Mapping Your Words

The Time Is Now
10.11.22

“Each poem or song has a genealogy of sorts. When I speak with singers from our ceremonial ground about a song, they tell you who taught you the song, where the song came from, who has the authority to sing/speak it,” writes former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo in her Blaney Lecture “Ancestors: A Mapping of Indigenous Poetry and Poets” delivered in 2015 at Poets Forum in New York City. “The meanings make a map that sometimes connect you to a lonely serviceman in Japan, or to the journey over the Trail of Tears, from what is now known as Alabama to Indian Territory, or Oklahoma.” Inspired by Harjo’s words, write a poem that traces the genealogy of your poetry. Try starting with a list or a family tree to uncover the storytellers who have inspired you.

Deadline Nears for the Changes Press Bergman Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog
10.7.22

Poets looking to publish their first or second poetry collections have until the end of the month to submit manuscripts to the Changes Press Bergman Prize. Offered annually, the prize awards the winner $10,000, publication by Changes Press, a book launch in New York City, and other opportunities for publicity.

Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages, a brief bio, and a list of previously published poems by October 31. Louise Glück, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, will judge. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Bergman Prize was established in 2020 in memory of Judson and Susan Bergman. The prize’s inaugural winner was Rachel Mannheimer, whose collection Earth Room was selected by Glück and released by Changes Press in April. An independent publisher based in New York City, Changes Press also publishes the online periodical Changes Review. Submissions for the journal are currently closed.

Find a Writing Contest

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

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Why I Write

The Time Is Now
10.6.22

Last month, former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey delivered the annual Windham-Campbell lecture “Why I Write” at Yale University. In considering the theme of the lecture, Trethewey recalls the familial, poetic, and cultural influences that inspired her to become a poet, weaving personal stories with reflections on history and literature. “I’ve needed to create the narrative of my life, its abiding metaphors, so that my story would not be determined for me,” says Trethewey. This week, ask yourself why you write and write a personal essay that searches for your response. What is the story you want to tell?

Telephone Line

The Time Is Now
10.5.22

What can we learn from a single conversation? In Richard Bausch’s short story “Aren’t You Happy for Me?” the protagonist Ballinger speaks to his daughter Melanie over the phone. The conversation, which increases in stakes and tension as it progresses, centers around both parties needing to share life-altering news: Melanie is pregnant and planning to marry an older man while Ballinger and his wife are planning to separate. The story is told with very little narration and is almost entirely written in dialogue. This week try writing a story that takes place over the course of a phone call. Consider what is said and unsaid in the dialogue and how this creates tension between your characters.

Portrait of a Life

The Time Is Now
10.4.22

In Derrick Austin’s poem “Jesus Year,” he creates a portrait of his life on the occasion of his thirty-third birthday. Instead of leaning toward the more familiar images of birthday cakes or candles, Austin begins by describing his immediate surroundings: “My clogged sink coughs up foul water. / My skeletal philodendron,” he writes. The poem then offers more about his life; family members, a cerulean sweater worn through a winter without work, memories of the last time he smoked a cigarette. Taking inspiration from Austin, write a poem that paints a portrait of your life. Try to color the poem with unexpected images to offer a complete picture.

River Teeth Book Prize Open for Submissions

G&A: The Contest Blog
9.30.22

Spooky season officially starts tomorrow, but don’t let fear stop you from submitting to River Teeth’s Book Prize by the Halloween deadline! Offered annually for a volume of creative nonfiction, the prize awards the winner $1,000 and publication by the University of New Mexico Press.

Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of approximately 150 to 350 pages with a $27 entry fee, which includes a subscription to River Teeth, by October 31. Any style of literary nonfiction—including memoir, personal essays, and investigative reporting—is eligible. Natasha Trethewey, who served as U.S. poet laureate from 2012–2014 and is the author of Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir (Ecco, 2020), will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Previous winners of River Teeth’s Book Prize include Kevin Honold in 2019 for The Rock Cycle, Joan Frank in 2018 for Try to Get Lost: Essays on Travel and Place, and Debra Gwartney in 2017 for I Am a Stranger Here Myself.

Founded in 1999 at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, by professors Joe Mackall and Dan Lehman, River Teeth publishes essays, memoir, and literary journalism in a biannual print journal as well as online content, including reviews and a weekly web publication called “Beautiful Things,” which highlights the beauty found in daily life. In 2019, River Teeth moved to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where it is led by senior editors Jill Christman and Mark Neely. Now retired from Ashland University, Mackall and Lehman remain as editors in chief of River Teeth.

Find a Writing Contest

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

Search the database

Hiding a Truth

The Time Is Now
9.29.22

In “Oral History,” an essay published in Astra Magazine online, Yiyun Li recounts when she was invited by her child’s third grade class to share a story of what her life was like in the third grade. Instead of telling the true story of a teacher’s cruel punishment of a fellow student and the betrayal and ostracism she experienced as a result, she fabricates a story about the lantern festival she attended. Li writes: “How else could I have contributed to their education? Had I chosen to tell them a true story, I would have inflicted cruelty, too.” Inspired by Li’s decision, write a personal essay about a time you chose to conceal the truth to protect someone. What were the circumstances behind this decision, and what were you trying to protect them from?

Thanatology

The Time Is Now
9.28.22

In a recent episode of the science podcast Ologies, host Alie Ward speaks with Cole Imperi, founder of the School of American Thanatology and a leading expert on death, dying, and grief. Ward talks about her experience with her father’s death and asks Imperi about the Kübler-Ross model, also known as the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Imperi discusses the common misconception that these stages are experienced by all in a linear order, and that in fact, many may not experience all the stages and some may switch from one stage to another and return to one again. This week, write a story in which a character grieves over the loss of something or someone. Use the Kübler-Ross model as inspiration to plot out your character’s development.

To the Harvest

The Time Is Now
9.27.22

In Ross Gay’s poem “To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian,” neighbors gather around “the canopy / of a fig its / arms pulling the / September sun to it” and relish in the riches of the tree’s bounty, an uncommon occurrence for a typical city street corner. Gay writes, “soon there were / eight or nine / people gathered beneath / the tree looking into / it like a / constellation pointing / do you see it.” This week, inspired by autumn as the season of the harvest, write a poem in which you describe a joyful scene centered around a fruit-bearing plant or tree. How does this experience serve as an escape from the worries of your daily life?

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog
9.23.22

Though the temperature outside is starting to drop, you can stoke the fires of your writing practice by submitting to contests with deadlines of October 15, 16, 17, and 18! Poets, there are multiple awards to win, including a prize of approximately $66,500 for a year of travel and study outside of North America, and $5,000 plus publication of a poetry collection by Alice James Books. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more and two are free to enter. Keep those literary fires burning!

Alice James Books
Alice James Award
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Alice James Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet residing in the United States. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: October 16. Entry fee: $30.

Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship
An award of approximately $66,500 is given annually to a U.S. poet for a year of travel and study outside of North America. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: none.

Copper Nickel
Jake Adam York Prize
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Amaud Jamaul Johnson will judge. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $25, which includes a subscription to Copper Nickel.

John Pollard Foundation
International Poetry Prize
A prize of €10,000 (approximately $10,732) is given annually for a debut poetry collection published during the current year. Deadline: October 18. Entry fee: none. 

Pulitzer Prizes
Prizes in Books
Six prizes of $15,000 each are given annually to honor books of poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, U. S. history, biography, and memoir or autobiography published in the United States during the current year. American authors only are eligible for the poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, biography, and memoir or autobiography categories. Deadline: October 17. Entry fee: $75.

San Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild
Steve Kowit Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in San Diego Poetry Annual is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive an invitation to read at an award ceremony in April 2023. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $15.

Silverfish Review Press
Gerald Cable Book Award
A prize of $1,000, publication by Silverfish Review Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a first poetry collection. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: October 15. Entry fee: $25, which includes a copy of the winning book.

TulipTree Publishing
Humor Story Contest
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of TulipTree Review is given annually for a humorous poem, story, or essay. Deadline: October 17. Entry fee: $20.

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

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