START A RIOT! CHAPBOOK PRIZE
Foglifter
INFO: In response to rapid gentrification and displacement of QTBIPOC+ literary artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in celebration of these communities’ revolutionary history, Foglifter Press, Radar Productions, and Still Here San Francisco are pleased to announce Start a Riot! - a chapbook series for local emerging queer and trans Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of color.
AWARD: Each year, the prize will honor one author with:
chapbook publication
a $1,000 prize
promotion
a spot on the Sister Spit Tour
ELIGIBILITY:
Submitter is a QTBIPOC+ literary artist
Submitter is a current resident of the larger San Francisco Bay Area
Submitter does not have a previous full-length publication in their submission genre
MANUSCRIPT DETAILS:
Open to all genres, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, hybrid, graphic novels
25 pages (maximum)
IMPORTANT DATES:
Deadline: November 1, 2020
Results Announced: Spring 2021
Chapbook Release: Fall 2021
https://foglifterjournal.com/submit-to-start-a-riot/
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2021 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 2nd, 2020. The Alice James Award welcomes submissions from emerging as well as established poets. Entrants must reside in the United States.
AWARD: 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:
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 2021.
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. Online submissions are open until 11:59 PM EST on 11/2.
Checklist for entry:
One (1) copy of manuscript enclosed (NO CONTACT INFORMATION WITHIN MANUSCRIPT).
Electronic: Title page that lists only the title of your manuscript (NO CONTACT INFORMATION)
Hardcopy: Two (2) copies of title page (one page that shows only the title, the second which shows the title and your contact information)
$30 entry fee
ENTRY FEE: $30 for online and hardcopy submissions. Checks or money orders for hardcopy submissions should be made payable to Alice James Books.
DEADLINE: November 2, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST
https://alicejames.submittable.com/submit/161533/the-2021-alice-james-award
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JACK STRAW WRITERS PROGRAM
Jack Straw Cultural Center
INFO: Jack Straw Cultural Center is now accepting applications for the 25th year of the Jack Straw Writers Program. To date, the program has included more than 275 writers from the Pacific Northwest and beyond who represent a diverse range of literary genres. Each year, an invited curator selects 12 participants.
The purpose of the Jack Straw Writers Program is to introduce writers to the medium of recorded audio; to develop their presentation skills for both live and recorded readings; to encourage the creation of new literary work; to present the writers and their work in live readings, in an anthology, on the web, and on the radio; and to build community among writers. Participating writers are presented in live readings, in the printed Jack Straw Writers Anthology; and on the web and radio. Each year an invited curator selects the participating writers from a large pool of applicants based foremost on artistic excellence. Among past curators are program co-founder Rebecca Brown, Anastacia- Renée, Donna Miscolta, Matt Briggs, Stephanie Kallos, Shawn Wong, and Jourdan Imani Keith. Writers receive training in vocal presentation, performance, and microphone technique to prepare them for public readings, interviews, and studio recording. Their recorded readings and interviews with the curator are then used to produce programs for SoundPages, our literary podcast, and for selected radio broadcast.
The Writers Program requires participants to be on-site at Jack Straw Cultural Center for a number of activities, such as an introductory orientation, workshops for microphone/voice technique and live performance, in-studio interview session with the program curator, and live readings. (See Covid-19 advisory for more on this.) Most of these activities take place between January and June. Additional Writers Program readings will take place around the community throughout the year, including a final reading with all of the writers in November. Work appearing in the Jack Straw Writers Anthology may not be previously published material, and any subsequent publication of this work must acknowledge the Jack Straw Writers Program.
The 2021 Writers Program Curator is E. J. Koh. E. J., a 2016 Jack Straw Writers Program fellow, is the author of the memoir The Magical Language of Others (Tin House Books, 2020) and poetry collection A Lesser Love (Louisiana State University Press, 2017), winner of the Pleiades Editors Prize for Poetry. Her poems, translations, and stories have appeared in Academy of American Poets, Boston Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, PEN America, Slate, and World Literature Today. Koh is the recipient of The Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing from Prairie Schooner and has received fellowships from the American Literary Translators Association, Kundiman, MacDowell Colony, Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and Vermont Studio Center. She is the editor for Pleiades: Poetry by Korean American Women and has appeared in anthologies: Bettering American Poetry Vol. 3, Privacy Policy: The Anthology of Surveillance Poetics, Political Punch: Contemporary Poems on Politics of Identity, and The World I Leave You: Asian American Poets on Faith and Spirit. Koh earned her MFA at Columbia University in New York for Creative Writing and Literary Translation. She is completing her PhD at the University of Washington in English Language and Literature.
Selection Process
Writers Program applications are evaluated and awarded by an invited curator. The curators change each year. All applicants will be notified of the results in writing. Please allow at least eight weeks after deadline dates for the review and notification process to be completed. The first Writers Program mandatory meeting will take place in January 2021.
Selection Criteria
The Writers Program receives more than a hundred applicants, from which 12 writers are selected. Curator selections will be based upon the excellence of the work represented in the support materials provided by the applicant.
Covid-19 Advisory
We will almost certainly need to adapt the 2021 Writers Program to fit the safety requirements of the current situation, as we have been doing for the 2020 Writers. Some elements – such as workshops, readings, and meetings – will be moved online, and some will be adjusted to minimize the number of people sharing space.
It is impossible to know exactly what the situation will look like in January, when this program is set to begin, so we are requesting your patience, flexibility, and adaptability in advance. Know that we will do whatever we can to help you get the most out of this program and find community with your cohort and curator.
DEADLINE: November 3, 2020
https://jackstraw.submittable.com/submit/90532/jack-straw-writers-program
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: AWAKE
Lucky Jefferson
INFO: Lucky Jefferson's digital zine Awake seeks to amplify the experiences and perspectives of Black writers in American society.
The second issue of our digital zine will explore Black culture through cuisine. Send us your most savory and decadent poems, essays, flash fiction, and art on foods that inspired your identity and exude blackness.
Upon acceptance, submissions will be included on our website and publicized on social media.
Writers looking to be published in upcoming print issues should plan to submit their work to the appropriate form during open calls.
When submitting:
- Send no more than three poems in a submission. Poems should be separated by titles or page breaks.
- If sharing an essay, include an essay with no more than 1500 words.
- Send no more than three pieces of art. Artwork that offers social commentary on the Black experience is highly preferred (We love comics and collage pieces!).
- Include a cover page highlighting your name, email address, current address, and bio (third-person, 50 words max).
We do not accept translations or work that has been previously published in print or online.
DEADLINE: November 6, 2020
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THE OCM BOCAS PRIZE FOR CARIBBEAN LITERATURE 2021
INFO: The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature is an annual award for literary books by Caribbean writers, first presented in 2011. Books are judged in three categories: poetry; fiction — both novels and collections of short stories; and literary non-fiction — including books of essays, biography and autobiography, history, current affairs, travel, and other genres, which demonstrate literary qualities and use literary techniques, regardless of subject matter. (Note: textbooks, technical books, coffee-table books, specialist publications and reference works are not eligible.)
There will be a panel of three judges for each category, who will determine category shortlists and winners.
The three category winners will then be judged by a panel of four judges — consisting of the chairs of the category panels and the prize chair — who will determine the overall winner.
AWARD: The author of the book judged overall winner will receive an award of US$10,000. The other category winners will receive US$3,000.
To be eligible for entry for the 2021 prize, a book must:
Have been first published in the calendar year 2020 (1 January to 31 December);
Have been written by a single author who either holds Caribbean citizenship or was born in the Caribbean (this must be verified by the publisher), regardless of current place of residence;
Have been written by an author who is living on 31 December, 2020;
Have been written and first published in English originally (i.e. translations are not eligible);
Be a new work, previously unpublished in book form (though collections including poems, stories, essays, or other short pieces that have individually appeared in print in periodicals or anthologies are eligible).
The OCM Bocas Prize is requesting both digital and print copies of each entry for 2021: a PDF file of the book must be uploaded with the entry form below, and five copies of the book must be mailed via reliable courier to The Bocas Lit Fest.
DEADLINE: November 9, 2020
https://www.bocaslitfest.com/2021/awards/ocm-bocas-prize-entry/
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QUEERIBBEAN STORIES: THE HOLIDAYS
Rebel Women Lit
INFO: The December holiday period can be a period of extremes for many queer folks, especially here in the Caribbean where we pair every season with rituals around food, outfits, and of course family gatherings.
It can be particularly difficult for LGBTQ+ folk who may not be able to bring their full selves home, or who may have been rejected by their biological family for attempting to do just that.
It can also be season can be a source of immense joy for queer people who have been accepted and loved by their biological family, or decide to spend time with their chosen family.
We want to hear your Queeribbean Christmas/December Holiday stories. This includes fiction, non-fiction, essays, poetry and visual art.
We want it all. Happy, sad, angry, reflective, comedic. If your holidays feel like a Hallmark rom-com, a retelling of the Grinch or something as sad as burnt-up fruit cake tell us! Let's write, share, and archive our own stories.
DEADLINE: November 15, 2020
https://www.rebelwomenlit.com/queeribbean
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The Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry
Philadephia Stories
INFO: The Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry annual national poetry prize features a first place of $1,000 cash award. Three runners up will each receive a $250 cash award. The winning and runner up poems are published in the Spring issue with these poems and honorable mentions appearing online. The Crimmins Prize celebrates risk, innovation, and emotional engagement. We especially encourage poets from underrepresented groups and backgrounds to send their work.
About Airea D. Matthews: Airea D. Matthews is the author of Simulacra, winner of the 2016 Yale Series of Younger Poets. Her work has appeared in Night Heron Barks, Callaloo, Best American Poets, Harvard Review, American Poet, Los Angeles Review of Books, Tin House, and elsewhere. A past recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and the Louis Untermeyer Scholarship from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, she is an assistant professor at Bryn Mawr College.
About Sandy Crimmins: Sandy Crimmins’s poem “Spring” appeared in the first issue of Philadelphia Stories and she performed at our launch party. She served on the Philadelphia Stories board from 2005 to 2007. Since Philadelphia Stories magazine premiered in 2004, Sandy’s voice and vision have fundamentally shaped Philadelphia Stories. Sandy was a poet who performed with musicians, dancers, and fire-eaters, and one of her proudest accomplishments was celebrating the work of her vibrant poetry community. The Sandy Crimmins Prize for Poetry is made possible by the generous support of her family.
Contest Submission Guidelines
We will only consider work previously unpublished in print or online (including personal websites, blogs, or any other self published media).
Simultaneous submissions are also accepted; however, we must be notified immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Poets currently residing in the United States are eligible.
Submissions will be accepted via the website. If you have any trouble uploading to the site, please email christine@philadelphiastories.org.
We will accept up to five pages of poetry. You may submit one 5-page poem, five 1-page poems, or any other combination within the five-page restriction.
All submissions should use a 12 pt font and standard typeface (not Comic Sans or Impact, etc.). Author’s name should appear on each page (this will be removed for the screening process).
READING FEE: $15 for every submissions. [All entrants will receive a copy of the Philadelphia Stories Spring 2021 Contest issue. Submission fees are not refundable.]
DEADLINE: November 15, 2020
https://philadelphiastories.org/poetry-contest/
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Perugia Press Prize
INFO: THE WINNER OF THE PERUGIA PRESS PRIZE RECEIVES:
Book publication and a $1,000 prize
Ten author copies and an ongoing discount of 50% off of the cover price for additional copies
Time to work with the editor to create a book she loves with input into book editing, design & promotion
Mentoring from the Perugia Poet Liaison during the publication and promotion of her book
Review copies and entry copies to a range of post-publication contests, provided and sent by the Press
Some book launch events planned by the Press, with a partial travel stipend and reading honorariums provided
Ongoing publicity support through our website, newsletter, and social media
Exposure through Press attendance at local and national book fairs to promote the work of Perugia poets
ELIGIBILITY
Poets must be women, which is inclusive of transgender women and female-identified individuals. Because gender inequity still occurs in publishing, it is part of our explicit feminist mission to support and promote women’s voices in print.
Perugia Press seeks to highlight marginalized and underrepresented voices in our publications, and to that end we encourage submissions written by poets of all abilities, ages, and sexual orientations, and from across all cultural, socio-economic, ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds.
Poets must have no more than one previously published full-length book. You are still eligible if you have published a poetry chapbook/s or books in other genres. You are still eligible if you have published more than one full-length poetry collection in a language other than English.
Perugia Press welcomes diversity of expression in content, form, and language. We are open to considering hybrid manuscripts, including those incorporating visuals or created in collaboration.
Individual poems may have been published previously in magazines, journals, anthologies, and chapbooks, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
Translations of the work of others and previously self-published books are not eligible.
Submissions from poets living outside the U.S. are not eligible, though international submissions from poets based in the U.S. but away during our contest period are fine. As a small press, we are not able to support the promotion of our books on a global scale.
Poets may not be a close friend or colleague of the editor/director as she facilitates the contest and takes part in the final decision about the winning manuscript.
Simultaneous submissions are fine. Notify Perugia Press through Submittable if accepted elsewhere.
DEADLINE: November 15, 2020
https://perugiapress.submittable.com/submit
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Academy of American Poets First Book Award
INFO: The Academy of American Poets First Book 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, distribution of the winning book to thousands of Academy of American Poets members, and promotion in American Poets magazine.
The 2021 judge is Claudia Rankine.
This 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 currently made possible by financial support from the members of the Academy of American Poets. From 1975 - 2020, the award was titled in tribute to Walt Whitman. Please see a list of Walt Whitman Award winners below.
DEADLINE: November 16, 2020
https://poets.org/academy-american-poets/prizes/first-book-award
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LITERATURE GRANT
Café Royal Cultural Foundation
INFO: Café Royal Cultural Foundation NYC will award a publishing grant to authors of fiction / creative non-fiction, poetry and playwriting.
GRANT: Up to $10,000.00
ELIGIBILITY: Authors in fiction / creative non-fiction, poetry and playwriting. The applicant must be the originator of the written material.
Grants awarded in this category may fund costs associated with continuing the composition of work submitted.
Writers applying must be a current resident of New York City and have lived there for a minimum of one year prior to applying.
The processing time of application can take up to three months. Please make sure to submit your application with ample time before the start date of your project.
Application Requirements:
Up to and no more than a 30 page PDF of the work, for the Café Royal Cultural Foundation executive committee to download and read.
A letter of intent from the publisher with a date of planned publication, if no publisher is assigned, Café Royal Cultural Foundation may work with writer to help find a publisher.
A short description of the project.
A short author biography of the person(s) involved.
List of costs that the grant money be used for - must not exceed the amount of $10,000.00
Click on the apply button below to download the application. Once completed, please e-mail application to publishinggrant@caferoyalculturalfoundation.org.
We accept applications all year round. Applications will only be received by e-mail. The processing time of application can take up to three months. Please make sure to submit your application with ample time before the start date of your project and please refrain from inquiries in the meantime.
DEADLINE: November 16, 2020 at 9am
https://caferoyalculturalfoundation.org/literature-page
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33rd Lambda Literary Awards
INFO: Lambda Literary Award submissions are judged principally on literary merit and content relevant to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer lives. Specific guidelines must be met for each award category.
A book may be submitted to only one category. Because of this, it is very important that you read through these guidelines carefully to ensure that your book is eligible for consideration and that you are submitting it to the proper category.
New This Year
Due to COVID-19, we have implemented an entirely digital submission process using Submittable. Please do not send physical copies of your books.
Given the significant increase in the volume of LGBTQ books for younger readers, we have split the LGBTQ Children’s/YA category into two categories: LGBTQ Children’s/Middle Grade and LGBTQ Young Adult.
We have expanded the mystery category to include bi, trans, and queer books by creating a single LGBTQ Mystery category as opposed to separate lesbian and gay mystery categories.
General Eligibility
Lambda Literary Award submissions are judged principally on literary merit and content relevant to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer lives.
Submitted books must be published between January 1 and December 31, 2020. The book must also be distributed (i.e., available in bookstores or online) in the United States during 2020. (See the LGBTQ Drama criteria for exceptions regarding plays.)
Lambda Literary Awards are open to all authors regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity except in the case of the special awards that mark specific stages of an individual LGBTQ writer’s career.
Books must be published in English. Translations from other languages are eligible.
Self-published books are eligible.
Books available only in ebook format are not eligible.
First print editions of books previously published online or in ebook format are eligible.
Reprints of books that were published in the US in previous years are not eligible. This includes second (or later) editions, books that have been republished by a different publisher, and books that are modified versions of previously published works.
First US editions of books published outside the US before 2020 are eligible if the original edition was not submitted for Lammy consideration in a previous year.
Specific Categories
A book may be submitted to only one category. If a category receives fewer than ten (10) submissions, the category will not be active in this awards cycle. The submitted books may then be reassigned to another category, if appropriate. If the book cannot compete in another category, the submission fee will be refunded.
I - LESBIAN & GAY CATEGORIES
Books eligible for lesbian categories feature a prominent lesbian character or contain content of strong significance to lesbian lives.
Books eligible for gay categories feature a prominent gay male character or contain content of strong significance to gay male lives.
Lesbian Fiction or Gay Fiction: Literary fiction that does not fit more precisely into a specific genre category such as Erotica, Romance, Speculative Fiction, or Mystery. Novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author are eligible; anthologies are not.
Lesbian Memoir/Biography or Gay Memoir/Biography: Biographies, memoirs, autobiographies, and works of creative nonfiction by or about lesbians and gay men or with content of strong significance to gay and lesbian lives. Posthumously published works and/or those with co-authors are eligible; anthologies are not.
Lesbian Poetry or Gay Poetry : Single volumes and collected poems are eligible; chapbooks are not. Updated editions of previously published works are not eligible unless at least 50% of the poetry (not the supplemental text) is new.
Lesbian Romance or Gay Romance: Novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author that focus on a central love relationship between two or more characters are eligible; anthologies are not. Category includes a broad range of subgenres including traditional, historical, gothic, Regency, and paranormal romance.
II - BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER CATEGORIES
These categories are non-gender-specific works containing material of strong significance to members of the bi and trans communities.
Bisexual Fiction or Transgender Fiction: Novels, novellas, short story collections, and anthologies with prominent bi/trans characters and/or content of strong significance to the bi/trans communities. May include historical novels, comics, cross-genre works of fiction, humor, and other styles of fiction.
Bisexual Nonfiction or Transgender Nonfiction: Nonfiction works with content of strong significance to members of the bi/trans communities. Includes a wide range of subjects for the general or academic reader (e.g., history, memoirs, cultural studies, public policy, law, politics, community organizations, humor, spirituality, gender studies, parenting, religion, spirituality, relationships, psychology, travel).
Bisexual Poetry or Transgender Poetry: Single volumes and collected poems are eligible; chapbooks are not. Updated editions of previously published works are not eligible unless at least 50% of the poetry (not the supplemental text) is new.
III - LGBTQ CATEGORIES
These categories are non-gender-specific works containing material of strong significance to members of the LGBTQ community.
LGBTQ Anthology: Collections of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are eligible.
LGBTQ Children’s/Middle Grade: Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, picture books, and poetry whose intended audience is young readers are all eligible; anthologies are not.
LGBTQ Young Adult: Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry whose intended audience is young adult readers are all eligible; anthologies are not.
LGBTQ Comics: Book-length works of fiction or non-fiction that use a combination of words and sequential art to convey a narrative are eligible, including novels, graphic memoirs and short story or comics collections by the same author/team. Individual comic books, periodicals, anthologies, and web-only content are not eligible.
LGBTQ Drama: Plays and other theatrical works and performance pieces that have been published in book or script form during 2020. Collections from a single author are eligible; anthologies featuring multiple authors are not. Unpublished play manuscripts are eligible, as long as the play has received a full production with at least 8 consecutive shows in 2020.
Because of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on theater, we will also allow entries for the following this year in the LGBTQ Drama category:
Plays that were scheduled to be produced in theaters in 2020 but which were postponed or cancelled because of the pandemic
Plays that were produced and performed outside traditional theatrical venues in 2020 because of the pandemic (such as online venues, etc.)
LGBTQ Erotica: Anthologies, novels, novellas, graphic novels, memoirs, and short story collections whose content is principally of an erotic nature.
LGBTQ Mystery: Novels, novellas, and short story collections in which a crime or series of crimes is an integral part of the story are all eligible; anthologies are not. Category includes a wide range of crime fiction subgenres including police procedurals, political/legal/medical thrillers, cozies, and hard-boiled detective stories.
LGBTQ Nonfiction: LGBTQ-themed works for general readers, as opposed to those targeted primarily to scholarly audiences (e.g., LGBT/Queer/Gender Studies programs). Includes but is not limited to law, history, politics, spirituality, humor, parenting, relationships, psychology, travel, and photography. Anthologies (edited collections of separately authored work) are not eligible in the LGBTQ Nonfiction category and should be submitted to LGBTQ Anthology. (Please see the LGBTQ Studies category below for comparison and contact Lambda’s awards manager at awards@lambdaliterary.org if you have questions about where to submit your work.)
LGBTQ Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror: Includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, and related genres. Novels, novellas, and short story collections are eligible; anthologies are not.
LGBTQ Studies: Scholarly work focusing on issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, and oriented toward academia, libraries, cultural professionals, and the more academic reader. Generally, but not exclusively, published by university presses. Anthologies (edited collections of separately authored work) are not eligible in the LGBTQ Studies category and should be submitted to LGBTQ Anthology. (Please see the LGBTQ Nonfiction category above for comparison and contact the Lambda’s awards manager at awards@lambdaliterary.org if you have questions about where to submit your work.).
DEADLINE: November 16, 2020
https://www.lambdaliterary.org/guidelines-categories/
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30 Below Contest—2020
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 - $1,500
Second Prize - $750
Third Prize - $300
Ten finalists will receive $100 each
The prizewinners and finalists will be announced in Narrative
All entries are eligible for the $4,000 Narrative Prize for 2021 and for acceptance as a Story of the Week or Poem of the Week.
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 stories, graphic-novel excerpts, and comics of no more than thirty pages, in .pdf format.
Photographed: Photo essays of between five and twenty images, previously unpublished (including on sites like Instagram, your personal website, stock photography sites, etc.). Images should be submitted together in low-resolution .pdf 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.
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.
Filmed: Short films and documentaries of up to fifteen minutes. Submissions must be in .mp4 or .mov format.
Judging: The contest will be judged by the editors of the magazine. Winners and finalists will be announced to the public by December 18, 2020. All entrants 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: $26 fee for each entry. And with your entry, you’ll receive three months of complimentary access to Narrative Backstage.
DEADLINE: November 19, 2020, at midnight, PST
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force / fields anthology submissions
Perennial Press
INFO: Perennial Press is publishing a new anthology in 2021 with the theme: "FORCE / FIELDS"
in speculative fiction, a force field is a barrier that protects someone or something from attacks or intrusions. what are the force fields you hold up? what are the force fields you fight against? we also want your interpretations of the separate themes of "force" and "fields." what the forces that move you forward? what are the forces holding you back? fields refers to places of open land and natural environments. what are the fields of your dreams? the fields of your nightmares? tell us about flora & fauna & fantastical field creatures.
we are open to submissions of fiction, poetry, and all forms of 2D visual art. hit us with the eco-poetics, the cli-fi, sci-fi, chick fic, apocalypse photography, protest art, all of it! interpret the theme, misinterpret the theme, just send us your best.
please submit 1-3 prose pieces (word limit: 3000 per piece), 2-5 poems, or up to 5 visual art works. all works must be in their final form. please proofread before submitting. we also strongly suggest having another person proofread your work.
our goal as a press is to publish the speculative & the environmental. give us your work that speaks to one or the other, or a combination of both of those. wide interpretations welcome. accepted pieces will be featured in our 2021 print anthology.
ELIGIBILITY: anyone who writes or makes art. any country. any age. if you are under 18 years of age, please note that in your submission in case we need to get parental permission.
COMPENSATION: accepted artists will be paid a percentage of the profits from the anthology, or a $20 stipend up front. you can choose upon acceptance. all contributors will receive a complimentary copy of the anthology. shipping may not be available to all countries, so in that case we will provide a pdf version.
DEADLINE: November 21, 2020
https://airtable.com/shrmhapHbLghyRb3s
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CALL FOR AUDIO SUBMISSIONS: HEARD/WORD
Galleyway
INFO: HEARD/WORD is Galleyway's new audio series highlighting compelling voices in poetry and prose. We invite you to share recordings of original poems and short fiction. Selected work will be showcased on our blog and social media platforms. Submissions should include:
MP3 recording of you reading your poetry (no longer than 3 minutes) or short fiction (no longer than 5 minutes)
Text version of the piece
A headshot
A brief bio
Social media handles and link to website
Please send submissions to camille@galleyway.com
DEADLINE: November 30, 2020
https://galleyway.com/blog/2020/3/31/call-for-audio-submissions
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ILLUMINATING BLACK LIVES: A WRITER'S FELLOWSHIP
Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow
INFO: This fellowship invites writers to explore the African-American experience. The work may be in any literary genre: fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, or a combination. It may take place now or in the past. It may draw upon the life of the author or probe other lives. There is no expectation of a certain attitude or type of experience. Rather, the successful application will demonstrate insight, honesty, literary merit, and the likelihood of publication.
The fellowship winner will receive a two-week residency to allow the recipient to focus completely on their work. Each writer’s suite has a bedroom, private bathroom, separate writing space, and wireless internet. We provide uninterrupted writing time, a European-style gourmet dinner prepared five nights a week and served in our community dining room, the camaraderie of other professional writers when you want it, and a community kitchen stocked with the basics for breakfast and lunch.
APPLICATION FEE: $35
DEADLINE: November 30, 2020
https://www.writerscolony.org/fellowships
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Latino Book Review
INFO: Latino Book Review is proud to announce the call for submissions for our print magazine 2021 issue. Our latest issue is set to be published in Spring 2021 and will include some of the best work by Latinx writers and artists in the U.S. and around the world.
We are currently seeking to publish original work by authors and artists in the following areas:
Poetry (3 poems per submission)
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 separate file with a high-resolution image of the author or visual artist. Visual works of art should be attached in a high-resolution PDF or JPEG format.
DEADLINE: November 30, 2020
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: AFRO-LATINX ANTHOLOGY
Alan Pelaez
INFO: Editor Alan Pelaez Lopez invites contributions to a multi-genre anthology (Title TBA) of contemporary queer and trans Afro-Latinx writers on memory, care, and futurity published by a notable University Press with a slated publication date of 2021.
This collection of writings will serve as a living archive of contemporary literature by queer and trans Afro-Latinx writers. By “Afro-Latinx,” we mean writers who are Black of Latin American and Caribbean descent. This anthology aims to push the boundaries of how we think, accept, deny, or play with the concept of “Latinx.” The final project will not be a survey of recent literature but a gesture towards an Afro-Latinx aesthetic informed by differently Black experiences. Latin America and the Caribbean, as landscapes, as imagined communities, and as diasporic analytics are continually shapeshifting. Black people in, of, and from Latin America, the Caribbean, and their diasporas are at the heart of this shapeshifting, but the literature of Afro-Latinx writers is— similarly to Black people across the continent— policed, surveilled, and organized by non-Black entities. This anthology seeks to open, nuance and challenge narratives made about us without us. The anthology is not an explanation of what it means to be a queer and/or trans Black person of Latin American and/or Caribbean descent, but a dialogue of how we work with, through, and against memory, care, and futures.
The anthology seeks to answer:
How do queer and/or trans Black writers from Latin America, the Caribbean and their diaspora(s) address memory? How do queer and trans embodiments help us understand and/or question the past, the present, and construct a Black queer and trans future?
How does Blackness remember geographies we are no longer inhabiting, those we never inhabited, and those we may never know?
What are the textures of caring, being cared for, and accepting care as Black queer and/or trans people?
What are the uses of care, love, intimacy, and kinship in queer and/or trans Black spaces?
And, how do our genders, sexualities, sexual performances, and rejections of all three serve as worldbuilding embodiments for the future?
Mediums:
Creative non-fiction (15 pages max)
Fiction (15 pages max)
Poetry (Send 3-5 poems, no more than 7 pages)
Comics (15 pages max—you can send text submission if it’s not inked yet, or send a full first draft)
Plays and choreopoems (15 pages max)
Performance essays / documentation (20 pages max including images—you must have permission to use all images submitted.)
What we are looking for from contributors:
We are looking for new work (or pieces that have not appeared in a full-length collection that you have retained the rights to) that address memory, care and futures. All work must be submitted in English and you must be open to working with an editor. Pieces that utilize other languages are welcome as long as the piece is primarily in English. This anthology will not publish work that considers Blackness as a monolithic experience. All published writings will receive a modest honorarium.
Submissions:
Please include your name, contact info, and a 50-word bio.
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
http://www.alanpelaez.com/afro-latinx-anthology/
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: “Composite Dreams” ISSUE
Oyster River Pages
INFO: Oyster River Pages publishes fine fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and visual art online. . Please see the general guidelines below for each genre. (Work that is unfinished, unproofed, or noncompliant with the guidelines gives our editors existential angst.) Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please contact us immediately if your work is picked up elsewhere. We request first serial rights, after which all rights revert to the author or artist. For this special issue only, we will accept previously published work, provided you have the rights to republish it and you provide the original publication in which it appeared.
“Composite Dreams” is the first of an ongoing series of Oyster River Pages’ efforts into implementing inclusion and diversity deeper into our mission as a magazine. The intention of this collection is to publish Black voices only, to be a space exclusively for and filled by Black writers and artists. We kindly ask that if you do not fit this category, to wait until our annual issue to submit your work. Please include a 60-word bio with your submission. To stay in touch with the latest happenings at ORP, subscribe to our mailing list below.
Fiction: Please submit one story up to 4,000 words in .docx format. All work should be double-spaced, and at least font size eleven.
Creative Non-Fiction: Please submit creative nonfiction pieces that are no longer than 4,000 words in .docx format. All work should be double-spaced and at least font size eleven.
Poetry: Please submit up to three poems in .docx format. Each poem should start on its own page. Otherwise, the spacing of the submission will remain as is in publication to preserve the integrity of the poem.
Visual Art: Please submit photography or other visual arts that are saved at 300 dpi or greater. We reserve the right to crop or edit submissions in order to fit in print or on our webpage.
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
https://www.oysterriverpages.com/submit
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2021 Palm Beach Poetry Festival Fellowships
The Palm Beach Poetry Festival
INFO: The Palm Beach Poetry Festival is pleased to announce it will offer three fellowships that provide full workshop tuition and admission to all festival events for the upcoming 17th Annual Virtual Palm Beach Poetry Festival, January 18-23, 2021. The fellowships are offered to open the festival workshop doors widely to qualified poets and to ensure the festival’s workshops provide enriching experiences through working with poets from a wide variety of cultures.
The three fellowships are the Palm Beach Poetry Festival Langston Hughes Fellowship, the CantoMundo Palm Beach Poetry Festival Fellowship, and the Kundiman Palm Beach Poetry Festival Fellowship.
Each fellowship recipient will be an outstanding poet who will benefit from, and contribute to, participation in the workshop. A writing sample, letter of introduction, and description of need are an integral part of the application and selection process. Fellowships applications are now open. For details, please visit the links below to each for specifics, details and to apply. Applications are now open, and the deadline to apply for these fellowships is December 1, 2020.
CantoMundo nurtures and supports the numerous aesthetic and philosophical approaches of Latinx poetry in the USA, and builds on the aesthetically, culturally, and linguistically diverse work of Latinx poets, who have historically—and with limited economic resources—formed supportive literary spaces. CantoMundo’s first gathering convened in 2010. Use this link to find out more about the CantoMundo /Palm Beach Poetry Festival 2021 Fellowship and to apply.
Kundiman is dedicated to the creation and cultivation of Asian American literature, offering a comprehensive spectrum of arts programming that gives writers opportunities to inscribe their own stories, transforming and enriching the American literary landscape. Use this link to find out more about the Kundiman / Palm Beach Poetry Festival 2021 Fellowship and to apply.
The Palm Beach Poetry Festival – Langston Hughes Fellowship includes the application fee, tuition, and admission to all festival events. The fellow will be an outstanding African American poet who will benefit from and contribute to participation in the workshop. A writing sample, letter of introduction, and description of need are an integral part of the application and selection process. Fellowships are open by application to poets who identify as Black or African American. We are grateful to the administrators of the Langston Hughes Estate who assisted us by granting permission to name this fellowship. You may use this link to apply for the Palm Beach Poetry Festival Langston Hughes 2021 Fellowship.
We welcome inquiries from donors who may be interested in our efforts to expand the availability of these fellowships and seek to support the festival’s dedication to inclusiveness and enrichment of its workshops and public events. Donors may contribute to the PBPF Diversity Fellowship Fund, established to support these efforts. Interested donors may contact Festival Director, Susan R. Williamson or Founder, Miles Coon.
These fellowships are supported by the generous donations of individuals who wish to remain anonymous. In addition, the festival also offers a limited number of partial scholarships to applicants for whom partial assistance makes attendance possible. Email query must be made after applications are submitted.
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
https://www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org/news/2021-palm-beach-poetry-festival-fellowships/
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Honey Literary
INFO: Honey Literary’s first issue will debut in Winter 2020/2021. We publish two issues each year, one in winter, and one in summer. Our first reading period opens September 1st and closes December 1st.
To share your work, please email the respective genre editor and upload your .docx/.pdf files. Include a brief bio with a few sentences about why your work is a good fit for us with our mission statement in mind.
Please send us your work only once per submission period. Simultaneous submissions are cool as long as you promptly notify us if the work is accepted elsewhere.
Honey Literary accepts and encourages simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if a piece is accepted elsewhere. Submit no more than once per submissions period. We only accept unpublished work. Honey Literary retains first publication rights, and upon publication, rights revert back to the author. Please credit Honey Literary as the first publisher if the piece appears elsewhere after publication, which includes, but isn’t limited to other journals, anthologies, chapbooks, and full-length books.
Poetry: Send us three to five unpublished pieces at a time. We’ve got big appetites, so more is more. We want the poems that were too weird for workshop. Give us work that is eclectic and absurd and demands to be read aloud. Send us your jigsaw edges and remixes.
Email submissions to Editor Rita Mookerjee: poetry@honeyliterary.com
Sex, Kink, and the Erotic: Locker room talk is dead; Honey Literary is here for body-positive, kink-friendly content centered around respect and consent. Ideal submissions include but are not limited to confessions, toy/gear reviews, etiquette guides, dirty little secrets, burlesque show recommendations, odes to sideboob, fav strip club snacks, dating app wins (or fails), shibari shoots, erotic vignettes, recaps from the weekend, and that porno script you saved on your old desktop. Honey Literary loves and supports sex workers as well as their art/writing! Show us what’s inside your bedside drawer.
Email submissions to Editor Rita Mookerjee: sex@honeyliterary.com
Essays: Send us essays that use the personal to explore facets of our current world. From natural history, science, politics, international events, food, culture, and art, we want to see how the personal and public intersect in your work.We’re seeking essays that are elastic, capacious, experimental and exploratory. We welcome memoir, nonfiction, research, lyric meditations, and hybrid work about what stirs your curiosity, what raises your hackles. We especially invite emerging writers and student writers to submit their work.
(750-1000 words)
Email submissions to Editor Avni Vyas: essays@honeyliterary.com
Hybrid: Do you have work that blurs, defies, or redefines genre? We welcome excerpts and stand alones that may include, but are not limited to: documentary poetics, notes, mappings, marginalia, lists, altars/shrines, collections, audiovisual pieces, prose poetry, letters, invented forms, collaborations, and scholarly projects that are slightly or largely out of touch with institutions. Send enough work to contextualize your project with respect for our time. For example: a bouquet–not the entire meadow.
Email submissions to Editor Claire Meuschke: hybrid@honeyliterary.com
Comics: We’re looking for eccentric, experimental, excessive, confessional, instructional, genre-nasty comics pieces (10 pages or less) in any form. Single-panel pieces, excerpts from zines, comics stories without words, comics without pictures, one-offs, doodles, interesting trash, and everything in between. We are particularly open to submissions from members of the LGBTQIAAP+ community.
Email submissions to Editor Jessica Q. Stark: comics@honeyliterary.com
Animals: Kingdom: Animalia. Familiars. Daemons. Protectors. Companions. Predators. Prey. This is a space to submit art & writing about animals real or imagined, pre-historic or future, spineless or silky, friend or foe. Share the work you do with animals; show us the bioluminescent creatures in your lagoon; describe the dreams where your lost pets come to visit you. Highlight conservation work in your habitats. Profile the service animal of the year. Recount the folk tales that made you scared of drain serpents. Tell us about the anteater in the forest, the sandhill cranes in the parking lot, the carabao in the rice field, the angler in the deep. We want your venom, oily feathers, plush fur, mythical beasts, and whale songs.
Please submit a maximum of 3 artworks, 3-5 pages for poems, and 10-15 pages for longer pieces.
Email submissions to Editor Christina Giarrusso: animals@honeyliterary.com
Interviews: Honey Literary seeks to conduct interviews that showcase the boundlessness of art and innovation, tapping into the creative’s soul and teasing out the hows and whys of their passions. We want to facilitate interviews that go beyond the typical, robotic back and forth between two parties, but rather a natural, gradual unfurling between people who cherish expression and creation. Whether you’re a singer, writer, visual artist, or culinary chef, Honey Literary wants to know what moves you, what keeps you up at night, who’s in your artistic lineage, and of course, all about your craft.
Email submissions to Editor Zakiya Cowan: interviews@honeyliterary.com
Reviews: Honey Literary is seeking reviews on recently released books, along with art mediums that aren’t typically at the forefront of conversations. From novels, novellas, short story collections, and poetry collections, to graphic novels filled with queer and magical themes (think non-binary werewolves and time travel) and hybrid books, we want to engage with all forms and genres. We’re also seeking a wide variety of reviews, so think about that fashion line that makes their clothing from plastic bottles, or that brand of panties whose goal is to eliminate product waste among people who have periods. Or maybe you want to engage with films and tv shows from independent studios, directed, written, and/or starring BIPOC, queer, and disabled individuals. Or what about restaurants that feature traditional recipes from across an ocean? Reviews are boundless, and whether it’s an in-depth analysis or short and sweet praise, we want to hear it all!
Email submissions to Editor Trinity Jones: reviews@honeyliterary.com
Valentines: Tell us about that one friend you didn’t know you were in love with until you came out. Share the sticky note love letters you’ll never end up giving your roommate’s girlfriend. Or what about those love songs you wrote to your favorite artists? Honey Literary wants your Valentines: your phone notes, email drafts, letters in a box, corner-of-the-page-too-distracted-by-lust-to-pay-attention doodles, and descriptions of the outfits you love but will never wear. Or what about your thoughts on the perfect perfume for that special someone, your late-night car conversations, your platonic epics, your [self-insert] fanfiction, your realizations of being pursued or secretly admired, your sheets of loose leaf stuffed into drawers, your quarantine love stories, or your Tinder conversations with strangers that you’ll never speak to again? Think about those missed connections: the person you ran into three times at the grocery store whose name you didn’t catch. Is your valentine a top 10 list? Is it taped on a bus stop, in the refrain of a pop song, at the bottom of a bowl, or framed at an altar? Give us your cutesy, your sexy, your sultry, and your badass expressions of love and life.
Email submissions to Editor Maria Clara Melo: valentines@honeyliterary.com
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
https://honeyliterary.com/submit/
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Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets
African Poetry Book Fund
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, Phillippaa yaa de Villiers, Aracelis Girmay, and Bernardine Evaristo, will judge.
A winner will be announced in early January, with notifications sent shortly thereafter.
ELIGIBILITY: 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.
MANUSCRIPT: Poetry manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long.
The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript. All entries will be read anonymously. Please include a cover page listing only the title of the manuscript (not the author’s name, address, telephone number, or email address). An acknowledgements page listing the publication history of individual poems may be included, if desired. No application forms are necessary. Eligible writers may submit more than one manuscript.
While we have no specific formatting rules, we suggest sending your manuscript in Times New Roman or Arial, 12 point font, single-spaced. We also prefer one poem per page, meaning a new poem does not begin on the same page on which another ends.
ENTRY FEE: $0
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
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Poetry: Latinx Anthology
The Ice Colony
INFO: The Ice Colony seeks poetry attentive to Latinx Immigrants inspired by true events. Whether they be events that you or your family experienced.
Have you ever felt like an immigrant in your country of birth? In your neighborhood? In your body?
We are interested in poems that speak on one or more of the following:
Struggles with borders both physical and metaphorical.
Migration.
What does it mean to be a foreigner?
Growing up in an immigrant home.
Traditions.
Detention facilities and deportation.
Ancestry- tell us their stories, heartbreaks and joys.
Current political or social climate pertaining to Latinx community.
Give us the tiniest details. Be imaginative. Bring the past, present and future, most importantly let it be authentic and palpable.
General Submission Guidelines:
Open to Latinx Poets Internationally age 18+
Unpublished Poems of any length and form are welcome. Maximum of 5 poems per submission. Submit all poetry in one document, do not submit multiple forms. They will not be accepted.
Submissions must be typed: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 2.0 line spacing.
Please use .doc or docx file formats when submitting
Include all writer contact info, full legal name, email, address and cell phone number, on the first page of the submitted file.
Cover letter:
Confirming Latinx background
Confirming submitted poem(s) are unpublished.
A short bio 250 words or less.
Contact information- full legal name, email, address and cell phone number as well as social media handles.
If your submission is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately and withdraw it.
Poems demonstrating racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or other forms of oppression will not be accepted.
The Ice Colony is currently not a paying market. We are all volunteers: editors, writers, and narrators. For this call, poets may receive a free copy of the anthology (depending on our funding at the time of publication) and will be invited to participate in a virtual live reading in celebration of publication. We also make a collaborative effort to promote your via our website, Twitter and Instagram.
A percentage of the profits from the anthology will go to the organization No more Deaths
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
https://theicecolony.submittable.com/submit
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: BLACK POETS, WRITERS, VIDEO ARTISTS
TriQuarterly
INFO: TriQuarterly, the literary journal of Northwestern University and of the Litowitz MFA+MA program, welcomes submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, short drama, video essays, and hybrid work from established as well as emerging writers. We also accept interviews and craft essays.
This fall, we are opening free submissions f for our 160th issue. We will be working with guest editors to select and curate work exclusively by Black poets, prose writers, and video artists for summer 2021.
Our general submissions will reopen next year and be extended by two months, from January 1 to May 31, 2021.
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
https://triquarterly.submittable.com/submit
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Stadler Fellowships
Bucknell University
INFO: Since 1998, the Stadler Fellowships have offered recent MFA graduates in poetry the opportunity to receive professional training in editing and literary arts administration. Beginning in the 2021-22 academic year, the program will be divided into two distinct tracks: a fellowship in literary editing and a fellowship in literary arts administration. Applicants can apply to one or the other. Both fellowships are designed to balance the development of professional skills with time to complete a first book of poems. Fellows serve for 20 hours each week during the academic year. The balance of the fellows’ time is reserved for writing.
STIPEND: The 10-month fellowships provide health insurance and a stipend of at least $33,000.
Stadler Fellowship: Literary Arts Administration
The Stadler Fellow in Literary Arts Administration is a key player in the execution of the Stadler Center's programs and advises the Center's leadership on new and existing initiatives. The literary arts administration fellow contributes to campus and regional outreach efforts, leads a faculty/staff poetry reading group, serves on selection committees for our programs and residencies, and otherwise works to strengthen and enhance our literary community. In June, the fellow serves together with the Stadler Fellow in Literary Editing as a staff poet in the Bucknell Seminar for Undergraduate Poets, the Center's signature summer program that draws some of the nation's most accomplished undergraduate poets.
Stadler Fellowship: Literary Editing
The Stadler Fellow in Literary Editing serves as a poetry editor for West Branch, Bucknell's nationally-recognized literary journal. The editorial fellow screens poetry submissions, serves on the editorial committee, assists in proofreading, and, optionally, compiles a special poetry feature for the journal. The fellow may also contribute to other Stadler Center editorial projects. In June, the fellow serves together with the Stadler Fellow in Literary Arts Administration as a staff poet in the Bucknell Seminar for Undergraduate Poets.
Since these are residential fellowships, we expect fellows to live in the immediate Lewisburg area; to hold no other professional, academic, or fellowship obligations; and to participate fully in the life of the Bucknell literary community during the fellowship period.
Several recent Stadler Fellows have published books or received other honors subsequent to their fellowships, including Will Schutt (Westerly, Yale Prize for Younger Poets); Jamaal May (Hum, Beatrice Hawley Award, Alice James Books), Carolina Ebeid (You Ask Me to Talk About the Interior, Noemi Press), Justin Boening (Not On the Last Day, But On the Very Last; National Poetry Series, Milkweed ), Chet'la Sebree (Mistress, New Issues Poetry Prize), E.G. Asher (Natality, Noemi Press), and Monica Sok (A Nail the Evening Hangs On, Copper Canyon).
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
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WNBA Writing Contest
Women’s National Book Association
INFO: The 2020 WNBA Writing Contest is now open for submissions!
Categories
FICTION: 3,000 words maximum.
CREATIVE NONFICTION: 2,500 words maximum. Includes memoir, personal essay and commentary.
FLASH PROSE: 750 words maximum. May submit fiction or creative nonfiction.
POETRY: 3–5 pages maximum
No theme is required in any category.
Winners:
Winners will be announced in March 2021 on the Women's National Book Association's website.
Winners will receive a cash prize and the winning entries will be published in The Bookwoman Newsletter, the national publication of the WNBA, and on the WNBA website.
After winners are announced and awarded, the WNBA will publish an anthology of past winning entries. Every few years, a new anthology will be published.
Basic Guidelines
The WNBA Writing Contest is open to everyone ages 18 years or older writing in English.
International submissions are welcome if the author is able to accept the winning prize in US dollars.
All WNBA members in good standing receive a 25% discount on submission fees.
You may submit more than one entry, but each entry requires a separate fee and entry form.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please inform Andrea Auten, the contest chair, at contest@wnba-books.org.
Previously published work will be accepted as long as the publisher allows for the work to be reprinted/redistributed. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please inform Andrea Auten, the contest chair, at contest@wnba-books.org.
To qualify for the WNBA member discount, you must be a current member of the Women's National Book Association, which means you have paid for the 2020/2021 membership year that began in June 20.
DEADLINE: December 1, 2020
https://wnba.submittable.com/submit
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: "SOMEWHERE WE ARE HUMAN: AN ANTHOLOGY ON MIGRATION, SURVIVAL, AND NEW BEGINNINGS"
Migrant Anthology
INFO: "Somewhere We Are Human: An Anthology on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings", edited by award winning author of The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande, and acclaimed poet and author of Nostalgia & Borders, Sonia Guiñansaca. We are seeking bold personal non-fiction essays and poems from migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and displaced people with experience in the United States. We are especially interested in essays and poems from those in the midwest and Border towns. We are centering and giving priority to essays and poems from Indigenous migrants, Black migrants, Asian Pacific Islanders, and Arab communities.
During this time of political unrest, how do we shift the nation’s collective imagination about migrants towards one rooted in humanity and justice? What stories about ourselves and communities need to be told during these times of border militarization, mass detention, and draconian anti-immigrant legislation?
The anthology will be published by HarperCollins in English and Spanish. Contributors will be compensated (a min. of $800)
GUIDELINES:
All attachments should be saved as a Microsoft Word document (.docx)
For Non-Fiction Essays no more than 2,000 words
Poems should be no more than 6 pages in length (1-3 poems)
Written work should be finished pieces (no drafts)
Essays and poems should primarily be written in English.
All submissions should be unpublished pieces
Please number your pages in the order it should be read
One anthology submission per person
Short cover letter describing your interest in participating in this anthology (2-3 paragraphs)
A cover letter, short bio, and written work must be included in order to be considered
Please make no inquiries about the status of your submission. Only those selected will be contacted through email by the end of December
Guiding Questions:
We are seeking bold personal essays, and poems from migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and those deported from across the United States. These are just guiding questions and themes. We understand the topic of migration is broad so we are looking for pieces that touch upon these but not limited to these. There is no monolithic migrant story, we want to hear YOUR STORY, and YOUR EXPERIENCE.
We believe that we existed before the migration. That we had childhoods, and memories of our loved ones and a place we may have called “home”. Tell us those stories. What are stories before migration that you wished were written about.
We believe that our migration story is complicated, nuanced, layered, and intersectional. Scholars and politicians skip over the hard decision and journey of migrating or that many of us were displaced from our home country because of climate change, political turmoil, war, economic inequity-leaving us with no other choice but to “migrate”. Mainstream stories often leave out how some of our family members are detained in the process of coming to the U.S. They fast forward to us as “hard workers” and “taxpayers” and take away our childhoods, teenage years, and coming of age moments. Tell us those stories of our growing up in the United States. As a teenager what was it like to grow up in a mixed status family? What was dating like? If you are queer, how did you understand your queerness in relationship to your migration? What was it like before DACA? What are some stories of growing up undocumented that you wished you could have read? If you came to the U.S later on (after your formative years), what did you learn about yourself? What did you wish people knew about growing up in the South? Tell us these stories. Stories that disrupt the mainstream tokenizing, stories outside the “good” vs “bad immigrant”. Essays and poems that decenter whiteness, and assimilation.
We believe that our migrant communities deserve justice and a world without borders and detention centers. We believe that joy, healing, and freedom of expression is crucial to our existence. We want to read poems and essays touching on this. We want to read about where you are now in life? Tell us about the world you envision. What are some things you have reflected on about your migrant story? What are you un-learning? What is some advice and words you wished you were given about being migrant when you were younger? What are the messages you want recently “arrived” migrants to hear? What do you want to tell yourself 20 years from now? For artists, how has your art played a role in your healing and growth?
PLEASE NOTE: We are not looking for scholarly/academic papers. We will not consider submissions by non-migrant people. We are looking for contributors that are undocumented or formerly undocumented.
DEADLINE: December 5, 2020 at 11pm PT
https://www.migrantanthology.com/
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ONGOING
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
VIDA Review
INFO: The VIDA Review is an online literary magazine publishing original fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, and interviews.
We are exclusively interested in work by those often marginalized in literary spaces, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); cis and trans women, agender, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, nonbinary, and two-spirit people; LGBQIA people; people with disabilities; and people living at the intersections of these identities.
All pieces should be original, and previously unpublished in any format in English.
Please send one submission at a time, and please submit only once every 6 months.
We are open to simultaneous submissions, so long as you label them as such and promptly let us know if your work has been accepted elsewhere.
Please note that all submissions should be accompanied by a cover letter and brief third-person biography statement, and that (unless otherwise stated) we ask for First North American Rights to publish writing. Following publication, all rights revert back to the writer; we only ask that you credit the VIDA Review as the place your work first appeared.
GUIDELINES:
Up to six poems at a time, each on separate pages
Single-space
Combine into one document (.doc, .docx, or .pdf)
Include contact information on first page of submission
Provide a cover letter in the "Cover Letter" section and a brief third-person biography
PAYMENT: Payment for those accepted will range between $15-$20. We recognize that this is a token amount of money but hope to increase this amount in the future. Payment will be made via PayPal within 2 months of publication.
DEADLINE: Ongoing