Ten Questions for Dean Rader
“Your voice is your voice. Your voice. No one else’s.” —Dean Rader, author of Before the Borderless: Dialogues With the Art of Cy Twombly
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Genre: Poetry
The Accidental Poetry of Ninety-Nine-Cent Stores
The author of peep finds poetic surprises in the workaday language of commerce and culture.
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Upcoming Contest Deadlines
During these increasingly sunny days, stay cool indoors and submit to contests with deadlines of April 30 and May 1! A poet residing or working in Inland Southern California could win $1,000 and publication by the Inlandia Institute; a fiction writer with a supernatural story to tell could receive $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website; and a nonfiction writer with work focusing on the desert “as both subject and setting” could be awarded $3,000, an invitation to a High Desert Museum ceremony in Oregon, and a writing residency. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more. Keep cool as your literary careers heat up, writers!
Backwaters Press
Backwaters Prize in Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is also given. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $32.
Beloit Poetry Journal
Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Beloit Poetry Journal is given annually for a single poem. Marie Howe will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $15.
Ghost Story
Supernatural Fiction Award
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. The winning work will also be published in the print anthology 21st Century Ghost Stories—Volume III. The editors will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.
High Desert Museum
Waterston Desert Writing Prize
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative, with the desert as both subject and setting.” The winner will also be provided with travel and lodging to attend a reception and awards ceremony at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, in September, as well as the opportunity to attend a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake. Works-in-progress as well as published and unpublished prose are eligible. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: none.
Inlandia Institute
Hillary Gravendyk Prizes
Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by the Inlandia Institute, and 20 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing or working in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.
Noemi Press
Book Award
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $25.
Oversound
Chapbook Prize
A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Andrew Zawacki will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $18, which includes a subscription to Oversound.
University of Pittsburgh Press
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $25.
Wick Poetry Center
Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. The winner is also invited to teach a weeklong writing workshop at Kent State University and give a reading with the judge, Marilyn Chin. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $30.
Winning Writers
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
Two prizes of $3,000 each, two gift certificates for two-year membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a short story and an essay. Unpublished and previously published works are eligible. Mina Manchester will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $22.
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.
Paisley Rekdal Reads From West: A Translation
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“Sorrowful news sings the telegram / and Lincoln’s body slides from DC / to Springfield, his third son, Willie, / boxed beside him.” In this 2019 City of Asylum event, Paisley Rekdal reads from her multimedia poem “West: A Translation,” a book-length work commissioned by Utah’s Spike 150 organization to commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad. Rekdal’s hybrid collection, published in May by Copper Canyon Press, is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Camille T. Dungy on Nature Poetry
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“One of the reasons that we write is to see the world reflected in a way that makes sense to us.” In this Furious Flower interview from 2015, Camille T. Dungy speaks about how editing the anthology Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (University of Georgia Press, 2009) helped articulate her views on nature poetry. A profile of Dungy by Renée H. Shea appears in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Literary MagNet: Candace Williams
The author of I Am the Most Dangerous Thing introduces five journals that first published their poems and engaged them in community, including Sixth Finch and Prelude.
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Orcas Island Lit Fest
The 2023 Orcas Island Lit Fest was held from June 2 to June 3 at the Orcas Center in Eastsound, Washington. The festival featured panel discussions, book signings, author interviews, readings, and live music for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction writers. Participating writers included fiction writers Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Garth Stein, and Kirstin Valdez Quade; and nonfiction writer Gilbert King. The cost to attend the festival was $65. Registration was rolling through June 2. Visit the website for more information.
Type:
FESTIVAL
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
April 21, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
yes
Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Orcas Island Lit Fest, P.O. Box 225, Eastsound, WA 98245.
Contact City:
Eastsound
Contact State:
WA
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
98245
Country:
US
Wyoming Writers Conference
The 2023 Wyoming Writers Conference was held from June 2 to June 4 at the Historic Plains Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The conference featured workshops in craft, marketing, and productivity for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers, as well as publisher pitch sessions, roundtable critiques, and open mics. Participating writers included fiction writer Nina McConigley. Poet Matt Mason gave the keynote address. Participating publishing professionals included publisher Bernadette Soehner (5 Prince Publishing) and director of literary development Angie Hodapp (Nelson Literary Agency).
Type:
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
April 21, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
yes
Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Wyoming Writers Conference, 109 East 17th Street, Suite #5921, Cheyenne, WY 82001.
Contact City:
Cheyenne
Contact State:
WY
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
82001
Country:
US
Chautauqua Writers’ Festival
The 2023 Chautauqua Writers’ Festival was held from June 21 to June 24 at the historic Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. The conference featured workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as readings and panel discussions. The theme for this year’s festival was “Hope and Its Entanglements.” The faculty included poets Leila Chatti and Oliver de la Paz and fiction writer Akil Kumarasamy. The keynote speaker was nonfiction writer Joseph Osmundson. The cost of the full conference was $500; the registration deadline was June 15.
Type:
FESTIVAL
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
April 21, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Chautauqua Writers’ Festival, Chautauqua Institution, P.O. Box 28, One Ames Avenue, Chautauqua, NY 14722.
Contact City:
Chautauqua
Contact State:
NY
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
14722
Country:
US
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Wordplay
The 2023 Wordplay festival was held on July 8 in and around Open Book, a literary center in Minneapolis, with some panels livestreamed for a virtual audience. The festival featured panel discussions, author interviews, interactive activities for children and adults, food trucks, and local artists. The theme for this year’s event was “Narrative Power.” Participating writers included poets and fiction writers Fatimah Asghar and Mahogany L.
Type:
FESTIVAL
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
April 21, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 21, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Wordplay, Loft Literary Center, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55415. Claire Rekow-McKee, Events and Partnership Coordinator.
Claire Rekow-McKee
Events and Partnership Coordinator
Contact City:
Minneapolis
Contact State:
MN
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
55415
Country:
US
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