Lenoir-Rhyne University
MFA Program
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Asheville, NC
Application Deadline:
Rolling Admissions
Application Fee:
$35
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Editor Judith Jones Has Died, Sylvia Plath’s Visual Art, and More
FBI director James Comey signs book deal with Flatiron; Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden’s favorite books; a case for more diverse book reviewers and critics; and other news.
Self-Defense
In times of conflict, we often experience an instinct for self-preservation. Last month, a truck transporting thousands of hagfish in Oregon was involved in a collision that resulted in the eel-like creatures spilling out and releasing massive amounts of slimy mucus onto the highway and cars. In their natural deep-sea habitat, one of the functions of the slime-spewing is as a defense mechanism, clogging the gills of attacking predators. Think of a time when you’ve responded in a stressful situation with a defense mechanism of your own. Write an essay about the encounter, exploring your emotional responses and aspects of your personal history that may have contributed to your instinctive reaction.
David Sedaris’s Process
Caption:
“Usually it’s the worst thing you can admit about yourself that most people can relate to.” David Sedaris, whose latest book, Theft by Finding: Diaries (1922–2002) (Little, Brown, 2017), is an edited compilation of his diary entries, expresses his thoughts on working on drafts and combining laughter with sorrow in this PBS NewsHour video. David Sedaris Diaries: A Visual Compendium (Little, Brown, 2017), edited and photographed by artist Jeffrey Jenkins, is featured in “The Written Image” in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Genre:
Poem Drafts, NEH Announces 2017 Grants, and More
Tips for raising kids as good writers; Patti Smith remembers Sam Shepard; award news from both the Poetry Foundation and Restless Books; and other news.
Submissions Open for New Lyric Essay Book Prize
Submissions are currently open for Seneca Review’s inaugural Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Book Prize. An award of $2,000 and publication by Hobart and William Smith College Press will be given biennially for a lyric essay collection. The winner will also be invited to give a reading at Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, New York. John D’Agata will serve as final judge.
The contest accepts “cross-genre and hybrid work, verse forms, text and image, connected or related pieces, and ‘beyond category’ projects.” Using the online submission manager, submit a manuscript of 48 to 120 pages with a $27 entry fee by August 15. The contest is open to both emerging and established writers.
Sponsored by Seneca Review in conjunction with the TRIAS residency program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the new biennial book series intends to “encourage and support innovative work in the essay.” Visit the website for complete guidelines.
For more upcoming prizes in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, visit our Grants & Awards Database and Submission Calendar.
The Great American Read, Randolph College Launches New MFA, and More
Forty years of Sam Shepard reviews; the most anthologized essays; Astro Poets sign a book deal with Random House; and other news.
Sam Shepard Has Died, Age Discrimination Complaint at Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and More
An Illinois bookstore owner is running for Congress; how Rachel Cusk is reinventing the novel; the most anthologized essays of the past twenty-five years; and other news.
Michiko Kakutani Steps Down from New York Times, Clinton Memoir, and More
Lesley Nneka Arimah on short fiction and the writing workshop; how the Trump presidency is affecting book sales; a diamond-shaped library in Minsk, Belarus; and other news.
Man Booker Longlist Announced, the Writer’s Diary, and More
Tracy K. Smith and Carla Hayden on CBS This Morning; Octavia Butler’s Parable series as the dystopian novel of our times; poet Ocean Vuong on optimism; and other news.
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