Fall Story Contest runs from now through November 30. Prior winners and finalists in Narrative contests have gone on to win other contests and to be published in prize collections, including the Pushcart Prize, Best New Stories from the South, an Atlantic prize, and others.
They are looking for short stories, short shorts, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction.
All entries will be considered for publication.
$3,250 First Prize
$1,500 Second Prize
$750 Third Prize
Ten finalists receive $100 each.
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These come from The Chronicle, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CRWROPPS-B/ (an outstanding submissions list), Washington States Arts Commission, individual e-mails and U.S. mail – includes submissions, contests and jobs

Postmark deadline for Critique Mania is August 31. We have some outstanding writers and editors to read work this year. Check it out: http://www.writeonwhidbey.com/Publications/CritiqueMania.htm

Reading for the fall issue of Soundings Review, including the contests, to be complete within the next couple weeks. All submissions after that will be for Spring 2011. Check out submission guidelines for magazine and contests: http://www.writeonwhidbey.com/Publications/Soundings.htm

The Rattling Wall is accepting sophisticated short fiction, travel essays, and poetry submissions until November 1, 2010. The literary journal accepts simultaneous submissions, but asks to be contacted immediately if work that a writer has submitted for review has been accepted for publication elsewhere. Successful submission packets will include a cover letter that provides the writer’s contact information and briefly details the writer’s publication history; a submission fee of $10 (either check or money order, made payable to PEN USA); and a writing sample. Writing samples should be typed using Times New Roman (12pt) font. Genre specific guidelines are as follows: The Rattling Wall staff responds to submissions within 2 months. Publication pays 2 contributor copies. Submission packets should be mailed to:
The Rattling Wall
c/o PEN USA
269 S. Beverly Dr. #1163
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

http://therattlingwall.blogspot.com/

To ensure a diverse and fair application pool, Sage Hill Press is extending the
deadline for the Powder Horn Prize until October 1. We have received fewer than
20 manuscripts so far, and don’t feel we can adequately declare a winner from
such a small pool. Details: The Powder Horn Prize is a first book contest, open to all poets who
have not previously had a full manuscript published. Judge: Christopher Howell
Reading fee: $15 Send manuscript (48+ pages) with enclosed check to: Powder Horn Prize / 1024 N.
Summit Blvd. / Spokane WA / 99201. Make checks payable to Sage Hill Press. Postmark deadline: October 1, 2010.
First Prize: $250 and publication in the spring/summer of 2011. To maintain integrity, Sage Hill Press requests that you not enter this year’s
contest if you have studied with, or have a close relationship with, Christopher Howell. Also, members of the editorial board will not consider submissions for which their relationship with the author might make selecting a manuscript
improper. For further questions, contact Thom at <sagehillpress(at)yahoo.com> (replace
(at) with @)
sagehillpress@…

PEN Center USA is now accepting submissions to the 2011 Literary Awards! Since 1982, PEN USA has sponsored a unique regional literary awards competition to recognize outstanding works published or produced by writers who reside in the western United States. Winners are selected in ten categories—Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Research Nonfiction, Poetry, Children’s & Young Adult Literature, Translation, Literary Journalism, Drama, Teleplay and Screenplay—by panels of judges comprised of writers, editors, critics and booksellers.

Who Is Eligible? Authors, journalists, playwrights and screen and television writers whose primary residence is in the United States west of the Mississippi River, including all of Minnesota and Louisiana. For works by two writers or more, the majority of the writers must reside west of the Mississippi River, or in Minnesota or Louisiana. Works may be submitted by writers, their publishers, producers, agents or publicists.

Literary Award winners are granted PEN USA membership for one year, a cash prize of $1,000 and 2 tickets to the Literary Awards Festival in Los Angeles, where winners are honored.

Submissions must have been published or produced between January 1st and December 31st of the year 2010.

To apply, see the official guidelines and submission form below, or visit our website at http://www.penusa.org/2011-lit-awards and download the forms. Please return the completed form with four non-returnable copies and a $35 entry fee for each submission.

Aura Estrada Short Story Contest?Deadline: October 1, 2010?Judge: Samuel R. Delany?First Prize: $1,500?Complete guidelines:?The winning author will receive $1,500 and have his or her work published in Boston Review, the summer of 2011. Stories should not exceed 4,000 words and must be previously unpublished. Mailed manuscripts should be submitted with a cover note listing the author’s name, address, and phone number. No cover note is necessary for online submission. Names should not appear on the stories themselves. Note that simultaneous submissions are not eligible. Any author writing in English is eligible, unless he or she is a current student, former student, relative, or close personal friend of the judge. A $20 entry fee ($30 for international submissions), payable toBoston Review in the form of a check or money order, must accompany each story entered. Entrants will receive a one-year print subscription to the Review beginning with the summer 2011 issue. Submissions must be postmarked no later than October 1, 2010. Manuscripts will not be returned. The winner will be announced no later than May/June 2011, on the Boston Review Web site.?Submit online using our contest entry manager at?http://bostonreview.net/about/contest/

Emerging Voices < http://penusa.org/2011EVApplication > is a literary fellowship program that aims to provide new writers, who lack access, with the tools they will need to launch a professional writing career. Over the course of the year, each Emerging Voices fellow participates in: a professional mentorship; hosted Q & A evenings with prominent local authors; a series of Master classes focused on genre; and two public readings. The fellowship
includes a $1,000 stipend. Participants need not be published, but the program is directed toward poets and writers of fiction and creative nonfiction with clear ideas of what they hope to accomplish through their writing. There are no age restrictions. Applications are due on or before August 31, 2010.

The courageous stories of these  49 women (including WIR 2008 contest winner Thelma Zirkelbach)  proves that there can be triumph over tragedy.  A rich, lively compendium of women’s life experiences and earned wisdom. http://bit.ly/sytbook

This week we have posted a wonderful discussion by writer and instructor Priscilla Long about some surprising ways to keep yourself productive as a writer.  The article is an excerpt from her valuable guide for writers titled The Writer’s Portable Mentor. Let us know what ways you have found to increase your writing productivity and how you might use Priscilla’s ideas.

Short Story Award For new writers:
Deadline: August 31
Prizes: 1st place wins $1,200, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies. 2nd-place: $500 and possible publication. 3rd-place: $300 and possible publication.
Open only to writers whose fiction has not appeared in any print publication with a circulation over 5,000. (Entries, of course, must not have appeared in any print publication.)
No longer than 12,000 words. Any shorter lengths welcome.
Reading fee is $15 per story.
Results post on October 31. Winning story will be published in Issue 81.

The First Annual Beyond Baroque Poetry Contest, PRIZES: $500, $250, $100

For more information visit www.beyondbaroque.org

Deadline September 1 (Postmarked) CA residents only
Prizes: $500, $250, $100
Final Judge: Tony Barnstone
(Professor at Whittier College, NEA Fellow, Pushcart Prize winner)
CONTEST RULES
1. Submit up to three unpublished poems, 40 line limit.
2. All themes and styles welcome.
3. No ID on poems; poet’s name, address, phone, e-mail address and poem titles on cover sheet.
4. Send entries, including $15 reading fee, to:
Beyond Baroque Contest, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291.
5. Checks payable to Beyond Baroque
6. No SASE. Poems not returned. Note: A reading/reception will be held for the three cash winners and five top finalists at Beyond Baroque on Sunday, Oct.
17, 2010.

This week’s article features the winning essay in our Spring Writing It Real contest. Please let us know your response to the essay and what writing ideas and thoughts it prompts for you.

Some of these are from J. Glenn Evans, some from Poets & Writers, some from miscellaneous sources and some, of course, from Soundings Review

Soundings Review: Currently reading for the fall issue, including for the contests, Founders’ Circle Award and First Publication. The new issue is out, and we’re pleased to announce awards: Simon Peter Eggertsen’s poem “Elinor’s Quilts” won the Founders’ Circle Award. Norton Girault’s story “Souvenirs” won the Reader’s Choice award. For guidelines for submissions and contests: www.writeonwhidbey.org/Publications

Also, Critique Mania is underway for the month of August.  Thirty-two authors and editors are available to critique your work for low prices. This is a fundraiser to support Soundings Review. For details, check out www.writeonwhidbey.org/Publications

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BEST INNOVATIVE College Writing: 2010. The Platypus Prize recognizes U.S. college students, in any discipline, whose writing demonstrates excellence in creative intent, conception, and execution. We seek aspiring writers exploring creative possibilities far beyond the traditional literary process and product. Excerpts and multimedia accepted. $10 entry fee. $100 prize for editor’s choice. Guidelines: http://jadedibisproductions.com/platypus_prize.html.

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NATIVE WEST PRESS seeks short, creative nonfiction (under 1,000 words) and poetry for a collection of direct, unexpected experiences with wild creatures (yes, including insects and arachnids) who had the effect of restoring or enhancing the writer’s sense of psychological well-being. Beginning June 1 through the August 31 deadline, the editors are particularly interested in reading unique accounts of authentic, personal encounters with wild animals who had a positive effect on the writer, such as restoring the author’s faith and joy, evoking respect for the unexplainable, helping the author heal from illness or trauma, reducing stress, and/or moving the author to a state of enhanced sense of connection to the living, natural world. Please note that we are not seeking general abstractions or anything to do with domestic animals or pets, such as dogs. We are looking for unanticipated, special, profound occurrences, in which the creature was not intimately known to the author prior to the experience. While simultaneous submissions are not preferred, they may be submitted for consideration, provided we are notified if the submitted material is accepted for publication elsewhere—either online or in print. Please note that authors whose works are accepted for publication will be contracted for First North American Serial Rights with the understanding that the work accepted should not appear in electronic form prior to publication in the anthology. Response time is two to four months (or sooner). Payment is one contributor copy. No attachments. For full submission guidelines, please see www.nativewestpress.com.

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INKWELL: The Spring 2011 issue is open to all themes/subjects. Special Fall 2011 theme issue: “Ripped From the Headlines.” The reading period for both issues is August 1 through November 15. Contributors are asked to send fiction, essays, poems, and artwork. Up to 5 unpublished poems and/or up to 3 unpublished fiction manuscripts (5,000 word limit). For complete guidelines, please visit www.inkwelljournal.org.

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MARCO POLO, a literary quarterly, is calling out to you. Discover what we’re about and send us your best writing. We seek international short stories, flash fiction, prose poems, poetry, and lyric essays. Francophiles and film devotees, please check out our Francois Truffaut feature. Details available at our Web site: www.marcopoloquarterly.com.

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MUSE & STONE. Accepting submissions for Fall 2010 issue. Simultaneous submissions accepted. Include cover letter and SASE for response only. Send up to 5 poems, or 6,000 words of fiction or creative nonfiction to: Muse & Stone, Waynesburg University, 51 W. College St., Waynesburg, PA 15370.

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7TH YEAR! The RRofihe Trophy for an unpublished short story! (Up to 5,000 words). Winner receives: $500, trophy, and publication in Open City magazine. Judge: Rick Rofihe. Fee: $10. Deadline: October 15. Mail entries to RRofihe, 270 Lafayette St., Ste. 1412, New York, NY 10012. For detailed guidelines, see www.opencity.org/rrofihe.html.

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ANNUAL Copperdome Chapbook Competition. Deadline: October 1. $300 and 25 copies. Send 24 to 32 pages. $15 fee includes copy of winning chapbook. Copperdome Competition, Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650 1 University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. Guidelines: http://www6.semo.edu/universitypress/Copperdome.htm.www6.semo.edu/universitypress/Copperdome.htm.

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FOURTH GENRE: Explorations in Nonfiction is seeking submissions for the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 issues. Reading period: August 15–November 30. All manuscripts must be received by November 30. For complete guidelines, visit www.msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg. Submit manuscripts to Marcia Aldrich, Editor, Fourth Genre, Dept. of English, Michigan State University, 201 Morrill Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1036. Submissions not accepted at MSU Press. Subscriptions: $35/ yr (2 issues). Sample copy: $18. To subscribe, contact MSU Press, Journals Division. E-mail: journals@msu.edu; phone (517) 355-9543 x101; fax (517) 432-7484.

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GARRISON KEILLOR will judge this year’s May Swenson Poetry Award. Winning manuscript receives $1,000 plus publication by Utah State University Press. Full-length poetry collection in English; no restrictions on form or subject. Postmark deadline: September 30. Guidelines available at: www.usupress.org.

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From Allen Braden:

Deadline October 1, 2010 for submissions 2010 Wabash Prize For Poetry http://www.sycamorereview.com/contest/

First Prize: $1000 and publication in Winter/Spring 2011 issue. Guidelines: up to three unpublished poems with $15 reading fee (check or money order) payable to Sycamore Review. Additional poems (beyond the initial three) ok but increase reading fee $5 for each additional poem. All entries typed and must include a cover letter with the author’s name, contact information and titles of poems submitted. No ID on manuscript. SASE for notification of receipt of ms only. Questions? Contact sycamore@purdue.edu. Send 2010 Wabash Prize for Poetry submissions and reading fee to:

2010 Wabash Prize for Poetry?Sycamore Review?Department of English?500 Oval Drive?Purdue University?West Lafayette, IN 47907

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From Allen Braden:

A fairly new magazine, low budget but high on quality and enthusiasm. Check it out. http://www.sprreview.com/

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Also from Allen Braden:

The reading period is now officially open for the 2010 Joy Harjo Poetry Prize and the Rick DeMarinis Short Fiction Prize. 1st Prize winners receive $1250 plus publication in our print edition. 2nd Prize winners receive $250 plus publication in our print edition. Honorable Mentions are published. All finalists are eligible for publication. Go to http://www.cutthroatmag.com/ for complete guidelines. Enter as often as you wish. We are also reading regular submissions for our print edition.

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Also from Allen Braden:

Submissions open for month of August http://www.redheadedmag.com/poetry/ TheRedheaded Stepchild only accepts poems that have been rejected by other magazines. We publish biannually, and accept submissions in August and February only. No previously published work. Submit 3-5 poems rejected elsewhere with names of magazines that rejected the poems. No email attachments. Include in body of email: brief bio, publication(s) that rejected the poems and send to redheadedstepchildmag@gmail.com.

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Writing It Real Summer/Fall 2010 Poetry & Essay Contest

Reading Period: August 1 – October 31, 2010

It’s a special kind of contest aimed at helping you develop your work. Everyone’s a winner because when you send in a draft, a free-write, or a piece you think may be done but you wonder about; within two weeks you’ll receive detailed response to your work from master teacher Sheila Bender, author of over ten books on writing, most recently Writing and Publishing Personal Essays from Silver Threads publishing and Creative Writing Demystified forthcoming from McGraw-Hill. After you receive Sheila’s response, you have until October 31, 2010 to enter a revision for final judging by a guest editor.

The earlier you get your pieces in, the more time you have for rewriting. Initial entries may be up to six pages of double-spaced prose or three poems. The rewrites you do may become longer and will be entered into the final judging by our guest editor.

Prizes!

By November 30th, three winners will receive a tuition waiver ($120) for a Writing It Real online class and a half-hour consult by phone with Sheila But everyone’s a winner because everyone receives professional help on their writing!

Contest Submission Guidelines

Contest Deadline: Work must be sent electronically or postmarked by October 31, 2010. There is no additional fee for the revised draft to be entered for judging. First drafts can be up to six pages double-spaced of prose or three poems. Expect Sheila’s response to the work by email within two weeks. Our electronic submission form and mailing directions are below. Second drafts may be longer than the initial entry and should be mailed or emailed (iinfo@writingitreal.com) by November 15th. http://www.writingitreal.com/page.php?p=essay_contest

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AARP Magazine
PAY: $1.00/word
AARP Publications is the leading authority on the 50+ market, with a family of magazines serving the interests and needs of America’s fastest-growing market segment. Those publications include: AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine, with three unique editorial editions; AARP Bulletin, the newspaper of 50+ America; and AARP Segunda Juventud, a quarterly newspaper for Hispanics 50 and over. With over 76 million U.S. residents age 50+ today and someone turning 50 every 7 seconds, the 50+ market is clearly a powerful force. AARP Publications offers unparalleled access to this vital, growing market segment.

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/Articles/a2003-02-21-mag-writers_guidelines.html

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A Cup of Comfort Anthologies

A Cup of Comfort stories weave powerful life lessons into vividly told tales. They are nonfiction stories that read like fiction, but always ring true. They are slice-of-life tales that make us think and care, that give insight and inspire positive action, and that entertain and enlighten. Stories must be uplifting, written in English, based on real people and events, and 1000 to 2000 words in length. $500 grand prize; $100 each for all other published stories. http://www.cupofcomfort.com/share.htm

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Adventures of Sword & Sorcery Magazine
PAY: $0.03-0.06/word We are looking for Sword & Sorcery, Heroic and High Fantasy fiction from 1,000 to 20,000 words. We want fiction with an emphasis on action and adventure, but still cognizant of the struggles within as they play against the struggles without. As examples, think of the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, and Katherine Kurtz, but with 90′s sensibilities for a 90′s audience. Include sexual content only as required by the story, but not excessive/porn. Please include a cover letter with publishing credits and submit the story in the standard format for fiction submissions. Enclose with the submission a self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage for return of the submission. Use International Reply Coupons as return postage if submitting from outside the U.S. Send all submissions to Randy Dannenfelser, Editor, PO Box 285, Xenia, OH 45385, or send e-mail submissions (ASCII files) to mailto:double_star@yahoo.com. And the best way to determine what type of stories we want to buy, is to see what we have already bought.

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Analog
PAY: $.05 – $.08/word
Will consider material submitted by any writer, and consider it solely on the basis of merit. We are definitely eager to find and develop new, capable writers. We have no hard-and-fast editorial guidelines, because science fiction is such a broad field that I don’t want to inhibit a new writer’s thinking by imposing Thou Shalt Nots. Besides, a really good story can make an editor swallow his preconceived taboos. Basically, we publish science fiction stories. That is, stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse. Try to picture Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein without the science and you’ll see what I mean. No story!

http://www.analogsf.com/information/submissions.shtml

I had the privilege of teaching with author Susan Wingate  at the Whidbey Island Writer’s Mini Conference. I am pleased to share this information about her helpful blogs and her new books:
http://susanwingate.wordpress.com/muscle-up-the-gut-of-your-novel-writing-instruction/ Her  website blog
http://blogs.sanjuanjournal.com/susanwingate/ The PNWLocalNews.com & the SanJuanJournal.com blogs.
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/susanwingate/ Her blog on PublishersMarketPlace.com

She’s had three new books released this past spring and summer. They are:
· RAVINGS OF A MAD GENTLEWOMAN: More Madness, <http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1449956548/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link>

· <http://stores.blackrosewritingbooks.com/-strse-77/A-Falling-of-Law/Detail.bok> A FALLING OF LAW, and

· EASY AS PIE AT BOBBY’S DINER <http://www.book-hub.com/eaaspieatbod.html>