Poetry competition winners and new
magazine
 This month,
firstwriter.com
has announced the winner and special commendations
of its
Thirteenth International Poetry Competition, as well
as releasing Issue 26 of firstwriter.magazine:
Winter 2014/15.
Diane
Simkin, from
Cornwall, United Kingdom, was announced as the winner of the competition
with the poem "At the Land's End", and wins £200 (around $350).
Diane writes
mainly poetry with some articles and short stories. She has
been widely published in magazines and anthologies and has
won or been placed in many competitions, including twice
winning the Morris Cup for poetry at the Cornish Gorseth.
Her interests include walking, wildlife, reading, drawing
and painting, photography and music. She lives in Cornwall,
United Kingdom, with her husband, a professional musician.
Special Commendations were awarded to
the following ten entries (in no particular order):
-
Jonnah McClintock, United States, "The Sound of Writers";
-
JoWonder, United Kingdom, "When I'm Asleep";
-
Liz Smith, United Kingdom, "Not enough";
-
Nicollette Foreman, United Kingdom, "Chilean Miners- The Trapped
Hours";
- Georgina
Ansa, United Kingdom, "Forgotten Stellar Destinies";
-
Yvonne Wandera, United Kingdom, "Violette, Malbec and Tears";
-
Ute Carson, United States, "Time Past, Time Present";
-
Sue Barnard, United Kingdom, "Clean Thinking";
-
Annest Gwilym, United Kingdom, "Beach Pottery Mosaic";
-
David Chrzanowski, United Kingdom, "Stir of the Teaspoon".
All the winners will be
published in a future issue of firstwriter.magazine, and
receive vouchers worth £24 / $36.
firstwriter.magazine
Issue 26: Winter 2014/15
 The latest issue of firstwriter.magazine has also
just been released, featuring quality fiction and poetry
submitted from around the world, plus your first chance to see
not just the winning story from our Tenth International Short
Story Contest, but also all ten Special Commendations. To
view the magazine click
here. To enter your work in our Eleventh International
Short Story Contest click
here. If you submitted
work for issue 26 you can check to see if your work
has been included by viewing the magazine online (click
here). If your work has not been included then,
unfortunately, on this occasion
your submission has not been successful. We'd love to see more
of your work, though, and are now accepting submissions
for issue 28 of the magazine. We accept poems up to
30 lines and short stories up to 3,000 words. You can
submit your work for consideration online at https://www.firstwriter.com/Magazine/submit.shtml
Call for Submissions –
Destination: Mystery!
Darkhouse Books is seeking stories for
“Destination: Mystery”: a collection of mystery and crime
stories set in locations popular for vacations.
The editors are looking for stories residing on the cozy
side and that highlight the attraction and appeal of the
setting, but no puff-pieces. They prefer stories with
locations where average people vacation, including sandy
resorts along Lake Michigan; log cabin lodges in the
Adirondacks; quaint, coastal towns on any coast; and legions
of other places forever enshrined in generations of family
photo albums. The locations should be recognisable, so
stories should not be set prior to the mid-twentieth
century. The submission period is now
open and will remain open till 11:59pm (PST), March 31,
2015. Stories should be between 2,500 and
7,500 words long, though if it’s "truly knockout material",
any length will be considered. The
anthology will contain between twelve and twenty stories,
depending on the overall length. Authors will share equally
fifty percent of royalties received.
Submissions are accepted in MS Word .doc and .docx files.
Submissions must be in standard manuscript format.
Previously published work will be considered, provided the
author has the power to grant the publisher the right to
publish in ebook, audio, and print versions, and that it has
not been available elsewhere more recently than January 1,
2014. Submissions may be sent to
submissions(AT)darkhousebooks(DOT)com. Please put
"Submission-Destination-" in the subject line and add the
name of your story.
For more details about Darkhouse
Books,
click here. For over 100 other publishers
of crime fiction,
click here
Magazine calls for
submissions
Gyroscope Review
Submissions are now being accepted for
the first issue of Gyroscope Review.
Gyroscope Review publishes fine contemporary poetry
in a variety of forms and themes, and welcomes both new
and established writers. Gyroscope
Review is published quarterly. The first issue will be
available in Spring of 2015. No fee to submit.
Visit the submissions page for
guidelines:
http://www.gyroscopereview.com/home/guidelines/
Rapphannock Review
Rapphannock Review is seeking
submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, both for
its general issue and for a summer special on the theme of
FLIGHT: Birds. Aeroplanes. Feathered wings and steel
wings. Escape. Return. The sky, the air. Moving up,
crashing down. Relief. Release. Cowardice, running away.
Courage, diving in. Travelling, physically. Travelling,
mentally. What it means to fly, literally or figuratively.
Submissions are open until early
mid-February, 2015, for both the general and theme issue.
To submit, go to
https://rappahannockreview.submittable.com/submit
Red Paint Hill Poetry Journal
Red Paint Hill is looking for
reviews, poetry, and interviews. Book
Reviews: Seeking reviews of chapbooks and full length poetry
books. Poetry: Send 3–5 of your best
poems. Red Paint Hill is seeking work that is vivid in
imagery, reflection and idea.
Interviews: Send
interviews with poets.
Essays: Send essays that are
poetry related.
To read the full submissions
guidelines and how to submit, go to:
http://redpainthill.com/submissions.php
Apple Valley Review
Apple Valley Review is
currently reading submissions of poetry, personal essays,
and short fiction for the Spring 2015 issue (Vol. 10, No.
1). All work must be original,
previously unpublished, and in English. No simultaneous
submissions. Several pieces from the
journal have later appeared as selections, finalists, and /
or notable stories in Best American Essays,
Best of the Net, Best of the Web, and
storySouth Million Writers Award.
All published work is automatically
considered for our annual editor's prize.
To submit, send 1–6 poems or 1–3 essays
/ short stories, all pasted into the body of a single e-mail
message, to the editor: editor(AT)leahbrowning(DOT)net.
Submission deadline: March 15, 2015 The
current issue, previous issues, subscription information,
and complete submission guidelines are available online at
http://www.applevalleyreview.com
Little Patuxent Review
Little Patuxent Review is
seeking nonfiction submissions for its upcoming un-themed
issue. Reading period closes March 1.
https://littlepatuxentreview.submittable.com/submit
Little Patuxent Review also welcomes
poetry and fiction submissions for the same period.
Painted Cave
Painted Cave Literary Magazine
is accepting submissions from community college students
nationwide for its third issue, May 2015. Submissions are
accepted on a rolling basis.
Painted Cave is the online student-run, faculty-guided
literary journal of Santa Barbara City College. The journal
publishes the work of community college student writers in
fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Painted Cave
reserves First North American Serial Rights. Simultaneous
submissions are accepted, provided immediate notification is
given of acceptance elsewhere. Paste your
submission in the body of the email to
paintedcavesubmissions(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Also include a
short biography and the community college attending.
In the subject line include the genre of
the submission, title(s) and your name (e.g. Fiction, “Born
Too Late,” Mary Mullins). Flash Fiction:
1–3 pieces, no more than 750 words each.
Fiction: 1 piece, no more than 5,000 words.
Poetry: 3–5 poems, no more then 50 lines each.
Creative Nonfiction: 1 piece, no more than 5,000 words.
Flash Creative Nonfiction: 1–3 pieces, no more than 750
words each. For more details, go to
http://www.paintedcave.net.
For details of over 1,900 other magazines,
click here 
Current writing
competitions
The Bridport Prize
With over £16,000 (that's well over
$20,000) in prizes, The Bridport Prize is one of the biggest
writing prizes in the English language.
The poetry and short story categories have a first prize of
£5,000 (over $7,000) each, and the flash fiction and first
novel awards carry £1,000 (about $1,500) each.
The 2015 competition is now open for entries and the judges
have been announced: Roger McGough for poetry, Jane Rogers
for short stories; David Gaffney for flash fiction; and Jane
Feaver for the PC-A Novel Award. For more
details, or to enter online, go to
https://www.bridportprize.org.uk
Wisconsin Romance Writers of America
Fabulous Five Contest
For over twenty years, this contest has
provided detailed critiques to all entrants and an
opportunity for the top five in each category to get their
work in front of key editors and agents in the publishing
industry. This contest is available to unpublished and
self-published writers.
Entry fees are $18 for WisRWA members
and $25 for all other entrants.
All entries must be limited to the
first 2,500 words of your manuscript and must be submitted
electronically. For an entry form and complete details
regarding rules and eligibility, go to:
http://www.wisrwa.org
Deadline for entries is 11:59 CST,
March 1, 2015. Categories will be capped at thirty-five
entries each, so enter early to beat the rush! This is the lineup of categories and
judges for 2015:
-
Erotica (New this
year): Cheryl Yeko, Soulmate Publishing; Jessica Alvarez,
Bookends, LLC
-
Historical: Laura Plude, Grand Central
Publishing; Elizabeth Pomada, Larsen Pomada Literary Agents
-
Inspirational: Giselle Regus, Harlequin Love Inspired; Joyce
Hart, Hartline Literary Agency
-
New Adult (New
this year!): Nicole Fischer, Avon Romance; Patricia
Nelson, Marshal Lyon Literary Agency
-
Paranormal/Fantasy/ Futuristic/Time Travel:
Brenda Chin, Imajinn Books; Shira Hoffman, McIntosh & Otis,
Inc.
-
Romantic Suspense: Madeleine Colavita,
Grand Central Publishing; Lucienne Diver, The Knight Agency
-
Series Contemporary (Long/short): Cristina Brower, NAL/Penguin Random House; Saba Sulaiman,
Talcott Notch Literary Services
-
Single Title: Mercedes Frenandez, Kensington Books; Courtney Miller-Callihan,
Greenburger Associates
-
Women’s Fiction:
Jennifer Herrington, Lyrical Press; Victoria Lowes, The Bent
Agency
-
Young Adult: Alycia Tornetta,
Entangled Publishing; Taylor Haggerty, Waxman Leavell
Literary Agency
17th Annual Golden Pen Awards
Have you got a story to tell or a poem
to share with readers? If so, why not
send them to: The Golden Pen, Gurteen, Ballinasloe, Co.
Galway before April 1, 2015? First Prize-
€100 plus Runner-up prizes. €5 per entry
and €3 for primary pupils (£4/£2 Sterling).
Open theme. 2,000 word limit for stories and 70 lines for
poems. Winning entries will be published
in our festival magazine. Please send
personal details on a separate sheet. Winners will be
notified by June 10, 2015.
EVENT Annual Nonfiction Contest
Writers are invited to submit
manuscripts exploring the creative nonfiction form.
Deadline: April 15, 2015 (postmarked/online)
Entry Fee: $34.95 (includes 1 year of EVENT)
Multiple entries are allowed; however, each entry must be
accompanied by a separate fee. No simultaneous submissions.
Maximum entry length is 5,000 words, typed, double-spaced.
Prizes: $1,500 in prize monies available, plus payment for
publication! This year's judge is Andrew Westoll (
http://www.eventmagazine.ca/contest-nf/)
Go to
http://www.eventmagazine.ca for complete contest
guidelines. Ticket to Write
The Ticket to Write Beatles-themed
Festival playwriting contest is now open for entries for the
fourth year. We are currently exploring several venues and
slots in Liverpool to perform the selected plays.
As usual, the plays can be about the
people, stories inspired by songs and song-titles or any
genuine connection with The Beatles. The
plays should be 40–45 minutes long and able to be performed
by a maximum of four actors. More characters are allowed if
it is practical to multi-role. The winner gets a
tasty £150 and it costs only £10 to enter. Entries must be
in by April 7, 2015. All plays will be assessed
anonymously by a theatre professional and three will go
forward to be performed. Professional judges and the
audience vote will count towards the final result. All entries will receive a considered written critique from
the assessor, who will receive all of the £10 entry fee. A
windfall has enabled us to fund the prize money. Full
details are under "How To Enter" on our website
at
http://www.acedrama.co.uk.
For the details of over 100 other current contests,
click here
Crime and Publishment
crime writing courses
To help all the budding crime writers
out there, the Crime and
Publishment writing course is set to return on March 6–8,
2015, and will take place at The Mill Forge near Gretna
Green, in Scotland. The line-up of speakers
includes David Thomas (Tom Cain), RC Bridgestock, Caro
Ramsay and David Headley, who is one of the United Kingdom's top
agents. Tutors will be demonstrating
ways in which crime writers can:
The full programme can be found at
http://www.crimeandpublishment.co.uk/fiction-writing-courses.html
If you'd like to book a place on Crime
and Publishment 2015, or would like more information,
contact Graham Smith on +44 (0) 1461 800344 or
crime@themill.co.uk
Resources for
writers at firstwriter.com
Go to firstwriter.com
for the following invaluable resources for writers:
To advertise
on this newsletter for as little as $30 / £20 click
here
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