Why Zadie Smith Isn’t on Social Media, Lillian Ross Has Died, and More
Winners of PEN Center USA Awards; Hurricane Irma destroys Shel Silverstein’s Key West Home; Celeste Ng’s reading habits; and other news.
Genre: Fiction
Whiting Launches Lit Mag Prizes, Kirkus Prize Finalists, and More
Advice for those who fear ageism in the literary world; a history of poetry’s financial dependence on academia; winners of Honey & Wax’s book-collecting prizes; and other news.
Plant Blindness
Plant blindness is a term used by botanists and horticulturists to describe contemporary humanity’s general inability to see the plants and trees in our daily environments as more than just decorative background. Many gardening and plant experts and enthusiasts encourage educational courses or casual tree identification walks as activities that can begin influencing the way the majority of people view and value plants. Write a short story in which a character who once had plant blindness develops a new awareness of greenery. What moment or situation provokes the change? Does the change manifest itself in dramatic and monumental ways, or in more subtle shifts of behavior and beliefs?
The Golden House
Caption:
“One of the things that the novel comes out of is this sense that reality itself is under attack, that the idea of truth itself is under attack. And it actually changed the way I wrote.” Salman Rushdie talks about politics, alternative news, free speech, and his most recent novel, The Golden House (Random House, 2017), on Boston’s WBGH News. “Epic: An Interview With Salman Rushdie” by Porochista Khakpour is featured in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Genre:
Prose Contests With Upcoming Deadlines
Fiction and nonfiction writers: consider taking a chance and submitting your story, essay, or prose manuscript to a writing contest. Below is a list of contests with deadlines in the second half of September. Each contest offers a first-place prize of at least $1,000.
Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $20
Hackney Literary Awards Novel Contest: A prize of $5,000 is given annually for an unpublished novel. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $30
Literal Latté Essay Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Literal Latté is given annually for a personal essay. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $10
Manchester Metropolitan University Fiction Prize: A prize of £10,000 is given annually for a short story. The winner will be invited to attend an award ceremony in Manchester, England, in November. Bonnie Greer, Angela Readman, and Nicholas Royle will judge. Deadline: September 29. Entry fee: $23
Travelers’ Tales Solas Awards: A prize of $1,000 and publication in the annual anthology The Best Travel Writing and on the Travelers Tales’ website is given annually for a travel essay. Writers from Arizona and Vermont are eligible for publication, but not the cash prize. Deadline: September 21. Entry Fee: $25
University of Iowa Press Iowa Short Fiction Award: Two awards of publication by University of Iowa Press are given annually for first collections of short fiction. Writers who have not published a book of fiction are eligible. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: 0
University of Massachusetts Press Juniper Prizes: Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a short story collection and a novel. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $30
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.
Liu Xiaobo’s Last Written Text, Ann Beattie on Procrastination, and More
Imprisoned Turkish writer Ahmet Altan pens essay on the eve of his trial; the Merriam-Webster dictionary adds 250 words this month; a Trump poetry contest; and other news.
Literary Writers Conference
The 2020 Literary Writers Conference was held online from December 2 to December 4. The conference, which was hosted by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, featured agent pitch sessions, pitch clinics, a query letter clinic, and panel discussions. The faculty included fiction writer Emily Temple, agents Claudia Ballard (William Morris Endeavor) and Regina Brooks (Serendipity Literary Agency), and editors Danielle A. Jackson (Oxford American), Jonathan Lee (Catapult), and Jyothi Natarajan (Margins).
Type:
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
October 7, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
October 7, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
October 7, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Literary Writers Conference, Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, 154 Christopher Street, Suite 3C, New York, NY 10004. David Gibbs, Contact.
David Gibbs
Contact
Contact City:
Online
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
10004
National Poetry Series Winners, Essays on Bodegas, and More
Having your book adapted for the screen; Jennifer Egan on her latest novel, Manhattan Beach; the influence of celebrity book endorsements; and other news.
Lisa Ko
Caption:
On Nashville Public Television’s A Word on Words, Lisa Ko speaks about her debut novel, The Leavers (Algonquin Books, 2017), which is longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award in fiction.
Genre:
Melville House Book Campaign, Tracy K. Smith Begins Term as Poet Laureate, and More
The longlist for the 2017 National Book Award in fiction; House passes spending bill that upholds funding for NEA and NEH; writer J. P. Donleavy has died; and other news.
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