News from Poetry Kit – Short Courses April – May 2022

UPCOMING SHORT COURSES
can be booked by paying the fee using the PayPal link below the required course. 

BOOK NOW FOR THESE COURSES 

APRIL

Sonnet Workshop  – NEW – 4th – 24th April 2022
This short 3-week course looks at the sonnet in its traditional form and how poets are rediscovering it as a vehicle in contemporary poetry. This has always been a popular form but in many ways not fully understood.  This course will focus on producing sonnets and discovering possibilities in the form that have not been considered. The cost of this course costs £30.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=DN8LBA3KTDN62

Ekphrastic Poetry- Part 2 – 4th – 24th April 2022
This is a continuation course from our original Ekphrastic Poetry Course. The aim of this course is to look at the different approaches that can be taken to bring new insights to poems that engage with a broader range of Ekphrastic poetry.  During the course, poets will be asked to respond to a series of paintings using a variety of techniques. Poems will be workshopped, and full feedback is given. The cost of this course is £30
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8MNJMWTSYSBBW

Poems in the Everyday  – 4th – 24th April 2022
The poet interacts with the world in a variety of ways. In this short course, we will look at how the poet can interact with the world and find poems in everyday events. We also look at journaling and notebooks. The course will be conducted online over three weeks, at a cost of £30 – https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YBZH2UU6PN6WG

Poetry in changing times – 4th – 24th April 2022
This is a short online course for poets who want to look at the way their poetry can stay relevant in changing times.  We will be looking at relevance, authenticity, and voice as cornerstones for producing poems that engage with change. We will look at personal, scientific, and imagined responses.   The course will be conducted online over three weeks, at a cost of £30 –
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=AMXZ6LGUKBKYU

MAY

Metaphor and revelation in poetry (NEW) – 9th- 30th May 2022
This 3-week course looks at the transformative qualities of metaphor in poetry.  The way metaphor can be used in exciting ways to bring new revelation and understanding in a poem.  We will look at metaphor in different ways and see how important it is.  The cost of this course costs £30.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=55WBNXUYUL8CJ

 Images, short forms, and haiku – 9th- 30th May 2022
This course looks at the role played by images in poetry.  It considers their use in short forms and how they can be used to develop engaging and memorable poems.  As part of this process, we will be looking at the opportunities and challenges presented by short forms including haiku.  The course will be conducted online over three weeks, at a cost of £30 –
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=W48NLELP3TB92

Strategies for Writing Poetry – 9th- 30th May 2022
What do you do when you hit a point when the ideas and ability that you rely on for writing poetry dry up.  This happens to most writers from time to time, and in this course, we will look at proven strategies to get past this point.  This is a course suitable for everyone even if you do not have a problem as these are strategies to help approach poetry in new ways.  The course will be conducted online over three weeks, at a cost of £30 –
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YSCXM42LTKWGU

Journals, Diaries and Dreams  – 9th- 30th May 2022
This three-week course looks at notebooks and journals as a key resource for writers and poets. Learn more about how these can be used and how to use them more effectively, recording events and snapshots, scrapbooking and dreams, and how to use these in poetry.   The course costs £30. 

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=729CEH4CJ2LG4

SPECIAL OFFER
Book any two of these short courses for £50 using the link below, and then please write to us at info@poetrykit.org to let us know which two courses you would like.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6ESMVNLE4NG6Q

8th Annual Mystery & Thriller Virtual Conference

March 25, 2022 to March 27, 2022

Writer’s Digest University is pleased to present an exclusive online event for mystery & thriller writers! On March 26 and March 27, our 8th Annual Mystery & Thriller Virtual Conference will provide expert insights from SIX award-winning and best-selling authors on the finer points of how to write within the mystery and thriller genres. Spend the weekend learning techniques for honing your craft from six different published authors*, then (if you choose) pitch your novel via query letter to a literary agent specifically looking for material in the mystery or thriller genre. The agent will provide you with a personalized critique of your query – and maybe ask to see more.

• How to Write an Opening That Pulls the Reader In by Wanda M. Morris
  In this session, we will delve into the elements that make a great opening to your story or novel.
• How to Keep Readers Engaged by Chris Mooney
  If you want to get an agent interested in your book, you’ve got to keep them interested, which is why the first few pages of your novel are critical.
• The Challenges and Advantages of Amateur Sleuths by Mia P. Manansala
  This session will answer these questions and more as we dissect amateur sleuths in popular fiction and learn how to make the most out of this common character trope through discussion and exercises.
• I Got This Idea…: How to Turn Ideas Into Stories by Rachel Howzell Hall
  In this session, you will learn ways to move your good idea from your head onto the page as a full-realized story.
• Creating Engaging Character Arcs in the Novel and Novel Series by C. Hope Clark
  In this session, award-winning author C. Hope Clark will share effective strategies for creating compelling character arcs in the novel as well as in a series of novels.
• Point of View: Special Issues for the Mystery and Thriller Writer by Hallie Ephron
  In this session we’ll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different viewpoints
• Virtual Conference Enrollment fee: $199.99 per person

Visit the website: https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/wdu-mystery-and-thriller-virtual-conference

The 2022 First Pages Prize

Deadline: April 10, 2022

Guidelines

By entering the First Pages Prize 2022, you agree to the following terms and conditions.

Prizes

• Five prizes are awarded annually to emerging writers.
• The competition is for writers who are NOT currently represented by a literary agent.
• The winners receive:a. A cash award (1st – $2,000, 2nd – $1,500, 3rd – $1000, 4th – $750, 5th – $750 in US dollars)b. A tailored edit up to the first 100 pages to support the completion of their full manuscript (must be completed before end of prize year)c. Consultation with an agent via Zoom
• Cash prizes are not transferable. The developmental edit and agent consultation are not transferable or redeemable.

Eligibility – Entrants

• Eligible writers from anywhere in the world may enter.
• Entrants must be individuals, not a company or organization.
• Entrants must be over 18 years of age at the time of entering their work.
• Entrants must be currently unagented. If you are represented by or signed with an agent, you are NOT eligible to enter.
• If an entrant signs with an agent prior to winners being announced they must notify First Pages Prize immediately to withdraw and their entry fee will be refunded (minus fees).
• Entrants may submit more than one entry. Each entry needs to be submitted as a separate entry and you need to pay the fee for each entry.
• Entrants must submit the work using their name, not a pen name. A pen name may be used when announcing their win, if requested.
• By entering, entrants accept that their email address is added to the mailing list of the First Pages Prize.
• By entering, winners accept that quotes from their entry and their photo and bio details may be used to promote the First Pages Prize.
• This competition is NOT OPEN to members of the board or employees of The First Page Prize, Inc., The de Groot Foundation, the reviewers or judge. Family members of the aforementioned are also NOT eligible.

Eligibility – Entries

1. Entries are blinded. The entrant’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the manuscript of the entry to ensure judging anonymity. The entrant’s full name MUST NOT be part of the story title. Any entry failing to comply with this rule is immediately disqualified without refund of entry fee.
2. Must be your unpublished, original work.
3. Must be written in English.
4. Entries may be for works of Fiction or Creative Non-Fiction.
5. Must not infringe upon the copyright of any person or entity.
6. No entry will be returned or kept after the winners have been announced.
7. Entries will be acknowledged upon completion of submission.
8. Copyright remains with the author.
9. Entries that were previously entered into the First Pages Prize and did not place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or received a Readers’ Pick are eligible to be resubmitted.

Works that are not Eligible

1. Previously published entries (including on a website, Wattpad or any other online or offline platform).
2. Entries (or drafts of entries) that won 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in any other competition.
3. Translated works.
4. SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS are possible, however, if your entry wins 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in another competition you must withdraw from the First Pages Prize by emailing info@firstpagesprize.com. Your entry fee will be refunded (minus processing + transaction fees) unless you submit a different entry (within the period).

How to Enter

1. All submissions must be made through the Submittable platform https://firstpagesprize.submittable.com/submit
2. Please submit the first pages (1,250 words maximum) of a longer work of fiction or creative non-fiction.
3. Kindly double space your pages, using Times New Roman 12-point font.
4. Name your file with your story title and make sure your story title does not include your name.
5. Acceptable file types are .PDF, .DOCX, .RTF, .ODT, .DOC, and .TXT
6. Entries for the 2022 competition open on March 1, 2022 at 00:00 am Pacific Standard Time and close on April 10, 2022 at 23:59 (11:59 p.m.) Pacific Standard Time. An extended entry period opens on April 10, 2022 at 00:00 am Pacific Standard Time and closes on April 24, 2022 at 23:59 (11:59 p.m.) Pacific Standard Time. Please check a time zone converter to avoid disappointment and inability to enter http://www.timebie.com/std/pst.php or https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com 
7. Only submissions received and paid for within the entry periods will be considered.
8. Entries that are not paid for, are incomplete, corrupted or submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
9. The entry fee is $20 US dollars per entry. The extended entry fee is $35 US dollars per entry.
10. No alteration may be made to the entry once it is submitted.

By entering this competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by the competition guidelines, terms, and conditions.

Review & Judging Process

1. All entries to the First Pages Prize are submitted to a blinded review process. Reviewers and judge do not know the identity of entrants submitting.
2. Our judging criteria are: quality of writing (including character development and originality), a sense of story or bigger narrative emerging, and how much the reviewers and judge are hooked by the writing.
3. Our review and judging process adheres to the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics (see below).
4. Only winners will be contacted.
5. No individual feedback will be provided except to the top five Finalists.
6. The decisions of the reading panel and judge are final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging process.

How to enter, visit: https://www.firstpagesprize.com/guidelines-and-termsconditions

$8,700 IN PRIZES AND PUBLICATION FOR CLIMATE FICTION sponsored by Fix, Grist’s solutions lab

Deadline: May 5, 2022 | No entry fee

Submissions are now being accepted for Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors, the annual climate fiction contest from Fix, Grist’s solutions lab. There is no fee to enter. Submit your short story by May 5, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Imagine 2200 seeks original short stories of 3,000 to 5,000 words that envision the next 180 years of clean, green, and just futures. Judges include Hugo Award-winning writer Arkady Martine, esteemed editor and author Sheree Renée Thomas, and professor Grace L. Dillon, who coined the term “Indigenous futurism”. Imagine 2200 draws inspiration from Afrofuturism, as well as Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, disabled, feminist, and queer futures, and the genres of hopepunk and solarpunk.

While we’re looking for hopeful stories, we also don’t expect you to be overly optimistic or naive. One hundred and eighty years of equitable climate progress will require hard work, struggle, and adaptation, and we invite you to show those as well.

In addition, we’re especially interested in cultural authenticity (a deep sense of place, customs, cuisine, and more), rich characters with intersecting identities, and stories that challenge the status quo in which wealth and power are built on extraction, oppression, and violence.

The top three winners will be awarded $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000 respectively, and nine finalists will receive a $300 honorarium. Those 12 authors will be published in an immersive digital collection this fall. Conjure your wildest dreams for society—all the justice, resilience, and abundance you can imagine—and put those dreams on paper.

There’s no fee to enter, so if you’re ready to get writing, you can find our submissions portal here. If you’d like to get in touch, you can reach us at imaginefiction@grist.org.

Visit the website: https://grist.org/fix/climate-fiction-writing-contest-imagine-2200-prizes/?utm_source=winningwriters&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=imagine2200&utm_content=launch%20post&utm_term=climate%20fiction

2022 Curt Johnson Prose Awards

Submissions are now OPEN until May 1, 2022

We are pleased to announce our 2022 Curt Johnson Prose Awards will be judged by Laura Dave (Fiction) and Taté Walker (Nonfiction) click here for more information on our judges. Prizes are $1,500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2022 issue for First Place (fiction and nonfiction); $500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2022 issue for honorable mention (fiction and nonfiction). All finalists will be listed in the awards issue.

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Our submission period is OPEN

SEE CURRENT AND PAST WINNERS HERE

Guidelines:

Maximum of 8,000 words for fiction and non-fiction.  Name and address on cover letter only.  $20 entry fee includes a copy of Awards issue.

AUTHOR NAME OR OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION SHOULD NOT APPEAR IN YOUR TITLE OR ANYWHERE ON YOUR UPLOADED OR HARD COPY DOCUMENT.

december accepts submissions online through Submittable.

We do not accept simultaneous submissions, but we generally provide a response within eight weeks. Contest submissions generally take a little longer because of the review process.

december also accepts submissions through the U.S. mail. If submitting by mail, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with sufficient postage, your $20.00 entry fee (check or cash), and indicate if you would like your manuscript returned. Multiple entries are accepted with an additional $20.00 entry fee per submission.
december assumes no responsibility for delayed, lost, or damaged manuscripts.

How to enter, visit: https://decembermag.org/2022-curt-johnson-prose-awards/

Address postal submissions and correspondence to:

december
P.O. Box 16130
St. Louis, MO 63105

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

Welcome to the 30th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $8,000 in prizes.

Deadline: April 30, 2022

Prizes:

• STORY: First Prize, $3,000
• ESSAY: First Prize, $3,000
• The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value)
• 10 Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each (any category)
• Top 12 entries published online
• Enter via Submittable

For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction. Judge: Mina Manchester. Please submit as many entries as you like. All themes accepted. Entries may be published or unpublished. Length limit: 6,000 words maximum. No restriction on the age of the author. All countries are eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions). Fee: $20 per entry. Read the winning entries from the 29th contest.

First time entering? We prepared this brief video to guide you. See also our short entry checklist, then click the button below to submit. The results of our 30th contest will be announced on October 15, 2022.

How to enter: https://winningwriters.submittable.com/submit/49862/tom-howard-john-h-reid-fiction-essay-contest

29th Annual POETRY CONTEST for the Dancing Poetry Festival

(The intention of the Dancing Poetry Festival and Artists Embassy International its parent organization is to honor the natural ambassadorship of excellent artists and their work that furthers intercultural understanding and peace through the universal language of the arts)
Over $1,000 in prize money to be awarded and an invitation to read

either live at the Palace of the Legion of Honor and/or virtually on the internet

Deadline received by April 15, 2022

Three Grand Prizes will receive $100 each plus their poem, danced, a certificate, and an invitation to read

Six First Prizes will receive $50 each plus a certificate and an invitation to read
Twelve Second Prizes will receive $25 each plus a certificate and an invitation to read
Thirty Third Prizes will receive $10 each plus a certificate and an invitation to read

CONTEST RULES
Line Limit: 38 lines maximum for each poem. No limit on the number of entries
Send TWO typed, clear copies of each entry
Show name, address, telephone number, e-mail, and how you heard about us on ONE copy only

(The anonymous copy goes to the judges. Judges’ decisions are final.)
Poems must be in English or include English translation
Entry Fee: One poem for $5 or 3 poems for $10
Make checks out to Artists Embassy International
Poets outside the USA, please send an international postal money order in US dollars or US currency
No poems will be returned.

Send all entries and fees postmarked by April 15, 2022, to
      AEI Contest Chair, Judy Cheung
      704 Brigham Ave.
      Santa Rosa, CA 95404

     Accepting a grand prize includes your permission to publish your poem in print or online with your credit for publicity involving the Dancing Poetry Festival. All other rights remain with the author.
Judges are members of AEI and represent poets, dancers, artists, and musicians with international credits.
Winners will be announced by August 1 of each year.

     Early submissions are appreciated by the staff. Thank you. We look forward to seeing your work.

Please look at photos of our Dancing Poetry Festivals to see the vast diversity of poetry and dance we present each year. For poetry, we look for something new and different including new twists to old themes, different looks at common situations, and innovative concepts for dynamic, thought-provoking entertainment.  We look forward to reading your submissions. Thank you.

We plan to present the Festival on YouTube, hopefully in September 2022

We hope you will enjoy it! : )

Visit the website: http://www.dancingpoetry.com/home.html

The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers –

The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers honor the work of writers at the beginning of their careers.

Prizes: $500 prizes will be awarded in both the fiction and poetry categories, and the winning manuscripts will appear in the spring issue of Nimrod. Winners will have the chance to work with the Nimrod board of editors to refine and edit their manuscripts before publication.

Contest Rules

Eligibility: Open only to writers whose work has not appeared or is not scheduled to appear in more than 2 publications in the genre in which they are submitting. (Self-published works, works with a distribution of fewer than 100 copies, and journalistic articles are not considered toward the count of 2 publications.)

Guidelines:

· Poetry: Up to 5 pages of poetry (one long poem or several short poems)

· Fiction: 5,000 words maximum (one short story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel)

· All work submitted must be unpublished.

· Work submitted may be on any theme, any subject.

· The contest is open internationally.

· Include a cover sheet containing title(s), author’s name, full address, phone, and email.

· Omit author’s name on the manuscript.

Dates: The contest opens May 1st, 2022. Postmark Deadline: July 15th, 2022.

Online Submissions: Work may be submitted online using our online submission manager system: https://nimrodjournal.submittable.com/submit

Postal Submissions: Clearly indicate “Ringold Contest Entry” on both the outer envelope and the cover sheet. Staple manuscript if possible; if not, please bind with a heavy clip. Include SASE for results only; manuscripts will not be returned. The results will be posted on Nimrod’s website.

Mail to:

Nimrod International Journal

Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers–Fiction or Poetry (indicate the appropriate category)

The University of Tulsa

800 S. Tucker Dr.

Tulsa, OK 74104

Entry Fee: Each entry must be accompanied by a $12 fee, which includes both the reading fee and a copy of the spring issue of Nimrod. Make checks payable to Nimrod. Writers may submit multiple entries, but each entry must include its own $12 fee.

Visit the website: https://artsandsciences.utulsa.edu/nimrod/francine-ringold-awards/

The 44th Nimrod Literary Awards

Founded by Ruth G. Hardman
The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction & The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry

First Prize: $2,000 and publication
Second Prize: $1,000 and publication

The winners will also be flown to Tulsa from a domestic airport location for the Awards Ceremony and Writing Conference in October or, if global health situations do not allow for an in-person conference, winners will take part in a virtual Awards Ceremony and reading. All finalists will be considered for publication.

2022 Judges: Kaveh Bassiri and Toni Jensen

Contest Rules

Postmark Deadline: April 1, 2022

Poetry: 3-10 pages of poetry (one long poem or several short poems)

Fiction: 7,500 words maximum (one short story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel)

No previously published works or works accepted for publication elsewhere.  The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript.  Include a cover sheet containing titles, author’s name, full address, phone number, and email.

New for 2022: The Nimrod Literary Awards are open internationally.

Online Submissions: Work may be submitted online using our online submission manager system.

Postal Submissions: “Contest Entry” should be clearly indicated on both the outer envelope and the cover sheet. Manuscripts should be stapled, if possible; if not, please bind with a heavy clip. Manuscripts will not be returned.  Include SASE for results only. If no SASE is sent, no contest results will be sent; however, the results will be posted on Nimrod’s website.

Mail to:
Nimrod International Journal
Literary Contest–Fiction or Poetry (indicate the appropriate category)
The University of Tulsa
800 S. Tucker Dr.
Tulsa, OK 74104

Entry Fee: Each entry must be accompanied by a $20 fee.  Make checks payable to Nimrod. $20 includes both an entry fee & a one-year subscription (two issues). Writers may submit multiple entries, but each entry must include its own $20 fee.

Visit the website: https://artsandsciences.utulsa.edu/nimrod/nimrod-literary-awards/

Eaton Literary Awards (no fee)

Deadline for short stories and articles: March 31, 2022 —last call!
Deadline for book-length submissions: August 31, 2022

Eaton Literary Agency has been helping authors since 1984. Our Annual Awards Program attracts quality manuscripts that we can present to publishers on behalf of our authors. We award an annual prize of $2,500 for book-length work (10,000+ words) and $500 for short stories and articles (fewer than 10,000 words).

Entries may be fiction or nonfiction and must be unpublished. To enter, please email your submission as an attachment in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format to eatonlit@aol.com. Alternately, you may mail a printed copy of your work to Eaton Literary Agency, P.O. Box 49795, Sarasota, FL 34230.

Winners will be notified in the month after the contest deadline. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.eatonliterary.com/index.htm

Last call! The Masters Review Anthology XI Seeks Emerging Writers – Deadline: March 27, 2022

Deadline: March 27, 2022

Every year The Masters Review opens submissions to produce our anthology, a collection of ten stories and essays written by the best emerging authors. Our aim is to showcase ten writers who we believe will continue to produce great work. The ten winners are nationally distributed in a printed book with their stories and essays exposed to top agents, editors, and authors across the country. Our third volume was awarded the Silver Medal for Best Short Story Collection through the INDIEFAB Awards in 2015, and our fourth volume was an honorable mention for best anthology.

Emerging Writers Only. Writers must not have published a novel-length work at the time of submission (authors of short story collections and self-published titles can submit as can authors with novels or memoirs with a low distribution—about 5,000 copies)

• 10 winners will receive $500 each and publication
• Submit unpublished works of fiction and narrative nonfiction
• Up to 7,000 words
• $20 fee per entry
• Submit here via Submittable

Our Judge
Peter Ho Davies‘ most recent books are the novel A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself and his first work of nonfiction, The Art of Revision: The Last Word. Other books include the novels, The Fortunes, winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and The Welsh Girl, long-listed for the Booker Prize, as well as two acclaimed collections of short stories. His fiction has appeared in Harpers, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and Granta and been anthologized in Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories.

Write 30 New Poems in April 2022

From April 1, 2022 to April 30, 2022

Back by popular demand: Write 30 new poems for NaPoWriMo!

Celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) with 30 NEW prompts delivered directly to your inbox each day in April from Two Sylvias Press.

Each prompt is a small paragraph, guiding you with ideas and suggestions for a new poem. Write a poem a day or save up your prompts until the weekend and have a marathon writing session. Use these prompts according to your own schedule. Write at home or on the go—you just need access to your email. (Each prompt will be sent to you in a PDF).

CLICK HERE to learn more & sign up for our April Poetry Prompts to be sent to you!

Rattle Magazine: The Neil Postman Award for Metaphor (no fee)

Rolling deadline

Rattle is proud to announce Prairie Moon Dalton’s “Grandmother”, which appeared in issue #72, is the winner of the 2022 Neil Postman Award for Metaphor.

We established the Neil Postman Award for Metaphor in honor and remembrance of Neil Postman, who died on October 5, 2003. The intention of the award is simple and two-fold: to reward a given writer for their use of metaphor, and to celebrate (and, hopefully, propagate) Postman’s work and the typographical mind.

Each year, the editors choose one poem that was published from regular submissions to Rattle during the previous year. There are no entry fees or submission guidelines involved. The author of the chosen poem receives $2,000.

For more information and to read all fifteen previous winners, please visit the award’s webpage. To submit your own poems, choose any free submission option on our Submittable page.

“GRANDMOTHER”
by Prairie Moon Dalton

Georgia was hot and she was so small
she slept inside a dresser drawer.
Hair like gossamer, legs like a bird’s.

When she was eight a movie was eight
cents. When she was eight she watched
her brother kill her sister
with a metal license plate.

Now she is flesh folded heavy
against a chair, TV flashing
pale on the trailer’s walls.
Her pictures, pills, jewelry
surrounding her like treasure.

Last call! 2nd Annual Perkoff Prize – New Deadline: March 31, 2022

Announcing the second annual Perkoff Prize, a new contest from the Missouri Review. The re-vamped Perkoff Prize is a tri-genre contest that will award $1000 and publication each to writers of the best story, set of poems, and essay that engage in evocative ways with health and medicine as judged by the editors.

The initial concept for the Perkoff Prize was as a post-publication award (much like TMR’s Peden Prize) that recognized literary excellence in a piece that had a meaningful connection to health and medicine. The original benefactor of this prize, the late Dr. Gerald Thomas Perkoff, was Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine (learn more about his life here). His love of poetry and the possibilities in treating the vast, rich arena of human experience with health and medicine drove this desire to take note of and reward literary achievement. We started planning ways to reinvent and revitalize the prize in the late spring of 2019, with no idea what the following years would bring us. Now here we are, amidst a pandemic that has relentlessly revealed to us the precarity—and resourcefulness—of human health and the endeavors of medicine to relieve pain and suffering. It is our humble hope that the Perkoff Prize is an opportunity for the artful expression of these infinitely diverse and collectively resonant human experiences.

NEW DEADLINE:  MARCH 31, 2022

Guidelines:

• All submissions must engage with health and medicine in some way.
• All submissions must be previously unpublished.
• Poetry: up to 10 pages of poetry.
• Fiction and Nonfiction: up to 8500 words, double-spaced.
• Winners will be published in print issue of TMR.
• All entries will be considered for publication (whether in print, or as part of our Poem of the Week or Blast features).
• Multiple submissions and simultaneous submissions are welcome, but you must pay a separate fee for each entry and withdraw the piece immediately if accepted elsewhere.
• Current University of Missouri students and faculty are ineligible.
• Standard Entry fee: $15. Each entrant receives a one-year subscription to the Missouri Review in digital format (normal price $24).
• “All Access” Entry fee: $30. In addition to the one-year digital subscription to the Missouri Review, the “All Access” entry fee grants access to the last 10 years of digital issues and the audio recordings of each digital issue.

How to Submit, click on the designated links below:

• Online
• By Mail

Last Call! Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee) – Deadline: April 1, 2022

Now in its 21st year, this contest seeks today’s best humor poems. No fee to enter. Submit published or unpublished work. $3,500 in prizes.

Please submit one humor poem during

Deadline: April 1, 2022

Prizes:

• First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value)
• Second Prize: $500
• Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each
• Top 12 entries published online
• Submit online

No fee to enter. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. One poem only, please. Length limit: 250 lines maximum. No restriction on age of author. Both unpublished and previously published work accepted. Authors from all countries eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions). The poem you submit should be in English. Inspired gibberish is also accepted (example). Read the winning poems from our 20th contest.

First time entering? We prepared this brief video to guide you. See also our short entry checklist, then click the button below to submit. The results of our 21st contest will be announced on August 15, 2022.
 

WOW! Women On Writing Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest – Deadline: April 30, 2022

Deadline: April 30, 2022

Seeking creative nonfiction essays on any topic (200 – 1000 words) and in any style–from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hybrid, and more! The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives.

Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints/previously published okay; simultaneous submissions okay; reprints/previously published are okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail. Open internationally.

Limit: 300 entries.

Prizes (20 winners!):
1st Place: $500, publication, interview, and gift code good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
2nd Place: $300, publication, interview, and gift code good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
3rd Place: $200, publication, interview, and gift code good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
7 Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication, interview, and gift code good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
10 Honorable mentions receive a gift code good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store

Entry: $12 entry fee; critique option for an additional $13

Visit the website: https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#EssayContest

WOW! Women on Writing Spring 2022 Flash Fiction Contest – Deadline: May 31, 2022

Deadline: May 31, 2022

Guest Judge: Literary Agent Sharon Pelletier with DG&B Literary Agency

Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 – 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, communication, and well-rewarded recognition to contestants.

Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints/previously published okay; simultaneous submissions okay; reprints/previously published are okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail. Open internationally.

Limit: 300 entries.

Prizes (20 winners!):
1st Place: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
2nd Place: $300, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
3rd Place: $200, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
7 Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication, and interview
10 Honorable mentions receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card
Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW’s blog, The Muffin.

Entry: $10 entry fee; critique option for an additional $10

Visit the website: https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php

Last call! Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest – Deadline: March 31, 2022 – Enter Now!

Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest

If you love expressing innermost thoughts and feelings using the beautiful literary art of poetry and/or writing a story that’s worth telling everyone, then here is an excellent opportunity for you. This poetry and writing contest is open to everyone and international. This is a platform where you can showcase creative writing and poetic talent, skills, and abilities.

• Writing Contest entries may be written on a maximum of 5 pages, wither neatly handwritten or typed, single or double line spacing, on any subject or theme, fiction, nonfiction or creative nonfiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries and screenwriting).
• Poetry Contest entries may be written on any subject, theme, or form. All poems must be 30 lines or fewer and either neatly handwritten or typed, single or double line spacing.
• Multiple and simultaneous entries in both the Poetry Contest and the Writing Contest are accepted.

The following are the details of the prizes:

• The First Writing Prize is $500.00
• Second Writing Prize is: $250.00
• Third Writing Prize is: $100.00
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• The First Poetry Contest is: $250.00
• Second Poetry Prize is: $125.00
• Third Poetry Prize is: $50.00

There is a $5.00 (US dollars) entry fee per poem submitted and a $10.00 (US dollars) entry fee per short story submitted.

Kindly note that DEADLINE is MARCH 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM. Enter Now! for a chance to win cash prizes totaling $1275.00.

Please visit DreamQuest’s official rules for more details at

https://www.dreamquestone.com