CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: POETRY
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
INFO: Every Tuesday, the Margins publishes the work of emerging and established Asian American poets. We accept submissions for our Poetry Tuesday feature. Please allow at least five weeks for a response.
We’re looking for:
Poetry that challenges/subverts convention (in both poetry and society)
Poetry that is not afraid to be humorous, dirty, and obscene
Poetry that explores history
Poetry that responds to current events and issues
Translations of poetry (given the submitter explains that he/she/they has/have acquired the rights to publish them, along with the originals)
DEADLINE: Ongoing
https://aaww.submittable.com/submit/44797/poetry
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: LUCILLE CLIFTON TRIBUTE
Mentor & Muse
INFO: In celebration of Lucille Clifton, Mentor & Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets wishes to compile an issue of craft-centric essays that honor Clifton’s work. We seek essays that explore Clifton’s poetic choices—her voice, diction, figurative language, allusions, music, subject, aesthetic, risks, and so on—and explore how her poetry has influenced your own poems and/or subsequent generations’ poems.
We envision—and are open to!—different approaches to the Clifton tribute. For example, one approach is to consider how one of her poems helped you better understand a specific poetic principle. Another approach is to interview someone who apprenticed with Clifton’s poetry, whose own poetic knowledge and inspiration arose from studying Clifton’s language and lines. Another approach is to consider what you learned from workshopping with Clifton, or how you introduce Clifton’s work to your own students. (Surprise us. We are excited to love—and learn from—Clifton further!)
Furthermore, we encourage potential contributors to begin where they are most compelled, with the Clifton poems that act as touchstones, poems that contributors return to again and again for inspiration, solace, and guidance. Please note that while we do not have a formal structure in mind, we seek essays that are more personal and creative than academic; essays that reveal the insights that we, as poets, gain from reading and studying Lucille Clifton; and essays that are geared toward poets who already possess an understanding of basic poetic elements, poets who wish to further their poetic knowledge.
And, because we believe that writers not only learn by reading and enjoying the work of other writers, but also through the application of what we learn, we encourage essayists to include a writing prompt that relates to their Clifton-inspired discussions and considerations.
For a better understanding of the Mentor & Muse project, please browse our featured and archived essays and interviews. Our first five issues contain essays from Jericho Brown, Patricia Clark, Laurie Clements Lambeth, Jennifer Franklin, A. Van Jordan, Claire Kageyama-Ramakrishnan, David Keplinger, Alexandra Lytton Regalado, Sandy Solomon, Adrienne Su, and others, as well as interviews with Sean Hill, Matthew Olzmann, Shara McCallum, and Sarah Rose Nordgren.
To submit to the Clifton tribute, please email the editors. As we cannot cover reprinting costs, please select poems that are within the public domain or poems that can already be accessed online. While we occasionally print longer work, we suggest essays range from 750 to 2,500 words. Please query us with your questions about subject, style, or mode (mentorandmuse.poets@gmail.com).
DEADLINE: November 1, 2019
WALT WHITMAN AWARD
Academy of American Poets
INFO: The Walt Whitman Award is a $5,000 first-book publication prize. The winning manuscript, chosen by an acclaimed poet, is published by Graywolf Press, a leading independent publisher committed to the discovery and energetic publication of contemporary American and international literature. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in the Umbrian region of Italy, and distribution of the winning book to thousands of Academy of American Poets members.
The award was established in 1975 to encourage the work of emerging poets and to enable the publication of a poet’s first book. It is made possible by financial support from the members of the Academy of American Poets.
DEADLINE: November 1, 2019
poets.org/academy-american-poets/prizes/walt-whitman-award
2020 Sonia Sanchez-Langston Hughes Poetry Contest
Split This Rock
Themes: Submissions should be in the spirit of Split This Rock's work: socially engaged poems, poems that reach beyond the self to connect with the larger community or world; poems of provocation and witness. This theme can be interpreted broadly and may include but is not limited to work addressing politics, economics, government, war, leadership, issues of identity (gender, sexuality, race, indigeneity, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic class, body image, immigration, heritage, etc.), community, civic engagement, education, activism, and poems about history or cultural icons.
We welcome poetry on a wide range of social justice themes and in a wide range of poetic styles.
Ethics: Split This Rock subscribes to the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses Contest Code of Ethics. Read it online at our website.
SUBMISSION FEE: $20, all proceeds support Split This Rock Poetry Festival 2020.
PRIZES: First place $500; 2nd and 3rd place, $250 each. Winning poems will be published at Split This Rock's website within The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database. All prize winners will receive free registration to Split This Rock Poetry Festival 2020 and are eligible to apply for need-based travel scholarships. The 1st place recipient will be invited to read the winning poem on the main stage at the festival. All submitted poems may also receive consideration for Split This Rock’s Poem of the Week Series.
DEADLINE: November 1, 2019
THE 2020 ALICE JAMES AWARD
Alice James Books
INFO: Alice James Books will be accepting submissions of poetry manuscripts to the Alice James Award (formerly the Beatrice Hawley Award) postmarked through November 1, 2019. The Alice James Award welcomes submissions from emerging as well as established poets. Entrants must reside in the United States.
The winner receives $2000, book publication, promotion, and distribution through Consortium. In addition to the winning manuscript, one or more additional manuscripts may be chosen for publication as the Editor’s Choice.
Guidelines for Manuscript Submission:
Screening for the Alice James Award is blind. Because of this, no contact information is allowed within your manuscript, including within the filename, if electronically submitted. Electronic submissions will have contact information collected via Submittable, which is hidden from our screeners. Hardcopy submissions must include a separate title page, which lists the title of your manuscript and contact information (name, address, e-mail address, and phone number).
Do not include any preambles, bios, or acknowledgements within your submitted manuscript.
Manuscripts must have a table of contents.
No illustrations, photographs or images should be included.
Manuscripts must be typed in a no less than 12 point font, paginated, and 50 – 100 pages in length (single spaced). We accept double sided manuscripts.
Individual poems from the manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, anthologies, or chapbooks of less than 25 pages, but the collection, as a whole, must be unpublished.
Translations and self-published books are not eligible.
No multi-authored collections, please.
MANUSCRIPTS CANNOT BE RETURNED. Please do not send us your only copy.
If hardcopy: send one copy of your manuscript submission with two copies of the title page (one title page that includes just the title of your manuscript, the second which includes the title and your contact information [your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and an optional biographical note]). Use only binder clips. No staples, folders, or printer-bound copies.
For notification of winners, include a business-sized SASE.
If you wish acknowledgment of the receipt of your manuscript, include a stamped addressed postcard. Winners will be announced in February 2020.
Entry fee for the Alice James Award is $30 for online and hardcopy submissions. Checks or money orders for hardcopy submissions should be made payable to Alice James Books.
Manuscripts may be submitted online or by regular mail. Mail hard copy entries to: Alice James Books, Alice James Award, 114 Prescott Street, Farmington, ME 04938.
SUBMISSION FEE: $30
DEADLINE: November 4, 2019
https://alicejames.submittable.com/submit/138667/the-2020-alice-james-award
FAMILY RESIDENCY
SPACE on Ryder Farm
INFO: Now in its sixth year, SPACE on Ryder Farm’s Family Residency, founded in association with The Lilly Awards Foundation (spearheaded by Julia Jordan, Marsha Norman and Pia Scala-Zankel), provides a weeklong residency on the farm for working parents and their children.
The Family Residency offers an artist-parent with structured time to create, while their child(ren) participate in nature-focused arts programming under the guidance and expertise of professional theatre educators. All family residents (parents and children) enjoy three communal farm-fresh meals daily. The residency culminates in short, informal sharings of the work accomplished by both parents and children while in residence at SPACE.
SPACE welcomes applications from artist-parents with children who will be 3 to 12 years old at the time of the residency.
If both adults in a two parent/guardian household want to apply for a residency--regardless of whether they are working on the same or distinct projects--both parents/guardians must submit separate applications. Please know that while SPACE has hosted two-parent/guardian households previously, it is possible that only one adult will be accepted. Please refrain from applying if this is a deterrent.
The Family Residency is offered during these two weeks:
July 20th-25th, 2020 (for children 6-12 years old)
August 10th-15th, 2020 (for children 3-5 years old)
If your availability and your child’s age does not correspond to the designated week, we ask that you check back for our 2021 application, which will be posted in Fall 2020. If you would like for more than one child to join you at SPACE but the children fall into two different age categories, please contact residencies@spaceonryderfarm.org to discuss your options.
Family Residencies are fully-subsidized. Residents may need to cover their travel to and from the farm. If you are traveling from New York City, a round-trip off-peak Metro North ticket from Grand Central Terminal to Brewster Terminal is $30.00. Transportation between the Brewster Terminal and farm is provided by the SPACE team. As of 2018, those selected for the Family Residency are able to apply to a travel fund to help offset their travel costs. The allocation of funds is based on a resident’s geographical location and financial circumstances.
Before applying, please review the guidelines below as well as the FAQ page. If you have questions about applying to SPACE, please contact us at residencies@spaceonryderfarm.org.
Semi-finalists will be notified by late December 2019. Finalists will be interviewed in February and March 2020. Final decisions will be made by early April 2020.
DEADLINE: November 6, 2019
https://www.spaceonryderfarm.org/family-residency
Open Call for the "I've Got Love on My Mind: Black Women on Love" Online Issue
Barrelhouse
INFO: We've all heard the saying, "Trust Black women." But for Barrelhouse's special online issue, guest-edited by Tyrese Coleman, we are saying instead "Love Black women." We are saying, "Black women love." We are saying, "Read Black women!"
The theme is "I've Got Love on My Mind." We are looking for poetry, fiction and nonfiction that interprets this theme in any way that speaks to a Black woman's experience or interpretation of love—love for others, the spectrum of how and who we love and why, self-love, romantic love, familial love, a void of love, loving what others do not, loving your culture, your country, not feeling the love. We want work that isn't afraid to be avant-garde, irreverent, snarky, experimental, profane, moving, against expectations, or
all of the above.
SUBMISSION SPECIFICATIONS:
All submissions should be from Black women.
As race and gender are social constructs, the definition of a "Black Woman" for this issue is defined as someone who identifies as a woman and/or has a femme point of view, and who is a descendant of the African diaspora, has spent most of their life within a country that is or has been colonized, and, due to the power structure of white supremacy, self-identifies and is seen by others as Black or of African descent.
Basically, you know who you are.
Also, basically, don't try to Rachel Dolezal us. We will look you up.
WHAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR:
This is an issue about love, not sex. Sex can be a part of your pieces but we are not interested in erotica. The sex should be important to the narrative or poem. We are also not interested in pieces focused heavily on motherhood: being a mother or having a mother. We all love our mamas but Black women are more than mothers.
Length:
Prose between 500 and 3,000 words. This can be 1 piece or 3 flash pieces that add up to no more than 3,000 words together.
Poetry: up to 5 poems
Comics: send us some stuff we'll figure it out. We definitely want to see it!
Simultaneous submissions: are welcome.
Current Barrelhouse submissions in other categories: Since Barrelhouse is currently open for several categories, if you have current work under evaluation, you are still eligible to submit different work to this special online issue.
PAYMENT: We are offering $50 for each contributor.
DEADLINE: November 8, 2019
THE TEST SITE POETRY PRIZE
Interim: Poetry and Poetics
INFO: Interim: Poetry and Poetics is delighted to announce its second consecutive poetry book prize. The winning manuscript will be published by The University of Nevada Press as part of the Test Site Series.
Interim editor and poet Claudia Keelan will serve as the series editor. The winning book will be chosen by the series editor and advisory board, which includes poets Sherwin Bitsui, Donald Revell, Sasha Steensen and Ronaldo Wilson.
We're looking for manuscripts that engage the perilous conditions of life in the 21st century, as they pertain to issues of social justice and the earth. The winning book will demonstrate an ethos that considers the human condition in inclusive love and sympathy, while offering the same in consideration of the earth. Because we believe the truth is always experimental, we'll especially appreciate books with innovative approaches.
Along with Witness and The Believer, Interim is affiliated with Black Mountain Institute and housed in the Department of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Established by the late Wilber Stevens in 1944, Interim is one of the longest running "little" literary magazines in the country.
SUBMISSION FEE: $25
DEADLINE: November 15, 2019
https://www.interimpoetics.org/test-site-poetry-series
Airlie Single Poem Prize
Arlie Press
INFO: Do you have a poem about social responsibility? “Social responsibility” encompasses ethics, morals, and values held by an individual that drives them to act for the benefit of our shared world. For the inaugural themed single poem prize, Airlie Press wants to see up to four of your original poems addressing your interpretation of social responsibility in today’s world.
SUBMISSION FEE: $20
PRIZE:
· First place prize for a single poem: $500 and publication on the Airlie Press website
· Second and third place poems: Publication on the Airlie Press website
DEADLINE: November 15, 2019
30 Below Contest—2019
Narrative Magazine
INFO: NARRATIVE invites all writers, poets, visual artists, photographers, performers, and filmmakers between eighteen and thirty years old to send us their best work. We’re looking for the traditional and the innovative, the true and the imaginary. We’re looking to encourage and promote the best young authors and artists working today.
Awards:
First Prize is $1,500
Second Prize is $750, Third Prize is $300
Ten finalists will receive $100 each
We accept submissions in the following media:
Written: Works of prose and of poetry, including short stories, all poetic forms, novel excerpts, essays, memoirs, and excerpts from book-length nonfiction. Prose submissions must not exceed 15,000 words. Each poetry submission may contain up to five poems. The poems should all be contained in a single file. All submissions should be double-spaced (excluding poetry, which should be single-spaced), with 12-point type, at least one-inch margins, and sequentially numbered pages. Please provide your name, address, telephone number, and email address at the top of the first page. Submit your document as a .doc, .docx, .pdf, or .rtf file. You may enter as many times as you wish, but we encourage you to be selective and to send your best work. All entries will be considered for publication.
Drawn: Graphic-novel excerpts and comics of no more than thirty pages, in .pdf format. Please include your full name in the file name.
Photographed: Photo essays of between five and twenty images, previously unpublished (including on sites like Flickr, your personal website, stock photography sites, etc.). Images should be submitted in a low-resolution .pdf or .jpg format; however, upon acceptance, images will need to be provided that have a resolution of at least 300 dpi, in a .tif, .jpg, or raw format that can be reproduced at 2,048 pixels wide. Captions or text should be included, either with the file containing the images or as a separate document in a .doc or .pdf format, with numbered captions corresponding to the similarly numbered photographs. Please provide your name, address, telephone number, and email address on the first page of the essay.
Spoken: Original works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in audio theater, including performance, radio journalism, and stories and poems read aloud. Submissions may run up to ten minutes, in .mp3 format, with a bit rate of at least 128 kbit/s. Please include your full name in the file name.
Filmed: Short films and documentaries of up to fifteen minutes. Submissions must be in .mp4 or .mov format. Please include your full name in the file name.
Judging: The contest will be judged by the editors of the magazine. Winners and finalists will be announced to the public by January 10, 2020. All writers who enter will be notified by email of the judges’ decisions, which will be final. The judges reserve the option to declare ties and to designate and award only as many winners and/or finalists as are appropriate to the quality of contest entries and of work represented in the magazine.
Entries must be previously unpublished, though we do accept works that have appeared in college publications. Entries cannot have been the winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest. We accept online entries only. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but if your entry is accepted elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible (and accept our congratulations!).
ENTRY FEE: There is a $25 fee for each entry. And with your entry, you’ll receive three months of complimentary access to Narrative Backstage.
DEADLINE: November 17, 2019, at midnight, PST
Magazine Submissions
Latino Book Review
INFO: Latino Book Review is proud to announce the call for submissions for our print magazine 2020 issue. Our latest issue is set to be published in January 2020 and will include some of the best work by Latino writers and artists in the U.S. and around the world. This issue will include an interview with the world-renowned author Isabel Allende.
We are currently seeking to publish original work by authors and artists in the following areas:
Poetry (3 poems)
Fiction (Around 2000 words)
Nonfiction (Around 2000 words)
Visual arts (6 piece portfolio)
Essays (Related to culture, literature or arts - Around 2000 words)
Research (Related to culture, literature or arts - 2000-3000 words)
Works can be submitted to info@latinobookreview.com with an email titled "magazine submission". Written works should be attached in a Word document along with a 100 word bio and a high resolution image of the author or visual artist. Visual works of art can be attached in a high resolution PDF or JPEG format.
There is no monetary compensation for publications nor submission fees.
DEADLINE: November 30, 2019
latinobookreview.com/latino-book-review-magazine-8203call-for-submissions--latino-book-review.html
Brunel International African Poetry Prize
INFO: The Brunel International African Poetry Prize is open to African poets, (defined as those who were born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African) who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published. Self-published poetry books, chapbooks and pamphlets are exempt from this stipulation.
Only poems written in English are accepted. Poems translated into English are also accepted with a percentage of the prize going to the translator.
Each entrant must submit 10 poems to be eligible, no more and no less. There is no stipulation as to the content of submitted poems but no poem should exceed 30 lines in length. The poems may have been previously published or won previous awards.
DEADLINE: November 30, 2019
http://www.africanpoetryprize.org/rules
2020 UNDOCUPOETS FELLOWSHIP
Sibling Rivalry Press Foundation
INFO: The Sibling Rivalry Press Foundation is proud to host the Undocupoets Fellowship, sponsored by Amazon Literary Partnership. The mission of Undocupoets is to promote the work of undocumented poets and raise consciousness about the structural barriers that they face in the literary community. We believe in supporting all poets, regardless of immigration status.
Overview: The Undocupoets Fellowship annually grants TWO $500 fellowships, with no strings attached, to poets who are currently or who were formerly undocumented in the United States to help defray the cost of poetry-related submission fees.
Submission Process: Please submit up to 10 pages of poetry, with no more than one poem per page, per individual. In addition, please include a cover letter with a bio and brief description of your current work or manuscript-in-progress.
At least one of the two fellowships awarded will be given to LGBTQ undocumented or previously undocumented poets per an agreement with Sibling Rivalry Press. Please indicate on your bio if you identify as LGBTQ.
While no single fellowship recipient will receive more than $500 on any given year, fellowships can be awarded to the same individual for multiple years.
DEADLINE: January 15, 2020