mueller, Samuel Prince, Elaine Reardon, David Mark Williams, Rodney Wood, Abigail Ardelle Zammit. Reviews of Emma Lee’s The Significance of a Dress and Rachael Burn’s, a girl in a blue dress.

Hole in the Head Review – May 2020

The second issue of Hole in the Head Review includes poetry by Richard Blanco, David Weiss, Marilyn A. Johnson, Kenneth Rosen, and more, and visual art from Eva Goetz, Jere DeWaters, Jacob Bond Hessler, and others. Plus, tattoo art by Bhagavan Das Shyam Lescault and much, much more.

Anthony Doerr Gives Nature a Voice

Guest Post by Christy O’Callaghan

My happy place in life is also my happy place in words—with nature. The book could be the history of a plant or tree or the natural world herself playing a character. That old conflict of man vs. nature is such a large part of our world, even when we’re under stay at home orders during a pandemic. I have a hardy appreciation for those who approach this subject well.  Anthony Doerr is one of them.

If I admire an author, I’ll read all their works. All the Light We Cannot See was terrific and deserves the praise it receives. Last summer, someone recommended The Shell Collector, and that was what hooked me to Doerr’s work. Most recently, I have been escaping into the frozen winters of Alaska and the tropical island days of the Caribbean in About Grace. In each location of the book, nature is not only an element setting a mood outside of the window. She’s a mighty character.

We follow David Winkler, who studies water, especially snow, and the younger Naaliyah, who studies insects and crustaceans. Our third main character has her own agenda. “The wind assumed its voice: moaning against the window, humming around the roof corners; hissing through drafts. It whispered about darkness, about the coming shadows. Let go, it said, let go.”

Doerr evokes the power and cyclical rhythm of nature, seasons, and time. Even with characters who live in reverence of the natural world, they can’t compare with her. She exists not in the service of people but has her own story to tell.


About Grace by Anthony Doerr. Simon & Schuster, October 2015

Reviewer bio: Christy O’Callaghan lives in Upstate, New York.  Her favorite pastimes include anything in the fresh air.  For her blog and writing, go to christyflutterby.com.

Brevity – No. 64

This issue’s featured authors include Brian Turner, Sue William Silverman, Kristine Langley Mahler, Carly Anderson, Laurie Rachkus Uttich, Sara Ryan, Tyler Mills, Julie Marie Wade, Melissa Grunow, Katy Mullins, and more. Plus, beautiful photography by Christina Brobby. Find more contributors at the Brevity website.

About Place Journal – May 2020

“Practices of Hope” showcases creative processes as ways of making change. The pieces in this issue of About Place ask: How can creative practice allow us to feel and act differently? How can we invent new collaborations and new embodiment practices for humans and other fellow creatures? What can speculative, non-realist, and hybrid forms mean for eco-arts? How can we imagine a different future with more of us in it? What hope can we afford? What hope do we need? Together, we reach for art that activates new relationships to embodiment, climate crisis, species extinction, and environmentally located social pressures.

Driftwood Press Extends Application Deadline for Online Seminars

Good news! If you missed the April 30 deadline for Driftwood Press’s 2020 Online Seminar Series, you’re in luck! They have extended the deadline to apply to May 30. These seminars will run for five weeks starting on June 1 and ending on July 3.

The Erasure Poetry Seminar instructor is Jerrod Schwarz who teaches creative writing at the University of Tampa. This seminar features an in-depth look at the history, practices, and importance of erasure poetry. Every week students receive a video lesson, tailor-made writing prompts, and detailed feedback. The course will culminate in a Showcase Booklet of students’ work which will be made available for free download on Driftwood’s website.

The Editors & Writers Seminar is targeted towards three types of writers: writers submitting to magazines and wanting to fight through the slushpile, writers who wish to be editors of short fiction or run a magazine, and writers who wish to become better editors of their own and others’ work. The instructor will be Driftwood Press Fiction Editor James McNulty. Students receive weekly video lessons, a writing or revision assignment, a reading assignment, and detailed feedback on writing assignments.

Don’t forget that the biannual journal is open to submissions year-round and the publishing arm is currently open to submissions of novellas, graphic novels, and comic collections. They do charge a reading fee. Expedited response options available for journal submissions.

Call :: Bending Genres Seeks Zany Work

Deadline: Rolling
Send us your zany, innovative best fiction, poetry, and CNF. We publish bimonthly, and year round. Bending Genres also host monthly weekend workshops and retreats. The next online class is Artifact Lit: Exploring New Forms with Tyler Barton from May 22 to May 24. The next retreats are scheduled for August 16-22 in West Bend, Wisconsin, and September 1-7 in New Mexico. www.bendinggenres.com