Genre: Poetry

Event Horizon

The Time Is Now
5.17.22

Last week scientists unveiled the first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, the culmination of a decades-long astronomical quest. Located 27,000 light-years away, it is relatively small and constantly changing from minute to minute, appearing as a glowing donut-shaped ring in images. Consider this historic scientific achievement and write a poem inspired by the mysteries of black holes. For an idea on how to create a metaphor out of celestial phenomenon, read the poem “After Reading That the Milky Way Is Devouring the Galaxy of Sagittarius” by Erin Belieu.

Arhm Choi Wild Reads “All I Ever Wanted to Be Was Nothing at All”

Caption: 

“I learned young to be the smallest bullseye.” Arhm Choi Wild, author of Cut to Bloom (Write Bloody Publishing, 2020), reads torrin a. greathouse’s poem “All I Ever Wanted to Be Was Nothing at All” in this Ours Poetica video, sponsored by Complexly and the Poetry Foundation.

Genre: 
Poetry
Tags: 
Arhm Choi Wild
torrin a. greathouse
Ours Poetica
2022
Poetry Foundation

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog
5.13.22

Now that summer is on the horizon, bring in the warm weather by submitting to contests with deadlines of May 30 or May 31. Prizes abound for fiction writers with six awards being offered for short story collections or novels; additionally, nine fellowships of $5,000 each, plus other perks, are available for emerging fiction writers living in New York City. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more and two do not require an entry fee. Good luck, writers!

Anhinga Press Prize for Poetry: A prize of $2,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Erika Meitner will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25 ($28 for electronic submissions).

Autumn House Press Literary Prizes: Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Carl Phillips will judge in poetry, Venita Blackburn will judge in fiction, and Lia Purpura will judge in nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $30. 

BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a short story collection. Peter Conners will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25.

Center for Fiction Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships: Nine fellowships of $5,000 each, a one-year membership to the Center for Fiction in New York City, and a year of access to the Writers Studio writing space at the center are given annually to fiction writers living in New York City who have not yet published a book of fiction. Winners also have the opportunity to meet with editors and agents who represent new writers. Applicants who on June 1, 2022, will be enrolled in a degree-granting program or are currently under contract with a publisher for a work of fiction are ineligible. Deadline: May 30. Entry fee: none.

Elixir Press Fiction Award: A prize of $2,000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or a novel. Anthony E. Varallo will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $40.

Gival Press Novel Award: A prize of $3,000 and publication by Gival Press is given biennially for a novel. Deadline: May 30. Entry fee: $50.

Milkweed Editions Max Ritvo Poetry Prize: A prize of $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Henri Cole will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25.

Southern Poetry Review Guy Owen Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $20 (which includes a subscription to Southern Poetry Review).

University of Georgia Press Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction: A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Georgia Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Lori Ostlund will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $30. 

Writer’s Center First Novel Prize: A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a first novel published in the previous calendar year. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: none.

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.

Life of a Poet: Ada Limón

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“[The poem] allows for a place for the reader to breathe,” says Ada Limón in this 2019 reading and conversation about her books of poetry with Washington Post book critic Ron Charles, hosted by the Library of Congress. “In that empty space we actually bring ourselves to the page, so that the writer is not the only person experiencing the poem, but the reader is part of that journey.”

Genre: 
Poetry
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Ada Limón
Ron Charles
Library of Congress
2019
reading
The Carrying
Bright Dead Things
Milkweed Editions

The Raincoat

The Time Is Now
5.10.22

In Ada Limón’s poem “The Raincoat,” published in her collection The Carrying (Milkweed Editions, 2018), the speaker reflects on the experience of comfort and protection parents can offer through simple gestures like taking off a raincoat in a storm to wrap around their child or making time to drive and accompany them to doctor’s appointments. Write a poem about a time a parental figure of yours made a loving sacrifice. Think of a memory that makes you feel the way Limón does at the end of her poem: “My god, / I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her / raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel / that I never got wet.”

Marcelo Hernandez Castillo and Marwa Helal

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This reading hosted by the University of Arizona Poetry Center presents the work of Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, author most recently of Children of the Land (Harper, 2020), and Marwal Helal, author most recently of Ante body (Nightboat Books, 2022), which is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Genre: 
Poetry
Creative Nonfiction
Tags: 
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
Marwa Helal
University of Arizona Poetry Center
Morgan Lucas Schuldt Memorial Reading
2022
Page One
May/June 2022

Deadline Approaches for Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog
5.6.22

Submissions are still open for the annual Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize! Offered for an “original Anglophone” poetry collection by a writer of Asian heritage living anywhere in the world, this award includes an increased monetary prize of $1,500 and publication by Gaudy Boy in the United States and Singapore. Emerging and established poets are eligible to apply.

To submit, e-mail a manuscript of 70 to 120 pages written in English and a short cover letter with a $10 entry fee by May 15. Yeow Kai Chai will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

An imprint of the New York City–based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, Gaudy Boy publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction “of extraordinary merit by Asian voices.”  The name Gaudy Boy comes from both a poem entitled “Gaudy Turnout” by Singaporean poet Arthur Yap and the Latin word gaudium, meaning “joy”; the press aims to “delight [their] readers with the various powers of art.” In August five finalists for their Poetry Book Prize will be announced and invited to participate in a September reading, where the winner will be announced. The prizewinning manuscript will be published in spring 2023. Previous winners include Lawrence Lacambra Ypil for The Experiment of the Tropics, Jenifer Sang Eun Park for Autobiography of Horse, and Paula Mendoza for Play for Time. An imprint of the New York City–based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, Gaudy Boy publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction “of extraordinary merit by Asian voices.”  The name Gaudy Boy comes from both a poem entitled “Gaudy Turnout” by Singaporean poet Arthur Yap and the Latin word gaudium, meaning “joy”; the press aims to “delight [their] readers with the various powers of art.” In August five finalists for their Poetry Book Prize will be announced and invited to participate in a September reading, where the winner will be announced. The prizewinning manuscript will be published in spring 2023. Previous winners include Lawrence Lacambra Ypil for The Experiment of the Tropics, Jenifer Sang Eun Park for Autobiography of Horse, and Paula Mendoza for Play for Time. 

Find a Writing Contest

The Grants & Awards database includes details about every writing contest we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it, making the Grants & Awards database the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

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