Portrait of a Life

The Time Is Now
10.4.22

In Derrick Austin’s poem “Jesus Year,” he creates a portrait of his life on the occasion of his thirty-third birthday. Instead of leaning toward the more familiar images of birthday cakes or candles, Austin begins by describing his immediate surroundings: “My clogged sink coughs up foul water. / My skeletal philodendron,” he writes. The poem then offers more about his life; family members, a cerulean sweater worn through a winter without work, memories of the last time he smoked a cigarette. Taking inspiration from Austin, write a poem that paints a portrait of your life. Try to color the poem with unexpected images to offer a complete picture.

River Teeth Book Prize Open for Submissions

G&A: The Contest Blog
9.30.22

Spooky season officially starts tomorrow, but don’t let fear stop you from submitting to River Teeth’s Book Prize by the Halloween deadline! Offered annually for a volume of creative nonfiction, the prize awards the winner $1,000 and publication by the University of New Mexico Press.

Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of approximately 150 to 350 pages with a $27 entry fee, which includes a subscription to River Teeth, by October 31. Any style of literary nonfiction—including memoir, personal essays, and investigative reporting—is eligible. Natasha Trethewey, who served as U.S. poet laureate from 2012–2014 and is the author of Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir (Ecco, 2020), will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Previous winners of River Teeth’s Book Prize include Kevin Honold in 2019 for The Rock Cycle, Joan Frank in 2018 for Try to Get Lost: Essays on Travel and Place, and Debra Gwartney in 2017 for I Am a Stranger Here Myself.

Founded in 1999 at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, by professors Joe Mackall and Dan Lehman, River Teeth publishes essays, memoir, and literary journalism in a biannual print journal as well as online content, including reviews and a weekly web publication called “Beautiful Things,” which highlights the beauty found in daily life. In 2019, River Teeth moved to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where it is led by senior editors Jill Christman and Mark Neely. Now retired from Ashland University, Mackall and Lehman remain as editors in chief of River Teeth.

Find a Writing Contest

The Grants & Awards database includes details about every writing contest we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it, making the Grants & Awards database the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Search the database

Hiding a Truth

The Time Is Now
9.29.22

In “Oral History,” an essay published in Astra Magazine online, Yiyun Li recounts when she was invited by her child’s third grade class to share a story of what her life was like in the third grade. Instead of telling the true story of a teacher’s cruel punishment of a fellow student and the betrayal and ostracism she experienced as a result, she fabricates a story about the lantern festival she attended. Li writes: “How else could I have contributed to their education? Had I chosen to tell them a true story, I would have inflicted cruelty, too.” Inspired by Li’s decision, write a personal essay about a time you chose to conceal the truth to protect someone. What were the circumstances behind this decision, and what were you trying to protect them from?

Thanatology

The Time Is Now
9.28.22

In a recent episode of the science podcast Ologies, host Alie Ward speaks with Cole Imperi, founder of the School of American Thanatology and a leading expert on death, dying, and grief. Ward talks about her experience with her father’s death and asks Imperi about the Kübler-Ross model, also known as the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Imperi discusses the common misconception that these stages are experienced by all in a linear order, and that in fact, many may not experience all the stages and some may switch from one stage to another and return to one again. This week, write a story in which a character grieves over the loss of something or someone. Use the Kübler-Ross model as inspiration to plot out your character’s development.

To the Harvest

The Time Is Now
9.27.22

In Ross Gay’s poem “To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian,” neighbors gather around “the canopy / of a fig its / arms pulling the / September sun to it” and relish in the riches of the tree’s bounty, an uncommon occurrence for a typical city street corner. Gay writes, “soon there were / eight or nine / people gathered beneath / the tree looking into / it like a / constellation pointing / do you see it.” This week, inspired by autumn as the season of the harvest, write a poem in which you describe a joyful scene centered around a fruit-bearing plant or tree. How does this experience serve as an escape from the worries of your daily life?

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog
9.23.22

Though the temperature outside is starting to drop, you can stoke the fires of your writing practice by submitting to contests with deadlines of October 15, 16, 17, and 18! Poets, there are multiple awards to win, including a prize of approximately $66,500 for a year of travel and study outside of North America, and $5,000 plus publication of a poetry collection by Alice James Books. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more and two are free to enter. Keep those literary fires burning!

Alice James Books
Alice James Award
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Alice James Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet residing in the United States. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: October 16. Entry fee: $30.

Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship
An award of approximately $66,500 is given annually to a U.S. poet for a year of travel and study outside of North America. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: none.

Copper Nickel
Jake Adam York Prize
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Amaud Jamaul Johnson will judge. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $25, which includes a subscription to Copper Nickel.

John Pollard Foundation
International Poetry Prize
A prize of €10,000 (approximately $10,732) is given annually for a debut poetry collection published during the current year. Deadline: October 18. Entry fee: none. 

Pulitzer Prizes
Prizes in Books
Six prizes of $15,000 each are given annually to honor books of poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, U. S. history, biography, and memoir or autobiography published in the United States during the current year. American authors only are eligible for the poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, biography, and memoir or autobiography categories. Deadline: October 17. Entry fee: $75.

San Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild
Steve Kowit Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in San Diego Poetry Annual is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive an invitation to read at an award ceremony in April 2023. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $15.

Silverfish Review Press
Gerald Cable Book Award
A prize of $1,000, publication by Silverfish Review Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a first poetry collection. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $25, which includes a copy of the winning book.

TulipTree Publishing
Humor Story Contest
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of TulipTree Review is given annually for a humorous poem, story, or essay. Deadline: October 17. Entry fee: $20.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

A Feeling of History

The Time Is Now
9.22.22

Following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Twitter user @aardvarsk tweeted: “I am tired of being a part of a major historical event.” The tweet gained over 60,000 retweets and 263,000 likes, and like anything popular these days, eventually turned into a meme. The expression, and versions of it, have spread online over the past two years noting the fatigue of many living through this time of multiple pandemics, war, and political and economic instability. Write an essay that reflects on the exhaustion of living through major historical moments. Consider how people a century ago were feeling and what might be said of the 2020s in the future.

My Banned Book

The Time Is Now
9.21.22

In an essay featured in the September/October 2022 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, Jonathan Evison writes about the banning of his 2018 novel, Lawn Boy, and the morning he found out that parents were protesting the inclusion of his novel in a Texas high school library. Evison awoke to several threatening messages on his social media accounts which included one that read: “There’s a special place in hell for people like you. I hope you burn.” This week, write a story from the perspective of a writer whose book is banned and targeted by a group of parents and local politicians. In what unexpected way is your protagonist’s life changed by this sudden fame?

Before the Storm

The Time Is Now
9.20.22

In her poem “The Quiet,” which appears in a recent issue of the London Review of Books, Jorie Graham disrupts traditional expectations of a poem by aligning the text to the right of the page. Graham creates an atmosphere of tension by describing a metaphysical storm, and later in the poem, a literal one. She writes: “as wind comes up and we feel our soul turn frantic / in us, craning this way and that, yes the soul can twist, can winch itself into knots, / why not, there is light but no warmth.” This week, write a poem that creates visual tension by aligning the text to the right. Is there a storm in your life that could serve as inspiration?

Submissions Open for African Poetry Book Fund’s Glenna Luschei Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog
9.16.22

The deadline is approaching for the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, presented by the African Poetry Book Fund and in partnership with Prairie Schooner. Offered annually for a book of poetry written by an African poet and published during the previous year, the prize awards $1,000. Writers who were born in Africa, who are a national or a resident of an African country, or whose parents are African are eligible. Only collections written in English, including works of translation, will be considered.

Authors and publishers may submit four copies (or unbound proofs) of a poetry collection of at least 48 pages published in 2021 by October 1. There is no entry fee. Gabeba Baderoon will judge. Visit the website for an entry form and complete guidelines.

Established in 2015, this Pan African Poetry Prize, named after the literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei, “is the only one of its kind in the world and aims to honor and promote African poetry.” The winner will be announced in January 2023. Please note that self-published books and books published by the African Poetry Book Fund are ineligible. Recent winners include Mangaliso Buzani (a naked bone), Koleka Putuma (Collective Amnesia), Juliane Okot Bitek (100 Days), and Rethabile Masilo (Waslap). Established in 2015, this Pan African Poetry Prize, named after the literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei, “is the only one of its kind in the world and aims to honor and promote African poetry.” The winner will be announced in January 2023. Please note that self-published books and books published by the African Poetry Book Fund are ineligible. Recent winners include Mangaliso Buzani (a naked bone), Koleka Putuma (Collective Amnesia), Juliane Okot Bitek (100 Days), and Rethabile Masilo (Waslap). 

Find a Writing Contest

The Grants & Awards database includes details about every writing contest we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it, making the Grants & Awards database the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Search the database

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