The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen

Tag: writing contests

  • Writing contests. Yay or Nay?

    If you are thinking of entering writing contests, it’s important to research to determine if a contest is legitimate and reputable.

    But, how to find reputable contests?

    Go to trusted sources.

    Research websites, blogs, and social media by people you know and trust.

    Anne R. Allen, a trusted source, blogs about writing:

     “Writing Contests are Important: How To Tell the Good Ones from the Scams”

     “Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look for These 8 Red Flags.”

    C. Hope Clark’s  Funds for Writers newsletter is a great source for announcements of vetted contests, and a handbook of writing contests.

    Writer Beware, the publishing industry watchdog group.

    If entering contests is in your writing budget, here’s something to consider:

    B. Lynn Goodwin, founder of Writer Advice: posted:

    “Too often writers submit to agents and editors without having any credentials, but winning a writing competition—especially a well-known one—gives you immediate credibility and something to add to your writing resume.”  —Brian Klems, writer, speaker, freelance editor, husband, softball player, perennial fantasy sports underachiever, Huffington Post contributor

    Reputable Resources for contests:

    The Redwood Branch of The California Writers Club hosts several contests a year.

    The current contest, the 2022 Poetry Anthology deadline is soon . . .

    November 15, 2021 at 9 pm (PST)

    Reedsy, online author services in the self-publishing industry, posts contest information.

    Post your writing contest experience on my Writers Forum Facebook Page, under this post.

    #amwriting #justwrite #writingcontests

  • Writer Advice wants your flash fiction

     “Flash Fiction is a story of 750-words or less that has a protagonist, a conflict, a setting, excellent use of language, and an ending that we didn’t predict when we read the first line. We enjoy stories with a discovery, complex characters, lovely language, and a tone that rings true.” — Writer Advice

    B. Lynn Goodwin, founder and proprietor of Writer Advice, suggests a winning formula is “A protagonist we care about, a distinctive voice, and a clear impact. Setting helps. So does conflict and resolution. We enjoy stories with a discovery, a surprise, and a tone that rings true.”

    I like Lynn’s attitude: “If the story feels squeezed at 750-words, don’t force it. There are plenty of journals where you can send your longer pieces.” 

    DEADLINE:  March 2, 2020. Early submissions strongly encouraged.

    PRIZES: First Place earns $150; Second Place earns $75; Third Place earns $40; Honorable Mentions will also be listed.

    Contest details

  • New Delta Review

    New Delta Review is an online literary and arts journal produced by graduate students in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Louisiana State University. Since 1984, NDR has published the work of emerging and established writers. Each issue includes original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, reviews, interviews, and artwork.

    “In our 30 years of publication, authors of international renown — Anne Carson, Billy Collins, Robert Olen Butler, J. Robert Lennon and Alissa Nutting, to name a few — have shared our pages with tomorrow’s literary stars. Our contributors are regularly included in anthologies such as Best American Short Stories, New Stories from the South, and Best American Poetry.

    As a journal we are committed to publishing underrepresented voices, and aim to foster diversity in our issues. Although we ask for a small fee for our general submissions, this fee helps us sustain and extend this practice into our community by hosting and supporting readings and other literary events.”

    Submit: Art, Digital Media, Reviews, Interviews, Flash Fiction and Photography Contest, Matt Clark Editors’ Prize in Prose and Poetry.

  • Pulp Fiction

     

    Pulp Fiction, a Canadian magazine, features a variety of genres:  science fiction, mystery, fantasy, history, suspense, and thriller.

    “We realized we knew a lot of writers who had pieces sitting in shoe boxes under their bed[s] . . .  We also knew writers looking to break out.” — The Writer magazine, October 2016

    The “pulp” in the title refers to “cheap pulp paper used in the dime-novels of last century.

    “We love literary fiction. Beautiful prose, soul-searching themes, and powerful and complex character development are all part of the stories we like.”

    From their website:

    Format

    In these days of massive hardcover tomes and heavyweight trade paperbacks, do you miss the small, inexpensive paperbacks you could stuff in your purse or coat pocket?  We do, which is why our print format is a digest-sized magazine, lovingly modeled after fabulous magazines which have stood the test of time.

     Pulp Fiction is looking for:

    Any genre or between-genre work of literature, or visual art (black and white) up to 75 pages in length.  Short stories, novellas, poetry, comics, illustrations — bring it on.  We do not publish non-fiction, memoir, or children’s stories.  Aside from that we want anything entertaining and well written.

    Contests

    Pulp Literature has four annual contests for writers, and new this year, a cover painting contest for artists.  To hear about contests in advance, subscribe to their free monthly newsletter.

    “We receive fewer entries in a contest than in general submissions, so you’re more likely to get noticed.”

    The Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest      Deadline:  February 15, 2017

    The Magpie Award for Poetry

    At Pulp Literature, we have an affinity for poetry, the hard liquor of literature. We like it strong, neat, and we don’t mind if it makes our eyes water.  Our judges, will be looking for a fusion of musicality, imagery, feeling, and thought.  May the best poem win!

    Contest opens: 1 March 2017
    Deadline:  15 April 2017
    Entry fee: $25 1st poem, $10 each subsequent poem
    Earlybird fee (before 15 March): $20 1st poem, $10 each subsequent poem
    Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature.

    The Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize

    Got something short, sharp and snappy to tell?  Wow us with your most economical and brilliant storytelling.  This contest is for short fiction under 1000 words.  Want feedback on your story?  Get a professional critique from one of the Pulp Literature editors for only $15 more.

    Deadline:  15 June 2017
    Entry fee: $15
    Earlybird fee (before 15 May): $10
    Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature.

    The Raven Short Story Contest

    We Pulp Literature editors collect stories like ravens in the woods, swooping down on what catches our eye and bringing the treasures — sometimes sparkling, sometimes grisly, but always fascinating — home to our nests.  Want feedback on your story?  Get a professional critique from one of the Pulp Literature editors for only $25 more.  Show us your most scintillating treasures in the form of short fiction up to 2500 words in length and you could be the one bringing home $300 to line your nest!

    Contest opens: 1 September 2017
    Deadline: 15 October 2017
    Entry fee: $20
    Editorial critique: $25
    Earlybird fee (before 15 September): $15
    Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature

    This contest is for previously unpublished short fiction between 500 and 2500 words in length.  Multiple entries welcome.

    Submission Guidelines

    Short Fiction Guidelines

    We are looking for entertaining, accessible stories:  A story readers can sink into late at night before they go to bed.  We want to stretch people’s minds, but not give them a headache.

    We want a balance of serious and lighthearted stories.  We strive for emotional balance in each of our issues, and want our readers to leave feeling challenged yet refreshed.

    We aren’t satisfied with a joke.  Some writers send shaggy dog stories that end with a twist or revelation that is funny, but not a story.  A story is about a person, not a plot twist.

    We take more short fiction than novellas.   Stories under 5000 words have the best chance of publication.

    We want both plot and character.   We like some action along with those intriguing personalities, and we want to see characters that grow and change throughout the story arc.

    Reading fees

    Because of the large volume of short fiction we receive we charge a reading fee of $10 CAD (roughly $7 US) for short stories and novellas.  If this fee is a hardship please contact us.  Finances should never prevent your words from being seen!  There are no fees for poetry, novel,  or artwork submissions.

  • What do Contest Judges Look for?

    Notepaper.make a listRecently I was one of three judges for a writing contest. We didn’t agree during the first round of reading on the winners. It took re-reading and much discussion to select the three winners. So that got me to thinking. What do contest judges look for when choosing winning entries?

    My fellow judges and I came up with:

    Make sure to follow the guidelines. They aren’t arbitrary. The guidelines are specific for a reason.

    Make sure to follow the criteria of what genre the contest is. Don’t submit memoir if the contest is fiction. Even though the judges may not be able to tell for sure if something is fiction or memoir . . . if it feels like memoir, it probably is. And that won’t work in a fiction contest.

    The winning entries that stood out excelled in creative writing and well-crafted stories. The writing and stories were compelling, keeping reader engaged to the end.

    Proofread. I know this is obvious, but many of the entries had typos or punctuation errors.

    Have someone read your entry – both for feedback and to proofread.

    If it’s a fiction contest, make sure your entry is a story. Many of the entries were anecdotes, rather than full pieces (beginning, middle, end with a definable plot and fleshed out characters).

    Avoid clichés – in words, phrases and story line. This goes back to the unique story. Tell us something new, or write something old with an interesting twist.

    Understand and use correct point of view. Many entries jumped around with point of view, sometimes it was hard to tell who “he” and “she” referred to.

    Stay with the same verb tense, except when appropriate to use past or future tense. Stories got extra points from me when using present tense (because that’s harder to do than using past tense).

    Susan Bono shares her views on contests in her essay, A Thought or Two on Writing Contests, originally published in Tiny Lights, A Journal of Personal Narrative, 2/9/2007.

    More thoughts on entering writing contests:

    “Don’t assume the winners of a writing contest were the only ones to submit excellent work. There are only so many prizes available in any given contest. Winning may equal good, but losing does not always equal bad. Your turn will come.” —Susan Bono, author of What Have We Here: Essays about Keeping House and Finding Home, has judged many, many contest entries.

    “Make us see something about the world in a fresh way or remind us of something important that has an arguable public dimension.” — Dan Lehman, River Teeth, A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative

    “There is a difference between experience and meaning-making. If we are reading along and this happens and this happens, and we still don’t know why it is important, then we know the writer might not be up to it . . . just writing about something that has happened to you is never enough. It’s what the writer does with her own experience, what she makes of it that counts.” —Joe Mackall, River Teeth, A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, (paraphrased from original quote by Judith Kitchen).

    River Teeth Journal, Editor’s Notes, Volume 17, Number 2, May 31, 2016

    Are you motivated? Ready? Enter!

    River Teeth Submissions

    Redwood Writers, a branch of The California Writers Club sponsors contests year-round.

    The Writer Magazine regularly calls for contest submissions.

    Writer’s Digest Magazine lists contests.

    Links to writing contests.

  • WriterAdvice seeks flash fiction, memoir, and . . .

    WriterAdvice seeks flash fiction, memoir, and creative non-fiction running 750 words or less. Enlighten, dazzle, and delight us. Finalists receive responses from all judges. First prize is $200. Submit to the 9th WriterAdvice Flash Prose Contest by April 18, 2014. Complete details at www.writeradvice.com

    advice

    Is Writer Advice’s Manuscript Consultation Service right for you?  Details here  Scroll down column.