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itscoldoutsidefilmsthings · 5 years

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A 3rd year film festival retrospective.

Scumdance (Reno’s premiere underground film festival) has just completed its third year. As such, this would probably be a good time for a little retrospective and as the festival’s sole proprietor/curator I would be glad to let a little light shine into the inner workings of what it takes to start a film festival, what it takes to keep it running, why I do this in the first place, and the lessons learned along the way.

How did we get here? In late 2016 I was having conversations with friends, co-workers, bandmates and fellow film nerds about how there was real lack of local film festivals geared towards horror, exploitation, underground, B-movie, etc. types of films. At the time our band’s practice space was in a warehouse on the edge of town where a loose artist’s community of sorts had taken shape. Pottery studios, sculpture gardens, graffiti murals, custom hot-rod builders, welding shops, theaters, antique dealers and so much more was all happening in this row of warehouses. One particular spot became hugely inspirational. Next door to our practice space was an event location (for lack of a better term) called the Black Rock Drive-In. A novelties collector had taken several old cars cut them down, installed benches within and parked them in front of a movie screen like an old-time drive-in movie theater, complete with a western setting sun mural painted on the warehouse’s interior. Combine this with his collection of Airstream trailers, mid-century furniture and appliances, and WWII memorabilia and you had the makings of a great film set.

Standing outside that warehouse on a chilly evening, post band practice, and musing with our bass player Perry Disgrace, the thought was born… “We should totally put on a mondo-bizzaro film day with crazy movies and bands and just throw a party.” In the true DIY spirit of punk rock, the idea was born and efforts were put in place to manifest this reality. When mentioning the idea to co-worker and fellow film nerd Gilbert Leiker, he responded “You should call it Scumdance and have the skanking guy from the Circle Jerks albums carrying a camera.” Boom. Done. Within 20 minutes I had the logo and artwork in place. I have a habit of taking ideas and running with them, even if they are not my own. As Pablo Picasso is reported to have said “good artists borrow, great artists steal”… most likely he “borrowed” this from T.S. Eliot.

As for the details of what it takes to put on a film festival, it’s honestly not all that hard. All you need is a laptop, a projector, a screen, a sound system of some sort, some chairs, a venue, a Film Freeway account and a website. Having submitted a good number of my short films to a variety of film festivals and having received all manner of rejection (more on that later), the drive to experience critical evaluation of films from the other side was also a strong motivator in bringing this festival about. I already had a website devoted to my filmmaking endeavors. Adding a page listing the event details and linking it to a Film Freeway account was straight forward. Acquiring the necessary hardware and physical assets was just a matter of pooling resources and gathering items that I already had. The matter of finding a venue has at times proved challenging. The aforementioned Black Rock Drive-In closed. Our favorite dive-bar, in which we hosted the event’s first year, has closed. Finding the right venue that has a bar, allows outside food to be brought in, while having the right mix of size, space, seating and availability hasn’t been easy; but we have been fortunate enough to work with some fantastic bar owners who have been very accommodating.

The festival itself, wouldn’t be what it is without the amazing filmmakers who have submitted some truly incredible films and the ever enthusiastic judges. The panel of judges was built from a pool of friends some of whom I’ve worked with on previous film projects, some just having shown an overwhelming interest in film and some asked to join the panel after having submitted to previous year’s festivals. It is this last group with whom I am most excited to work.

So why would anyone do this? It’s a question I ask myself every year. Does it pay off when you consider: The countless hours spent watching, rating, and reviewing the films; scheduling a date, finding and coordinating with the venue ,updating FF and the website, attending local meetings to be included in Reno’s Arttown, writing press releases to be distributed on horror sites, selecting the films, sending out acceptance and rejection letters, scheduling a run of show, setting up all the equipment, running the festival, bringing food and snacks? By the time I finish up the event I find myself exhausted. It wouldn’t seem that sitting in dark room watching movies all day would be that taxing, but mentally, and emotionally it takes a toll… hoping nothing goes wrong technically, hoping that everyone (or at least most attendees) find something enjoyable in the films, hoping that the venue owner and bar staff are not completely annoyed with the films and are making a decent amount of tips, and hoping that there is enough attendance to make it all worthwhile. While it might be “easy” to put on a festival, putting on a quality festival takes effort. That’s effort I’m willing to put in. I want to make it the kind of thing I would be delighted to attend.

Of the benefits that come from running a festival, the number one has to be the relationships established. This is the reason we make films in the first place. It’s all about human connection. As I was saying above it has become our practice to ask previous year’s submitters to become next year’s judges. George Sukara, a producer from a film submitted in the first year (HELL! The musical), has become an instrumental part of the festival. His critical insights in judging and undying support have been phenomenal. It was great to have him at the festival, hosting one of the Q&A sessions, and bringing with him a crew of folks from San Francisco. One of the other connections made that first year was a gentleman by the name of Michael Joy who brought us a film (Red Christmas) with Dee Wallace of Kujo fame. I’ve been working with Michael on spreading the word about Scumdance through his connections with Artsploitation Films and Horrornews.net. The second year brought us some great filmmakers from Canada and Indiana, in Grace Mathisen and Adam Laughlin respectively. Their films were superb, and it was great to have them there in person. They too have gone on to become valued Scumdance judges. This last year, brought us filmmakers from Toronto, Houston, and Los Angeles. The Audience favorite, Llamageddon (it’s exactly as it sounds) was written and directed by a young woman who was going by the name “Howie Dewin.” Her astonishment at winning overrode even her astonishment at being entered in the festival at all (apparently someone on her production team entered the film without telling her as a fun prank). Even after having a breakfast coffee and a decently long discussion with her, I never did find out her real name. We’ll be stoked to have her as part of the judging staff next year, that is if she responds to her “howiedewin” email.

One of the other great benefits of running a festival (or being a judge) is the experience gained by viewing so may films, of all quality levels. You learn all the things not to do when making a film. You see time and again, the overused tropes, the stock and often pointless dialogue, the desire to shock without attention to narrative, and films that are far, far longer than they need to be. After all this one quickly gains an appreciation for audible dialogue, well thought out story lines, character development, motivated camera movement, inspired score/soundtrack, and tightly edited scenes.

Another wonderful discovery has been the insight into cultures and communities throughout the world that one would not have accessed otherwise. It has been amazing to see films submitted from the US, Canada, The Netherlands, India, the UK, Austria, Iran, Italy, Mexico, and even Belgium. In particular the films we receive from Iran have been nothing short of mind blowing. There is something so special about those films. They tend to be intensely creative, original, inspiring, and chock full of touching humanity in a way that almost makes me reluctant to place them amidst our other less wholesome faire. Also of note, are the LGBT films we receive. This year we had a film dedicated to trans-persons from Nepal, that was a rare insight into portions of the world not ordinarily seen.

As previously promised, I think it’s worth mentioning the feedback process. One common thing that I noticed from festivals I was submitting to, was a lack of quality feedback. For way too many festivals, it doesn’t seem they could even be bothered to change the judging status on Film Freeway… or if they did, it wouldn’t be changed until well after the event date. For other festivals, they would change the status and send out the standard generic rejection emails. While they were intended to soften to the blow of rejection, they would do little to inform or provide one with any sense as to what could have been improved on the film…. no information on what exactly about the film caused it to fall short of the mark. It was with this experience in mind that I personally made the decision to include judge’s commentary in both the acceptance and rejection letters. I feel it’s the least we can do to provide the filmmaker with meaningful feedback.

This decision has mostly been met with appreciation, but in some cases the feedback was viewed as “arrogant, presumptuous, and dismissive.” I can certainly understand how after spending the enormous amount of time, energy and effort that it takes to make a film how one would be incredibly protective of the work. One exchange with an initially upset but later apologetic filmmaker, gave me clear cause to stop and think about my intentions and motivations. Was I intentionally levelling overly harsh criticism against those who submitted to my film festival, as a way of feeling superior for the failings of my own films? It’s certainly something I need to be cognizant of going forward. In the future, I hope to continue providing the judges commentary, but will most likely do so after an explicit opt-in scenario.

In regard to my own films, I’ve come to realize with much more clarity than ever that my films were being rejected for completely valid reasons. I’ve seen what it takes to make a good film and the number one rule is to be entertaining. In the age of short attention spans and a bajillion choices, it’s difficult (but more important) than ever to gain and hold someone’s attention.

So what’s next for Scumdance? One exciting possibility discussed with the San Francisco crew is the idea of taking Scumdance on the road. Perhaps we select the best films from the past 3 years and do a screening in SF or LA. At some point it would be nice to get Scumdance into a proper movie theater as well, a but the lack of any historical or art house theater in Reno limits our options. Another exciting possibility is the idea of bringing in a real host… someone with real entertainment value... someone like the subject of this year’s winning documentary, the Phantom Troublemaker.

Of course, I couldn’t do this without the love and support of my wonderful wife Amelia. In all it’s been a great experience that has promoted growth in me as a filmmaker and as a person. It’s been the impetus to build meaningful relationships that I otherwise would not have done and has given me cause to provide much needed exposure to small films. This is something I want to keep doing, while growing the festival in organic and manageable ways.

Viva Le Scumdance!

Travis Calvert

#film #film festival #indie Film #diy projects

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goodmusicfan86 · 7 months

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Via @tylerlaughlin87 Instagram: "And we’ll have Fun Fun Fun now that we have number 3 on the way🎶. Feb 2024 brings another boy. More boys at the beach next year."

#hanson family #avery hanson #tyler laughlin #wallace laughlin #lucas laughlin

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fuckyeahhansonfamily · 1 year

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#wallace laughlin #avery hanson #tyler laughlin #hanson family

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bermudianabroad · 4 years

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2019 in Books

Here we go again:

Re-read Don’t Bother Yes Bother

Fiction inc. Short Stories

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce

Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce

The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennen

In the Distance by Hernan Diaz

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

Bad Dreams by Tessa Hadley

Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood

Swimmer Among the Stars by Kanishk Tharoor

Borne by Jeff Vandermeer

Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer

Open City by Teju Cole

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Solar Bones by Mike McCormack

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific Oceans ed. Nicholas Laughlin

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

The Female Man by Joanna Russ

A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

Strange Heart Beating by Eli Goldstone

The Word for Wilderness is Woman by Abi Andrews

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nyguyen

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Conner

A River in Egypt by David Means

Come Rain or Come Shine by Kazuo Ishiguro

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Carol by Patricia Highsmith

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Non-Fiction

Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson

Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science, and the World by Rachel Swaby

Freya Stark by Caroline Moorehead

How to be a Heroine: Or What I’ve Learned from Reading Too Much by Samantha Ellis

Medieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages by Jack Hartnell

In Translation

Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin [ Pájaros en la boca Spanish (Spain)]

The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima [ Shiosai Japanese]

So Long A Letter by Mariama Bâ [ Une si longue lettre French (Senegal)]

Of Dogs and Walls by Yuko Tshima [ 犬と塀について Japanese]

Cat Country by Lao She [ Māo chéng jì Chinese]

Invisible Planets: 13 Visions of the Future from China ed. Ken Liu (Chinese)

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa [ 博士の愛した数式 Japanese]

Poetry

The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

New Poetry by Indigenous Women ed. Lit Hub

The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy

Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty by Nikita Gill

#fiction #non fiction #poetry #book lists

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eyeliketwowatch · 7 years

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Strange Invaders - It Came from the 1950s

Oddball sci fi comedy that I caught on cable sometime in the mid-eighties. The premise is that one of those 'invasion' movies of the 50s actually took place, and now here it is 25 years later, and the aliens are still there in that small town, still stuck in their 1950's adopted personas. An interesting premise but gets old after about the first half an hour. Probably the last time I saw Paul Le Mat in just about anything.

2.5 stars out of 5

Released 1983, First Viewing March 1986

#1983 #Charles Lane #Comedy #Diana Scarwid #June Lockhart #Louise Fletcher #Michael Laughlin #Michael Lerner #Nancy Allen #Paul Le Mat #Science Fiction #Thriller #Wallace Shawn

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williamlwolf89 · 4 years

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50+ Writing Contests in 2020 with Awesome Cash Prizes

In This Resource: Free Writing Contests | Writing Contests with Entry Fees | Common Questions (+ Tutorials)

So you want to compete in writing contests for prizes and recognition?

Writing contests are a fun way to evolve your writing skills — and, yes, cash prizes are a nice bonus.

But remember, the emphasis is on fun.

If cash is your primary goal, you should focus your time and energy on landing freelance writing jobs.

Our free course can help too: How to Get Paid $200+ Per Post by Writing for Small Businesses

However, if you’re looking for writing competitions and an enjoyable way to improve your writing skills, read on.

This roundup post includes both writing contests that are free to enter and writing contests with nominal entry fees.

Let’s begin!

Free Writing Contests with No Entry Fee (i.e. Free to Enter!)

Young Lions Fiction Award

Overview

“Established in 2001, The New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award is a $10,000 prize awarded each spring to a writer age 35 or younger for a novel or a collection of short stories. Each year, five young fiction writers are selected as finalists by a reading committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Fiction writers up to 35 years old

Submission Deadline

September 11, 2020

Cash Prize

$10,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Younger fiction writers who want to be recognized for their novel or collection of short stories.

Young Lions Fiction Award

53-Word Story Contest

Overview

“It’s free, it’s fun, and the winner gets published in Prime Number Magazine and receives a free book from Press 53.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers

Submission Deadline

21st day of each month

Prize

Publication in Prime Number Magazine, along with your photo and a 53-word bio (plus a free book from Press 53)

Who Should Enter This Contest

Writers who enjoy the challenge of a 53-word short story competition based on a prompt.

53-Word Story Contest

Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards

Overview

“The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of cultural diversity. Awards are given for fiction, poetry and nonfiction.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Published authors (self-published books excluded)

Submission Deadline

December 31

Cash Prize

$10,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Book authors who wish to compete for a generous book award. Your book must be written in English and published and copyrighted in the same year that you enter the contest.

Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards

Cabell First Novelist Award

Overview

“The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award honors an outstanding debut novel published in the preceding calendar year. Symbolized by a three-dimensional compass, the award is a tribute to writers who have navigated their way through the maze of imagination and delivered a great read, taking the reader someplace new.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

First-time novelists only. You can have previously published poems or short stories, but this must be your first published novel. Novels distributed via self-publishing aren’t eligible.

Submission Deadline

December 30

Top Prize

$5,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Novelists who have published a book in the year previous to the contest date, and feel that they have achieved something “notable and enduring.”

Cabell First Novelist Award

Short Fiction Prize

Overview

Stony Brook Southampton is accepting submissions of short fiction (7,500 words or less).

“Southampton Arts is a vibrant community within SUNY Stony Brook that gathers together graduate programs in creative writing, children’s lit, podcasting and film. Today’s professional practice as an artist demands well-rounded, independent, imaginative entrepreneurs, ones with the resourcefulness to draw on a range of media, technologies and genres.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Only full-time undergraduates in United States and Canadian universities and colleges are eligible.

Submission Deadline

June 1, 2020 (Winners will be announced in November)

Cash Prize

$1,000 and a scholarship to the 2021 Southampton Writers’ Conference.

Who Should Enter This Contest

Undergraduate short story fiction writers who want to compete for both cash and a chance to participate in a writers’ conference.

Short Fiction Prize

The Wallace Stegner Prize in Environmental Humanities

Overview

“The Wallace Stegner Prize will be awarded to the best monograph submitted to the Press in the broad field of environmental humanities. (…) Preference will be given to projects that discuss issues related to the American West. We welcome book-length manuscripts that emphasize narrative form and draw on the humanities, as well as the particular methods and perspectives of history, geography, natural history, environmental science, creative nonfiction, or related disciplines to consider environmental subjects, broadly defined. These criteria reflect the legacy of Wallace Stegner as a student of the American West, as a spokesman for the environment, and as a teacher of creative writing.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers except those associated with the University of Utah (current students, faculty, staff, or employees).

Submission Deadline

December 31

Cash Prize

$5,000 and a publication contract with the University of Utah Press.

Who Should Enter This Contest

Writers of monographs (essay or book-length) who have not previously submitted their work for publication.

Wallace Stegner Prize

W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction

Overview

“This award honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. It recognizes the service of American veterans and military personnel and encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding war-related fiction. Donated by William Young Boyd II.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Novelists who have been published in the year prior to the contest. Young adult and adult novels only.

Submission Deadline

December 1, 2020

Cash Prize

$5,000 and a 24k gold-framed citation of achievement.

Who Should Enter This Contest

Writers who have published a novel of war-related fiction.

W.Y. Boyd Literary Award

ServiceScape Short Story Award

Overview

“Calling all short story writers: Are you a short story writer interested in gaining more exposure and a bigger audience for your creative work? Would an extra $1,000.00 USD in your pocket be a great thing right now?”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers. Only original and unpublished work can be submitted.

Submission Deadline

November 30, 2020

Cash Prize

$1,000 plus publication on the ServiceScape blog.

Who Should Enter This Contest

Short story writers (word count up to 5,000 words) of either fiction or nonfiction who are excited about entering a writing competition for cash and exposure.

ServiceScape Short Story Award

Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award

Overview

“Since its early days, science fiction has played a unique role in human civilization. It removes the limits of what “is” and shows us a boundless vista of what “might be.” Its fearless heroes, spectacular technologies and wondrous futures have inspired many people to make science, technology and space flight a real part of their lives and in doing so, have often transformed these fictions into reality. The National Space Society and Baen Books applaud the role that science fiction plays in advancing real science and have teamed up to sponsor this short fiction contest in memory of Jim Baen.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers who are not employees of Baen Books (or previous grand prize winners)

Submission Deadline

February 1, 2020

Prizes

Grand prize winner:

Paid .08 word, plus your story will be published as the featured story on the Baen Books main website

An engraved award

Free entry into 2020 International Space Development Conference

A year of membership in the National Space Society

A prize package with various Baen Books and National Space Society merchandise

Second and Third Place winners:

Free entry into 2020 International Space Development Conference

A year of membership in the National Space Society

A prize package with various Baen Books and National Space Society merchandise

Who Should Enter This Contest

Science fiction short story writers who want to see their work in print and who would enjoy the prizes listed above.

Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award

James Laughlin Award

Overview

“Offered since 1954, the James Laughlin Award is given to recognize and support a second book of poetry forthcoming in the next calendar year. The award was endowed in 1995 by a gift to the Academy from the Drue Heinz Trust. It is named for the poet and publisher James Laughlin (1914-1997), who founded New Directions in 1936.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Poets who have already published their first book

Submission Deadline

Submissions are accepted from January 1st to May 15th each year

Cash Prize

$5,000 plus an all-expenses-paid week at The Betsy Hotel in Florida. Also, the winner’s book is distributed to the members of the Academy of American Poets (approximately 1,000 members).

Who Should Enter This Contest

Poets who are working on their second book and want to earn a sweet prize of cash and recognition.

James Laughlin Award

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest

Overview

“L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field and discovered by a wide audience.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Only amateur writers who have not been professionally published may participate. (See #5 in contest rules for more details.)

Submission Deadline

Quarterly writing contests.

September 30, 2020, for 4th Quarter 2020 contest

Cash Prizes

Three prizes each quarter for $1,000, $750, and $500

Quarterly first-place winners compete for the $5,000 annual prize

Who Should Enter This Contest

Science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write prose up to 17,000 words in length. Note that works intended for children are not eligible.

Writers of the Future Contest

Poetry Foundation Emily Dickinson First Book Award

Overview

“The Emily Dickinson First Book Award is designed to recognize an American poet of at least 40 years of age who has yet to publish a first collection of poetry.

The Poetry Foundation seeks one book-length poetry manuscript to be published as the winner of the Emily Dickinson First Book Award.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Poets over 40 years old who have not yet published a poetry book

Submission Deadline

TBD (contest is intermittent, with previous prizes awarded in 2017 and 2012)

Cash Prize

$10,000 plus publication and promotion by Greywolf Press

Who Should Enter This Contest

Late-blooming poets who have enough poems in them to fill a book of poetry.

Emily Dickinson First Book Award

Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize

Overview

“Graywolf Press publishes about 30-35 books annually, mostly poetry, memoirs, essays, novels, translations, and short stories.

Our editors are looking for high quality literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that combine a distinct voice with a distinct vision.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Writers “not yet established in the genre” of their nonfiction project

Submission Deadline

Graywolf accepts submissions for the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize every other year; the next open submission period will be in 2022.

Cash Prize

A $12,000 advance and publication by Graywolf

Who Should Enter This Contest

Authors willing to take on a project outside their established genre. If you don’t have one yet, here’s your chance to get started.

Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize

New Voices Award

Overview

“New Voices Award is given annually by children’s book publisher Lee & Low Books for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color or Native/Indigenous writer.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Writers of color or Native/Indigenous writers who have not previously published a children’s picture book. Must be a United States resident.

Submission Deadline

August 31, 2020

Cash Prizes

$2,000 and a publication contract, including royalties

$1,000 for the Honor Award Winner

Who Should Enter This Contest

Authors who’d like to write stories to address the needs of children of color and Native nations. The children’s picture book manuscript can be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

New Voices Award

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

Overview

“The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level. The book award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, is now in its 13th year and has become nationally recognized in its role of enhancing visibility of emerging African-American fiction writers while also expanding the audience for this literature. The annual award of a $15,000 cash prize is to support the writer and help enable her/him to focus on her/his art of writing.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

African American writers who have published a work of fiction

Submission Deadline

August 31, 2020

Cash Prize

$15,000 plus paid travel to Louisiana to receive the prize

Who Should Enter This Contest

African-American fiction writers who want to inspire kids to develop their own creativity. The award winner will work with students in small creative writing workshops held in Louisiana.

Ernest J. Gaines Award

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

Overview

“The PEN/Faulkner Foundation celebrates literature and fosters connections between readers and writers to enrich and inspire both individuals and communities.”

“The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is a national prize that honors the best published works of fiction by American citizens in a calendar year.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

American authors published in the U.S. during the calendar year of the award

Submission Deadline

October 31st for books published in that calendar year

Cash Prizes

$15,000 for the winner

4 finalists receive $5,000 each.

Who Should Enter This Contest

Published authors who believe they can compete with the top writers in the United States. Novels and short story collections are considered.

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers

Overview

“The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers recognizes twelve emerging writers each year for their debut short story published in a literary magazine or cultural website and aims to support the launch of their careers as fiction writers.

Each of the twelve winning writers receives a cash prize of $2,000 and the independent book publisher Catapult will publish the twelve winning stories in an annual anthology entitled The PEN America Best Debut Short Stories, which will acknowledge the literary magazines and websites where the stories were originally published.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

New fiction writers. Note that submissions are only accepted from the editors of eligible publications.

Submission Deadline

November 15

Cash Prize

$2,000 plus publication for the 12 winning writers

Who Should Enter This Contest

Debut short story writers who aren’t afraid to ask their editor to enter them in this writing competition.

PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize

The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans

Overview

“This creative writing contest for U.S. military veterans and active duty personnel is hosted by The Iowa Review and made possible by a gift from the family of Jeff Sharlet (1942–69), a Vietnam veteran and antiwar writer and activist. The contest is open to veterans and active duty personnel writing in any genre and about any subject matter.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

U.S. military veterans and active-duty personnel only

Submission Deadline

May 31, 2020

Cash Prizes

First Place: $1,000 plus publication in The Iowa Review

Second Place: $750

Third Place (3 selected): $500

Who Should Enter This Contest

Any writers who have served in the military and wish to compete in this creative writing contest.

Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans

Hektoen Grand Prix Essay Contest

Overview

“We invite you to participate in the Seventh Hektoen Grand Prix Essay Competition. (…) Topics might include art, history, literature, education, etc. as they relate to medicine. Essays should be under 1600 words.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

None

Submission Deadline

Next contest is TBD (last deadline was April 15, 2019)

Cash Prizes

$3,000 for the winner

$800 for the runner-up

Who Should Enter This Contest

Creative nonfiction writers looking to enter an essay contest by writing on a topic related to medical humanities.

Hektoen Grand Prix Essay Contest

The Fountain Essay Contest

Overview

“We at The Fountain believe that every voice should be heard, and that every challenge should be respected and can offer insight into our own lives.

We all face new challenges in our lives. They can be massive undertakings, such as moving across a country and beginning a new high school. Or sometimes the more routine tasks, such as getting out of the bed in the morning while undergoing depression, can themselves be massive challenges.

We want to hear about your challenges and how you mentally, physically, and/or spiritually prepare for them.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all

Submission Deadline

March 1, 2020

Cash Prizes

First Place: $1,000

Second Place: $500

Third Place: $300

Two Honorable Mentions: $150 each

Who Should Enter This Contest

If you are up to the challenge of writing a personal essay between 1,500 and 2,500 words on the topic of “facing challenges,” this essay contest is for you.

Fountain Essay Contest

Tufts Poetry Awards

Overview

“Any poet will tell you that the only thing rarer than meaningful recognition is a meaningful payday. For two outstanding poets each year, the Kingsley and Kate Tufts awards represent both.

The Tufts poetry awards – based at Claremont Graduate University and given for poetry volumes published in the preceding year – are not only two of the most prestigious prizes a contemporary poet can receive, they also come with hefty purses: $100,000 for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and $10,000 for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Published poets who are citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States.

Only mid-career poets are eligible for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award.

Poets with their first published full-length book are eligible for the Kate Tufts Poetry Award.

Submission Deadline

June 30, 2020

Cash Prizes

$100,000 for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award

$10,000 for the Kate Tufts Poetry Award

Who Should Enter This Contest

Published poets who want recognition and a shot at a very generous award that will pay the bills and allow them to write more poetry.

Tufts Poetry Awards

The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing

Overview

“The ethos of the modern world is defined by immigrants. Their stories have always been an essential component of our cultural consciousness (…) In novels, short stories, memoirs, and works of journalism, immigrants have shown us what resilience and dedication we’re capable of, and have expanded our sense of what it means to be global citizens. In these times of intense xenophobia, it is more important than ever that these boundary-crossing stories reach the broadest possible audience.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

The author must be a first-generation immigrant who has not previously published a book

Submission Deadlines

March 31, 2020, for the 2020 Prize in Fiction

Fiction and nonfiction prizes alternate years

Cash Prize

$10,000 and publication by Restless Books

Who Should Enter This Contest

Authors who wish to “address some combination of identity, the meeting of cultures and communities, immigration and migration, and today’s globalized society,” in their first book.

Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing

St. Francis College Literary Prize

Overview

“The biennial $50,000 Literary Prize is sponsored by St. Francis College to offer its support and encouragement to the literary community and mid-career authors who have recently published their 3rd to 5th work of fiction.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Established fiction authors who have published at least 3 books already.\

Submission Deadline

TBD 2020 (the 2019 winner was announced September 2019)

Cash Prize

$50,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Published fiction authors who want to enter a writing competition for a very generous prize.

St. Francis College Literary Prize

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Overview

“Now in its 19th year, this contest seeks today’s best humor poems.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Authors from all eligible countries (Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea excluded due to U.S. government restrictions)

Submission Deadline

April 1, 2021

Cash Prizes

First prize: $1,000

Second prize: $250

10 Honorable Mentions: $100 each

Who Should Enter This Contest

Poets with a sense of humor and a competitive drive to win poetry prizes.

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

Overview

“Established in 1984, the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community. The prestigious award, which aims to provide promising writers a network for professional advancement, has helped to launch the careers of Sue Monk Kidd (The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees), Lidia Yuknavitch (The Book of Joan), Bryn Chancellor (Sycamore: A Novel), David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei), and others.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Poets and fiction writers who are residents of Oklahoma and have published no more than one full-length book in their genre

Submission Deadline

January 6, 2020

Prizes

$500 cash prize

Expenses paid for travel to New York City to meet with editors, literary agents, publishers, and other writers.

A one-month residency at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Wyoming.

Who Should Enter This Contest

Poets or fiction writers who live in Oklahoma.

Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

The Gabo Prize

Overview

“Lunch Ticket is honored to host The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts. The Gabo Prize is funded by writers, translators, and Antioch University Los Angeles MFA Alumni Allie Marini and Jennifer McCharen, who launched the prize to support the work of peer translators.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Original bilingual work only (previously published work not accepted)

Submission Deadlines

The contest is held in February and August

Cash Prize

$200 plus publication in Lunch Ticket

Who Should Enter This Contest

Authors and translators of multilingual texts containing either poetry or prose.

The Gabo Prize

Transitions Abroad Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest

Overview

“Professionals and freelancers are encouraged to write non-fiction inspirational and practical articles that describe their experience living, moving, and working abroad. Often your experience is extended and transformed by activities in the host country, so living, working, studying, and traveling abroad are often inextricable — and we are interested in exploring all such organic interconnections.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers

Submission Deadline

September 15, 2020

Cash Prize

First Place: $500

Second Place: $150

Third place: $100

All finalists: $50

Who Should Enter This Contest

Nonfiction writers who have lived and worked abroad who are interested in creating a helpful article about their experiences.

Transitions Abroad Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Overview

“The Drue Heinz Literature Prize recognizes and supports writers of short fiction and makes their work available to readers around the world. The award is open to authors who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Published writers only

Submission Deadline

Manuscripts must be received during May and June.

Cash Prize

$15,000 plus publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and promotion of your book

Who Should Enter This Contest

Previously published short fiction authors looking to enter their latest creation in this writing contest.

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize

Overview

“The Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize, a cash award of $500, will be awarded to the best Brooklyn-focused non-fiction essay which is set in Brooklyn and is about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters.

We are seeking compelling Brooklyn stories from writers with a broad range of backgrounds and ages who can render Brooklyn’s rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer’s actual experiences in Brooklyn.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers

Submission Deadline

2020 TBD (last year’s deadline was December 1)

Cash Prize

$500

Who Should Enter This Contest

Nonfiction writers who have had experiences in Brooklyn, New York to share with the world, and potentially win a prize in the process.

Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize

International Flash Fiction Competition

Overview

“Once again, the César Egido Serrano Foundation returns to record figures in the call for its famous International Micro-Story Contest, which has been running for five editions.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all fiction writers

Submission Deadline

TBD 2020

Cash Prizes

$20,000 first prize

$2,000 each for the 3 runners-up

Who Should Enter This Contest

Fiction writers who wish to enter an international competition for hefty prize money.

International Flash Fiction Competition

John Gardner Fiction Book Award

Overview

“Sponsored by the Binghamton Center for Writers-State University of New York with support from the Office of the Dean of Binghamton University’s Harpur College of the Arts & Sciences”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Published fiction writers

Submission Deadline

February 1, 2020

Cash Prize

$1,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Writers who have published either a novel or a book of fiction in 2019 (for the 2020 contest).

John Gardner Fiction Book Award

St. Martin’s Minotaur / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition

Overview

“Sponsored by Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America (MWA)”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

First-time novelists only

Submission Deadline

There was no 2020 winner. Announcement for 2021 coming soon.

Cash Prize

$10,000 advance against future royalties and publication by Minotaur Books

Who Should Enter This Contest

Mystery writers who have finished their first crime novel and want to compete for a publishing contract.

First Crime Novel Competition

Stowe Prize

Overview

“The Stowe Prize recognizes a distinguished book of general adult fiction or non-fiction that illuminates a critical social justice issue in contemporary society in the United States. (…) The book should apply informed inquiry, be accessible and engaging to a general audience, and promote empathy and understanding. Because Stowe’s writings challenged slavery and promoted women’s education, social issues impacted by racism and gender discrimination will be prioritized. In making this award, the Stowe Center recognizes the value of diversity to strengthen our communities and encourages submissions by authors from populations that have historically faced discrimination or marginalization.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Published U.S. authors

Submission Deadline

2020 winner already announced

Cash Prize

$10,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Fiction or nonfiction authors who have published a book within three years of the contest year. Note: That book must meet the criteria in the “Overview” to be considered for this book award.

Stowe Prize

Steinbeck Fellowships in Creative Writing

Overview

“The Steinbeck Fellows Program of San José State University was endowed through the generosity of Martha Heasley Cox. It offers writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Named in honor of author John Steinbeck, the program is guided by his lifetime of work in literature, the media, and environmental activism.

Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies. Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including literary scholarship, fiction, drama, education, science and the media.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Residency in the San Francisco Bay Area is required for the academic year (September through May)

Submission Deadline

January 2, 2020 (applications are accepted beginning in September)

Cash Prize

A $15,000 stipend

Who Should Enter This Contest

This program helps writers who have promising work, but who haven’t published extensively.

Steinbeck Fellowships in Creative Writing

The Roswell Award

Overview

“Light Bringer Project and Sci-Fest L.A. present two science fiction writing competitions designed to identify and nurture the up-and-coming science fiction writing talent of Los Angeles and worldwide. Science fiction is a uniquely inspiring medium that has enabled many of our great thinkers and scientists to imagine the heights and limits of human achievement, leading to important moral and ethical debate, long range planning for humanity, and scientific innovation. Writers are encouraged to explore scientific, social, technological, environmental, and philosophical themes in their writing and always, at the core, to master the art of great storytelling.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers over 18 years old

Submission Deadline

Submissions open September 15, 2020 for the 2021 awards (deadline not yet announced)

Cash Prize

$500 first prize (2019 contest)

Who Should Enter This Contest

Science fiction writers in search of writing competitions. There is also a contest for the best feminist-themed science fiction story for an additional $100 prize.

Roswell Award

Black Orchid Novella Award

Overview

“An important part of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe’s opus are novellas. To celebrate this format, the Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine have partnered to sponsor the Black Orchid Novella Award.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers

Submission Deadline

May 31, 2020

Cash Prize

$1,000 and publication in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Who Should Enter This Contest

Mystery fiction writers who wish to write a novella in the tradition of the Nero Wolfe series.

Black Orchid Novella Award

Parsec Short Story Contest

Overview

“The theme for the 2020 contest is: Forging. This can be conveyed in the setting, plot, characters, dialogue…the only limit is your imagination. The theme must be integral to the story in some way and not just mentioned in passing. (…) All stories must be of the Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror genres.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Amateur writers only

Submission Deadline

April 15, 2020

Cash Prize

First Place: $200

Second Place: $100

Third place: $50

Who Should Enter This Contest

Non-professional writers who want to enter a short story contest for the opportunity to win book money.

Parsec Short Story Contest

Tony Hillerman Prize

Overview

“Welcome to the Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery Set in the Southwest Competition!”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Writers who have not yet published a mystery novel

Submission Deadline

January 2, 2020

Cash Prize

$10,000 advance against future royalties and publishing by Minotaur Books

Who Should Enter This Contest

Unpublished mystery novel writers who are looking to compete for a potential publishing contract.

Tony Hillerman Prize

Owl Canyon Press Short Story Hackathon

Overview

“Writers are invited to create and submit a short story consisting of 50 paragraphs. The contest provides the 1st and 20th paragraphs, and the short story writer crafts the rest.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers

Submission Deadline

TBD 2020

Cash Prize

First Place: $3,000

Second Place: $2,000

Third Place: $1,000

All finalists (24) will have their short stories included in an anthology

Who Should Enter This Contest

Short story writers of all genres, as long as you can make your story work with the provided paragraphs!

Short Story Hackathon

Marfield Prize (a.k.a. National Award for Arts Writing)

Overview

“Books must be nonfiction titles written in English for a general audience by a single, living author and originally published in the United States during the current calendar year. Books may be about any artistic discipline (visual, literary, performing, or media arts, as well as cross-disciplinary works).

We seek art history and criticism, biographies and memoirs, and essays.”

Entry Fee

Free

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Published authors (self-published books excluded)

Submission Deadline

TBD 2020

Cash Prize

$10,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Authors who enjoy writing nonfiction regarding artistic disciplines and have a book scheduled to be published in the year of the contest.

Marfield Prize

Writing Contests with Entry Fees (i.e. Costs Money to Enter)

Don’t mind having a little skin in the game?

Here are writing contests that require an entry fee to enter:

Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition

Overview

“Writer’s Digest has been shining a spotlight on up and coming writers in all genres through its Annual Writing Competition for more than 80 years. Enter our 89th Annual Writing Competition for your chance to win and have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the 89th Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection.”

Entry Fee

Poetry competition entry: $20 for first entry, $15 each additional entry

Manuscript competition entry: $30 for first entry, $25 each additional entry

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers over 18 years old

Submission Deadlines

May 4, 2020: Early-bird deadline

June 5, 2020: Official deadline but entry fees are $5 higher

Cash Prizes

Grand Prize winner receives $5,000 (plus additional prizes)

First Place winner in each category: $1,000

Second Place winner in each category: $500

Third Place winner in each category: $250

Fourth Place winner in each category: $100

Fifth Place winner in each category: $50

Sixth through Tenth Place winners in each category: $25

Who Should Enter This Contest

Multiple genres are available, so any writer who has a competitive spirit and doesn’t mind paying an entry fee.

Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition

Desert Writers Award

Overview

“The Fund supports writing that combines an engaging individual voice, literary sensibility, imagination and intellectual rigor to bring new perspectives and deeper meaning to the body of desert literature. All applications will be reviewed through a peer-panel process.”

Entry Fee

$15

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

All writers in the field of literary nonfiction can apply

Submission Deadline

January 15

Cash Prize

$5,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Literary nonfiction writers fascinated by the desert. You’ll be submitting a proposal for a writing project based on your travel to and experience in a desert region.

Desert Writers Award

The Breakwater Fiction Contest

Overview

“We are seeking submissions for pieces that breathe freshness to the form. We are interested in previously unpublished prose ranging from 1,000 – 5,000 words, each with a $10 entry fee.”

Entry Fee

$10

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to everyone not associated with the MFA program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, or Susanna Kaysen

Submission Deadline

Open November 1 to February 1

Cash Prize

$1,000 plus the Winner and Finalists are published in Breakwater’s Winter issue

Who Should Enter This Contest

Fiction and short story writers who are interested in competing for a cash prize plus publication.

Breakwater Fiction Contest

The Peseroff Prize Poetry Contest

Overview

“The Peseroff Prize honors Joyce Peseroff’s work as a poet, teacher, editor, innovator, and mentor. She helped found the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Massachusetts Boston, served as its first director, and retired from teaching in 2014.”

Entry Fee

$10 for up to three poems

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to everyone not associated with the MFA program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, or Susanna Kaysen

Submission Deadline

Open February 1 to May 1

Cash Prize

$1,000 plus both the Winner and Finalists are published in the Breakwater Spring issue

Who Should Enter This Contest

Poets with previously unpublished poems with both a competitive drive and $10 for a poetry contest.

Peseroff Prize Poetry Contest

Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize

Overview

“Beginning December 1, 2019, Marsh Hawk Press is accepting submissions of poetry manuscripts to the annual Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prizes.“

Entry Fee

$25 per submission

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all poets

Submission Deadline

April 30, 2021

Cash Prize

$1,000 and publication by Marsh Hawk Press

Who Should Enter This Contest

Poets with a manuscript of poems ready for publication.

Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize

2021 Microfiction Contest

Overview

“Since 1975, River Styx has published an international, award-winning magazine of poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, and art. Work first published in its pages has been included in many editions of The Best American Poetry, Best New Poets, New Stories from the South, and Pushcart Prize anthologies.”

Entry Fees

$20 for up to 3 stories (includes a one-year subscription to River Styx)

$15 fee if you only want the issue the winners are published in

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers, but only unpublished stories qualify

Submission Deadline

December 31, 2020

Cash Prize

$1,500

Who Should Enter This Contest

Writers who enjoy writing micro-fiction stories of up to 500 words and who would be interested in subscribing to a literary magazine.

Microfiction Contest

Horror Writing Contest

Overview

“Write a horror or thriller story for this writing contest. Put your readers on edge or terrorize them.”

Entry Fee

Only consider this contest if membership in FanStory.com interests you. Membership is $9.95 a month or $69 a year. (Note: this gives you access to multiple contests a year with varying prizes.)

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

FanStory.com membership required

Submission Deadline

July 27, 2020

Prize

$100 Visa gift card

Who Should Enter This Contest

Writers who are interested in joining a paid community to network with other readers and receive feedback on their stories.

Horror Writing Contest

Morton and McCarthy Prizes

Overview

“This contest is open to any short fiction writer of English. (…) Submissions may include a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a short novel.”

Entry Fee

$29

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to short fiction writers excluding employees and board members of Sarabande Books, Inc.

Submission Deadline

February 15, 2020

Cash Prize

$2,000 plus publication of the winning manuscript and a standard royalty contract with Sarabande Books, Inc.

Who Should Enter This Contest

Short fiction writers who are looking for the opportunity to participate in a writing competition that could get their work published.

Morton and McCarthy Prizes

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

Overview

“For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction. (…) Please submit as many entries as you like. All themes accepted. Entries may be published or unpublished. Length limit: 6,000 words maximum.”

Entry Fee

$20 per entry

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers (except in countries excluded due to U.S. government restrictions)

Submission Deadline

April 30, 2021

Cash Prize

$3,000 for Story (fiction) category

$3,000 for Essay (nonfiction) category

$200 each for Honorable Mentions

Who Should Enter This Contest

Fiction or nonfiction writers who are willing to spend $20 for a shot at winning the $3,000 prize.

Fiction & Essay Contest

Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest

Overview

“The Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest encourages writers to submit stories related to Judaism or Jewish culture or history.”

Entry Fee

$25 per entry

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Open to all writers (submissions must not have been published elsewhere)

Submission Deadline

September 1, 2020

Cash Prize

3 prizes in total, including $1,000 for first place (other prize amounts are not given)

Who Should Enter This Contest

Short story writers interested in writing a story of up to 5,000 words with a Jewish theme.

Short Fiction Contest

K. Maragaret Grossman Fiction Awards

Overview

“In a world where it is harder than ever for new writers to get a foot in the door of the traditional publishing world, Literal Latté remains committed to finding and nurturing great talents, both on its website and in its new anthology, in book format.”

Entry Fee

$10 per story ($15 for two stories)

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

None

Submission Deadline

January 15

Cash Prize

1st Prize: $1,000

2nd Prize: $300

3rd Prize: $200

Who Should Enter This Contest

All subjects and styles are welcome, so any writers with an unpublished story of up to 10,000 words.

K. Maragaret Grossman Fiction Awards

James Jones First Novel Fellowship

Overview

“The award is intended to honor the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into cultural and social issues exemplified by the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity and other prose narratives of distinction. Jones himself was the recipient of aid from many supporters as a young writer and his family, friends, and admirers have established this award of $10,000 to continue the tradition in his name.”

Entry Fee

$30 (plus $3 processing fee if you enter online) per entry

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

U.S. citizens who have never published a novel

Submission Deadline

March 15, 2020

Cash Prizes

$10,000

Runners-up receive $1,000

Who Should Enter This Contest

Writers with either unpublished or work-in-progress novels. To enter, you need to submit an outline and the first 50 pages of your novel.

First Novel Fellowship

WOW! Women On Writing Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest

Overview

“The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants.”

Entry Fee

$10 (if you’d also like a critique of your entry, the total is $20)

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Entries must be written in English

Submission Deadlines

FALL: September – November 30th 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

WINTER: December – February 28th, 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

SPRING: March – May 31st, 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

SUMMER: June – August 31st, 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

Cash Prizes

1st Prize:

$400 cash

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

2nd Prize:

$300 cash

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

3rd Prize:

$200 cash

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

7 Runner-ups:

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

10 Honorable Mentions:

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Name, state, and title entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Who Should Enter This Contest

All styles and genres of flash fiction are welcomed. Entries need to be a minimum of 250 words (750 maximum).

Flash Fiction Contest

WOW! Women On Writing Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

Overview

“The mission of this contest is to inspire creative nonfiction and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. (…) Your story must be true, but the way you tell it is your chance to get creative.”

Entry Fee

$12 (if you’d also like a critique of your entry, the total is $25)

Prerequisites for Contest Entry

Entries must be written in English

Submission Deadlines

Q1: August 1 – October 31st, 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

Q2: November 1 – January 31st, 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

Q3: February 1 – April 29th, 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

Q4: May 1 – July 31st, 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)

Cash Prizes

1st Prize:

$400 cash

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

2nd Prize:

$300 cash

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

3rd Prize:

$200 cash

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

7 Runner-ups:

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog

10 Honorable Mentions:

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate

Name, state, and title entry published on WOW! Women On Writing

Who Should Enter This Contest

All styles of essay — from personal essay to lyric essay to hybrid essay (and beyond) are welcomed. Maximum length of 1,000 words.

Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

Common Questions and Answers (and Resources)

Why Should I Enter Writing Contests (Besides the Cash Prizes)?

Because entering writing contests gives you a way to practice writing — the best way to improve your skills. You may even get feedback from some of the contests, and of course, the ultimate positive feedback if you win!

If you’ve wanted to experiment with different genres or different writing styles, this is your chance to play.

The deadlines in writing contests can make the difference between actually writing that next piece and doing it “someday.”

Plus, depending on the contest, entering is an automatic win since you’ll be creating another sample for your writing portfolio. And if you win the writing contest, even better!

What Happens After I Enter a Writing Contest?

Now you get to practice patience and the skill of waiting.

Not all contests will contact you to let you know who won. Some only contact the finalists or the winner(s).

In the contest instructions, you may find dates for when the finalists or winners will be announced. Add these dates to your calendar so you’ll know that if you aren’t contacted by then, you didn’t win this writing contest.

If you do win, and you’ve submitted the same piece of content to multiple contests, you should withdraw your submission(s) from the other contests.

And then celebrate!

What Are Some Good Resources That’ll Help Me Win Writing Contests?

The number one tip to help you win? Pay attention to the details! Ignoring or missing any of the contest rules or requirements could mean instant disqualification.

Merely following the rules can give you an edge over the competition.

Here’s a collection of blog posts to help you improve your writing skills.

How to Become a Better Writer: 14 Tips to Up Your Writing Game in 2020

Proofreading: 7 Editing Tips That’ll Make You a Better Writer in 2020

583 Sensory Words to Take Your Writing from Bland to Brilliant

Stephen King’s 20 Tips for Becoming a Frighteningly Good Writer

How to Start a Blog: Easy, Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

26 Writing Exercises That’ll Give Your Content More Punch and Power

A 5-Minute Guide to Fast-Paced Storytelling

How to Put Your Thoughts Into Words: 3 Proven Strategies

Writing Tips: 5 Ways to Quiet Your Inner Editor

How to Practice Writing Fiction: 5 Core Skills to Improve Your Writing

How Social Media Can Help Teach Good Writing

Stuck? Try These 72 Creative Writing Prompts (+ 6 Bonus Tips)

Game on: Time to Enter Writing Contests For Fun and Money

Imagine how you’ll feel winning one of these contests.

The confirmation of your writing skills. The recognition, the charge of seeing your work published.

You could use your winnings towards writing books, courses, or coaching to develop your talent and skills further.

A fun part of life is trying new things, and here is your opportunity.

So before you close out of this post, pick one contest. Then bookmark it and start working on your contest entry.

Good luck!

The post 50+ Writing Contests in 2020 with Awesome Cash Prizes appeared first on Smart Blogger.

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brookstonalmanac · 1 year

Text

Birthdays 11.1

Beer Birthdays

Ferdinand Rodenbach (1714)

Benjamin Lee, Baronet Guinness (1798)

Petrus Van Roy (1830)

Arthur Edward Guinness, Lord Ardilaun (1840)

Edmund Fitzgerald (1847)

Henry Schupp (1868 or 69)

Five Favorite Birthdays

William Merritt Chase; artist (1849)

Toni Collette; Australian actor (1972)

Larry Flynt; magazine publisher (1942)

Charlie Kaufman; screenwriter (1958)

Edward Said; Palestinian writer (1935)

Famous Birthdays

Rick Allen; rock drummer (1963)

"Whispering" Bill Anderson; songwriter (1937)

Sholem Asch; Polish writer (1880)

Jules Bastien-Lepage; French artist (1848)

Bo Bice; singer and musician (1975)

Edmund Blunden; English author, poet (1896)

Barbara Bosson; actor (1939)

Hermann Broch; Austrian-American author (1886)

Jan Brożek; Polish mathematician, astronomer (1585)

Tim Cook; Apple Inc. CEO (1960)

Stephen Crane; writer (1871)

Jan Davis; astronaut (1953)

Louis Dewis; Belgian-French painter (1872)

Lou Donaldson; saxophonist (1926)

Richard "Kinky" Friedman; rock singer (1944)

Nordahl Grieg; Norwegian poet (1902)

Michael D. Griffin; physicist and engineer (1949)

Sophie B. Hawkins; rock musician (1967)

Ted Hendricks; Green Bay Packers/Colts/Raiders LB (1947)

Shere Hite; writer, researcher (1942)

Eugen Jochum; German conductor (1902)

Mitch Kapor; Lotus & EFF founder (1950)

Roger Kellaway; pianist, composer (1940)

George Kenner; German-American painte (1888)

Anthony Kiedis; rock singer (1962)

James Kirkpatrick; television journalist (1920)

Robert B. Laughlin; physicist (1950)

Lyle Lovett; singer, songwriter (1957)

L.S. Lowry; British artist (1887)

Jenny McCarthy; model, actor (1972)

Ken Miles; English-American race car driver (1918)

Philip Noel-Baker; Canadian politician, activist (1889)

Gary Player; golf player (1935)

Aishwarya Rai; Indian actor (1973)

Grantland Rice; writer (1880)

Barry Sadler; songwriter (1940)

Jim Steinman; rock songwriter (1947)

Rachel Ticotin; actor (1958)

Fernando Valenzuela; Los Angeles Dodgers P (1960)

Marcia Wallace; actor (1942)

#Birthdays

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pangeanews · 4 years

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“Dopo di lui, non c’è nessuno da amare nella poesia”. William Carlos Williams, il capolavoro dimenticato e Pound con le tette al vento

A ‘Mita’, nel settembre del 1957, Cristina Campo ne scrive come di “un cinese antico”. “Se la vedrò le mostrerò un poeta che è stato con me sul lago e in queste notti – ha 72 anni ed è come un cinese antico”. Più avanti – il 25 ottobre – a lettura distesa: “Dice tutto quello che io non oso dire – tutto il mutamento e il pericolo che è in quest’aria di ottobre – come una primavera capovolta nel fiume… tutto si oscura e si rischiara con sempre nuova disperazione”. Nel 1958 esce, per Scheiwiller, il volume Il fiore è il nostro segno: William Carlos Williams ha privilegio di fedeltà, è il poeta più tradotto dalla Campo. Come sempre, nel caso di CC, non si tratta di rapporti ma di legami, inscindibili, di dedizione senza solvenza, di inginocchiatoio. Nel 1961 Einaudi architetta una raccolta di Poesie di WCW con le traduzioni della Campo e di Vittorio Sereni. “Un’antologia di William Carlos Williams (sia pure piccola, sia pure quasi privata) è una cosa assai difficile da comporre. L’intera opera del poeta si configura infatti come un lunghissimo e minuzioso diario cosmico: composto giorno per giorno, segmento per segmento, in quel ritmo caleidoscopico di crollo e ricomposizione da lui stesso definito in una celebre lettera: ‘La vita’ scrive Williams ‘è soprattutto sovvertitrice della vita stessa, quale era un attimo prima: sempre nuova e priva di regole. E nel verso, perché esso viva, qualcosa deve essere infuso che abbia il colore stesso dell’instabile, qualcosa nella natura di una impalpabile rivoluzione’”.

Al cospetto dell’instabile – ecco, la poesia senza posa.

William Carlos Williams è scomparso dal panorama editoriale italiano: resiste un suo libro in prosa – paradosso alchemico per un poeta – Nelle vene dell’America, in catalogo Adelphi, nella furibonda traduzione di Rodolfo Wilcock. Pubblico nel 1923, racconta, da Eric il Rosso (“Piuttosto il ghiaccio che fare come loro: prendere ciò ch’è mio con la sola mia forza, loro invece con la stortura della loro legge”) ad Abramo Lincoln (“Brancusi dovrebbe fare la sua statua, di legno, qualcosa come il suo Socrate, con il grosso buco nella enorme massa della testa, solo che questa sarebbe una donna…”) il gigante americano, con una lingua spigliata che mescola reportage a documenti, epopea e prosopopea, critica letteraria (un pezzo-icona su Edgar Allan Poe: “Deve pagare la sua originalità… Era americano. Era lo stupefacente, inconcepibile frutto del suo luogo. A bocca aperta lo guardavano, e lui loro, con sbalordimento”) e ceppi storici (il pezzo su Samuel Houston, “nato nel 1793, di famiglia scozzese-irlandese, scappò dalla casa dei suoi fratelli ai quali era stato affidato e si unì agli indiani cherokee del Tennessee occidentale”). Il libro è memorabile – c’è più WCW in William Vollmann che tutto il canone insieme. Fatto è che manca tutto il resto.

Il punto morale è questo: “Tutti devono arrivare da sotto, attraverso uno strato morto… colui che vuol crescere deve prima affondare”. Deporre il nome come una corazza ammaccata, come una gimkana di farfalle, come il seme da cui cresce una discendenza non nostra. Chi vola fu pesce, tra acqua e aria la distanza è nel gergo polmonare.

Nato a Rutherford, New Jersey, da babbo inglese e mamma portoricana, WCW studiò alla University of Pennsylvania, fu medico – pediatria, medicina generale – praticò al St. Mary’s General Hospital di Passaic, fu uno dei titani del ‘modernismo’ americano. Fu, per questo, coperto di allori: ‘Poeta laureato’ nel 1952; Premio Pulitzer nel 1963; il primo National Book Award for Poetry, nel 1950 – lo seguiranno Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore, Auden – per l’opera somma, Paterson. Ecco. Paterson, come si dice, è una delle opere ineluttabili del secolo, inesauribili, per composizione narrativa e tensione lirica. Affascinato dall’Ulisse di Joyce, WCW decide di compiere qualcosa di simile in poesia. “Potrebbe essere il 1925 l’anno al quale risalgono i primi appunti sul progetto”, scrive WCW. Se in Nelle vene dell’America l’intento è stato quello, per blocchi storici e cammei biografici, di scrivere la storia dell’intero continente, in Paterson l’etica è opposta: con bisturi e microscopio – ed estro poetico moltiplicato – si disseziona una città – Paterson, appunto, capoluogo della Contea di Passaic – in quanto emblema del tutto. Il poeta s’inabissa nei penetrali del destino di una città, della civiltà, nella sua anima. Con l’idea, mantica, di dirne l’origine, l’energia prima: “Il rumore delle Cascate mi sembrava una lingua che noi stavamo e stiamo ancora cercando e la mia ricerca, mentre mi guardavo intorno, divenne una vera e propria lotta per interpretare e per riuscire a usare questo linguaggio. Questa è la sostanza del poema”.

Paterson è il poema che ossessiona WCW: verbo che si fa acqua, parola che guizza. Ha ragione la Campo: un cinese antico in gergo modernista. Il poema è edito in cinque tomi, tra il 1946 e il 1958. In Italia è pubblico da Mondadori nel 1997, per la cura di Alfredo Rizzardi, dopo le edizioni Lerici (1966) e Accademia (1972). Ora non esiste, editorialmente, più: ennesimo ridicolo eccidio del genio – a volte mi pare improbabile che un poeta possa poetare senza conoscere Paterson.

Cerca il nulla sbaraglia tutto

l’N di tutte le equazioni

quella roccia, il vuoto, che la sostiene

una volta strappato via – la roccia è

la loro caduta. Cerca quel nulla

che sta oltre ogni visione

la morte di ogni cosa che sta oltre

ogni essere …La memoria è una specie di realizzazione una specie di rinnovamento e anche un’iniziazione, giacché gli spazi da lei aperti sono nuove terre abitate da orde prima inavvertite, di nuove specie – …un mondo perduto un mondo insospettato accenna a nuove terre né v’è bianchezza (perduta) tanto bianco quanto il ricordo della bianchezza.

Fu il più solido amico di Ezra Pound. Si conoscevano dall’università: WCW, classe 1883, descrive così, nel 1904, l’estro di Pound alla madre. “Pound è un bravo ragazzo; fede in ghisa, icona dell’ottimismo, insomma, è ammirevole. Ma non uno su mille gli garba e in molti lo detestano. Perché? Perché è così dannatamente pieno di compiacimento e di modi eccentrici. È un parlatore e pensatore di genio, ma si diletta nel fare ciò che non è: un boato che sghignazza”. Nel 1910 WCW visita Pound a Londra: l’amico lo inoltra a Yeats, lo aiuta a pubblicare i primi libri, lo presenta a Harriet Monroe, per spingerlo nei ranghi di Poetry. L’amicizia si incrina nel 1922. Il rapporto tra Pound e Thomas S. Eliot, consolidato con la pubblicazione di The Waste Land, è percepito da WCW come un tradimento. “Il più grande dono di Pound a Williams, in ogni caso, fu quella di sollecitare James Laughlin, il fondatore di New Direction, a firmare un accordo con il Bardo di Rutherford. Fino al 1936 i libri di Williams erano apparsi per lo più in placche e piccole edizioni, grazie al lavoro di New Direction i suoi lettori cominciarono a levitare” (per approndire: Herbert Leibowitz, William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound: Episodes from a sixty-year friendship). Curioso l’aneddoto che WCW scrive nell’autobiografia del 1951. In una recita universitaria dell’Ifigenia in Aulide di Euripide, Pound interpreta una donna del coro, “aveva una parrucca stravagante, gesticolava selvaggiamente, brandiva i seni enormi in un’estasi di estrema emozione”.

WCW ebbe il talento di riconoscere poeti acuminati come lui. Nel 1919 esaltò Emanuel Carnevali come un Rimbaud sgangherato in Gloria!, “Gesù, Gesù, salva Carnevali per me!”. “Williams era meno loquace di Cummings e la sua conversazione portava ad amarlo più che ad ammirarlo”, ricorda di lui Octavio Paz. “Parlammo degli Stati Uniti e del Messico. Ovviamente si cadde sul tema delle radici. Noi, gli dicevo, siamo soffocati dalla profusione di radici e di passati, ma voi siete schiacciati sotto il peso enorme di un futuro che si sbriciola. Si disse d’accordo con me e mi diede un opuscolo appena pubblicato di un giovane poeta, preceduto da un prologo scritto da lui: si trattava di The Howl di Allen Ginsberg”.

Quando la Campo prende a tradurre WCW, il poeta è tormentato dal dolore: nel 1953 passa in un ospedale psichiatrico, nel 1958 un infarto – il terzo – gli impedisce i movimenti; un’ischemia gli ruba la voce. Muore, in martirio, nel 1963. Si colloca sempre nell’impossibile ogni rapporto di CC. L’11 marzo del 1963 scrive: “È morto, giorni fa, William Carlos Williams. Ora non c’è più nessuno da amare nella poesia. Eliot, Marianne Moore, Djuna Barnes. Ma non danno, come lui, la primavera, il caldo tempo che torna malgrado tutto e che si vorrebbe baciare”. Torna la primavera, dono della prima lettura; torna l’amore, detto da Paz.

Innocenza, innocenza, condizione del cielo! Solo nell’ignoto saremo festeggiati, nutriti. Ritualmente. L’ignoto, rifugio a cui ci scagliamo. Perché seppure, privi di paracadute, saremo piatti contro la terra, non sarà più la stessa terra che lasciammo per il volo. Cercando che? Non c’era nulla lassù. Né è più l’ignoto, ora. Eppure mai conoscemmo la terra come abbattuti, rotti contro di lei. Dall’alto noi cadiamo, innocenti, verso le nostre morti.

Così Cristina Campo traduce Il picchio. Loro – Pound, Eliot & Co. – pensavano alla parola potente, alla poesia come potere, possibilità, pensiero. WCW faceva il medico, accordava il verso alle cascate, fu come la primavera – non fu più cauto, restò blu. (d.b.)

L'articolo “Dopo di lui, non c’è nessuno da amare nella poesia”. William Carlos Williams, il capolavoro dimenticato e Pound con le tette al vento proviene da Pangea.

from pangea.news https://ift.tt/2WV7nw1

#main #Poesia #Cristina Campo #Eliot #Ezra Pound #Letteratura #Paterson #William Carlos Williams

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