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The Best Free Literary Contests Through October 31 |
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  We found over two dozen excellent free poetry and prose contests with deadlines between September 15-October 31. In this issue, we present a special selection of poems from our past War Poetry Contest that commemorate 9/11. Please also enjoy an excerpt from "Waiting" by Raymond Carver, illustrated by Julian Peters.  Last Call! TOM HOWARD/MARGARET REID POETRY CONTEST Deadline September 30. We will award the Tom Howard Prize of $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre, and the Margaret Reid Prize of $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each (any style). The top 12 entries will be published online. The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value). Length limit: 250 lines per poem. Entry fee: $15 per submission of 1-2 poems. Final judge: S. Mei Sheng Frazier, assisted by Vernon Keeve III. Our contests are recommended by Reedsy. Submit online or enter by mail. View past newsletters in our archives. Need assistance? Let us help. Join our 135,000 followers on Twitter and find us on Facebook. Advertise with us, starting at $40. Recent Honors and Publication Credits for Our Subscribers Congratulations to Alan W. King, Jennifer L. Gauthier (featured poem: "Naked (for the women of Salem)", Elizabeth Kirschner, Joan Gelfand, Gloria Mindock, Victoria Leigh Bennett (featured poem: "A Life"), Mary K. O'Melveny (featured poem: "The Fifth Dimension"), Gary Beck, Annie Dawid, Jonna Laster, Neil Perry Gordon, Sue Gerrard (featured poem: "Halloween"), Ndaba Sibanda, Kelli Russell Agodon, and Duane L. Herrmann. Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's poem "All Cakes Are Bastards" will be included in the 2021 Northampton Arts Council Biennial exhibit at Forbes Library in Northampton, MA, which will run through the month of October. The launch reading will take place on Saturday, October 9, at 3:00 pm. Check the library website for details. The poem first appeared in Solstice Lit Mag. Learn about our subscribers' achievements and see links to samples of their work. Have news? Please email it to jendi@winningwriters.com. Ad: A Revision Master Class Taught by National Book Award Finalist Elana K. Arnold  "Elana K. Arnold is one of the finest writers I've had the pleasure of working with—and it's no coincidence that she's also one of the finest revisers. The skill, perspective, and fearlessness that she brings to the task of digging into her own work and emerging with something stronger, more exciting, and more unexpected would be an asset to any writer, seasoned or developing." —Jordan Brown, Executive Editor, HarperCollins Children's Books Revision Season is a virtual master class in novel revision led by award-winning author Elana K. Arnold. Each week includes a video lecture followed by a series of assignments designed to help you put the lessons into practice. A weekly live call (recorded if you need to listen later) gives writers the opportunity to ask specific questions. And a private, moderated forum provides a space for Revision Season writers to connect with and learn from each other. By the end of Revision Season, writers will have the tools they need to deepen, enrich, and grow their current manuscript into its next incarnation. Enrollment is open NOW. Week Zero begins October 10th. Learn more. Ad: A Hotel Room of One's Own: The Erma Bombeck | Anna Lefler Humorist-in-Residence Program | LAST CALL!  Deadline: September 28 Fee: $25 What humor writer wouldn't want to attend the wildly popular Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop and spend two all-expenses-paid weeks at a hotel? Free room service. A housekeeping staff. An omelette bar. A TV remote of your own. The sun rising over the Great Miami River (aka, the Dayton Riviera). And, most importantly, a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Applications for A Hotel Room of One's Own: The Erma Bombeck | Anna Lefler Humorist-in-Residence Program will be accepted through September 28. Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, and Mike Reiss, writer for The Simpsons for three decades, will choose the two grand prize winners. Preference will be given to emerging humor writers. The package is worth approximately $5,000, but the experience is priceless. Cash prizes for finalists and honorable mentions. Read the announcement and FAQs. Then apply here for what Forbes says "may be the best writer's residency in the country." Ad: Call for Indie Book Entries - Early Bird Special – 80+ Categories  EARLY BIRD SPECIAL - Enter online by September 30 and receive a $60 discount on the entry of a second category. The Early Bird Special Entry Fee is only $75 and includes the entry of one title in two categories. On October 1, the price to enter two categories increases by $60. Entries are now being accepted for the 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the most exciting and rewarding book awards program open to independent publishers and authors worldwide who have a book written in English and released in 2020, 2021 or 2022 or with a 2020, 2021 or 2022 copyright date. The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group. With 80+ categories to choose from, enter by February 11, 2022 to take advantage of this exciting opportunity to have your book considered for cash prizes, awards, exposure, possible representation by a leading literary agent, and recognition as one of the top independently published books of the year! Ad: LAST CALL! Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest  Sponsored by Winning Writers TOM HOWARD PRIZE: $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre MARGARET REID PRIZE: $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value) Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $200 each (any style) Submit published or unpublished work. Top 12 entries published online. Judged by S. Mei Sheng Frazier, assisted by Vernon Keeve III. Recommended by Reedsy as one of The Best Writing Contests of 2021. Submit 1-2 poems for one $15 entry fee. Enter via Submittable by September 30 Ad: The Missouri Review's 31st Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize  Deadline: October 1 $5,000 Fiction | $5,000 Nonfiction | $5,000 Poetry Winners receive a cash prize, publication, promotion, and an invitation to a reception and reading in their honor. Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction up to 8,500 words or up to 10 pages of poems. Enter online or by mail. All entries considered for publication. Regular entry fee: $25. All-Access entry fee: $30. Winners will be announced in early 2022. Each entrant receives a one-year subscription to the Missouri Review in digital format (normal price $24) and a digital copy of the fifth title in our imprint, TMR Books, Private Lives, a new anthology of stories that first appeared in TMR (normal price $7.95). Read a prizewinning story by Melissa Yancy, an essay by Peter Selgin, and a selection from poetry winners Katie Bickham, Kai Carlson-Wee, and Alexandra Teague. Hear from past entrants what it's like to win here, here, and here. Questions? Email contest_question@moreview.com. Ad: Eyelands Book Awards  Deadline: October 20 Eyelands.gr literary magazine in collaboration with Strange Days Books presents the international Eyelands Book Awards for published and unpublished books. Grand prize (published books): Five-day holiday in Athens plus a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards and publication (excerpts) online on our website. The ceremony will take place in Athens in May 2022. Alternative prize (in case of travel restrictions): online ceremony & translation of the prize-winning book into Greek. Grand prize (unpublished books): Translation into Greek and publication from Strange Days Books Ten more prizes, one for each category of every section, also win a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards and a book from Strange Days Books! Certification document for every prize. Eligible submissions include poetry, novellas, short story collections, novels, children's books, historical fiction/memoir, and graphic novels. Multiple submissions allowed. Entry fee: $30 (27 euros) Finalists for every category will be announced on November 20, with the final results announced on December 30, 2021. Judges: P.H.C. Marchesi (children's books/graphic novels), Gail Sidonie Šobat (poetry), Andriana Minou (U-18 prize–short stories), Gregory Papadoyiannis (novels–historical fiction/memoir) Learn more. Ad: 2021 CONTESTS AT CUTTHROAT • Joy Harjo Poetry Prize • Barry Lopez Nonfiction Prize • Rick DeMarinis Short Story Prize  Reading Period: August 31-November 1 $1,500 First Prize, $300 Second Prize, Honorable Mention JUDGES PATRICIA JABBEH WESLEY, POETRY JENN GIVHAN, SHORT STORY J. DREW LANHAM, NONFICTION GUIDELINES: Please go to our website and submit poems and stories through our online submission manager on the Submissions Page. Submit up to 3 poems (100 line limit/one poem per page) or one short story or one creative nonfiction piece (5,000 word limit/double spaced) in 12-point font. NO AUTHOR NAME ALLOWED ON ANY MS. There is a $23 nonrefundable entry fee per submission. UNPUBLISHED WORK ONLY! No work that has already won a prize is eligible. No former CUTTHROAT prize-winning author may enter the contest he or she has previously won. Enter as often as you wish. Multiple submissions okay, but we must be informed immediately of acceptances elsewhere. Finalists considered for publication. Winners published in CUTTHROAT and announced on our website, in POETS & WRITERS, and WINNING WRITERS. No relatives of or staff members of CUTTHROAT nor close friends, relatives, or students of judges are eligible to enter our contests. See our website for more information. WE RECOMMEND YOU READ A COPY OF CUTTHROAT BEFORE ENTERING OUR CONTESTS. CUTTHROAT CONGRATULATES THE WINNERS OF THE 2020 LITERARY CONTESTS: "The Way Things Are Going in Liberty, Utah" by Sunni Wilkinson of Ogden, Utah Joy Harjo Poetry Prize "Speak to Me of Love" by Linda Lucero of San Francisco, California Rick DeMarinis Short Story Prize "Legally Speaking, Rats Aren't Even Animals" by Timothy DeLizza of Baltimore, Maryland Barry Lopez Nonfiction Prize Ad: 2022 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing  Entries must be received by January 31, 2022 Submissions are now being accepted for the 10th William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Two prizes of $5,000 each are given for works of fiction and nonfiction. The awards, co-sponsored by Stanford Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, are intended to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan legacy of originality, vitality, and stylistic innovation. Submit five copies of your work published between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, with a $50 entry fee by January 31, 2022. Writers who have published four or more books are ineligible. Visit the Saroyan Prize website for complete eligibility and submission details. Congratulations to our 2020 Fiction Winner Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenya for Friday Black, and our 2020 Nonfiction Winner Jennifer Croft for Homesick. View our complete list of 2020 winners and finalists. Ad: WRITERTHREADS: Providing writing tips since 2019  Writerthreads is an interactive platform by writers for writers, with daily posts covering writing tips, memes and prompts. With over 30,000 followers, our aim is for every writer to be the best they can be. Follow us on Twitter at @writerthreads for daily writing tips, prompts, and memes that are easily accessible for all aspiring writers—over 600 tweets to date! You'll also find us on Discord, Wattpad, Tumblr, and Instagram. Ad: An Incomplete List of My Wishes: Stories by Jendi Reiter  Winner of the 2017 Sunshot Book Prize for Fiction, Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's debut story collection explores the fraught relationships among queer and straight family members, the search for a post-traumatic spirituality, and the fine line between soulmates and intimate enemies. Victoria Leigh Bennett, author of Poems from the Northeast (Olympia Publishers), says of this story collection: "The sympathetic characters in this book are those who have said 'Yes' to themselves, sometimes at great or even life-changing, life-risking costs. The book overall promotes courage as a feature of human life, as an answer even when the question is dire and unfair." Learn more and read "Memories of the Snow Queen", a story from the book. Buy the book at Sunshot Press. Spotlight Contests (no fee) Some contests are best suited to writers at the early stages of their careers. Others are better for writers with numerous prizes and publications to their credit. Here is this month's selection of Spotlight Contests for your consideration: Emerging Writers Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers. For this deadline, submit essays in the Travel Nonfiction category (1,000-10,000 words) to win up to $200 and online publication. Sponsored by The Preservation Foundation, a Tennessee-based nonprofit with the goal of preserving the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. Due October 31. Intermediate Writers Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. The African Poetry Book Fund at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will award $1,000 for the best full-length collection of poetry published in the previous calendar year by an African national, African resident, or poet of African birth or African parentage. Translations are eligible; self-published books are not. Publishers are invited to submit an entry form and 4 copies of each nominated title. Due October 31. Advanced Writers PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Books of fiction (novels, novellas, and short story collections) by US permanent residents published in the current year can win $15,000. Four runners-up will receive $5,000 each. Recent winners have been well-established writers such as Philip Roth, Sherman Alexie, and John Updike. Due October 31. See more Spotlight Contests for emerging, intermediate, and advanced writers within The Best Free Literary Contests database.  Special Section: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks Winning Writers honors the memory of those who died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We also mourn the casualties of America's subsequent wars in Middle East, and the victims of our expanded national security apparatus at Guantanamo and elsewhere in the world. In the wake of this national tragedy, Winning Writers, founded the week before, launched the War Poetry Contest to encourage more nuanced and humane reflections about armed conflict. Arts and culture play a crucial role—for good or ill—in a society's choice between scapegoating or reconciliation. The War Poetry Contest ran from 2002-2011. We've selected a few poems relevant to the 9/11 anniversary. Browse our archives to access all the winning entries. "IN MANHATTAN, AFTER" by Raphael Dagold, 2002 Finalist "THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF FOUR HANDS DESCENDING" by Stacey Fruits, 2003 Honorable Mention "SUMMER RAIN" and "TWO LIGHTS" by Atar Hadari, 2003 Honorable Mention "DOCUMENTARY, AFGHANISTAN" by Charlotte Mandel, 2003 Finalist "GULF WAR NEWS SIGN-OFF, WITH VIDEO TRICKS" by Robert Hill Long, 2004 First Prize "MINUTES, ABU GHRAIB PRISON, OCTOBER 18, 2003" by Remica L. Bingham, 2005 Honorable Mention "9-11 NAMPIT" by Lynn Shoemaker, 2006 Finalist "ELEGY FOR A SOLDIER WHO RETURNED WITHOUT A VOICE FROM THE WAR IN IRAQ" by J. Scott Brownlee, 2011 Finalist Calls for Submissions Winning Writers finds open submission calls and free contests in a variety of sources, including Erika Dreifus' Practicing Writer newsletter, FundsforWriters, Trish Hopkinson's blog, Erica Verrillo's blog, Authors Publish, Lambda Literary, Lit Mag News Roundup, Poets & Writers, The Writer, Duotrope, Submittable, and literary journals' own newsletters and announcements. • Cool. Awkward. Black. (speculative short fiction by Black authors for young adults - September 15) • Reckoning Journal (poetry, speculative fiction, personal essays on environmental justice - September 22) • The Last Line (stories ending with "Welcome to the family" - October 1) • Rattle: "Librarians" Issue (poetry by past and current librarians - October 15) • Nimrod International Journal: "What Now?" Issue (creative writing on "the future we make" - November 1) • Aesthetic Press (commercial, upmarket novels and novellas by BIPOC authors - January 1) • The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of the Famous and Infamous (narrative journalism about celebrities involved in crime - January 1) PSA: Immigrants and Proficiency in English  The US has—by far—the world's largest immigrant population, holding about one-in-five of the world's immigrants. Among immigrants ages 5 and older in 2018, only half (53%) are proficient English speakers. This severely limits their access to jobs, college, and citizenship, and increases their vulnerability to living in poverty. Pew Research estimates that between 2015 and 2065, immigrants and their descendants are projected to increase the US population by 103 million people. ProLiteracy is a leader in advancing literacy in the US and worldwide. Learn more. Highlights from our Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest Archives This month, editor Jendi Reiter presents some of our favorite poems from our Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. There are many more in our Contest Archives.  "ISLAND MATINEE" by Jacqueline Cooke Third Prize 2005 Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse "HAIKU SELECTIONS" by Jeanie Mercer Most Highly Commended 2009 Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse "BUS RIDE" by Jeff Walt Honorable Mention 2013 Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest "CELESTIAL BODIES" by Rata Gordon Honorable Mention 2017 Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest "THE BARRIO" by Wes Civilz Honorable Mention 2018 Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest (Traditional Verse category) An excerpt from "Waiting" by Raymond Carver, illustrated by Julian Peters We are proud to present Julian Peters' illustrated excerpt from "Waiting" by Raymond Carver. You can find more such adaptations in Poems to See By by Mr. Peters.   The Last Word  September Links Roundup: Learning from DemonsThe stereotype of the unemotional autistic person is harmful and inaccurate. Some of us simply don't express emotion in expected ways, while others are more intensely emotional and have to withdraw periodically for that very reason. For the latter group, the arts can be a great refuge. Read more Jendi Reiter is the editor of Winning Writers. Follow Jendi on Twitter at @JendiReiter.  © 2001-2021 Winning Writers. All rights reserved except for fair use. Winning Writers 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222 Northampton, MA 01060-3998 View past newsletters and subscribe free.   Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest You've got 22 more days to enter our Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. We'll award $3,000 to the best poem in any style and $3,000 to the best poem that rhymes or has a traditional style. The top 12 poems will be published online, and the top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value). Submit here.  Vernon Keeve III will assist final judge S. Mei Sheng Frazier $15 entry fee for each submission of 1-2 poems. Submissions may be published or unpublished. Most countries eligible. This contest is sponsored by Winning Writers and recommended by Reedsy.  Prefer to Enter by Mail? Send your entry and fee to: Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060-3998, USA. Checks must be drawn on US banks in US funds, payable to Winning Writers. US currency is also acceptable. Postmark your entry by September 30. Questions? See past winners and more contest information on our website.       Share  Tweet  Forward © 2001-2021 Winning Writers. All rights reserved except for fair use. Winning Writers 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222 Northampton, MA 01060-3998        Sponsored by Winning Writers   FINAL MONTH Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest The deadline to enter this year's Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest is September 30. We will award the Tom Howard Prize of $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre and the Margaret Reid Prize of $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style. This contest is recommended by Reedsy. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each (any style). The top 12 entries will be published online. The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope. Submit published or unpublished work online via Submittable. Most countries eligible. Length limit per poem: 250 lines. Read the past winning entries. Advice from our judge, S. Mei Sheng Frazier: Being intimately familiar with the vast poetic terrain, a skilled traditional poet can adeptly navigate meter and structure—guiding readers unwaveringly toward the destination—in a singularly modern way. Thoughtful inclusion of today's events, perspectives, vernacular or themes can render even the strictest villanelle contemporary. And a slight, strategic bending of the rules can make a sonnet feel utterly fresh. Shakespeare took occasional liberties. Poet, so can you. The fee is just $15 for every two poems you submit. Click to submit online below or, to enter by mail, please send your poems and $15 entry fee to Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060-3998. You may include multiple entries in the same envelope. Checks must be drawn on US banks, payable to Winning Writers. US money orders and currency are also welcome. Please postmark your entry by September 30. SUBMIT ONLINE HERE  © 2001-2021 Winning Writers. All rights reserved except for fair use. Winning Writers 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222 Northampton, MA 01060-3998  Announcing the winners of our Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest Announcing the winners of our Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest |        We found over two dozen excellent free poetry and prose contests with deadlines between August 15-September 30. In this issue, please enjoy "Not Waving But Drowning" by Stevie Smith, illustrated by Julian Peters.  WERGLE FLOMP HUMOR POETRY CONTEST WINNERSCongratulations to Koss, winner of our 2021 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. "My Therapist Sez" earned her $2,000 and a two-year gift certificate from Duotrope. We awarded runner-up Marcus Bales $500 for "Corvid Nineteen". J. Clark Hubbard won a special Third Prize of $250 for "God!". Honorable mentions and $100 went to Christiana Crabill, Matthew DeGroat, Jonathan Delp, Robert Garnham, Valarie Hastings, Matthew Kemp, Denise Shelton, Sarah Totton, Mike Voltz, Mike Walker, and Cameron Winship. 5,688 contestants entered from around the world (in a socially distanced way). Read all the winning entries with comments from the final judge Jendi Reiter. And let's hear it for assistant judge Lauren Singer, who read all 5,000+ poems. The administration of this contest was also helped out by Annie Mydla. Our 2022 contest is now open for entries. We will again award top prizes of $2,000 and $500. Our co-sponsor Duotrope will give the winner a two-year gift certificate (a $100 value) to go with their $2,000 prize. As always, this contest has no fee. Deadline Next Month TOM HOWARD/MARGARET REID POETRY CONTEST 19th year. We will award $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre and $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each (any style). The top 12 entries will be published online. The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value). Length limit: 250 lines per poem. Entry fee: $15 for two poems. Multiple entries welcome. Final judge: S. Mei Sheng Frazier, assisted by Vernon Keeve III. Deadline: September 30. Submit online here. View past newsletters in our archives. Need assistance? Let us help. Join our 135,000 followers on Twitter and find us on Facebook. Advertise with us, starting at $40. Featured Sponsor AppSumo Brings You the Best Digital Tools for Authors–at a Discount!   The pen may be mightier than the sword, but modern writers need even more powerful tools in their arsenal. With that in mind, AppSumo, a digital marketplace helping businesses grow and empowering entrepreneurs, has built a collection of discounted tools just for you wordsmiths, scribes, and storytellers. Get the best deals on tools like ProWritingAid, Rytr, and WordHero. "If you are a freelance worker, like me, what are you waiting for? Go to this site right now and buy all the offers you find! I'm not kidding, AppSumo is a ray of sunshine for every freelance worker who can't pay the subscription to all these services."—Matteo L.  Check out all of the tools at AppSumo. Recent Honors and Publication Credits for Our Subscribers Congratulations to Ellaraine Lockie, S. Erin Batiste, Dean Gessie, Cathy Miller, Joan Leotta, Cris Mulvey (featured poem: "Two Medicine Lake"), Lilianne Milgrom, Carey Link (featured poem: "Sezer Raises His Open Hands"), Trent Busch, Jacquie May Miller, William Luvaas, David Olsen (featured poem: "Route 66 Blues"), John Shore, William Huhn, Judy Juanita, Terri Kirby Erickson, and R.T. Castleberry. Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's poem "All Cakes Are Bastards" was one of five finalists in the poetry category of the 2021 Solstice Lit Mag Writing Contest, judged by Tim Seibles, and you can read it here. The most recent deadline for this $500 prize was May 25. Winning Writers contest judge Denne Michele Norris was interviewed in Publishers Weekly about her new job as Editor-in-Chief of Electric Literature. Denne will be the first Black and openly transgender editor-in-chief of a major US literary publication. She envisions the notable online journal as "a home for writers and stories that are pushing the cultural conversation forward, as opposed to reacting and responding to it." Learn about our subscribers' achievements and see links to samples of their work. Have news? Please email it to jendi@winningwriters.com. Ad: Submit Your Book Manuscript at Atmosphere Press  So far in 2021 Atmosphere authors have sold thousands of books across five continents, received starred or featured reviews with Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and have even appeared on a giant billboard in Times Square. Atmosphere has had books with 1,000+ first-month sales in four different genres, and their Author Connect program unites their authors with each other like no other press. And they're just getting started. Atmosphere Press currently seeks great manuscripts, and they'll be the publisher you've always wanted: attentive, organized, on schedule, and professional. They use a model in which the author funds the initial publication of the book, but retains 100% rights, royalties, and artistic autonomy. From an exceptional editorial team through book design and into promotion, partnering with Atmosphere is the way to do your book right. So, send your manuscript their way. Submissions are free and open to everyone and in all genres. Ad: Two New Contests from Oprelle Deadline: September 1  What the Haiku! Poetry Contest $5 per entry For just a moment, let's stop taking ourselves so seriously and write a non-traditional haiku! Not to disrespect the form, but to use the nuances of specific syllables (5 – 7 – 5) to express anything out-of-the-box or outrageous! From venting your annoyance, to tossing your best pick-up lines, to musings on space travel. There were no barriers! Just fun with language! Wherever your creativity takes you! We are looking for originality and relevance to current life. "What the Haiku!" Poetry...just for the fun of it!  "Bigger Than Me" Poetry Contest $15 per entry Go deep for this one. So often we read poetry that touches us on the deepest of levels. We are reminded of the amazing power within our souls, and the energy of everything. We are particularly looking for poems that seem to attribute happenings to some force that is bigger than ourselves. 1-20 lines. "The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." —Aristotle Oprelle's "Bigger Than Me" Contest is looking for your musings on any topic, such as: A strong coincidence A clear sign A calling A love story A unique connection A path you must take Road rising to meet you Divine reciprocity Power of our thoughts Strength of a soul A string of events The connection of all Ad: Terrain.org Contest in Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction: $1,000 Prize in Each Genre  More than $3,500 in prizes, with a $1,000 grand prize in each genre and $100 to the finalists for Terrain.org's 12th Annual Contest in Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction. DEADLINE AND GUIDELINES We accept contest submissions (via Submittable) through Labor Day, September 6, 2021, for publication in February 2022. $20 entry fee per set of 3-5 poems (or a single long poem), story, essay or article. All submissions are considered for publication. Terrain.org's editors will read all entries, passing the top entries in each genre to the judges, who will choose the first-place winners. Decisions of the judges are final. Judges and editors do not know the identity of the contestants. JUDGES Poetry: Ellen Bass Ellen Bass is the award-winning author of Indigo, Like a Beggar, The Human Line, Mules of Love, and others. A Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, she founded poetry workshops at Salinas Valley State Prison and the Santa Cruz, California jails, and teaches in the MFA writing program at Pacific University. Nonfiction: Aimee Nezhukumatathil Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s newest book is a collection of illustrated nature essays, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments. She is also the author of four books of poetry, most recently, Oceanic. She is a professor of English and creative writing in the University of Mississippi's MFA program. Fiction: Maurice Carlos Ruffin Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You and We Cast a Shadow, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the PEN America Open Book Prize. For additional information, please visit our website. Submit Now! Ad: A Hotel Room of One's Own: The Erma Bombeck | Anna Lefler Humorist-in-Residence Program  Deadline: September 28 Fee: $25 What humor writer wouldn't want to attend the wildly popular Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop and spend two all-expenses-paid weeks at a hotel? Free room service. A housekeeping staff. An omelette bar. A TV remote of your own. The sun rising over the Great Miami River (aka, the Dayton Riviera). And, most importantly, a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Applications for A Hotel Room of One's Own: The Erma Bombeck | Anna Lefler Humorist-in-Residence Program will be accepted during September 7-28. Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, and Mike Reiss, writer for The Simpsons for three decades, will choose the two grand prize winners. Preference will be given to emerging humor writers. The package is worth approximately $5,000, but the experience is priceless. Cash prizes for finalists and honorable mentions. Read the announcement and FAQs. Then apply here (starting on September 7) for what Forbes says "may be the best writer's residency in the country." Ad: Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest  Sponsored by Winning Writers TOM HOWARD PRIZE: $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre MARGARET REID PRIZE: $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value) Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $200 each (any style) Submit published or unpublished work. Top 12 entries published online. Judged by S. Mei Sheng Frazier, assisted by Vernon Keeve III. Recommended by Reedsy as one of The Best Writing Contests of 2021. Submit 1-2 poems for one $15 entry fee. Enter via Submittable by September 30 Ad: The Vivian Shipley Poetry Award  Ad: The Missouri Review's 31st Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize Deadline: October 1 $5,000 Fiction | $5,000 Nonfiction | $5,000 Poetry Winners receive a cash prize, publication, promotion, and an invitation to a reception and reading in their honor. Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction up to 8,500 words or up to 10 pages of poems. Enter online or by mail. All entries considered for publication. Regular entry fee: $25. All-Access entry fee: $30. Winners will be announced in early 2022. Each entrant receives a one-year subscription to the Missouri Review in digital format (normal price $24) and a digital copy of the fifth title in our imprint, TMR Books, Private Lives, a new anthology of stories that first appeared in TMR (normal price $7.95). Read a prizewinning story by Melissa Yancy, an essay by Peter Selgin, and a selection from poetry winners Katie Bickham, Kai Carlson-Wee, and Alexandra Teague. Hear from past entrants what it's like to win here, here, and here. Questions? Email contest_question@moreview.com. Ad: 2021 Joy Harjo Poetry Prize, Barry Lopez Nonfiction Prize, and Rick DeMarinis Short Story Prize Reading Period: August 31-November 1 $1,500 First Prize, $300 Second Prize, Honorable Mention JUDGES PATRICIA JABBEH WESLEY, POETRY JENN GIVHAN, SHORT STORY J. DREW LANHAM, NONFICTION GUIDELINES: Starting on August 31, go to our website and submit poems and stories through our online submission manager on the Submissions Page. Submit up to 3 poems (100 line limit/one poem per page) or one short story or one creative nonfiction piece (5,000 word limit/double spaced) in 12-point font. NO AUTHOR NAME ALLOWED ON ANY MS. There is a $23 nonrefundable entry fee per submission. UNPUBLISHED WORK ONLY! No work that has already won a prize is eligible. No former CUTTHROAT prize-winning author may enter the contest he or she has previously won. Enter as often as you wish. Multiple submissions okay, but we must be informed immediately of acceptances elsewhere. Finalists considered for publication. Winners published in CUTTHROAT and announced on our website, in POETS & WRITERS, and WINNING WRITERS. No relatives of or staff members of CUTTHROAT nor close friends, relatives, or students of judges are eligible to enter our contests. See our website for more information. WE RECOMMEND YOU READ A COPY OF CUTTHROAT BEFORE ENTERING OUR CONTESTS. CUTTHROAT CONGRATULATES THE WINNERS OF THE 2020 LITERARY CONTESTS: "The Way Things Are Going in Liberty, Utah" by Sunni Wilkinson of Ogden, Utah Joy Harjo Poetry Prize "Speak to Me of Love" by Linda Lucero of San Francisco, California Rick DeMarinis Short Story Prize "Legally Speaking, Rats Aren't Even Animals" by Timothy DeLizza of Baltimore, Maryland Barry Lopez Nonfiction Prize Ad: Measureless Silence, poems by Cris Mulvey  Cris Mulvey, the grand prize winner of our most recent North Street Book Prize, is publishing a second chapbook of her poetry this November with Finishing Line Press. She writes, "It is called Measureless Silence and brings together a collection of my poems about the Wild and the West." Proceeds from the sale of the book will be offered to the Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance, which works to protect and steward the lands, water, and wildlife of the Badger-Two Medicine, Glacier National Park, and surrounding areas of Montana. "There is a music in these poems that works magic with the particularity of the images to create a whole body experience out of which willows, swans and bison rise as if from within our own being, untamed and untameable. In Measureless Silence, Christine Mulvey has composed a symphony of words that sings the wonder and devastation that is our world. Each poem is a summons, whether through the 'wrap of forest' or the harsh light of 'glitz and bling', to discover ourselves as the wild itself: pristine, ravaged, and innocent as snow, as wings, as wind." —Kim Rosen, author of Saved by a Poem: the Transformative Power of Words Now is a great time to pre-order Measureless Silence for delivery in November. It is $14.99 plus $2.99 for shipping. Please enjoy these sample poems: TWO MEDICINE LAKE Walking onto the frozen lake beneath these chiseled mountains, snow puff-powdering the purple air, ravens rustling by carrying light like a drink in the curve of their backs, the ragged cry of their cackling deepening the thrum of silence: I am a pine seed stuttering onto a stainless platter, the air around me the color of bluebirds' feathers twirling into an ocean of sky. FIR RIDGE Come with me out to where the soft round shapes of the fallen snow lie draped across the bushes like the thighs and hips of a sleeping god curled up on the open bedspread of the land. Here willow twigs stand frozen, furred by hoar and under the diamond glint of the bowl of night the river, black as molten pitch, whispers underneath its skin of ice. In the silence, only an occasional flumpf of snow falling from bare boughs, tinkling the air, or the mournful honking of the swans calling from the lake the whole night through. Here tell me the story of your lonesomeness, your unheard prayers! And I will show you how, underneath that ridge inked like a koan across this boundless white, a solitary bison ploughs his head in big slow sweeps from side to side knowing that six feet down there must be grass. Spotlight Contests (no fee) Some contests are best suited to writers at the early stages of their careers. Others are better for writers with numerous prizes and publications to their credit. Here is this month's selection of Spotlight Contests for your consideration: Emerging Writers Perito Prize. This international contest awards 500 pounds and anthology publication for a short story, 1,000-2,000 words, on the theme of accessibility, inclusion, and inclusive design. Due September 30. Intermediate Writers Eric Gregory Awards. The Society of Authors will award prizes totaling 20,000 pounds for a collection of up to 30 poems, drama-poems, or belles-lettres, maximum 50 pages total, by a writer who will be under age 30 as of the deadline date. The author must be a British national or a resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for at least three years. Previously published work accepted. Due October 31. Advanced Writers Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship. The Amy Lowell Trust will award a fellowship of about $62,500 for US poets to fund a year of travel outside North America. Entrants must be US citizens by virtue of birth in the US, or birth outside the US to an American citizen parent who was born in the US. Due October 15. See more Spotlight Contests for emerging, intermediate, and advanced writers within The Best Free Literary Contests database.  Calls for Submissions Winning Writers finds open submission calls and free contests in a variety of sources, including Erika Dreifus' Practicing Writer newsletter, FundsforWriters, Trish Hopkinson's blog, Erica Verrillo's blog, Authors Publish, Lambda Literary, Lit Mag News Roundup, Poets & Writers, The Writer, Duotrope, Submittable, and literary journals' own newsletters and announcements. • Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature (poetry, prose, art, video pertaining to disability experiences and cultures - August 15) • Carte Blanche: Disability Issue (poetry, fiction, comics, photography by disabled creators - August 21) • Flowers & Vortexes (poetry - August 30) • Guernica: "Dirt" Issue (poetry, fiction, essays, and artwork on the politics of hygiene - September 1) • Neon Door (poetry, prose, art, comics, video on "Emotional Nudity" - September 1) • The Best New True Crime Stories: Unsolved Crimes and Mysteries (narrative journalism about cold cases - September 1) • Rattle: "Librarians" Issue (poetry by authors with current or former library careers - October 15) • Aesthetic Press (commercial fiction by writers of color - January 1) • The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of the Famous and Infamous (narrative journalism about celebrities involved in crimes - January 1) PSA: Literacy Facts  Incarcerated individuals who participate in correctional education programs are 43% less likely to recidivate than individuals who do not. Learn more about why adult education matters. Award-Winning Poetry  BOX OF SOUND W/ SOME FUNK IN IT by Dennis Hinrichsen Winner of the 2020 Off the Grid Poetry Prize Entries must be received by August 31 This $1,000 award from Grid Books accepts full-length poetry manuscripts by authors aged 60+. Hinrichsen's collection This Is Where I Live I Have Nowhere Else to Go was the most recent winner. This flowing poem pays tribute to "hitman of funk" James Brown with stream-of-consciousness syncopation and smoothness. THANKS A LOT, SHAKESPEARE, FOR THE STARLING by Jonathan Greenhause Winner of the 2020 Fischer Poetry Prize Entries must be received by August 31 The Telluride Institute gives prizes up to $1,000, online publication, and a public reading (online this year) for a single poem. Previously published work is eligible. Greenhause's wry poem looks at what happens when our symbolic projections onto nature collide with the complex reality of the ecosystem. GIRL'S GUIDE TO LEAVING and other poems by Laura Villareal Winner of the 2020 Coniston Prize Entries must be received by September 1 Radar Poetry gives $2,000 and publication for a cohesive group of 3-5 poems by a woman writer (trans-inclusive). In this poem, Villareal invokes a ghostly Mexican legend to express the thrill and taboo of being "the first girl in your family/to never stop moving". Subsequent poems follow the speaker's struggle with being queer and brown in Texas, and the ways that dangerous relationships can feel like home. NIGHT OF THE LIVING and TAXONOMY by Susan Leslie Moore Winner of the 2019 Juniper Prize for Poetry Entries must be received by September 30 This long-running award series from the University of Massachusetts Press gives two prizes of $1,000 and publication, one for a debut collection and the other for a subsequent collection. Moore's book That Place Where You Opened Your Hands won the 2019 debut prize. In these pensive poems, she examines the schema we impose on our surroundings, sometimes whimsical, other times limiting: "A horse behind a fence is progress, but only if you're not the horse." "Not Waving But Drowning" by Stevie Smith, illustrated by Julian Peters We are proud to present Julian Peters' illustrated version of Stevie Smith's "Not Waving But Drowning". You can find more such adaptations in Poems to See By by Mr. Peters.     The Last Word Witch Kitsch Should I mourn Salem's executed witches as my spiritual ancestors? It's hard to say, because there's no good evidence that they considered themselves witches (tortured confessions don't count). Even if some of them did practice folk magic in secret—practices like hexing or fertility charms having always coexisted alongside official Christianity—the 17th-century witches' values and cosmology were likely more similar to the Puritans' than to my Temple of Witchcraft class's Buddhist-inflected, queer-friendly worldview. Magic is a technology that doesn't necessarily create common ground among its practitioners. Read more Jendi Reiter is the editor of Winning Writers. Follow Jendi on Twitter at @JendiReiter.  © 2001-2021 Winning Writers. All rights reserved except for fair use. Winning Writers 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222 Northampton, MA 01060-3998 |
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