THE SILLERMAN FIRST BOOK PRIZE FOR AFRICAN POETS
INFO: The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry is awarded annually to an African poet who has not yet published a collection of poetry. The winner receives USD $1000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal.
The African Poetry Book Fund Editorial Board, including Kwame Dawes, Chris Abani, Matthew Shenoda, John Keene, Gabeba Baderoon, Bernardine Evaristo, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, and Aracelis Girmay will judge.
A winner will be announced in early January, with notifications sent shortly thereafter.
The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets will only accept “first book” submissions from African writers who have not published a book-length poetry collection. This includes self-published books if they were sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or a similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible.
An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.
Only poetry submissions in English can be considered. Work translated from another language to English is accepted, but a percentage of the prize will be awarded to the translator.
No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska, are eligible for the prizes.
DEADLINE: December 1, 2019
http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/prizes/
2020 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM: POETRY
Marble House
INFO: Marble House Project is a multidisciplinary artist residency program that fosters collaboration and the exchange of ideas, by providing an environment for artists across disciplines to live and work together. The residency integrates sustainable practices, including small-scale organic food production and waste conservation. Residents sustain their growth by engaging with the grounds while working on their artistic practice. Marble House Project is founded on the belief that the act of creating, whether in the studio or in nature, is how human potential expands and community thrives.
Marble House Project accepts approximately 60 residents and is open to artists living in the United States and abroad. Residencies run from April through October, scheduled into six three-week residencies and one two-week family-friendly residency for artists with children. Each session accommodates eight artists and is specifically curated to bring together a diverse group of creative workers, to maximize potential for collaboration and dialogue while in residence and beyond.
All residents live together in the historic, eight-bedroom Manley-Lefevre house, a communal space organized around responsibilities-sharing systems which highlight sustainability and community. All residents will be paired and asked to cook for shared dinners three times over the course of their residency, Monday-Friday. A substantial amount of the food we provide comes from our organic garden, which also serves as a space for gathering and an educational tool. Residents are invited to help with planting, harvesting, and maintenance. While not required, our hope is that you will spend some time in the garden alongside your studio practice. Each session culminates with ART SEED, our public open house weekend event. Artists are invited to share their work with our community through artist talks, readings, performances, and open studios.
Marble House Project provides private bedrooms, food, private studio space, and artist support. We are not able to cover costs related to travel or materials. There is no fee to attend the residency.
Applications are accepted in all creative fields including but not limited to writing, dance and choreography, performance, music composition and sound, film and video, visual arts, and culinary arts. Applications are reviewed by a jury of alumni, staff, and outside experts, and artists are selected based on quality of work, commitment to practice, and project description. Please choose the application that best describes your work. Two artists may apply together as a collaborative, and should complete one application. Within each application you will be asked to select the session dates best for you. You may choose the family friendly residency only if you will be bringing your children. Family friendly applicants may select additional dates if willing to attend without your children.
Marble House Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.
Selection Process
Our jury is composed of Marble House Project alumni and professionals within their field. We do not post the names of our jury and jury members change annually. After artists are chosen, they are specifically curated into residency groups by staff, board and outside consultants.
Collaborators:
Two artists maximum.
If applying as a collaborative (two artists max), please complete a single application in the discipline most applicable for your shared project. Please include both artists’ resumes in your upload and an artist statement which relates to both collaborators. Work samples should reflect both artists’ work, and/or work from previous collaborations. Collaborators should be willing to share a studio and possibly a bedroom.
Selection Process
Our jury is composed of Marble House Project alumni and professionals within their field. We do not post the names of our jury and jury members change annually. After artists are chosen, they are specifically curated into residency groups by staff, board and outside consultants.
Collaborators:
Two artists maximum.
If applying as a collaborative (two artists max), please complete a single application in the discipline most applicable for your shared project. Please include both artists’ resumes in your upload and an artist statement which relates to both collaborators. Work samples should reflect both artists’ work, and/or work from previous collaborations. Collaborators should be willing to share a studio and possibly a bedroom.
Questions?
Please contact info@marblehouseproject.org if you have any questions relating to the application or residency or visit our FAQ page.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Applicant Information and Contact
1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. Email address This information will not be shared with our jury
4. Phone Number This information will not be shared with our jury
5. Mailing Address This information will not be shared with our jury
6. Artists Statement
Word count should not exceed one page or 250 words.
7. Resume or CV.
Please upload a current resume and include education history; awards, grants and fellowships received, artists' residencies attended and a list of professional achievements in your field (exhibitions, publications, performances, recordings). Please delete your address and email from this document. We want to respect the privacy of each applicant.
8. Website
If you do not have a website, do not input this information.
9. Statement of intent/project description.
What will your focus be or what do you plan to accomplish during your residency at Marble House Project? While we are aware that this may change, it is important in shaping how each residency group is curated. 300 word limit.
10. Work Samples.
You may upload up to 12 pages of writing samples. Pages must be double spaced.
11. Studio Needs
Please tell us about any special requirements you might have for your studio space. Jurors will not see this information.
12. How did you hear about Marble House and anything else we need to know.
This question refers to anything that may be relevant to your application that is not asked in other areas. Please tell us who referred you to our program or how you heard about it.. Our jury will not see this information.
13. Residency Dates
Each session hosts eight artists and is carefully curated to bring together a group of creative workers across various disciplines, who might collaborate and learn from one another. The more dates you are available, the more flexibility Marble House Project has in curating each group. Please choose carefully because if accepted, you will be placed in a residency session that has been curated with you in mind. and it is sometimes very difficult to move people around. If your dates change, please notify us prior to January 15th. If you are applying for the family friendly residency please check that box. If you are applying for family friendly but can also attend a residency without your child/children then check each time slot that you are available. You may not apply to the family friendly residency without a child. Children should be no younger than three in order to participate in our camp for artists children. If your child is younger than three, you will need to have a partner provide childcare. Jurors will not see which sessions you apply to. Residency dates for the 2020 Artist in Residency are as follows:
April 13th - May 5th
May 11th - June 2nd
June 8th - June 30th
August 3rd - August 25
August 31 - Sept 22
October 5 - 27th
July 13 - July 28 Family Friendly Residency
14. For Family Friendly Residency only.
Please answer all of the questions if you are applying to our family friendly residency session.. If you are not applying to this session, please leave the answers blank. This information remains internal and is not seen by our jurors.
15. Outreach and Statistical purposes
The questions below are for outreach and statistical purposes, and will remain confidential. Marble House Project is working hard to reach creative people in many different communities.. Although optional, we strongly encourage you to answer the questions below. Our demographic questions will help us achieve this goal in the coming years and we need your help.
Marble House Project does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.
Date of Birth
Country of Birth
How do you self-identify - This question refers to pronouns and anything else you choose to tell us about yourself.
Ethnicity Please respond in the way that most appropriately describes how you identify yourself.
Education What is the highest degree of education you have completed?
SUBMISSION FEE: $35
DEADLINE: December 9, 2019
https://marblehouseproject.submittable.com/submit
The Ada Limon Autumn Poetry Prize
New Limestone Review
INFO: Ada Limón is the author of five books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and was named one of the top 5 poetry books of the year by the Washington Post. Her fourth book Bright Dead Things was named a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She serves on the faculty of Queens University of Charlotte Low Residency M.F.A program, and the online and summer programs for the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center. She also works as a freelance writer in Lexington, Kentucky.
PRIZES:
First place winner receives $500 & publication in New Limestone Review
Second place winner receives $250 & publication in New Limestone Review
Third place winner receives publication in New Limestone Review
JUDGE:
Poems will be judged by Julia Johnson. Julia was born in New Orleans in 1971. She earned a BA from Hollins College and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Virginia, where she was a Henry Hoyns Fellow and studied under Rita Dove, Gregory Orr, and Charles Wright. She is the author of the poetry collections Subsidence (Groundhog Poetry Press, 2016), The Falling Horse (Factory Hollow Press, 2012), and Naming the Afternoon, (LSU Press, 2002), which won the Fellowship of Southern Writers George Garrett New Writing Award. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Tin House, Cincinnati Review, Poetry International, The Southern Poetry Anthology, Sentence: A Journal of Prose Poetics, Washington Square, and numerous other journals and anthologies.
DEADLINE: December 15, 2019
https://thenewlimestonereview.submittable.com/submit
2020 Cave Canem Retreat
DATES: Arrive June 7, depart June 13
NOTIFICATION: Applicants will be notified of submission status by April 3, 2020
Modifications to the retreat’s previous schedule and fee structure have been made to bring expenses into line with finite financial and human resources, and to ensure the program’s sustainability. These changes have the added benefit of reducing exhaustion for staff, fellows and faculty, and allowing staff more time to respond to fellows’ needs and ideas.
If accepted, please refer to this table and use the financial information form to calculate your fee. Please note that yellow-highlighted fields on the financial information form automatically compute dollar amounts based on the data you enter.
FACULTY: Major Jackson, Robin Coste Lewis, Evie Shockley and Frank X Walker
VISITING POET: francine j. harris
NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING FELLOWS: 40 — ten per workshop group
APPLICATION FEE: $20
ADDITIONAL FEES. Tuition is $1,050 and Room-and-Board is $590. Fellows pay $90 to $1,640 based on their household income, number of dependents, and other factors.
DEADLINE: December 20, 2019
https://cavecanem.submittable.com/submit/148931/2020-cave-canem-retreat-new-applicants
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Spoken Black Girl
INFO: Resilience. The force that comes from deep within us even at our darkest hour to pick up the pieces again and again, collect our lessons and grow in wisdom. Resilience is the theme for the second issue of Spoken Black Girl Magazine. We will be sharing stories of women who beat the odds and those who are learning how to create the kind of life they want starting with themselves. The submission period is now open. Share your story of resilience. We are accepting essays, fiction, poetry, photography and other visual art elements. Send a pitch with your story of resilience and you just might end up in our upcoming issue!
HERE'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR:
MENTAL HEALTH
SBG seeks stories that illuminate pathways toward better mental health. Mental health personal essays, features on individuals and organizations involving women of color in the mental health field, mental health perspectives on pop culture and current events as well as tips for inspired living are welcome.
REFLECTIONS
The Reflections Section seeks personal, transparent essays about identity, life experiences, growth, healing, self-love, reclaiming life, and finding inspiration.
POETRY
SBG Poetry seeks works that express the breadth of being a woman of color in this world. Topics can include mental health, self-care, body awareness, hair, beauty, race, gender, sexuality, family, spirituality, health & healing, inspiring stories and tributes, unusual experiences, etc. Poems can be narrative, experimental, prose poetry, video poems, and visual poetry as well. Surprise us with your insight, your creative vision, your skill with language. Also, we are willing to work with emerging writers to polish their pieces and get it ready for publishing.
https://www.spokenblackgirl.com/submit
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women
INFO: CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women, accepts submissions of poetry, short fiction, visual art, essays, reviews, and interviews annually. We are always open for submissions of art and book reviews.
In order to remain independent CALYX Journal has made the difficult decision to charge a submission/reading fee beginning in the fall of 2012. This fee is necessary to offset our costs and to allow us to maintain the exceptional quality of work that CALYX Journal is known for.
The writer/artist guidelines are as follows:
Prose (includes essays, flash fiction, short stories, etc.) should be double-spaced and not exceed 5,000 words. On the first page of your manuscript, please include your name, word count and whether your piece is fiction or non-fiction.
Poetry submissions are limited to 6 poems. When submitting through our online submission manager, please put all poems into the same document (.doc, .docx, .txt, .pdf).
Interviews should be double-spaced and limited to 2,500 words. Please send query to editor@calyxpress.org before submitting.
Book Reviews: Please see our full book review guidelines here.
Visual Art: Please see our full art review guidelines here.
SUBMISSION FEE: $5.00 general and $3.00 student/low income per submission. Our online submission manager will automatically direct you to our PayPal account; if you are submitting via mail please include the fee with your submission. Submissions without payment will not be considered.
DEADLINE: December 31, 2019
https://www.calyxpress.org/general-submissions/
STORYKNIFE WRITERS RETREAT
INFO: Women’s stories are vital and important. Currently, those stories whether expressed in poems, plays, novels, essays, or memoirs are not published, reviewed, or promoted as often as the work of men. Storyknife provides female-identified writers with the time and space to explore their craft without distraction. Every aspect of a residency at Storyknife is steeped in a profound generosity of spirit so that each writer knows she and her work are valuable. Storyknife residents carry away both this affirmation and a living community of women writers to assist their valuable work wherever they go.
Residencies at Storyknife in Homer, Alaska, are either for two or four weeks, based on preference of the applicant. Resident’s food and lodging is covered during the period of their residency, but travel to and from Homer, Alaska, is the responsibility of the resident. Residents stay in individual cabins & dine at the main house. An on-staff chef is responsible for food preparation.
Residencies are offered in two week and four week periods. Four week residencies begin on the 1st of each month and end on the 28th. Two week residencies begin on the 1st of each month and end on the 15th. Residencies are available April through October.
Applicants must:
Be woman-identified
Be 21 years of age or older
Apply as an individual artist, not a collaborative group or team
You will provide a work sample and answer three questions (each answer 300 words or fewer).
How have you sought to educate yourself as a writer? (Formal education not a prerequisite, but evidence of curiosity and learning in your applicable genre is.)
What is your experience with publishing your work? (Publishing is not a prerequisite but is considered a goal for writers who attend Storyknife.)
What project will you pursue while in residency? (Please note that you will be free to work on whatever writing you wish during residency. We simply are interested in what you think you’ll be pursuing.)
Work Sample Requirements:
Work samples should reflect work completed within the last two years. All work samples must be uploaded through CaFE. Written work samples will be uploaded directly within the application. You do not need to upload images for this application.
Applicants can submit published or unpublished work samples.
All work samples must be combined into one PDF file.
A writing sample not to exceed 10 pages (prose: double-spaced 12 point font, poetry: single-spaced 12 point font acceptable).
Any writing samples with identifying material will be disqualified. This is a blind jurying process.
Diversity
Storyknife is committed to diversity and elevating marginalized voices. We value all aspects of diversity and seek to make each resident’s time at Storyknife as productive and pleasant as possible.
Please contact executive director, Erin Hollowell, at ehollowell@storyknife.org to ask about accommodation or to speak further about your needs. Storyknife is welcoming to all and will work with you to meet your needs.
DEADLINE: December 31, 2019
https://storyknife.org/how-to-apply/
LA MAISON BALDWIN WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM FOR 2020-2021
INFO: Shortly before James Baldwin passed away, he told close friends in Saint-Paul de Vence that he dreamed of seeing his beloved house made into a writers' colony. This medieval village, with its uncommon light, its majestic mountaintop placement and surrounding countryside, has for centuries attracted artists, architects, alchemists and thinkers, great minds intent on changing the world. Here is where Baldwin wrote some of his most enduring books, including If Beale Street Could Talk, Just Above my Head, and his sole book of poetry, Jimmy's Blues.
Writers in residence are offered a room in the village center to pursue their current creative project. While in residence, they will contribute to the literary culture of Saint Paul de Vence by offering a community event or creative public program.
They are hosted at La Maison Baldwin Residence for Writers, a house in the historic center of St. Paul de Vence located directly across the street from the village church. The home features a 3rd-floor bedroom suite with a sunny terrace overlooking the tiled roofs of the village and the valley beyond.
Residents also stay in a charming artist cottage made available to the program through a partnership with the city of St. Paul de Vence.
Lunch every day is offered to the resident writers through partnerships with local restaurants and host families. The fellowship includes a $700 travel stipend.
Eligibility and How to Apply
This fellowship is open to emerging writers working in the spirit of James Baldwin. Eligible to apply are poets, playwrights, essayists and fiction writers with no more than one published book or staged production.
The review committee will select ten fellows for residencies of 2 to 4 weeks in fall 2020 (Sept 15 to Oct. 31) or spring 2021 (April 1 to May 15).
DEADLINE: December 31, 2019
https://www.lamaisonbaldwin.fr/st-paul-de-vence-writer-in-residenc
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
siblingrivalrypress.com/undocupoets-fellowship
The Lucy Terry Prince Prize
Mount Island
INFO: We joyfully announce the establishment of the Lucy Terry Prince Prize, a new poetry competition open to rural writers of color. The Lucy Terry Prince Prize honors the life of Lucy Terry Prince, a free, landowning Black woman in colonial Vermont who is considered the first known African-American poet in English literature. An introduction to Lucy Terry Prince’s story, as well as links to further material, are available on our website.
PRIZE: The winner of the Lucy Terry Prince Prize will receive a cash prize of $500, publication in our 2020 print anthology, and an invitation to read at and participate in a panel on race, art, and the rural in fall 2020.
We are thoroughly honored to also announce that Major Jackson will serve as the Prize’s inaugural judge.
Major Jackson is the author of five books of poetry, including The Absurd Man (2020), Roll Deep (2015), Holding Company (2010), Hoops (2006) and Leaving Saturn (2002), which won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize for a first book of poems. His edited volumes include: Best American Poetry 2019, Renga for Obama, and Library of America’s Countee Cullen: Collected Poems. A recipient of fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Major Jackson has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and has been honored by the Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress. He has published poems and essays in American Poetry Review, Callaloo, The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Paris Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, Tin House, and included in multiple volumes of Best American Poetry. Major Jackson lives in South Burlington, Vermont, where he is the Richard A. Dennis Professor of English and University Distinguished Professor at the University of Vermont. He serves as the Poetry Editor of The Harvard Review.
SUBMISSION PERIOD: December 1, 2019 – February 15, 2020