Genre: Poetry

Deadline Nears for Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog
6.30.23

Are you looking for a home for your debut poetry collection? Try submitting to the Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize from Conduit Books & Ephemera, which offers a prize of $1,500, publication, and 30 author copies of the book for the winning author.

Submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages with a $25 entry fee by July 7. Bob Hicok will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Conduit Books & Ephemera was founded in 2018 in celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Conduit, a biannual literary journal of poetry and prose. Hicok sponsored the inaugural Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize, named after his grandmother-in-law, “a great supporter of young poets.” The annual prize goes to a poet writing in English who has yet to publish a full-length poetry collection. Those who submit are advised to familiarize themselves with Conduit, a magazine “which champions originality, intelligence, irreverence, and humanity.” The press also offers the Minds on Fire Open Book Prize, open to any poet writing in English and judged by Conduit’s editorial board. Submissions for the Minds on Fire prize open August 1.

Interview With Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.

Caption: 

“I found myself writing from the perspective of the kid that I used to be, trying to figure out a basic question: Am I supposed to be here?” Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. talks about the difficulties he experienced as a gay teacher in Appalachia and what inspired his debut collection, Gay Poems for Red States (University of Kentucky Press, 2023), which is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, in this interview for WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Kentucky.

Genre: 
Poetry
Tags: 
Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.
Gay Poems for Red States
University of Kentucky Press
2023
Page One
July/August 2023
WTVQ-TV
interview

Traveling Nouns

The Time Is Now
6.27.23

In his fourth poetry collection, Chariot (Wave Books, 2023), Timothy Donnelly uses form to contain the expansiveness of philosophical and artistic inquiry. Each poem is confined to twenty lines and uses long, syntactically complex sentences to connect seemingly disparate things: from the Milky Way to the polluted green color of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York, and the blue of periwinkles and rainclouds to the ordinariness of a Staples office supply store. Inspired by Donnelly’s use of form and connection, flip through a few books from your shelves and write down all the nouns you encounter. Then write a twenty-line poem that attempts to connect these words as seamlessly as possible using your unique perspective.

Blip Roasters

Reading Venue, Writers Space

Blip Roasters is a café in a sunny, brick urban building in Kansas City, Missouri, which hosts weekly open mic nights, writing workshops, and bike nights for motorcyclists. Their Poetry Underground series features seasonal showcases and an annual poetry slam, typically requiring a cover fee for entry. There is also a conference room available for booking offering a quiet environment with a conference table, Wi-Fi access, and tinted windows for privacy. 

Community Bookstore: Park Slope

Indie Bookstore, Reading Venue

Community Bookstore is an independent bookstore that has served the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, since its establishment in 1971. They are known for their well-curated shelves, garden, and local bookstore cat. The store also hosts monthly events, including readings and panels. 

Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers: Broadway

Indie Bookstore, Reading Venue

Shakespeare & Co. is an independent bookstore located in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan. The store hosts a plethora of events including book signings, readings, talks, monthly book club meetings, and open mic nights for comics, poets, and musicians. Their flagship shop is located in the Upper East Side on Lexington Avenue.

powerHouse at Industry City

Indie Bookstore, Reading Venue

Located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, powerHouse at Industry City is an offshoot of the famed Dumbo bookstore and event space. PowerHouse brings its brand of curated fiction, nonfiction, art, design, cooking, kids, early readers and novelty books and gifts, married to a robust events programming schedule of signings, events, and appearances. The store features a subterranean photo gallery as well a craft coffee and spirits tasting café.

Books Are Magic: Montague Street

Indie Bookstore, Reading Venue

Located in Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the second location of Books Are Magic opened in 2022. Owned by Emma Straub and Michael Fusco-Straub, the independent community bookstore sells a variety of books, including best-sellers, titles by local authors, and a wide selection of kids’ books. The shop also hosts literary events such as book launches, readings, and talks. Their flagship store is located in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.

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