CALL FOR POETRY COLLECTION MANUSCRIPTS
Scribner Poetry (Simon & Schuster)
SUBMISSION PERIOD: August 1 - 31, 2023 (or until they receive 300 manuscripts)
INFO: Scribner Poetry began publishing its inaugural list in 2023, which includes collections from Airea D. Matthews, Sam Sax, and Diana Khoi Nguyen. To introduce ourselves to new voices and to lower some of the hurdles that poets experience when seeking a publisher, we are delighted to announce an open submission period from August 1, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. ET and lasting through August 31, 2023 or until we receive a maximum of 300 manuscripts. Each submission will be reviewed by a Scribner poetry editor.
Your submission must be a full-length, previously unpublished collection of poems written primarily in the English language.
We encourage a cover page with the title of your submission, your full name and email address, and word count.
In your submission form, please include a short biographical note, your publication history—whether it’s past books, or poems that have been printed in journals or magazines—however, we welcome poets from all backgrounds and levels of experience, whether they’re submitting a debut collection or they’ve published several collections over their lifetime.
Submissions should come from poets who are unagented.
We ask that you do not send us a submission unless you have a completed manuscript.
Writers may submit only once during the submission period. We will contact you directly if we would like to see more.
Please note that we can only accept submissions from U.S. residents who are at least 18 years old.
Please have your manuscript as a Microsoft Word document or PDF only.
To learn more about Scribner Poetry, visit our website.
simonandschuster.com/p/scribner-poetry-open-submission
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ENOUGH SERIES
The Rumpus
DEADLINE: August 8, 2023
INFO: ENOUGH is a Rumpus series devoted to creating a dedicated space for work by women and non-binary people who engage with rape culture, sexual assault, and domestic violence. We want to make sure that this conversation doesn’t stop until our laws and societal norms reflect real change.
We consider personal essays, critical essays, poetry, comics, and hybrid work. We are especially interested in work that considers who has been taught to speak up and who has been taught to be silent, who has access to healthcare and to therapy, and how these inequalities make vulnerable populations even more vulnerable. While we support the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, ENOUGH is its own series and we ask that you avoid using these hashtags in your titles and essays unless you are writing a piece that centers around or investigates the campaigns themselves.
GUIDELINES:
Prose should be between 1000–3500 words.
You may submit three poems or five pages of poetry in one submission.
We can only consider work that has not been previously published (this includes personal blogs and social media).
All work should have a title.
Please only send one ENOUGH submission at a time. After we’ve responded with a decision, you are welcome to submit again.
therumpus.submittable.com/submit
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WRITER TO WRITER MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)
DEADLINE: August 15, 2023
INFO: AWP's Writer to Writer Mentorship Program matches emerging writers with published authors who volunteer their time for a three-month series of modules on topics such as craft, revision, publishing, and the writing life. Potential Writer to Writer mentees must be AWP members, but it is free to apply to and participate in the program. You can check your membership status by logging in at awpwriter.org and selecting "My AWP Account" at the top of the page. Please note: if you are not an AWP member, your application will not be considered.
Please fill out the submission form and attach your 10-page writing sample.
The Writer to Writer Mentorship Program is open to all AWP members, but we particularly encourage applications from those writers who have never been associated with an MFA program and those writing from regions, backgrounds, and cultures that are too often underrepresented in the literary world.
Our mentees come from all backgrounds and levels of experience. If you feel that you can benefit from a mentor's guidance at the current stage in your writing, then you are welcome to apply! After the AWP membership team reviews all mentee applications, we send a selection of potential matches to our mentors, who ultimately choose their own mentee. They tend to choose mentees based on shared goals and interests, and whether they feel they can help that person at the stage they are in now. To ensure that we make the best possible matches this season, we ask that you be open and honest about your goals, your background, and where you are now with your writing.
Should you be chosen to participate, your mentor will review your writing, listen to your concerns, and help you work towards your writing goals. You will have opportunities to interact with the others taking part in that session. AWP's membership team will also be there to support you, every step of the way.
Season 19 begins on September 18 and will consist of six lightly structured modules over a twelve-week period, concluding on December 8. You and your mentor will make a commitment to the process—and to each other.
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OPEN READING PERIOD FOR WORKS IN TRANSLATION
Sarabande Books
DEADLINE: Extended to August 7, 2023 by 11:59pm
SUBMISSION FEE: $15
INFO: Sarabande is pleased to offer an open reading period for works of poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction in translation.
ELIGIBILITY:
Publication of a translated work is contingent upon the agreement to grant English language rights and other contractual terms. Sarabande reserves the right to reject any submitted manuscript or to withdraw a publication offer if contractual obligations are not met.
It is highly recommended that those who intend to submit a proposal familiarize themselves with Sarabande’s catalog. You can find some of our bilingual titles and works in translation here.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Translators and authors wishing to submit a query should include:
A one-page cover letter that that addresses the book’s cultural, historical, and artistic significance
A brief biography of the poet and the translator, including previously published works
A sample translation of at least 20 pages (more complete manuscripts are preferred, but not required
A statement confirming that permission has been granted to the translator(s) for English translation and publication of the original text by the rights holder
A $15 reading fee
Submission of more than one proposal is permissible with separate reading fees. Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted. We ask that you notify us immediately if the manuscript is acc
sarabandebooks.submittable.com/submit
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THE SARABANDE SERIES IN KENTUCKY LITERATURE
Sarabande Books
DEADLINE: Extended to August 7, 2023 by 11:59pm
SUBMISSION FEE: $22
INFO: Sarabande is proud to be an independent publisher headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Each year since 2005, thanks to the generosity of benefactors from our home state and beyond, we have published a new work of Kentucky literature.
ELIGIBILITY:
This series is for writers and projects with ties to Kentucky. Eligible submissions should meet at least one of the following requirements:
The author is from Kentucky or lives/has lived in Kentucky.
The manuscript is set in Kentucky or about a Kentuckian.
Additionally the author must be willing and able to travel to or within Kentucky for readings and public events. Employees and board members of Sarabande are not eligible.
It is highly recommended that those who intend to submit a manuscript familiarize themselves with Sarabande’s catalog. You can find some of our recent titles by Kentucky-affiliated authors here.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Submissions to the Sarabande Series in Kentucky Literature should include:
A cover letter that specifies your fulfillment of the eligibility requirements
A complete, full-length manuscript of poetry, short fiction, or literary nonfiction (48 to 100 manuscript pages for poetry, 150 to 250 for prose). Manuscripts should be paginated with a table of contents and an acknowledgements page.
A $22 reading fee
Submission of more than one manuscript is permissible with separate reading fees. Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted. We ask that you notify us immediately if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
sarabandebooks.submittable.com/submit
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Raspa Magazine
DEADLINE: August 15, 2023
INFO: Raspa Magazine publishes creative written work and visual art that narrates the queer Latinx experience. We do not focus on genre or form, but on artistic merit, innovativeness, and potential cultural impact. Raspa Magazine serves as a sustainable space for queer Latinx artist to share work without the fear of being tokenized, with liberty to experiment, and create work with the knowledge that it will be treated with dignity and respect. Our intent is to cultivate an environment that empowers art makers to push boundaries in their process, redefine the literary canon, and reshape art to be more representative and inclusive.
Raspa Magazine accepts submission from February 15 through August 15. We are looking for short fiction, poetry, dramatic works, visual art, creative non-fiction, or creative written work created by self identifying queer Latinxs. We do not accept works written by non self-identifying queer Latinx artists.
Poetry should be submitted in a single word document with each poem beginning on a new page. We usually select more than one piece per contributor so please submit a minimum of 3 pieces and no more that 8 pieces.
Short stories and creative non-fiction should reach a minimum of 1,500 words and a maximum of 3,000 words.
We welcome all submission in either English or Spanish. Spanish language work will be translated into English. Works by self-identifying Latinxs who write in any language other than English or Spanish will need to submit a translation to appear with the original piece.
Visual art should consist of a minimum 5 high resolution JPEG, Photoshop, or TIFF files that are at least 2 megabytes and reach 300 DPI. When possible a link to an artist portfolio is preferred.
Raspa Magazine holds all first serial publishing rights, after publication all rights return to the artist. Reprinted work must have a footnote indicating what issue and year it first appeared in Raspa Magazine.
Raspa Magazine provides monetary compensation for all contributors. Compensation amount will depend on the amount of funding accessible for the particular issue and will be discussed with the contributor if the work should be selected for print.
Please submit all submissions via email to hola@raspamagazine.com with your last name and the word “submission” on the subject line. On the first page of your submission document please include your full name, a valid email address, and a brief bio. Submissions without the requested information will not be read.
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The Other Futures Award 2023
Futurepoem
DEADLINE: August 15, 2023 by 11:59pm EST
ENTRY FEE: $28
INFO: The Other Futures Award is given annually to an innovative, adventurous full-length work that challenges conventions of genre and language, content and form. Send us writing that imagines new lived or literary possibilities, and questions established paradigms.
The winner will receive publication with Futurepoem, an honorarium of $1000, a standard royalty contract, and 25 author copies. We will announce our decision in late 2023. The winning book will be published in 2025.
PROCESS: All submissions are read by at least two Futurepoem staff readers, who then recommend a limited group of manuscripts to the permanent editors. The winning manuscript is selected by Futurepoem's permanent editorial staff. Our process is identity-hidden, so please be sure that the author's name does not appear anywhere in the manuscript.
ELIGIBILITY: We welcome submissions by writers at any stage of their career. Manuscripts must be unpublished book-length works of prose, poetry, or multi-genre work. And though we are open to books with visuals, we have a limited capacity to support image-based projects. We publish poetry, first and foremost, and heavily image-based projects will be better served by a different publisher. Previously published poems or chapbooks may be included, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. Writers who are not U.S. citizens are welcome to send work. Past or present students, colleagues, or close friends of Futurepoem editors are not eligible to submit.
TRANSLATIONS: We do not publish translations of works originally written in languages other than English. However, previously unpublished texts that engage bilingual or multilingual practices are welcome.
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: We accept simultaneous submissions. Please notify Futurepoem as soon as possible if your book is accepted elsewhere.
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: We accept multiple submissions from the same author. Each manuscript should be submitted separately including a separate entry fee.
FORMAT: Suggested length is 50 to 150 pages, though manuscripts may be slightly shorter or longer. The Other Futures Award is an anonymized contest. Please include a title page with title only, and a table of contents. The author’s name should NOT appear anywhere in the manuscript.
REVISIONS: While we are not able to accept revisions during the reading period, the winner will be able to revise their manuscript before publication.
HOW TO SUBMIT: Please submit online using our Submittable page (futurepoem.submittable.com/submit). We cannot accept hardcopy or emailed submissions. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with our catalog before you submit.
ENTRY FEE: $28. We also offer need-based reduced fees of $18 and $9; please select the fee that is most appropriate for you. You can also choose to partially sponsor someone else’s submission for $35. A fee waiver is available for anyone who may need it — if the lowest fee represents a hardship for you, please email ahana@futurepoem.com with subject line: 2023 OFA Fee Waiver.
futurepoem.submittable.com/submit/267935/the-other-futures-award-2023
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2023 Palette Chapbook Prize
Palette Poetry
DEADLINE: August 20, 2023
INFO: Palette Poetry invites you to submit your manuscript to the 2023 Palette Chapbook Prize. Poetry chapbook manuscripts of all styles are welcome—we have no theme or aesthetic preference. The guest judge this year is Danez Smith, who will select the winning manuscript from ten finalists chosen by Palette editors.
The winner will receive $2,000 and Summer 2024 publication, which includes a free, downloadable digital chapbook on our website, fifty physical author copies to share and sell, and the option to enable drop-shipping sales at Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Barnes & Noble, earning 50% royalties on your chapbook. Additionally, thousands of readers, editors, and journals will receive chapbook access through our newsletter. The winner will have creative agency over cover art/design, and also be offered the opportunity to work with Paletteeditors to revise the manuscript.
Submissions are open from June 23 to August 20, 2023. The Chapbook Prize is open to all poets writing in English. We have an extended editorial process for any book that we believe in, so please feel welcome to submit promising work that may not be fully polished yet. We're excited to help the winning book become the best book it can be.
Please do not submit if you have a close or personal relationship with the judge, as this connection would call into question the integrity of the contest.
JUDGE: Danez Smith is the author of three collections including Homie and Don’t Call Us Dead. They have won the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and have been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critic Circle Award, and the National Book Award. Danez's poetry and prose have been featured in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, Best American Poetry, and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Danez is a member of the Dark Noise Collective. Former co-host of the Webby-nominated podcast VS (Versus), they are the recipient of fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, Princeton, United States Artists, the McKnight Foundation, the Montalvo Arts Center, Cave Canem, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Danez has been featured as part of Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list and is the winner of a Pushcart Prize. They live in Minneapolis near their people.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Manuscripts must be submitted via Submittable, our online submissions manager, between June 20, 2023, and August 25, 2023.
BIPOC writers are welcome to submit for a reduced fee of $15 until we reach our cap of one hundred submissions (see here).
Individual poems may be previously published. However, the manuscript as a whole cannot have been published.
Multiple submissions are permitted, but each manuscript must be submitted separately with the $25 reading fee.
Revisions to the manuscript are not permitted after the contest has closed. If selected for publication, you will have the opportunity to revise.
Submissions are open internationally to any poet writing in English. Inclusion of other languages is welcome, as long as the chapbook is substantively written in English.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please notify us immediately if the chapbook is accepted elsewhere.
Please include a brief cover letter and any applicable content warnings.
Do not submit if you have a close or personal relationship with the guest judge.
Review our FAQ page for frequently asked questions.
The winner and finalists will be announced in late Fall 2023.
If you haven't already, please verify your email address with Submittable for more consistent communication.
Contest closes on August 20th, 2023.
FORMATTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT:
Manuscripts must be between twenty to thirty pages, not including front or back matter (e.g., a title page, epigraph, table of contents).
Each poem should begin on a new page.
The manuscript should be in a standard 12-point font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Garamond.
Manuscripts must be submitted as a PDF or Word doc. We highly recommend a PDF, as it will maintain your line breaks, special formatting, etc.
Do not include your name on any of the pages of the manuscript file. The first page of the manuscript should include the title of the collection only. Contact information goes in your cover letter.
Please put any acknowledgments in the cover letter field of Submittable and not in the manuscript itself.
palettepoetry.com/current-contest/
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Chapbook Contest
Nine Syllables Press
DEADLINE: August 31, 2023
SUBMISSION FEE: $10
INFO: Nine Syllables Press is delighted to announce our first annual chapbook contest. Leila Chatti will be the final judge for 2023. The winner will be awarded $500 and author’s copies. The chapbook will be published within a year. Winners will be announced by February, 2024.
GUIDELINES: Send us an original, unpublished poetry collection of 20-40 pages.
ELIGIBILITY: Any poet who identifies as female can submit their chapbook to the Nine Syllables Press chapbook contest. We especially encourage trans/LGBTQIA++ poets and BIPOC poets to submit their work. Poets can have previously published collections of poetry, but the manuscript you submit cannot have been previously published. Individual poems from the collection may have been published elsewhere. Poets outside the US are also welcome to submit.
JUDGE: Leila Chatti
ninesyllablespress.com/contest
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STORYKNIFE WRITERS RETREAT
DEADLINE: August 31, 2023
APPLICATION FEE: $40
INFO: Storyknife provides women 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. 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.
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 OR begin on the 15th and end on the 28th. Residencies are available April through October.
ELIGIBILITY:
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 four 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.)
Why would a writing residency benefit you at this time especially?
Work Sample Requirements:
Work samples should reflect work completed within the last two years. All work samples must be uploaded through Submittable. Written work samples will be uploaded directly within the 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). Prose includes screenplays and stage plays which also must conform to the 10 page limit.
Any writing samples with identifying material will be disqualified. Identifying material is your name, address, or publication credits. This only refers to the writing sample, not the answers to the questions. This is an anonymous jurying process.
Diversity
Storyknife is committed to diversity and elevating voices of historically excluded communities. 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.
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: YELLOW ARROW JOURNAL
Yellow Arrow Journal
DEADLINE: August 31, 2023
INFO: Yellow Arrow Publishing is excited to announce that submissions for our next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 2 (fall 2023) is open August 1–31 exploring the power and ephemerality of life’s fleeting moments. Guest editor Leticia Priebe Rocha states,
“As we navigate the turmoil of daily life and the heaviness of what lies beyond our control, it takes an intentional effort to nurture [life’s fleeting] moments into existence and to sustain the life they bring us. For me, this effort is often driven by introspection: What makes you feel alive? What connections have shaped your being? How do you tap into the well of love and hope within you? The act of creation through poetry and art has been a blessing toward answering these questions, empowering me with an openness to receive the ephemeral and inscribe it not only in memory but on the page.”
This issue’s theme will be EMBLAZON
: to conspicuously inscribe or display
: to depict (a heraldic device) on something
: to celebrate or extol publicly
And here are some questions to consider when choosing or writing for this issue:
What are the experiences that inscribed themselves onto your being and made you who are? Who are the people who adorn your life? Whose lives do you adorn in return? What are the places and contexts that you inevitably herald in all of your interactions?
Of the ephemeral instants that have embellished your existence, what marks and stays with you? What are the sensations, emotions, and images that anchor you in your own aliveness?
What is your relationship with time? How do you view its nature, particularly in relation to the fleeting moments that make up the human experience?
What are the sparks that you strive to ignite during your time on this Earth? How do you hope to illuminate the world when your time comes to an end?
Yellow Arrow Journal is looking for creative nonfiction, poetry, and cover art submissions by writers/artists who identify as women, on the theme of EMBLAZON. Submissions can be in any language as long as an English translation accompanies it. For more information regarding journal submission guidelines, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions. Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting. To learn more about our editorial views and how important your voice is in your story, read About the Journal. This issue will be released in November 2023.
GUEST EDITOR: EMBLAZON’s guest editor, Leticia Priebe Rocha, earned her bachelor’s from Tufts University, where she was awarded the 2020 Academy of American Poets University and College Poetry Prize. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she immigrated to Miami, Florida, at the age of nine and currently resides in the Greater Boston area. For more information, visit her website at leticiaprieberocha.com. Leticia’s poem “Lost In” was part of Yellow Arrow Journal PEREGRINE, and she was our .W.o.W. #46 (March 2023). We are excited to work with Leticia over the next few months.
yellowarrowpublishing.com/news
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2023 POETRY CONTEST
Black Warrior Review
DEADLINE: September 1, 2023
ENTRY FEE: $20 for each submission ($40 for international submissions)
INFO: Black Warrior Review’s Poetry Contest is now open.
GUIDELINES: Submit a packet of up to 3 poems in one file.
Cover letters are welcome.
Please do not include identifying information in your submission document. We will use your Submittable information to contact you, so please make sure your contact information is accurate and up-to-date.
Multiple submissions are welcome, as are simultaneous submissions. Please notify us immediately if your submission is accepted elsewhere.
We accept only previously unpublished work for publication. Winners receive $1000 and publication in BWR 50.2, our Spring 2024 issue. The first runner-up in each genre receive monetary compensation, acknowledgment in the print issue, and online publication (if desired). We may consider any submission for general publication.
Winners will be announced in October.
POETRY JUDGE: Gary Soto
Gary Soto, born and raised in Fresno, California, is the author of thirteen poetry collections for adults, most notably New and Selected Poems, a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Award and the National Book Award. His prose titles include Living Up the Street, A Summer Life, Jesse, Buried Onions, and The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy. He has written for the stage, including the libretto Nerdlandia, the musical In and Out of Shadows, and the one-act The Afterlife. He is the author of “Oranges,” the most anthologized poem in contemporary literature. He lives in Berkeley, California.
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Academy of American Poets First Book Award
DEADLINE: September 1, 2023 at 11:59pm EST
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, an award-winning 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, a 15th-century castle in the Umbrian region of Italy, where they will become part of a cohort of accomplished international artists, writers, and composers; distribution of their winning book to thousands of Academy of American Poets members, making it one of the most widely-distributed poetry books that year; inclusion and promotion in American Poets magazine, the Academy’s newsletter, and Poets.org, among other opportunities.
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.
The judge is Victoria Chang.
poets.org/academy-american-poets/prizes/first-book-award
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2023 Annual Grants
The Ruth Weiss Foundation
DEADLINE: September 1, 2023
INFO: The ruth weiss Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to create opportunities to support poetic artists through our annual grant program.
In 2023, the Foundation will be offering $6,000 in prizes that seek out works of verbal and stylistic originality. The poet ruth weiss was a child survivor of World War II and dedicated her entire life to raising awareness of the ramifications of war on children.
Most famously, coloring her hair teal to stand out as an anti-war advocate for children. So when people questioned why her hair was teal, she would say, “because war is bad for children.”
Every child is meant to be safe and free to grow as a child. This year’s poetry prompt will focus on the effects of war on children.
Award winners will be announced November 20th 2023 - United Nations Universal Children’s day
Categories for grant applicants include:
MAVERICK POET AWARD ($2,500 Grant) - The Maverick Poet Award is open to all poets that embody the spirit of the maverick; whether published or not. Maverick poets question standard assumptions, standing apart, and making the radical an everyday act. Since they are unconventional, and rebellious, writing poems comes naturally to them. The award embodies independence, often taking the non-conformist or unorthodox stance in thought and action.
EMERGING POET AWARD ($1,500 Grant) - Emergent poets include many writers who have a passion for writing. ruth weiss championed emerging poets throughout her long life as a bellwether writer nurturing the next generation of poets. She supported the up-and-coming, seeking the next new voice. The Emerging poet has an insatiable desire to write poetry. Poetry sets their life’s pattern, whether just starting out or well into a writing journey.
YOUTH POET AWARD ($1000 Grant) - Poetry provides what youth requires, a path to the genuine, the original, the heretical, the shocking, the sensitive, and the one-of-a-kind human individual. Our secondary schools are full of young people who speak brashly to the world. They have things to say that have never been told in ways that have never been seen before. Once upon a time, the Beat poets invaded the consciousness of a generation by speaking in tongues that resonated with the young. Today there lurks a new battalion of youth who command our attention. They want to take poetry in new directions to suit a new world. We should listen. Accepting submissions for ages 14-18.
THE SCHOOL POETRY AWARD - $900 - Three $300 School Donation/Poet Grants - For schools and educators fostering safe and inclusive environments for immigrant and refugee children Grades 4 - 12. Three schools and educators submitting a Vision and Personal statement will be eligible to receive a cash award of $300 to be awarded to their school. Students can and do teach us about resilience and bravery. Teachers use poetry to help such students write about their experiences and tell their stories. Our mission in awarding this grant is to help ease the financial burden on schools impacted by war to fund the creative and poetic pursuits of students.
HONORARY MENTION AWARD - $100 - Gifted to an exceptional poet that stood out, but was runner up to one of the other categories.
SUBMISSION DETAILS: “Every child has the right to health, education, and protection, and every society has a stake in expanding children’s opportunities in life. Yet, millions of children worldwide are denied a fair chance for no reason other than the country, gender, or circumstances into which they are born.” - United Nations.
Humankind is faced with a planet out of balance, beset by poverty, climatic disasters and, most of all, war. They invent new ways of viewing the world, directly influencing people's awareness of moral values and behaviors. They endeavor, awaken interest, and promote action. The mission of ruth weiss Foundation is to encourage poets in their quest to change the world for the better.
Vision and Personal Statement (325 - 400 words max) Submit in writing your journey as a poetic artist and how the funds will help you further your dreams or assist with financial needs.
Write or submit a new poem, never before published.
Poem format: 6x9 Word Document; no more than one pages, 12 - point font. Download Template
English translations of poems written by international poets must stand on their own in English.
ruthweissfoundation.org
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FALL 2023 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
A Gathering Together Literary Journal
DEADLINE: September 1, 2023
INFO: A Gathering Together welcomes previously unpublished essays, short stories, poetry, reviews, visual art, and film. If you have other kinds of submissions in mind please let us know.
The journal is published bi-annually, with special features published between issues. Our deadline for submissions for our spring issue is March 1st and for our fall issue, September 1st.
Please take some time to review our content so that you can get a feel for what we would like to publish. The About Us page is also a great starting point for determining if your work is a good fit. As well, the essay, “Inauguration,” in which our founding editors frame what we are trying to accomplish with this space.
A Gathering Together is unable to compensate writers at this time.
All submissions will undergo a blind review. Please remove all identifying information from your submission–with the exception of the title page, which should include your name, a brief bio, and any other information you would like the editorial team to know. Please submit all text in .doc or .docx format, double spaced, size twelve font (unless your poetry or other creative submission requires otherwise). We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your work has been accepted elsewhere during the process of reviewing.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Features are generally published January-March or July-September. Our interviews usually consist of a conversation with the artist whose work illustrates the immediately preceding issues, but we are interested in featuring projects, initiatives, and works of all kinds.
Artists: Artists who want to be featured in our upcoming issues are invited to send us a letter of interest, brief bio, and a sample portfolio. See additional guidelines below.
Interviews: Writers who want to conduct interviews are welcome to send us pitches letting us know how the interview and interviewee (artist, performer, community initiative, archive, etc.) would be a good fit for our journal.
GENERAL SUBMISSIONS:
Essays and Creative Nonfiction: Essays should address issues of relevance and import. We are looking primarily to use this space to engage ideas that are not normally considered in popular media or ways that they might be considered differently. If necessary, we encourage the use of either footnotes or hyperlinks. If you would like to skip these, please add a further reading list, so that our readers can engage your ideas in depth. We do not impose a word count, as long as there is a convergence between the idea and its proper elaboration.
Poetry: Poetry submissions should engage issues of enduring consequence. Please submit between three and five poems that reflect your style. We will choose up to three if we accept your work for publication. Submit all poems in one document using a page break between each poem.
Short Stories: The short story form continues to represent an important format for intellectual production. We seek compelling narratives that tell stories that rebel against master narratives of our existence be it by use of plot, narrative structure, characterization, or another device. Tell us a story we’ve never heard before, or an old one with an ending we’ve not yet dreamed.
Reviews: William Cooper Nell once wrote that “we must be a reading people.” A Gathering Together is above all a place guided by the written word. We are interested in books that may not have gotten the attention they deserved. Less concerned with engaging the “hot new book,” the reviews section will feature works that strike us as necessary reads, regardless of the date of publication. In addition to books, we offer space for reviews of music, independent film, museum exhibitions, and theater. We will accept both essay reviews and standard reviews. There is no word limit—so the same principles about length outlined in the guidelines for essays holds here.
Visual Art: There are limits to words. Art submissions must do the same kinds of work that we expect in other forms. We accept all kinds of submissions. Please ensure that whatever you submit is of publishable quality. Image resolution should be a minimum of 72dpi and the file should be no larger than 2MB. We prefer that they be submitted in .eps, .jpg, .tiff, or .png file formats.
Film: The moving image, too, is a striking way to articulate meaningful ideas. Films should be no longer than 30 minutes. If we decide to share your work, we will require you to upload it to a third-party site, such as Youtube or Vimeo, so that we can embed it on our site.
SUBMISSIONS PROTOCOL:
All submissions should be sent as attachments to submissions@agatheringtogether.com. In your email, please briefly indicate the nature of your submission and whether you would like it to be considered for our biannual issue or for a special feature.