Craft Capsule: We Get to Make a Mess
Poets and writers share their notes on writing in this series of micro craft essays. In the latest installment: the messy art.
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Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Dr. Seuss Museum, Burgess’s Lost Dictionary of Slang, and More
Hillary Clinton talks books and bookselling at BookExpo America; how City University of New York has become a fertile ground for poetry; Yoojin Grace Wuertz on being a bilingual writer and mother; and other news.
Writers & Books
Writers & Books is a literary center based in Rochester, New York, that features writing classes and workshops for youth and adults, community outreach programs, readings and talks by visiting and regional writers, residency programs at their rural retreat center, an annual Regional Playwriting Competition and citywide reading program, and internships in literary programming and management for high school and college students.
The Spring of Poetry, Newly Discovered Edith Wharton Play, and More
Teenage Syrian refugee shares the books that helped her through times of violence; poet Larry Fagin has died; the fiction titles generating the most buzz at BookExpo; and other news.
Iceland Press Burns Its Books, a New Tolkien Story, and More
Rebecca Solnit imagines Trump’s loneliness; poet Brian Sonia-Wallace on corporate creative writing gigs; John Grisham’s do’s and don’ts for writing popular fiction; and other news.
Parental Territory
“Of course, everyone’s parents are embarrassing. It goes with the territory,” Neil Gaiman wrote in Anansi Boys (William Morrow, 2005), a novel about two brothers who are brought together after the death of their father. Think back to an embarrassing parent-child event from your past in which you were either the child or the parent or guardian figure. Write a personal essay that uses this incident as a pivotal point from which to explore the “territory” of your relationship during that particular time. Did this incident have further repercussions? Does the point of view you’ve chosen allow you to sympathize with or find humor in the innocence of youth or the wisdom of age? What does the situation reveal about your specific parent-child relationship and about parent-child relationships more generally?
Let’s Play: Intuition, Imagination, and Black Creativity
A new exhibit at Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland celebrates the idea of “fun as a revolutionary event” and explores AfroSurreal notions of intuition and imagination.
The Make Space Campaign, Poet in Portland Attack, and More
Politics and Prose Bookstore to open second store in D.C.; recommendations for books to read aloud; Jennifer Egan on her days as a private secretary to a countess; and other news.
Muldoon’s Picnic
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Paul Muldoon speaks with PBS NewsHour’s Jeffrey Brown about “Muldoon’s Picnic,” a monthly show held at the Irish Arts Center in New York featuring music, storytelling, and poetry.
Upcoming Fiction and Nonfiction Contest Deadlines
Fiction and nonfiction writers—if you’re sitting on a finished story, essay, or book-length manuscript of prose, check out the following contests with deadlines in the next week. Each contest offers a cash prize, from $1,000 to $5,000, and includes added benefits such as publication and paid trips to conferences.
American Short Fiction Short Story Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in American Short Fiction is given annually for a short story. Lauren Groff will judge. Entry fee: $20. Deadline: June 1.
Crook’s Corner Book Prize: A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel set in the American South. The winner is also entitled to receive a free glass of wine every day for a year at Crook’s Corner Café and Bar in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Eligible novels must be set primarily in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, or the District of Columbia. Elizabeth Cox will judge. Entry fee: $35. Deadline: June 1.
Nowhere Magazine Travel Writing Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Nowhere Magazine is given twice yearly for a short story or essay that “possesses a powerful sense of place.” Porter Fox will judge. Entry fee: $20. Deadline: June 1.
Salamander Fiction Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Salamander is given annually for a short story. Christopher Castellani will judge. Entry fee: $15. Deadline: June 1.
Southern Indiana Review Thomas A. Wilhelmus Short Prose Award: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Southern Indiana Review Press is given annually for a chapbook-length story collection, novella, novel excerpt, or work of creative nonfiction. David H. Lynn will judge. Entry fee: $20. Deadline: June 1.
Willow Springs Books Spokane Prize for Short Fiction: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Willow Springs Books is given annually for a short story collection. Entry fee: $27.50. Deadline: June 5.
Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition: A prize of $5,000, publication in the 86th annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in August in New York City to meet one-on-one with four agents or editors is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay. The winner will also be interviewed in Writer’s Digest, and will receive a subscription to the Writer’s Digest Tutorials video series. A second-place prize of $1,000 and publication is also given in each genre, including personal essay, genre short story, literary short story, and inspirational writing. Entry Fee: $30. Deadline: June 1.
Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines and submission details. Check out our Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more upcoming contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
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