Genre: Poetry

Tony Quagliano International Poetry Award Accepting Submissions

G&A: The Contest Blog
11.14.19

Submissions are open for the Tony Quagliano International Poetry Award. Established in the memory of poet and editor Tony Quagliano, the biennial prize awards $1,000 for an outstanding body of work by a poet who “consistently strives for cutting edge and avant-garde innovation.” Poets who have published at least one full-length collection or who have an extended publication record in literary journals and anthologies are eligible. 

Submit 20 pages of published or unpublished poetry with proof of previous publications establishing eligibility by December 1. Applications may be made only via email or by mailing a CD or flash drive containing the required materials. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines. 

Administered in partnership with the Hawai’i Council for the Humanities, the Tony Quagliano International Poetry Award was established in 2010 and has been awarded to five writers. The 2018 prizewinner was Eleanor Stanford. 

Indie Bookstores in the HOU

United States of Writing
11.12.19

Hey mi gente! This week I want to draw your attention to some indie bookstores here in Houston, the HOU.

Indie bookstores are independently operated as a small business and I am proud to say we have many in town that help build the literary fabric of the city. These spaces are important and special because they help bring authors into town and invite locals to see and hear new voices. Indie bookstores inform and build community with every reader that enters their doors.

Here are a few shops in town that I often frequent:

Brazos Bookstore is a solid space to find anything current and fresh, and the go-to spot for readings from local and national writers. They do an amazing job at keeping up with a special section for books by local writers.

Casa Ramirez is located in the heart of the Heights, in the Northside. Although it’s not technically a bookstore, Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery has always served as a cultural pillar providing a space for community and art. Casa Ramirez houses folk art, pieces by local artists, Dia de los Muertos events, Mexican artisan work, and a large selection of books written by Latinx writers, from children’s books to short story anthologies. They also host poetry readings, author talks, and storytelling events.

Kaboom Books is a used bookstore in Woodland Heights just above Downtown Houston. I love this space because, although it focuses on used books, they have a great outside patio to host readings featuring writers with new work. Many local literary organizations have used the space for book launches and the shop owners are always all about it.

Murder By the Book is a beautiful, small shop that focuses on thriller, suspense, and mystery genres. They regularly host author readings and Akashic Books’ Houston Noir celebrated its launch party there this past May.

To find indie bookstores in your area, check out the Literary Places and Reading Venues databases.

Saeed Jones reads for a recent event at Brazos Bookstore.
 
Lupe Mendez is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in Houston. Contact him at Houston@pw.org or on Twitter, @houstonpworg.

Harryette Mullen at Beyond Baroque

Caption: 

“Instead of scanning newspaper headlines, / I spend the morning reading names / of flowers and trees in the botanical garden.” Harryette Mullen reads a selection of poems from her collection Urban Tumbleweed: Notes From a Tanka Diary (Graywolf Press, 2013) at Beyond Baroque in this Poetry.LA video.

Genre: 
Poetry
Tags: 
Harryette Mullen
Urban Tumbleweed
Graywolf Press
2013
Sleeping With the Dictionary
University of California Press
2002
Beyond Baroque
Poetry.LA interview series
reading
2019

Move Your Body

The Time Is Now
11.12.19

Is there something in the way you move? A study published last month in the Journal of Applied Physiology presented findings that people have unique movement patterns like fingerprints, ways of walking specific to each individual due to distinct muscular contractions. This week observe the idiosyncratic motions of someone close to you, whose gait you can detect from afar or out of the corner of your eye. Write a poem that attempts to capture this person’s particular way of moving. Utilize sound, rhythm, and spacing in your lines to depict these recognizable footsteps.

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog
11.8.19

November deadlines are approaching for contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, including the oldest annual literary award in America, the Yale Series of Younger Poets. Each of these contests has a deadline of November 15, and all but one offer a prize of $1,000 or more in addition to publication. 

Hidden River Arts Blue Mountain Novel Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for a novel. Hidden River Press staff will judge. Entry fee: $22.

Nightboat Books Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,000, publication by Nightboat Books, and twenty-five author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Kazim Ali, Stephen Motika, Lindsey Boldt, and Andrea Abi-Karam will judge. Entry fee: $28.

North American Review James Hearst Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a poem. All entries are considered for publication. Ilya Kaminsky will judge. Entry fee: $23, which includes a subscription to North American Review.

Perugia Press Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,000, publication by Perugia Press, and ten author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a woman. Entry fee: $27.

Pleiades Press Lena–Miles Wever Todd Poetry Prize: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Pleiades Press with distribution by Louisiana State University Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet. The winner also receives $1,000 for book tour expenses. Tiana Clark will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Pleiades Press Robert C. Jones Prize for Short Prose: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Pleiades Press with distribution by Louisiana State University Press is given annually for a collection of short stories, short short stories, or essays. CJ Hauser will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Sonora Review Flash Prose Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Sonora Review is given annually for a work of short prose on a theme. This year’s theme is “Encounter.” Hybrid work is encouraged. Lucy Corin will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Sonora Review Nonfiction Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Sonora Review is given annually for a work of creative nonfiction on a theme. This year’s theme is “Encounter.” Hybrid work is encouraged. Rae Paris will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Southeast Missouri State University Press Nilsen Literary Award: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Southeast Missouri State University Press is given annually for a novel, novella, or collection of linked stories by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. Entry fee: $30.

TulipTree Publishing Genre Issue Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in TulipTree Review will be given annually for a story of genre fiction. Stories in the genres of mystery, crime, romance, science fiction, fantasy, noir, and western are eligible. Entry fee: $20.

Washington Writers Publishing House Poetry and Fiction Prizes: Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by Washington Writers Publishing House, and 50 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection or novel. Writers who live in Washington, D.C., or in Maryland or Virginia within a 75-mile radius of the U.S. Capitol, are eligible. Entry fee: $25.

Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition: A prize of $3,000 and travel and lodging expenses for a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City is given annually for a short short story. The winner will also be featured in an article in Writer’s Digest. A second-place prize of $1,500 is also awarded. Early entry fee: $25 ($30 for entries made November 17 through December 16). 

Yale University Press Yale Series of Younger Poets: An award of publication by Yale University Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has not published a full-length book of poetry. Carl Phillips will judge. Entry fee: $25.

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

NOLA Poetry Festival

United States of Writing
11.6.19

2020 will mark the fifth year that directors Bill Lavender and Megan Burns have organized the New Orleans Poetry Festival. The four-day event will take place the third weekend of April, which is also National Poetry Month. If you’re a poet or affiliated with a literary journal or small press, they are actively seeking proposals for festival events and tables for their Small Press Fair, and the deadline is December 1. Anyone interested should jump on this opportunity.

What’s special about the festival is that the events are hosted outside of a university or convention hall. Attendees get a chance to truly be inside a New Orleans neighborhood while attending readings, workshops, and panel discussions at local venues around town.

Last year’s opening night featured readings by Oliver Baez Bendorf, Lee Ann Brown, Chen Chen, and Henk Rossouw. There was also a five-hour-long marathon open mic that I joined, which was electric. One night of the festival was dedicated solely to international poets and their translators, which included readings from Brazilian poet Salgado Maranhäo and translator Alexis Levitin, Uruguayan poet Martín Barea Mattos and translator Mark Statman, and fellow Uruguayan Javier Etchevarren and translator Jesse Lee Kercheval.

Of course when in New Orleans, you must have music and dancing. The Poets With Bands event highlighted poetry and music, while a traditional second line parade complete with a brass band honored poets who recently passed away.

The New Orleans Poetry Festival connects poets from all over the world to this wonderful city. Stay tuned for more details as the date approaches!

Kelly Harris is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in New Orleans. Contact her at NOLA@pw.org or on Twitter, @NOLApworg.

All of Us, In Prison

Caption: 

“Some prisons taste like / salt, copper, sludge / when you bite and crunch down / to the marrow...” In this video, Cortney Lamar Charleston reads Jevon Jackson’s poem “All of Us, In Prison” at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery for a 2019 Brooklyn Book Festival event. Jackson’s poem won PEN America’s First Prize in Poetry in the 2019 Prison Writing Contest.

Genre: 
Poetry
Tags: 
Cortney Lamar Charleston
Jevon Jackson
reading
2019
Brooklyn Book Festival
PEN America
PEN America Prison Writing Contest
All of Us, In Prison

Pass It On

United States of Writing
11.5.19

Hey mi gente! This week, I am highlighting a unique literary event in Houston, Plus Fest: The Everything Plus Poetry Festival, and its mini-fest events known as Pass It On.

Three years ago, poet Emanuelee Outspoken Bean created Plus Fest, a one-day event to celebrate and highlight raw, innovative spoken word poetry. In addition to poetry slams, the interactive literary experience includes poetic photo booths, art installations, and speed-writing buskers. The number of artists on hand is massive and the bridges built between poetry and other art mediums is impressive.

Pass It On is a secondary, smaller event series created, and often hosted, by Bean that serves to give people a taste of what they will get at the larger festival. It’s a smart undertaking and gives more poets opportunities to perform and share their work.

I was able to attend a Pass It On event in October that featured local poet Xach Blunt and music from DJ Elevated, another local, who set the mood. Xach was on hand with his latest chapbook, Misfits & Bangers, and four guest poets shared work. There was also a culinary twist, as a local up-and-coming chef sold gumbo throughout the event. It was a thrilling night with a great vibe, all about building community and enjoying beautiful poetry.

Emanuelee Outspoken Bean, founder of Plus Fest: The Everything Plus Poetry Festival in Houston.
 
Lupe Mendez is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in Houston. Contact him at Houston@pw.org or on Twitter, @houstonpworg.

Poetry Prescription

The Time Is Now
11.5.19

Last month poetry scholars from Keele University opened up a “Poetry Pharmacy” in a Victorian shop in a small town in England. Visitors can participate in poetry classes, specialist day retreats, and consultations and prescriptions for poetry, which all focus on providing mental health support for the local community and emphasize the therapeutic benefits of poetry. “We believe that poetry can do so much to match or alter a mood, to assist in so many ways with good mental health,” says Deborah Alma, the pharmacy’s designated “Emergency Poet.” This week write a poem with an intentional mood in mind, one that is designed to match a bright or pensive mood, or combat and soothe a conflicted one.

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