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NewPages Blog

At the NewPages Blog readers and writers can catch up with their favorite literary and alternative magazines, independent and university presses, creative writing programs, and writing and literary events. Find new books, new issue announcements, contest winners, and so much more!

Get Ready to Write Brilliant Flash Fiction

Brilliant Flash FictionIf you’ve been wanting to strengthen your flash fiction skills, Brilliant Flash Fiction has you covered.

Join presenter Cindy Skaggs on Saturday, March 13, 2021 for a virtual flash fiction fundraiser workshop. The one-hour workshop will take you from zero to finished flash fiction. Find out more about Skaggs and registration at Brilliant Flash Fiction‘s website.

Master your flash fiction now and have something to submit to the journal’s next print anthology, submissions open until May 14.

Call :: Beliefs, Myths, and Narratives in Southern Culture

Nobody's Home boarded up doorDeadline: May 15, 2021
Founded in 2020, Nobody’s Home: Modern Southern Folklore is a work-in-progress online anthology of creative nonfiction works about the prevailing beliefs, myths, and narratives that have driven Southern culture over the last fifty years, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The anthology is collecting personal essays, memoirs, short articles, opinion pieces, and contemplative works about the ideas, experiences, and assumptions that have shaped life below the old Mason-Dixon Line since 1970. www.modernsouthernfolklore.com

New England Review – 41.4

The Winter 2020 issue of New England Review is by turns bracing, inspiring, surprising, and devastating. Like every issue of NER, it gives readers a chance to expand their sense of the known world through language, image, and narrative. But what’s different is that emerging writers almost entirely populate this issue, and for many this is among their first publications.

The Massachusetts Review – Winter 2020

We are honored to present the very first Massachusetts Review issue focused on Native American writing. The issue’s poetry and prose show the depth and range of Native writing in our current moment. We put forward work by both new and established Indigenous writers that is diverse in its aesthetics and comes from tribal people who live all over the country. Essays by Tiffany Midge, Shaina A. Nez, Chandre Szafran, and more; stories by Stephen Graham Jones, Chip Livingston, Erika Wurth, and more; and poetry by Lemanuel Loley, Stephanie Lenox, Bojan Louis, Jessica Mehta, and more. Plus novel excerpts and hybrid texts. Read more at The Massachusetts Review website.

Call :: The Experiment Will Not Be Bound: Experimental Anthology

Unbound Editions Press Anthology CFSDeadline: March 14, 2021
This project reflects current times: it is a political act, and bold voices in new forms will ignite it. We are most interested in: What does America mean now — and what forms can our voices take today? Show us experimental writing that confronts the hard truths of America across identities, generations, communities, cultures, borders. Literary experiments from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented communities hold particular power in making this anthology relevant. We will challenge the traditional anthology form too, experimenting with how the book can be (un)bound, (re)ordered, (re)read, and (co)shared. Authors selected will be paid for their work. www.unboundedition.com

The Main Street Rag – Winter 2021

In this issue of The Main Street Rag, find a featured interview with Ellen Birkett Morris by Beth Browne. Fiction by Ellen Birkett Morris, Lawrence F. Farrar, Michael Graves, Kathie Giorgio, and Steve Cushman. Poetry by Carrie Albert, Diana Anhalt, Rose Auslander, Joan Barasovska, Brenton Booth, Raymond Byrnes, Robert Cooperman, Rachel Dixon, Richelle Buccilli, Angela Gaito-Lagnese, Martha Golensky, Kari Gunter-Seymour, Ted Jonathan, Elda Lepak, Anne Hall Levine, Vikram Masson, Ken Meisel, David Mills, Randy Minnich, Harry Moore, Gail Peck, Ann Pedone, Gary V. Powell, Charles Rammelkamp, David Rock, Seth Rosenbloom, Russell Rowland, Tom Wayman, and more.

EVENT Winter 2020 2021

This issue features Notes on Writing from Maria Reva, Souvankham Thammavongsa, and Joshua Whitehead. Also in this issue: nonfiction by Darlene McLeod; fiction by Dian Parker, Stephen Guppy, and Dennis McFadden; and poetry by Ashley Hynd, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Rose Hunter, Natasha Zarin, Peter Richardson, Thomas Mixon, Nate Logan, Jean Van Loon, D.S. Martin, and more. Read more at the EVENT website.

Grand Little Thing Launches The Umbran Project

The Umbran Project logoGrand Little Things, an online literary magazine devoted to showcasing formal verse and free verse using typical versification techniques, has announced the creation of The Umbran Project. The name comes from The Umbra Poets who are known for skirting the line between “Art for Art’s Sake” and “For the Culture.”

The idea of the Umbran Project came about as the editor realized there are “a limited number of avenues that are specifically targeting African American Writers.” They hope to publish the Umbran Project twice a year and would love to feature at least 30 poets per issue.

The first issue’s deadline is April 14, 2021.

Call :: NOMADartx Review Seeks Work on a Rolling Basis

NOMADartx logoDeadline: Rolling
NOMADartx is an emerging global creative network dedicated to sharing and amplifying creative potential, regardless of genre. Our new NOMADartx Review curates fresh voices that address creativity and creative process via fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, interviews, critiques, and reviews. Our “Industry Specials” column also provides a place for contemporary creatives to share wisdom (individual or collective) toward building success in their fields of practice. We currently consider work that addresses these themes in any way. More information is here: nomadartx.submittable.com/submit. Recent work includes “Knit Beyond” by Chelsey Clammer and “Popsicle” by Nina Schuyler.

“Comfort Poems” in Cimarron Review

Magazine Review by Katy Haas.

Issue 212 of Cimarron Review includes what feel like the comfort food of poetry. After a long week, it felt good to sit wrapped up in a blanket with this issue in my lap.

Victoria Hudson offers warmth to readers of “11th & Quaker.” Inside the apartment, the speaker and another person complete a crossword and watch well-known The Office. There’s comfort in the familiarity of both tasks, a quiet intimacy surrounding them.

Kim Kent’s “At the YMCA” shows us a different scene of intimacy as YMCA lifeguards practice CPR on one another “just to be sure,” all of them “generous with our drowned / and undrowned lips.” Kent kindles the heat of summer and the closeness of the two bodies with expertise.

David Ruekberg offers a “Cure for Thought” with a list of instructions that both calm and inspire the reader. He quietly guides us to observe and imagine until we reach the final, always useful step: “Listen.”

Make time to stop and listen to the words of the writers in this issue of Cimarron Review and find your own comfort poems.

Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize Winners

Issue 57 of Ruminate features the winners of the Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize. Grab a copy now to check them out.

First Place
“The Difference Between a Year and a Lifetime” by Laura Budofsky Wisniewski

Second Place
“Papier-mâché” by Yvette Siegert

Honorable Mentions
“In Another Dream Where My Father Apologizes” by Hajjar Baban
“The Sparrow in the Banquet Hall” by Betsy Sholl

Finalists include Chaun Ballard, Jennifer Barber, Charley Gibney, Catherine Hodges, Suzanne Lummis, Megan Merchant, Brian Sneeden, Samuel Ugbechie, David Wright, and Haolun Xu.

Contest :: New American Voices: Post-Publication Book Prize for Immigrant Writers

New American Voices Award 2021 bannerDeadline: March 31, 2021
Fall for the Book and the Institute for Immigration Research’s New American Voices Award recognizes recently published books that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants, whose work is historically underrepresented in writing and publishing. The prize will be juried by Irina Reyn, Justin Torres, and 2019 New American Voices winner Melissa Rivero. All three finalists and the judges will appear at the Fall for the Book festival in October 2021 for the fourth annual award presentation. The winning writer will receive $5,000 and the two finalists each will receive $1,000. Full guidelines: fallforthebook.org/submitnav/.

Contest :: Fix the Future Climate Fiction Contest

Grist 2021 Climate Fiction ContestDeadline: April 12, 2021
Fix, Grist’s solutions lab, is launching a new climate-fiction contest, Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors. Imagine calls for short stories envisioning the next 180 years of climate progress, judged by renowned authors Adrienne Maree Brown, Morgan Jerkins, and Kiese Laymon. The top contest winners will be awarded $3000, $2000, and $1000 respectively, and nine finalists will receive a $300 honorarium. Winners and finalists will be published in an immersive digital collection. We want to see—and share—stories that bring into focus what a truly just and regenerative future could look like. Submit your story by April 12 at grist.submittable.com/submit and contact us at [email protected].

Call :: Oyster River Pages Seeks Submissions for Annual Issue

Oyster River Pages logoDeadline: May 31, 2021
Oyster River Pages is a literary and artistic collective seeking submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual arts that stretch creative and social boundaries. We believe in the power of art to connect people to their own and others’ humanity, something we see as especially important during these tumultuous times. Because of this, we seek to feature artists whose voices have been historically decentered or marginalized. Please see our website for submission details and check out Issue 4.2 “Composite Dreams” – a special issue devoted to the work of black writers and artists.

Poor Yorick Reading Series: “Family Matters”

skull on black and pink backgroundPoor Yorick: A Journal of Rediscovery is continuing their monthly reading series with a virtual open mic and fireside chat!

Cozy up with your favorite beverage and share your poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Stick around for an open discussion between readers and writers.

This month’s theme is about family—the people who get us through bad times and celebrate the good times with us.

The reading will take place on February 25 from 7-9 pm EST and is free to attend on Microsoft Zoom. Find out more at Poor Yorick‘s website.

 

Cozy Up with Calder

Guest Post by Michael Rhames.

Back when I was a teenager and the internet wasn’t a thing, one of my favorite activities was to sit or lay down with a book. Anything by Agatha Christie I could get my hands on ended up being a favorite. This one may just be a close second, as far as cozy mysteries go.

While Eve Calder’s style is her own, the resemblance to Christie’s is undeniable, and doesn’t stop with the title. Kate McGuire even has her own modern-day Hastings to help her solve the mystery presented in this little masterpiece of the genre.

After losing her job, her fiancé, and her apartment all in the same day, Kate decides to move south from New York to beautiful Coral Cay, Florida. There, she arrives at The Cookie House where owner Sam Hepplewhite won’t sell cookies, of all things. Being a pastry chef, but still needing a job, Kate takes the front clerk post offered to her instead. All the while, she’s been seeing someone following her around.

Then she meets Stuart Lord, a millionaire who wants to turn the island into an exclusive vacation destination for the rich. He is trying to bully Sam into selling the business, but Sam won’t budge. From there, everything goes downhill. There is a death, and Sam goes to jail as the main suspect.

Kate enlists new friends to help uncover the true killer’s identity. Their discovery is unpredictable, just the way it should be. But that is why it’s called a mystery!

I have absolutely no complaints about this book, which is rare for cozies lately. If you like cozies and a fair amount of food talk, this may just be your thing.

And Then There Were Crumbs by Eve Calder. St. Martin’s Press, July 2019.

Reviewer bio: Michael Rhames. Birth Date: 6/8/1971. Birth Place: San Juan, PR. Living In: Boston, MA.

Buy this book from our affiliate Bookshop.org.

Contest :: Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry Manuscript Contest

University of Utah Press logoDeadline: April 15, 2021
“The world is full of paper. Write to me.”—Agha Shahid Ali, “Stationery.” Submit your poetry manuscript to the Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry, judged this year by Matthew Olzmann. The winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize, publication by The University of Utah Press, plus a $500 honorarium for reading in the University of Utah’s Guest Writers Series. Deadline: April 15, 2021. Entry fee: $25. We are on Submittable. Read about our guidelines Here: www.uofupress.com/ali-poetry-prize.php. Email Hannah New with any questions [email protected].

Position Available :: Fine Arts “Barista”

The Fictional Cafe logoThe Fictional Café, an online arts ‘zine, was established in 2013 and has steadily grown in popularity. Today, we have over 900 Coffee Club members in 64 countries. We publish fine arts exhibits, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, along with more occasional reviews, commentaries and interviews, each month.

As of March 1, we have an opening for our Fine Arts Barista. In this unpaid volunteer position, your role is assessing incoming art submissions for possible publication, as well as reaching out to art communities to invite artists to submit their work. You recommend exhibits to the editorial board and once approved, curate the artist’s works in publishable format with descriptions of each work, an Artist’s Statement, the artist’s bio and (optional) photograph. We strive to publish a Fine Arts exhibit once a month. Please review what we have published on our website, www.fictionalcafe.com.

If you’re interested, please reply to me at [email protected]. Type “Fine Arts Barista – NP” in the subject line. Please describe yourself, your artistic interests and how you feel you might fit in with our baristas and our community. The editorial board will begin interviews the last week of February. We extend a three-month trial period for new baristas; if we are all agreed on moving forward together, you’ll be introduced on our website and be given your own business cards and a Fictional Café Microsoft Office 365 account.

Contest :: The Journal’s Non/Fiction Collection Prize at The Ohio State University

The Journal Issue 44.2 coverDeadline: March 21, 2021
Submission Dates: February 1 – March 21, 2021. The Non/Fiction Collection Prize is awarded annually to a book-length collection of short stories, essays, or a combination of the two. This year’s judge is Nick White, author of How to Survive a Summer and Sweet and Low. A $1,500 prize and publication with The Ohio State University Press is awarded for a collection of short stories, essays, or a combo. $23 entry fee (reduced fee for BIPOC writers). Visit thejournalmag.org/book-prizes/prose-prize for guidelines.

Ruminate – Issue 57

Runimate Issue 57: Mend investigates what needs to be mended, who does the mending, and how we might mend. As Megan Merchant writes in her poem “Mammography,” “Not all things heal when left alone.” Featuring the Janet B. McCabe prizewinning poems by Laura Budofsky Wisniewski, Yvette Siegert, Hajjar Baban, and Betsy Sholl.

Call :: Chestnut Review (“for stubborn artists”) Open Year Round

Chestnut Review (“for stubborn artists”) invites submissions year round of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, and photography. We offer free submissions for poetry (3 poems), flash fiction (<1000 words), and art/photography (20 images); $5 submissions for fiction/nonfiction (<5k words), or 4-6 poems. Published artists receive $100 and a copy of the annual anthology of four issues (released each summer). Notification in <30 days or submission fee refunded. We appreciate stories in every genre we publish. All issues free online which illustrates what we have liked, but we are always ready to be surprised by the new! Check out our Winter 2021 issue for a taste of what we like. chestnutreview.com

Into the Void

Issue #18 is Into the Void‘s most packed issue ever, 10% bigger than previous issues. The eye-catching cover image “Sub Seb 2” by Chalice Mitchell would really spice up your bookshelf. Inside the cover: fiction by Anne Baldo, Nim Folb, Eloise Lindblom, Karl Plank, Ash Winters, and more; creative nonfiction by Grace Camille and Bill Capossere; and poetry by Annie Cigic, Daun Daemon, Roy Duffield, Rebecca Faulkner, Molly Fuller, Beth Gordon, Chana G. Miller, and others.

Hole in the Head Review – Feb 2021

Hole in The Head Review begins their second year with this new issue. Visit for new work by Tim Benjamin, Richard Jones, S. Stephanie, Connor Doyle, Ashley Mallick, Larkin Warren, Eva Goetz, Ron Riekki, Beth Copeland, Roger Camp, Heather Newman, Tom Barlow, Dennis Herrell, Lily Anna Erb, Dick Altman, Glen Armstrong, Erin Wilson, Yoni Hammer-Kossov, Matthew Moment, Cynthia Galaher, Lisa Zimmerman, Christy Sheffield, Tilly Woodward, and more.

Contest :: Still Accepting Submissions for The Headlight Review Chapbook Prize

Kennesaw State University logoDeadline: After 80 submissions received
The Headlight Review’s Annual Chapbook Prize in Prose is still open and seeking submissions! Send us your very best literary fiction, between 6k and 10k words, and you will be considered by our expert panel of judges for a $500 cash prize and publication of your manuscript. Submissions are $20 each, and all finalists will also be considered for publication. Publication in THR’s regular genres (Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction, Book Reviews, & Interviews) is also year-round, and it is free to submit. Submission Guidelines for The Chapbook Prize, and for our year-round submissions, can be found on our website. We look forward to reading your work!

Bennington Review – No. 8

The “Fame and Obscurity” issue with poetry by Emily Pettit, Maia Seigel, Elizabeth Hughey, Jacob Montgomery, Oni Buchanan, Kathleen Ossip, Anne Marie Rooney, Jose Hernandez Diaz, jayy dodd, Catherine Pierce, Rob Schlegel, Ed Skoog, TR Brady, Ryo Yamaguchi, and more; fiction by Cynthia Cruz, Stuart Nadler, Lucy Corin, Bonnie Chau, and others; and nonfiction by Elisa Albert, Kelle Groom, Craig Morgan Teicher, Kirsten Kaschock, and more. More info at the Bennington Review website.

Call :: Into the Void Wants Your Work in Issue 19

Into the Void Issue 18 cover croppedDeadline: March 7, 2021
Print & online literary magazine Into the Void is open to submissions of fiction, flash, creative nonfiction, poetry, & visual art to Issue #19 through March 7. Payment is $10 per poem/flash/art or $20 per long-from prose piece, a contributor copy, & a one-year online subscription. No theme & no reading fees until Submittable monthly limits reached (free submissions become available again from 12 a.m. PT March 1). Send us something that makes us feel alive. Details: intothevoidmagazine.com/submissions/.

Ekphrastic Poetry in Concho River Review

In the Fall/Winter 2020 issue of Concho River Review, two ekphrastic poems can be found one after the other. First is “Abraham Preparing to Sacrifice His Son” by David Denny about Marc Chagall’s “Abraham Preparing to Sacrifice his Son, According to God’s Command,” and the second is “Telephone in a Dish with Three Grilled Sardines at the end of September” by Paul Dickey about Salvador Dali’s painting which the poem is titled after.

Denny’s poem describes Chagall’s piece and then slides the focus out of frame, to those not pictured. The speaker states, “[ . . . ] while the men / play out their little dramas of heaven and earth, / it’s those left out of the official portrait that make / the real sacrifices.” Denny then paints a picture of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, imaging the heartbreaking grief one would feel seeing her husband “tie her beloved boy to the saddle, / tuck his best knife into his belt.” I enjoyed this focus on the emotion the portrait fails to include.

Dickey’s poem questions the meaning of Dali’s painting again and again, walking us through the detail as his attention slips from one to the next. While Denny focuses on what’s not in the portrait, Dickey becomes focused on discovering what is presented to us and what it means.

These two poems work as great companion pieces for one another, well-placed within the pages of this issue.

Review by Katy Haas

Perfect Your Poem

Do you have a problem poem that’s not cooperating with you? Check out Into the Void‘s new poetry and editing development service. Poetry Editor Andrew Rihn aims to be critical but encouraging with his feedback and promises: “I’ll highlight what’s working (because there is good stuff in every draft!) while pointing out places where you can develop and invigorate your writing. I’ll prompt you to consider the poem from new angles. I’ll ask a lot of questions.”

Find out more about Rihn’s rates and what else you can expect with the editing and development of your poem at Into the Void‘s submission manager.

Able Muse YouTube Channel: Readings & Book Trailers

If you weren’t able to attend the virtual reading and Q&A with Able Muse Press authors Carrie Green, Hailey Leithauser, and Sally Thomas on January 27, they have uploaded a recording of the event to their official YouTube Channel.

Don’t forget to subscribe for more content…like their recently released book trailer for William Baer’s New Jersey Noir: Cape May. This is the second book of the Jack Colt Murder Mystery Novels Series. It was released on January 15 of this year. They are hoping to bring even more book trailers in the new future.

Plus! Don’t forget their 2021 contests are open to submissions! You can submit fiction and poetry to their Write Prize for publication in their literary magazine Able Muse through March 15. You can submit full-length poetry collections to their Book Award through March 31.

University of South Alabama Launches Race and Identity Lecture Series

Screenshot of University of South Alabama Race & Identity Lecture SeriesOn January 27th the English department at the University of South Alabama launched their virtual Race and Identity Lecture Series with USA Writer in Residence Frye Gaillard and Journalist in Residence Cynthia Tucker with “Reflections on Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: A New Perspective of Race in America.” They have three more events scheduled in the series all to be held via Zoom.

This month is Dr. Channette Romero, an associate professor of English at the University of Georgia, who will take part in a conversation on Political Humor in Indigenous Animation on February 24 at 4:30 PM. Next month features Reverend Joseph Brown on Race and Identity in Literature in Culture. In April, Dr. Mudiwa Pettus will present Against Compromise: What Black Rhetorical Education in the Age of Booker T. Washington Teaches Us About Our Current Moment.

The English department offers an MA in English with an emphasis in creative writing and is home to the Stokes Center for Creative Writing.

Poetic Lessons on Love & Gratitude

Guest Post by Padmaja Reddy.

A beautiful collection of poems, How to Love the World is a true pleasure to read.

The poems seem to be written by the hearts that view the world through the lens of kindness. Poems that reflect on “Joy of Presence,” “Small Victories,” “Pieces of Heaven” and other modes of positive outlooks.

The love of a father and his desire to see his kid painted so vividly in such a short poem (“Bus Stop”). Another father appears “taking care [of his daughter] in full silence and secrecy.” He loves her even when she is lost in sleep. Such beautiful images of love and bonding.

Readers can see an optimistic parent believing in the goodness of the world in the words of January Gill O’Neil “and wonder who could mistake him for anything but good.” The speaker also fears “for his safety—the darkest child on our street in the empire of blocks.”

Rain sounds different and appears as remembered wisdom in “Praise of Darkness.” We imagine ourselves as immortal in bright summer nights and learn to love both ordinary and extra in “Perceptive Prayer.”

Poetic expressions like “Hope doesn’t know its destination”; “Tomorrow the world will begin again, another fresh start”; “A letting go of one thing, to fall into other”; “A girl of color is a light house”; “A day that began like a gift”; and “the decades of side-by-side, our great good luck” fill hearts with warm joy and bliss.

“My Daughter’s Singing,” “Fifteen Years Later, I See How It Went,” “Kindergarten Studies the Human Heart,” “Held Open,” and “The Lesson of the Falling Leaves” are among some of my favorite poems.

To sum up aptly, “Glad to be in this place, this life and to read this book” as in the poem of “Astral Chorus.”

How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope edited by James Crews. Storey Publishing, April 2021.

Reviewer bio: Padmaja Reddy, originally from India, lives in Connecticut. She received an MA in English Literature from SK University. Former journalist and she published poetry and book reviews in various publications like Yale Review of Books, NewPages.

Buy this book from our affiliate Bookshop.org.

The Iowa Review’s Veteran’s Writing Gallery

Literary magazine The Iowa Review, whose Fall 2020 issue was released last month after unexpected delays due to the pandemic, offers a web-home for veterans’ writing as well as resources for veteran writers with their Veteran’s Writing Gallery. In it they feature all work in its entirety by veteran writers who were published in the Spring 2013 and Spring 2015 issues.

Screenshot of The Iowa Review's Veteran's Writing Gallery

They also offer a biennial writing contest for veterans, the Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans. The winners and runner-ups of the 2020 contest will be published in the Spring 2021 issue. First place was James Janko’s “Fallujah in a Mirror”; second place was Jerri Bell’s “He Said, She Said”; and runners-up were Erik Cederblom, Ashley Hand, and Brian Kerg. Their next contest is slated for a May 2022 deadline.

If you are a veteran writer, do check out their resources page which offers a guide to publishing venues, workshops and classes, and writing contests devoted to veterans and active-duty military and reservists.

When the Magic Feels Real

Guest Post by Michael Wright.

It means something for there to be a book where red pea soup is cooked the right way, obeah is real and so are monsters, permed hair falls out, and you understand what it means to be a runner, or a ball player, to be marginalized and to be a person at the same time.

Inquisitive, sharp, and alluring, Morgan Christie’s These Bodies is a detailed look into the lives of those whose lives we have forgotten, or ignored, or a bit of both. Her stories touch the hidden corners of who we are, who we recognize in the magic and the everyday lives she examines. From Alfred, who wants to know what it means to be a parent—and his partner Win, who wants to know what it means to be in love (“Monkey Paws”). Or Jemma, who wonders how it would feel to not come second to her father’s alcoholism (“12 Steps”). Or like Lester, who wants, needs, and wishes to be seen as more than his skin (“The Abada”).

Christie’s stories take you on a journey of love and loss, but mostly on a journey towards better understanding that we are all more than just these bodies. A whole lot more.

These Bodies by Morgan Christie. Tolsun Books, 2020.

Reviewer bio: Michael Wright is a father, husband, banker, and drinker of fine beers. He reads articles that make him think and books that make him think more.

Buy this book from our affiliate Bookshop.org.

Doodling for Writers: Rebecca Fish Ewan in Conversation with Donna Talarico

Doodling for Writers book coverLast year Hippocampus Books released Rebecca Fish Ewan’s Doodling for Writers which is filled with “wit and wisdom with practical, engaging prompts and activities to illustrate how simple sketching can get you over hurdles, bring back memories, and even provide a roadmap for where your story needs to go.”

To celebrate the anniversary of its release, they are hosting a virtual event with Rebecca Fish Ewan in conversation with Hippocampus Books publisher Donna Talarico. This will take place February 9 at 7:00 PM EST. There will be an audience Q&A and an optional, fun, no-pressure draw-along.

There are also chances to win Doodle On! to-shirts and mini notebooks.

Book sales are encouraged through Midtown Scholar Bookstore which is hosting the event.

Write in Brooklyn with the MFA at St. Francis College

The low-residency MFA in creative writing at St. Francis College offers a lecture series called Write in Brooklyn which features prominent writers from a range of genres. In 2019, they launched their own YouTube channel allowing you to view these discussions online. Participants in this series have included Mahogany Brown, Dominique Morisseau, Jason Reynolds, and Amber Tamblyn.

The low-residency program meets in-person twice a year in January and June. The January residency this year was moved completely online. They offer separate genre tracks in fiction, poetry, and dramatic screenwriting/playwriting. They have a 6-to-1 student to faculty ratio that offers “an intimate, focused environment for aspiring writers to flourish.”

Stop by their listing on NewPages to learn more.

Floersch Hammers Home Her Lessons

Guest Post by Kevin Wiberg.

This is a little book with a big heart and a lot of common sense.

In the fast-paced, high-stress world of securing competitive funding, it can be easy to chase opportunities and lose sight of what matters most—the people and communities who rely on the success of your work. While chasing the dollars is often driven by the organizational imperative to survive, it is an ineffective and uninspired strategy to engage grantmakers.

As my career has moved from grantseeker to grantmaker, Barbara Floersch has identified critical themes and strategies that I continue to look for when evaluating proposals. Don’t assume a grantmaker knows who you are and what you do; but do assume that most grantmakers will be deeply grounded in the fields, populations, and issues that your organization addresses.

A critical part of your organization’s work is to demonstrate competency, document a solid grounding in data trends from national to local levels, promising and best practices, identify who else does similar work, and how your organization collaborates with others to produce efficient and impactful outcomes. These are just a few of the critical lessons Floersch has shared with thousands of grantseekers around the US and internationally. I credit Floersch’s teaching and mentorship over the years with my success in securing millions of public and private dollars and these lessons continues to inform my work as a grantmaker.

A real strength of Floersch’s new book is her engaging and authentic communications style. She practices what she preaches, and I’m so pleased she continues to share her knowledge with a genuine interest in your organization’s success in addressing critical and compelling social issues and needs.

You Have a Hammer: Building Grant Proposals for Social Change by Barbara Floersch, Rootstock Publishing, January 2021.

Reviewer bio: Kevin Wiberg lives in Vermont and is the Philanthropic Advisor for Community Engagement at The Vermont Community Foundation.

Call :: Vine Leaves Press Seeks Stories of 50 Words or Less

50 Give or Take posterDeadline: Rolling
50 Give or Take daily delivers micro-fiction of fifty words or less straight into your inbox. Please subscribe (it’s free!) to get an idea of what is published, before submitting your work. All accepted 50 Give or Take pieces will be published in a print collection at the end of every year, starting in 2021. All you have to do is submit your: 50-word story, one-line bio, website or social media URL, and a vertical photo of yourself to [email protected]. Good luck!

Contest :: Paul Nemser Book Prize from Lily Poetry Review Books

Lily Poetry Review Books logoDeadline: March 31, 2021
Submission Dates: January 1 – March 31, 2021. Eligibility: Open to any poet writing in English regardless of publication history. Must not have studied with Tom Daley (the judge) within past ten years. Awards a standard book contract and virtual or in-person launch. Member of CLMP. lilypoetryreview.submittable.com/submit

Malahat Review Extends Deadline of Long Poem Prize

The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize extension bannerLiterary magazine The Malahat Review has announced they have extended the deadline for its biennial Long Poem Prize. If you missed yesterday’s deadline, you’re in luck! There is still time to submit. The new deadline is February 5 at 11:59 PM PST.

The Long Poem Prize awards two cash prizes of $1,250 CAD and is open to both Canadian and international writers across the globe. The two winning poems will appear in the the Summer 2021 issue. This year’s judges are Meredith Quartermain, Armand Garnet Ruffo, and John Elizabeth Stintzi.

This year, in addition to the cash prizes and publication, The Malahat Review is giving away poetry books to one lucky contest entrant. All submissions to the contest are entered into this giveaway. Books being given away are Salt and Ashes by Adrienne Drobnies, Re-Origin of Species by Alessandra Naccarato, Visual Inspection by Matt Rader, and Pockets by Stuart Ross.

Contest :: 2021 Able Muse Contests Now Open for Submissions

Screenshot of Able Muse 2021 Contest Flier
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Deadlines: March 15 & March 31, 2021
2021 ABLE MUSE CONTESTS :: SUBMIT NOW. WRITE PRIZE (poetry & fiction): $500 each + publication. Final Judges: Jehanne Dubrow (poetry), William Baer (fiction); $15 entry; deadline: March 15, 2021. BOOK AWARD (poetry): $1000 + book publication. Final Judge: Mark Jarman; $25 entry; deadline: March 31, 2021. ENTER NOW—go to www.ablemusepress.com for details.

Contest :: Chapter One Prize for Novelists

Chapter One Prize logoDeadline: March 1, 2021
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2021. The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding first chapter of an unpublished novel. First prize is $1,000; 2nd is $500; and 3rd is $250. The prize is open to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers. gutsygreatnovelist.com/chapter-one-prize/

The Lake – February 2021

The February issue of The Lake features Edward Alport, Holly Day, Mike Dillon, William Ogden Haynes, Katherine Hoerth, Paul McDonald, Gordon Meade, Jill Sharp, J. R. Solonche, John L. Stanizzi, J. S. Watts, Emma Wells, Sarah White. Reviews of Colin Carberry’s Ghost Homeland, Paul Summers’ the dreamer’s ark, and Jennifer McGowan’s Still Lives with Apocalypse.