Uncategorized – Denton Loving

Countdown to Tamp, Arriving April 4th

February 17, 2023 Denton Loving6 Comments

I’m counting down the days until my new book of poems, Tamp, will be published by Mercer University Press. The magic date is Tuesday, April 4, 2023!

Here are some very generous, advanced words about Tamp from others.

“Denton Loving’s Tamp reminds us that to grieve is to love, a sacred act that aims for clarity, and yet, mourning, too, makes us acutely aware of the profound questions that agitate the living. Loving’s poems, deeply attuned to the richness of a rural sacred order, both honor and attempt to name that complexity with a music that feels movingly restorative.” —Major Jackson, author of The Absurd Man

“Each poem in Tamp is a world in its own right: each a timeless praise song to the earth, to solitude, loss, and love. With bucolic sensitivity shared by few, Loving has crafted the most convincing wake-up call–gentle, surefooted, hypnotic, and insistent. Tamp is a rare trove of honest, measured assurance, a blessed reminder of what matters most.” — Shawna Kay Rodenberg, author of Kin: A Memoir

“In Tamp, his radiant new collection of odes and elegies, Denton Loving represents the works and days of rural Appalachia, and far beyond, with deep knowledge and delicate authenticity. Loving’s poems occupy the ideal cross-section between two of poetry’s oldest poles, the lyric and the narrative. It matters little whether readers greet these poems as stories that sing or lyrics that bind us in their telling, because the scenes and voices we discover will travel with us deep as treasured memories. Galway Kinnell once said that another word for poetry could be ‘tenderness,’ and this is the quality Loving brings most acutely to the loved people and places he offers tribute in Tamp.” — Jesse Graves, author of Merciful Days

It took me years to write these poems and understand how they could work together as a collection. Now, I’m so excited to know the book is near at hand, arriving into the world and into the hands of readers like you.

The fact that you already read, follow and subscribe to this blog is a great support to my writing, and I’m so grateful. If you’re inclined to support me again, I’d be grateful for you to pre-order Tamp, and there are a lot of simple ways to do so.

You can order directly from Mercer University Press. You can support your favorite indie book store by ordering from Bookshop.org. If you don’t have a favorite indie book store, you can order from one of mine, City Lights in Sylva, North Carolina. It’s also available for pre-order at the usual online sellers such as Amazon.

For Tamp to find its way to readers, there’s a ton of work for me still to do, and I’m sure I’ll be back here soon, begging for reviews and announcing readings, etc. Until then, thank you!

Lauren Davis’s The Missing Ones

April 10, 2021 Denton LovingLeave a comment

Lauren Davis’s The Missing Ones is a slim but engrossing collection that reimagines disappearance of Russell and Blanch Warren. In 1929, the couple were driving home to reunite with their two young sons and to celebrate the 4^th of July. Their route took them on Route 101 along Lake Crescent where they presumably drowned. What makes these poems work so well is that Davis doesn’t waste time recreating the ways the Warrens may have ended up driving into the lake. Instead, these poems give voice to the dead as in the very short poem that introduces the collection:

Blanch Says

There are dangers
in deep waters no one

speaks of. Like dark
that climbs the spine.

There’s a stain on the rock
Unfolding. I drink the lake,

all of it. I make it mine.

Many of the poems are in Blanch’s voice. In some, she gives advice, such as in “I’ll Tell You What Happened,” where she says: “Your husband has something to tell you— / you can sense it in the cold. Wait until you are both done / drowning. The build a new home.”

The idea of the lake as a home is one of my favorite aspects of these poems. A grave is a home of a kind, but the lake is a living ecosystem. Some poems reference the lake’s “population” which sometimes mean the fish in the water, or the birds outside, and sometimes it refers to others who have perished in the lake’s waters. In some poems, the idea of the lake as a home is expressed through its “rooms,” all of which suggests that the Warrens are still there, unable to die or be truly forgotten because they were never found. The idea is haunting in numerous ways, especially when the reader is reminded of the couple’s two young sons. This is expressed in Blanch’s voice again in the poem, “Have You Seen,” where she says,

My love haunts good as
any ghost. It is more
than lake deep. Boys—

I am never so buried,
gloated, hemorrhaged with blue
That I forget you.

My only criticism of this lovely book is that it’s too short. I wanted it to go on and on. I guess I could say that I, too, am now haunted by this story.

Submission Calls for Writers 2/14/2021

February 14, 2021 Denton LovingLeave a comment

submissions

This Valentine’s Day is maybe the coldest I ever remember. If you’re stuck inside, I hope this list of journals and contests will inspire you to start submitting. Until next time, stay safe and stay warm.

Litbreak
Writers are invited to submit prose and poetry to Litbreak, an online literary journal that publishes poetry, fiction, book reviews, and essays on literary subjects. All prose submissions should range from 500 words to a maximum of 5,000 words. Submission is open year-round. We pay all contributors on a case-by-case basis from $25 upward. There is no submission fee. With regard to fiction, there are no specific requirements on style and content. Some literary sites suggest you look at what they publish to get an idea of what they would accept. We would rather suggest that you look at what we have published and come up with something else. We will consider excerpts from novels. For book reviews, although we are paying special attention to contemporary releases, we won’t rule out reviews of older books or critical surveys of a writer’s body of work. For poetry, we suggest but don’t require a minimum of one hundred words. We may also accept essays on literary subjects or ideas.
https://litbreak.submittable.com/submit

Western Humanities Review
Western Humanities Review accepts unsolicited submissions of original poetry, fiction, nonfiction, hybrid work, audio/visual work, essays, and reviews year round. Because of the volume of submissions we receive, we are only able to publish about 2% of them—so please send us your best work. We’re looking for dynamic writing that engages, surprises, and moves us, work that is, in fact, out to get us.
http://www.westernhumanitiesreview.com/submissions/

Bearings Online
Bearings Online is accepting poetry submissions. We are seeking clear, accessible poetry (30 lines or less) that addresses faith, culture, or what it means to be human. Submit as a Word document to poetry editor Susan Sink: ssink (at) collegevilleinstitute (dot) org.
https://collegevilleinstitute.org/bearings/submission-guidelines/

Valparaiso Fiction Review
Publishing since 2011, Valparaiso Fiction Review is a biannual publication of Valparaiso University and its Department of English. Valparaiso Fiction Review is seeking submissions of short stories for its upcoming 2019 issues (Summer & Winter). Submissions to VFR should be original, unpublished works that range from 1,000 to 9,000 words. There is no set deadline, and submissions are considered on a rolling basis.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/vfr/guidelines.html

Booth
Booth was established in 2009. Our staff is comprised of MFA faculty and students in the Butler University graduate writing program. Booth publishes one new piece or author every Friday, square on our home page. We are now open to new submissions in all genres. All accepted work will appear on our website and may appear in our subsequent print issues. Submit up to 3 poems or up to 7,500 words of fiction or creative nonfiction.
https://booth.submittable.com/submit

Copper Nickel
Copper Nickel accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, essays, and translation folios through March 1, 2021. Please submit four to six poems, one story, or one essay at a time. For prose we do not have any length restrictions—but longer-than-normal pieces have to earn their space.
http://copper-nickel.org/submit/

Pittsburgh Poetry Journal
Pittsburgh Poetry Journal PPJ seeks work that clangs with grit, passion, and a multitude of voices. We want poems that celebrate or break traditions and strive for progress. We do not restrict our journal to Pittsburgh poets or poetry. All writers and themes are welcome! Please submit no more than three (3) poems, or seven (7) pages total. Our open reading period runs through March 21, 2021.
https://pittsburghpoetryjournal.submittable.com/submit

The Hudson Prize in Fiction / The Hudson Prize in Poetry
Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Hudson Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or short stories. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes awarded on publication. $27 Submission Fee. Deadline: March 31, 2021.
https://blacklawrencepress.com/submissions-and-contests/

The National Poetry Review
The National Poetry Review is an annual online journal of poetry (previously a print journal published from 2003 to 2015 by our sister press, The National Poetry Review Press). Our reading period is January 1 – April 1 annually. Please submit all poems in one file. Include a brief bio with previous publications.
http://www.nationalpoetryreview.com/

Landlocked
We love found pieces, eco-poetics, works about displacement, and stories of how your body fits (or how it doesn’t) into the world. Imagism and hybrid genres, including experimental and visual works, lyric essays, and prose poems are all welcome. Please send 3–5 poems per submission with no more than 10 pages in total. We want stories of literary quality and encourage fantastic, speculative, and weird literature. Send us your most imaginative and challenging writing in 4,000 words or less. We also encourage flash fiction of 1,000 words or less. Finally, we are especially drawn to nonfiction pieces that challenge the boundaries of the genre, incorporate fictional and poetic elements, and make us question how “creative” nonfiction can be. As far as length, we prefer under 4,000 words. Landlocked is open for submissions through April 1, 2021. https://landlockedmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/

Bennington Review
Bennington Review is published twice a year in print form, Summer and Winter. For poetry, please send no fewer than three and no more than five poems per submission. For fiction and creative nonfiction, please send no more than thirty pages per submission; any excerpts from a longer project must work as self-contained essays or stories. Deadline: May 18, 2021.
http://www.benningtonreview.org/submit/

Posit Journal
Posit is currently considering submissions for late 2021 and beyond. Send 1-3 pieces of prose, including fiction and hybrids, but no nonfiction please, 1000 words or less each. However, if you are submitting very short pieces, please send us at least three to choose from. Please include a minimum of five and a maximum of six poems for us to consider. Deadline: May 31, 2021.
https://posit.submittable.com/submit

Sunset - February 2021

Linda Parsons’ Candescent

December 20, 2020December 20, 2020 Denton Loving1 Comment

Linda Parsons’ fifth collection of poetry, Candescent, begins as a three-legged story of grief. There is the loss of a 24-year marriage that she describes as an utter surprise after so many years. There’s the loss of her fourteen-year-old German shepherd, an ever-watchful presence that views the narrator as his sole sheep to protect until the end. And then there is the loss of her aged father.

The question of memory is just as important in these poems as the pure element of grief. How the two twist and turn upon each other! Before her father’s death, there is the earlier insult of lost memory. When Parsons visits him in his hospital, she must introduce herself. Often, he asks his daughter if they’re kin, recognizing a familiarity but unable to name her or their true relationship. Memory and its many tricks enter the poems again in the aftermath of divorce. Perhaps no poem sums up the absence of a lover better than these lines from “Phantom.”

Ghost pain, phantom pain, a limb lopped
clean, the dead bee’s sting. We are good
amputees, efficient little starfish and lizards,

regenerating feet and tails in the shadows
where no one watches us spin and weep,
where no one sees me turn a corner

in the dark before bed, giving wide berth,
my body’s radar still beeping and flashing
to sidestep a bookcase no longer there.

In “The Only Way” Parsons writes, “Honor your grief with ragged breath and privation / in the body’s dark cell despite how the blithe / world cries enough.” And that is exactly what Parsons does in these poems. She honors her grief, but she also works her way through it.

As in real life, grief doesn’t disappear in these poems in any single instant. Rather, there are many shifting moments. One of the most exciting shifts occurs in the poem, “Stand Up.”

Lo these many years,
I the peacemaker, the walker on eggshells,
the biter of lips, the please pleaser, the clay
not the molder, the stream not the bank,
the moss not the rock, the stern not the bow,
queen of if only I’d said, if only I’d done.
Lo I say unto you, I’m done with sit down,
sit down, done with the broom and its dust,
old love and its rust, the future walking right
out the door. Hear me, I’m here with a voice
from the gloom, the moon-filled room, rise
of wing to beat the band, however long
I must stand is how long I’ll rock,
rock, rock the boat.

Aside from the powerful narrative that emerges in this collection, Parson’s language is always delightful. She has a knack for sounds and rhythm, and she has the skill to employ all of these elements of craft without ever taking away from the poems’ accessibility. Candescent is a power collection, a perfect beacon to help readers enter into the new year.

Candescence

Submission Calls for Writers 5/18/2020

May 18, 2020 Denton LovingLeave a comment

Here are 10 opportunities for writers, many with upcoming deadlines. Good luck submitting your work!

Another Chicago Magazine Seeks Volunteer Fiction Reader

The fiction reader reads and evaluate fiction and participate in phone meetings with fiction editor and other readers. Please send your resume/cv and a note telling us why you’d like the position and how your reading and writing experience has prepared you for the job. Please also tell us what you think of a few of our published stories. Unfortunately, none of us is paid. We hope to someday change that.

https://anotherchicagomagazine.submittable.com/submit

Cortland Review

TCR considers poetry, translations, book reviews. Editorial decisions are based on content and quality. Submit 3-5 poems at a time. Please query first before submitting a book review.

https://www.cortlandreview.com/submissions.php

Off the Coast

Off the Coast is a biannual online journal at offthecoastmag.com. Issues are published June 15th and November 15th. Submitters will be notified within three (3) months of submission. Send 3–5 previously unpublished poems, any subject or style.

https://offthecoast.submittable.com/submit

Pithead Chapel

Pithead Chapel electronically publishes art, literary fiction, nonfiction, and prose poetry monthly. At present, we only accept submissions under 4,000 words.

www.pitheadchapel.com

GreenPrints

GreenPrints is the “Weeder’s Digest,” the only magazine that shares the personal side of gardening: the joy, the humor, the headaches, and the heart—in wonderful stories and beautiful art. Greenprints is always looking for great, true, personal stories. We are a paying market. Deadline: May 27, 2020.

https://greenprints.submittable.com/submit

Cider Press Review

Cider Press Review publishes online issues four times per year–January, April, July, and October. Issues may be periodically compiled into ebook volumes. CPR considers only poetry or translations of poetry in English, and reviews of poetry books of approx. 500 words. Submit up to 5 poems at a time by May 31, 2020.

https://ciderpressreview.submittable.com/submit/

Indianapolis Review

The Indianapolis Review is a quarterly publication featuring poetry and art. We work to promote artists and writers from our region, but we also showcase work from around the country and the world. We don’t limit ourselves to one particular school or style of poetry; we simply want poetry that moves, surprises, sings and makes us think. You may submit up to 5 poems at a time in a single attached file. Please do not exceed 10 pages total. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

https://theindianapolisreview.com/submit/

Pinwheel

Pinwheel reads unsolicited poetry submissions once per year during the month of May. Submissions should consist of 3-5 poems (up to 10 pages). We look at excerpts from longer poems, too. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

http://pinwheeljournal.com/about/

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts

We accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way. For all submitters, we aren’t as concerned with labels—hint fiction, prose poetry, micro fiction, flash fiction, and so on—as we are with what compression means to you. In other words, what form “compression” takes in each artist’s work will be up to each individual. Our response time is generally 1-3 days. Also, our acceptance rate is currently about 3% of submissions. We pay writers $50 per accepted piece and signed contract. Deadline: June 15, 2020.

http://matterpress.com/submissions/

New American Press Fiction Award

All full-length fiction manuscripts are welcome, including novels, novellas, collections of stories and/or novellas, novels in verse, linked collections, as well as full-length collections of flash fiction and short-shorts. Full-length fiction manuscripts tend to be at least 100 pages. There is no maximum length. Winner receives a publication contract, including a $1,500 advance, 25 author’s copies, and promotional support. $25 submission fee. Deadline: June 15, 2020.

http://www.newamericanpress.com/contests/fiction2020.php

Submission Calls for Writers 4/15/2020

April 15, 2020 Denton Loving1 Comment

Although these are strange and worrisome times, I hope that this list of opportunities for writers might be helpful to some of you. Stay safe and healthy, and good luck sending your work out into the world.

Closing the Distance: New Spaces for Community

Bomb Magazine has created an excellent list of publications currently accepting pitches and remote job opportunities. If you’re looking for writing gigs that can be accomplished while self-isolating, this is the place to start.

https://bombmagazine.org/articles/covid-19-creative-community-resources

PEN America Writers’ Emergency Fund Grants

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, grants of between $500 and $1,000 will be awarded in support of writers demonstrating an inability to meet an acute financial need, especially one resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The fund is intended to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists. To be eligible for a grant, applicants must be based in the United States, be a professional writer, and be able to demonstrate that a small, one-time grant will be meaningful in helping them to address an emergency situation.

https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rfps/rfp11070-pen-america-invites-applications-for-writers-emergency-fund

American Chordata

Currently open only for works of nonfiction. We have no formal word limits or stylistic constraints but look for work that is brave, illuminating, and emotionally detailed. We are looking for nonfiction that tells a story that no one has heard before, or tells us an old story in a way we never expected to read it. We are just as interested in great writing as we are in great stories.

https://americanchordata.submittable.com/submit

Redivider

Redivider seeks previously unpublished works from emerging and established writers. We welcome general submissions year-round. We are proud to offer free submission, with the exception of the summer months. We seek fiction and nonfiction submissions up to 8,000 words. We ask that poets send no more than five poems

http://www.redividerjournal.com/general-submissions/

Juked

There are no limits on word count for prose—we like narratives and essays of all sizes, so long as the colors fit. (However, it’s unlikely we’d be able to publish, say, War and Peace, Part Deux.) If it’s a short story, send us one piece at a time—please wait to hear from us before sending another. If you’re working with the short short form, please send three to five selections in the same submission. Submit a maximum of five poems.

http://www.juked.com/info/submit.asp

Southern Poetry Review

Southern Poetry Review welcomes previously unpublished poetry submissions from all writers. We read year-round and respond within three months. Please note that submissions are limited to five poems (1 file), and should not exceed ten pages.

https://www.southernpoetryreview.org/journal/submissions

New World Writing

We are reading new submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Response time varies but is reasonably quick, all things considered. New World Writing posts new material upon acceptance.

http://newworldwriting.net/submissions/

Ascent

Ascent publishes stories, poems, photographs and essays. Ascent opens for submissions on the first of April and will read through the end of May.

http://www.readthebestwriting.com/

Foglifter

Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful queer work, in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Send us 3 to 5 poems, up to 7500 words of prose (up to three flash fiction pieces), or up to 20 pages of cross-genre work, text-image hybrids, or drama. Deadline for our Fall issue: May 1, 2020.

https://foglifterjournal.com/submit/

Newfound

We welcome short stories and self-standing novel excerpts of any length, creative nonfiction pieces of any length, up to 6 poems totaling no more than 10 pages, and up to 3 flash fiction stories per submission. Flash, micro, and hybrid work—if it’s brief (<1,000 words) and cutting edge, fiction or nonfiction, we’re publishing it. Deadline: May 14, 2020.

https://newfound.org/submit/

Bennington Review

We aim to stake out a distinctive space for innovative, intelligent, and moving fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, and cross-genre work. We are particularly taken with writing that is simultaneously graceful and reckless. We welcome submissions from established and emerging writers alike. For poetry, please send between three and five poems per submission. For fiction and creative nonfiction, please send no more than thirty pages per submission; any excerpts from a longer project must work as self-contained essays or stories. We are additionally interested in publishing translations: translators should have permission from the copyright holder and a copy of the work in the original language. We pay contributors $100 for prose of six typeset pages and under, $200 for prose of over six typeset pages, and $20 per poem. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

http://www.benningtonreview.org/submit

Cow Creek Chapbook Prize

The Cow Creek Chapbook Prize is a poetry chapbook contest brought to you by Pittsburg State University and Emerald City. We’re open to all styles and subjects. As long as the poems challenge and capture the imagination, we want to see them. The winning poet will receive $1,000 and 25 author copies. The chapbook will be published as a perfect bound book and sold both online and in limited bookstores. Submit 15-30 pages of poetry with a $15 entry fee by May 15, 2020.

https://www.cowcreekchapbook.org/

Submission Calls for Writers 3/21/2020

March 21, 2020 Denton LovingLeave a comment

submissions

What better time than in self-isolation to write and submit your writing? Here are 10 magazines and journals with open submission periods. They’re waiting for you to send your work, even in these strange days. So wash your hands, stay healthy, and send your words out into the world even if you’re stuck at home.

Whitefish Review

In these times of unexpected challenges that touch everyone (e.g., COVID-19, political unrest, sudden loss of income) we felt it was important to hear from artists and writers at this moment, so we can make sure that we are illuminating what is most vital and essential. We are seeking submissions through March 31, 2020. Send us 1 story (fiction or essay) or up to 3 poems (all in one Word document).

https://whitefishreview.submittable.com/submit/163232/25-new-work-for-the-current-times

11th Annual Spirit First Poetry Contest

Poetry submissions may be of any length and any style but must have a theme of Meditation or Mindfulness. Poems may reflect any discipline, any faith, or none. Poems must be previously unpublished. Poems not on the themes of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, or sacred silence will not be included in this meditation poetry event. Enter up to three submissions. Deadline: March 31, 2020.

https://www.spiritfirst.org/poetry_contest2020Entry.html

The Masters Review New Voices

Submissions for our New Voices category are open year round. New Voices is open to any new and emerging author who has not published a work of fiction or narrative nonfiction of novel length. All submissions must be less than 7,000 words.

https://themastersreview.submittable.com/submit/26106/new-voices-free

Valparaiso Fiction Review

Submissions to VFR should be original, unpublished fiction. Submissions should range from 1,000 to 9,000 words with possible exceptions. Please no novels, poetry, or children’s fiction unless otherwise noted. Excerpts from novels are acceptable only if selected piece operates as a stand-alone story. There is no submission deadline. Submissions are considered on a rolling basis.

https://scholar.valpo.edu/vfr/guidelines.html

Posit

Posit is interested in finely crafted, innovative literary and visual art. Submit 1-3 pieces of prose, including fiction and hybrids, but no nonfiction please. 1000 words or less each. However, if you are submitting very short pieces, please send us at least three to choose from. Please include a minimum of five and a maximum of six poems for us to consider. Deadline: April 15, 2020.

https://posit.submittable.com/submit

Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel

For Volume 23, we are asking for your poems, short stories, essays, flash pieces and black and white 2D art on encounters with the edge, however you define it. Unpublished work is preferred, but we aren’t sticklers. Send us your best creative work exploring Appalachian Edge. Submit up to 5 poems for one piece of prose up to 3,000 words. Deadline: April 15, 2020.

http://www.sawconline.net/pmsg-submission-guidelines.html

EPOCH

EPOCH magazine publishes fiction, poetry, essays, cartoons, screenplays, graphic art, and graphic fiction. In continuous publication since 1947, the magazine is edited by faculty in the Department of English Program in Creative Writing at Cornell University. For poetry, submit no more than five poems in one envelope. For fiction, submit no more than one story per envelope and no more than three short short stories per envelope. We consider fiction in all forms, short short to novella length. Deadline April 15, 2020.

https://english.cornell.edu/epoch-magazine-0?

Rattle Poetry

Themed Issue: “Service workers.” This may include those in the hotel, lodging, food service, tourism, or customer service industries, as well as many others. Poems may be written on any subject, in any length, but the poet must currently be, or have been, employed as a service worker for a significant period of time (years, not months). Please include a brief note about your background in the service industry and what effect it’s had on your poetry (if any). Submit up to four previously unpublished poems (or four pages of very short poems). Deadline: April 15, 2020.

https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/34383/service-workers

The Fiddlehead

The Fiddlehead is open to good writing in English or translations into English from all over the world and in a variety of styles, including experimental genres. Our editors are always happy to see new unsolicited works in fiction, including excerpts from novels, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Work is read on an ongoing basis; the acceptance rate is around 1-2% (we are, however, famous for our rejection notes!). A short fiction or nonfiction submission should be one story or essay, double spaced and maximum 6,000 words. Unless a story is very, very short (under 1000 words), please send only one story per submission. Please submit no more than 6 poems per submission. Deadline: April 30, 2020.

https://thefiddlehead.ca/submit

Birmingham Poetry Review

Unsolicited manuscripts of no more than five poems are welcomed. Pay is one copy of the Birmingham Poetry Review. Submit now through May 15, 2020.

https://www.uab.edu/cas/englishpublications/bpr/submit

Submission Calls for Writers 1/9/2020

January 9, 2020 Denton Loving2 Comments

submissions

We’re nine days into the new year, and I already feel behind on my goals! I hope you’re off to a better start. Here are 10 new submission opportunities that I hope will help with your submission goals. Good luck!

Valparaiso Fiction Review

https://scholar.valpo.edu/vfr/guidelines.html

Cagibi Lit’s 2020 Macaron Prize

Cagibi’s 2020 Macaron Prize is now open for entries. We are accepting fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and cartoon submissions until midnight January 20, 2020. There is a $20 entry fee. In Fiction, submit one story per entry, maximum 4,000 words. In Poetry, one entry is up to three poems. In Nonfiction, one entry is a personal narrative essay, maximum 4,000 words. In Cartoon: one entry is one cartoon or a series. The 2020 Macaron Prize judges are Andre Dubus III in Fiction, Jill Bialosky in Nonfiction / Memoir, Nick Flynn in Poetry, Emily Flake in Cartoon. Winners of the Macaron Prize will receive $1000 and publication in Cagibi’s 2020 print issue. Winners will be invited to read their work at a public Reading and Issue Launch Celebration in NYC in the fall. Finalists will also be published in the print issue. All entries will also be considered for publication in Cagibi’s quarterly online issues.

https://cagibilit.com/cagibi-macaron-prize-2020/

Qwerty

Qwerty is currently seeking ECOLOGY-THEMED SUBMISSIONS for our SPRING ISSUE now thru January 31, 2020. For this special issue, Qwerty invites decolonial, innovative approaches to and encounters with the environment—its physical, social, and linguistic spaces. Send previously unpublished fiction and creative non-fiction up to 5,000 words in length. You may submit up to 6 pages of poetry.

https://www.qwertyunb.com/submit

Arts & Letters

For its Spring 2020 issue, Arts & Letters seeks fiction, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Send 4-6 poems per submission, fiction manuscripts up to 25 pages, 1-3 pieces of flash fiction up to 1,000 words each, and creative nonfiction manuscripts up to 25 pages. Deadline for our regular reading period is January 31, 2020.

http://artsandletters.gcsu.edu/submit/

Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices

The Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices was established in 2007 and is the first of its kind ever offered to LGBTQ writers: a one-week intensive immersion in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, genre fiction and playwriting. The cost of the Retreat, which includes room and meals, is $1725. Travel expenses are not included. Ability to pay is in no way part of the decision-making process and robust scholarships are available. Applicants of the Retreat submit prose, poetry or theatrical manuscript pages that are evaluated for craft, creativity and originality. For Fiction, Nonfiction, or Young Adult Fiction, submit up to 25 pages maximum. For Playwriting, submit up to 10 to 20 page excerpt/2,500 words from a full-length work, short play or piece of theatre. For Poetry, submit 10 pages maximum. Deadline is February 2, 2020.

https://www.lambdaliterary.org/writers/subs/11/14/2020-writers-retreat-for-emerging-lgbtq-voices/

Fiction International

Fiction International will accept submissions in response to the theme of Algorithm through February 4, 2020. Fiction, non-fiction, and indeterminate prose texts of up to 5,500 words as well as visuals which address the theme of “Algorithm” are welcome.

https://fictioninternational.sdsu.edu/wordpress/submit/

Denver Quarterly

We look for writing that pushes on our expectations of narrative and fulfills its own ambitious charge. Unsolicited manuscripts of fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, and poetry are welcomed through February 15, 2020. Poetry submissions should be comprised of 3-5 poems; fiction and non-fiction manuscripts should generally consist of no more than 15 pages.

https://www.du.edu/denverquarterly/submissions/index.html

Tiferet

Tiferet invites poetry submissions to be submitted for consideration in the journal until February 29, 2020. All submissions will be considered for the upcoming Spring 2020 issue. Tiferet: Promoting Peace through Literature and Art is a nonreligious journal that seeks to find the truth of the human experience through art. We particularly encourage submissions from marginalized and underrepresented groups within the literary community.

https://tiferet.submittable.com/submit

Posit

https://posit.submittable.com/submit

Birmingham Poetry Review

Unsolicited manuscripts of no more than five poems are welcomed. Pay is one copy of the Birmingham Poetry Review. Submit now through May 15, 2020.

https://www.uab.edu/cas/englishpublications/bpr/submit

Submission Calls for Writers 11/8/2019

November 8, 2019November 8, 2019 Denton LovingLeave a comment

submissions

For those of you who live in the continental United States, it’s about to get seriously cold. It’s never fun to be stuck inside, but you might as well put your time to good use. Here are a dozen opportunities for writers ready to send their work out. Good luck!

Indianapolis Review

https://theindianapolisreview.com/submit/

Tusculum Review

We seek well-crafted writing that takes risks. We publish work in and between all genres: poetry, fiction, essays, and plays–we appreciate work in experimental and traditional modes. We accept prose submissions of less than 6,000 words (24 double-spaced pages) and poetry submissions under 10 pages. We publish scripts in the 10-minute format (10 pages). We only accept work that has not been previously published elsewhere, electronically or in print. We read year-round.

http://web.tusculum.edu/tusculumreview/

Berkeley Fiction Review

The Berkeley Fiction Review is a forum for short fiction, published annually. We invite submissions of previously unpublished short stories from around the country and the world. There is no minimum required page count, but submissions should not exceed 30 pages in length.

https://bfictionreview.wordpress.com/submit/

n + 1

New fiction, essays, criticism, and translation are open for consideration. We publish a limited number of pieces in the magazine, which comes out three times yearly, and a larger array of work in our online-only section. Please note that we currently do not accept poetry, art, illustration, or interview submissions and that we place a strong emphasis on publishing work by and about living authors.

https://nplusonemag.com/contact/

Shepherd University Anthology of Appalachian Writers

For consideration and inclusion in Volume XII, fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and essay submissions should relate in some respect to the work of Crystal Wilkinson and her coming of age stories, themes about African Americans in America, mental health issues, Black Lives Matter, Affrilachians, the working classes in Appalachia, the environment, and accompanying racial and social issues including the Opioid Crisis. Deadline is Nov 15, 2019.

https://www.shepherd.edu/ahwir/anthology-of-appalachian-writers

Split Lip Magazine

Split Lip Review is a literary journal of voice-driven writing with a pop culture twist. We publish online monthly and in print yearly. We accept fiction between 1,000 and 5,000 words, flash fiction under 1,000 words, and memoir up to 2,000 words. We accept only one (yes, just one) poem at a time. Please do not send us more than one poem. Send your best poem, but only one. We mean it. Deadline: November 30, 2019.

http://www.splitlipmagazine.com/submit

Nimrod International Journal

General Submissions: Accepted from January 1st to November 30, 2019. Fiction: 7,500 words maximum. Vigorous writing; characters that are well developed; dialogue that is realistic without being banal. Poetry: 3-10 pages. Poetry open to all styles and subjects. We seek poems that go beyond one word or image, honor the impulse to reveal a truth about, or persuasive version of, the inner and outer worlds. There is a $3 submission fee.

https://artsandsciences.utulsa.edu/nimrod/

Structo

We publish writing we love, whether from established writers or new voices. On the fiction side we tend towards the slipstream end of things, and encourage submission of works in translation. Short stories of up to approximately 3,000 words will be considered. We will consider up to three previously unpublished poems. Deadline: December 31, 2019.

http://structomagazine.co.uk/submissions/

The 8th Annual Frost Place Chapbook

In summer 2020, the winner’s chapbook will be published by Bull City Press, and the winner will receive 10 complimentary copies (from a print run of 300), and a $250.00 stipend. The winner will also receive a full fellowship to attend the five-and-a-half-day Poetry Seminar at The Frost Place in August 2020, including room and board (a cash value of approximately $1,500.00), and will give a featured reading from the chapbook at the Seminar. In addition, the chapbook fellow will have the option to spend one week living and writing in The Frost Place House-Museum in September 2020. Deadline January 5, 2020.

https://bullcitypress.com/submissions-top/frost-place-chapbook-competition/

Landlocked (formerly Beechers)

We love found pieces, eco-poetics, works about displacement, and stories of how your body fits (or how it doesn’t) into the world. Imagism and hybrid genres, including experimental and visual works, lyric essays, and prose poems are all welcome. Please send 3–5 poems per submission with no more than 10 pages in total. We want stories of literary quality and encourage fantastic, speculative, and weird literature. Send us your most imaginative and challenging writing in 4,000 words or less. We also encourage flash fiction of 1,000 words or less. Finally, we are especially drawn to nonfiction pieces that challenge the boundaries of the genre, incorporate fictional and poetic elements, and make us question how “creative” nonfiction can be. As far as length, we prefer under 4,000 words. LandLocked is open for submissions from September 16 to April 1, 2020.

https://landlockedmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/?mc_cid=85cbcdeaa3&mc_eid=508eb4b613

Delmarva Review

The Delmarva Review is a literary journal publishing original short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and short book reviews. For fiction, our preference is literary writing. We seek evocative storytelling with well-developed characters who take hold of our emotions and stir our imaginations. Memorability is the ultimate reward. The same will be true for the personal essay. Poetry – up to 6 poems, no more than 50 lines each; Short fiction – up to 5,000 words; Flash fiction – up to 1,500 words; Creative nonfiction – up to 3,000 words. The submission period for Volume 12 of Delmarva Review will be open from November 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020.

https://delmarvareview.org/submissions/

Bennington Review

Bennington Review is published twice a year in print form, Summer and Winter. For poetry, please send no fewer than three and no more than five poems per submission. For fiction and creative nonfiction, please send no more than thirty pages per submission; any excerpts from a longer project must work as self-contained essays or stories. The submissions period will be from November 1, 2019 to May 15, 2020.

http://www.benningtonreview.org/submit/

Submission Calls for Writers 10/3/2019

October 3, 2019 Denton LovingLeave a comment

After taking September off, I’m finally back with a quick list of a dozen opportunities for writers. But really, this short list is the tip of the iceberg considering how many excellent journals have opened their reading periods this fall. Good luck sending your work out.

Subtropics

Subtropics seeks fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from established and emerging authors. We ask that you submit only one story, essay, or group of poems (please send no more than four poems in any one batch) at a time, and wait until you have heard from us before sending another.

http://subtropics.english.ufl.edu/index.php/submissions/

The Rappahannock Review

The Rappahannock Review, an online literary journal published through the University of Mary Washington, is currently accepting submissions in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from established and emerging writers. We’re currently reading for our Fall 2019 Issue 7.1, which will be published in December, and we’d love to consider your work. For poetry, submit up to five poems. For fiction and nonfiction, submit one longer piece or up to three flash pieces. Submissions will remain open until October 20, 2019.

https://rappahannockreview.submittable.com/submit/

Galileo Press

Galileo Press is having a 3-week open reading splash to add to its 2020-21 catalogue. Submit a full-length collection of poems, essays, stories, novella, novel, or hybrid (with exception to 4-colour art / text hybrids). There is also a separate chapbook call. Unlike our late Spring reading period, manuscripts should be buttoned up and ready to sail. We are seeking: vivid imagery and the balance of abstract to concrete imagery, the capacity to surprise, an elastic syntax, pace, and music, thematic cohesiveness and the emotional range and maturity, deft handling of highly charged emotion, use of wit, humor, and self-implication, choice and use of extended metaphor, skillfully juxtaposing the micro and the macro, and more. Please include a brief artist statement (pull back the curtain with one or two tugs). $500 upon signed contract. Standard royalties. Submit between October 3 and October 24, 2019. Please note an important change to our guidelines: an “appealing, confident voice” is no longer needed.

https://freegalileo.com/submissions/

Anti-Heroin Chic

Anti-Heroin Chic will publish a special winter issue about Loss and Grief, edited by Erica Anderson-Senter. Please send 3 to 5 poems or up to two pieces of CNF (preferably no more than 20 pages) to Erica at antiheroinchicpoetry (at) gmail (dot) com. Poems can be pasted into the body of the email or sent attached in a word document. Send up to two pieces (preferably no more than 20 pages) of micro or long form fiction to James Diaz at jamesjdiaz68 (at) gmail (dot) com. Simultaneous submissions are okay. Reprints are also okay. Submissions close on October 30, 2019.

http://heroinchic.weebly.com/blog/special-winter-issue-on-loss-grief-editorial-guidelines

Inscape

Inscape, Washburn University’s literary magazine in its 48th year of publication, seeks high-quality creative nonfiction, visual art, poetry, and fiction for its 2020 issue. Submissions of creative nonfiction and visual art are especially encouraged. The best submissions in each genre will receive a $100 Editors’ Choice Award and be nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Submission deadline: October 31, 2019.

https://washburn.edu/inscape/submit.html

Sunken Garden Poetry Prize

The Sunken Garden Poetry Prize is a prestigious national poetry prize for adult writers. The Sunken Garden Chapbook Poetry Prize includes a cash award of $1,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 25 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. This year’s final judge is Cornelius Easy. Submission deadline: October 31, 2019.

https://www.tupelopress.org/sunken-garden-poetry-prize/

The Larry Brown Short Story Award

Submissions are now open for the fourth annual Larry Brown Short Story Award. The winners will receive the following prizes: 1st prize $400, 2nd prize $50, and 3rd prize $50. Each prize winner will be published in the January 2020 issue of Pithead Chapel. The 2019 guest judge is Leesa Cross-Smith. The submitted story must be less than 4,000 words. There is a $10 entry fee per story. Submit by October 31, 2019.

https://pitheadchapel.com/the-larry-brown-short-story-award/

Southern Humanities Review

Southern Humanities Review is currently open for submissions of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, online fiction features, and book review pitches. SHR seeks submissions from writers in all stages of their careers, especially work from historically underrepresented voices. Fiction and nonfiction manuscripts should be no longer than 8,000 words, double-spaced. Only one piece should be submitted by the same author in a given submission period. Online fiction feature submissions should be no longer than 4,000 words. Book Review pitches should be no more than 300 words. Poets may send up to three poems per submission. Book Review pitch submissions and online fiction feature submissions are free. Submissions for all genres will be open until November 1, 2019.

http://www.southernhumanitiesreview.com/submit.html

Bateau Press Boom Poetry Chapbook Contest

Bateau Press is accepting manuscripts for the annual Boom Poetry Chapbook Contest. Winning chapbook is a handmade, hand-sewn, letter pressed work of art. Winner gets $250 plus 25 copies. Print run of 400 chaps. $14 entry fee includes a copy of the winning chapbook (or any chap in our catalogue) sent to you via USPS. Submission deadline is November 1, 2019.

https://bateaupress.org/index.php/submission-guidelines/bateau-chapbook-contests/

Unearthed

Submissions for the Fall 2019 issue of Unearthed, the literary magazine at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), are open until November 1, 2019. Unearthed publishes work that responds to immediacy and place, and that occupies the changes inherent in speaking to, with, and for the environment. Submissions to Unearthed are free.

https://unearthedesf.com/submissions/

San Miguel Writer’s Conference Writing Contests

The 2020 San Miguel Writer’s Conference Writing Contest is open for submissions. Submit your poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, and Spanish short story for a chance to attend the 15th annual San Miguel Writers’ Conference free in San Miguelde Allende, Mexico, free of charge. Four writers will be awarded the entire five day “Full Conference Package” (Feb 12-16th 2020) as well as have their housing provided during the conference, and a chance to pitch to a literary agent. Submission Deadline: November 4, 2019 (Midnight CDT).

https://sanmiguelwritersconference.submittable.com/submit

Michigan Quarterly Review Special Issue on Water

This forthcoming special issue of the Michigan Quarterly Review will explore urgent, complex, and revelatory writing on water from around the world. “Not One Without: A Special Issue on Water” will explore the paradoxes of water, how at once it gives life and takes it; how it divides us along cruel lines of inequality even as it binds us. Water connects us, and our planet, to our origins and to an indivisible fate. We are seeking work that addresses any aspect of water: from the contested oil pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac to water shut-offs in Cape Town; from flooding in the Midwest to water scarcity in India and the Sahel; from the role of water in regional and global conflict and migration to the way that storm surges and shifting coastlines are forcing us to rethink the shapes of urban centers. We are looking for pieces that consider water through the lens of history and of contemporary geopolitics, and are excited to receive submissions that consider water through mythology, religion, and art history. We welcome a range of genres, including nonfiction, fiction, poetry, drama, translations, and pieces that don’t fit into a neat category. MQR is also open for general submissions in poetry, essay, fiction, translations, reviews, and interviews until December 15, 2019.

https://mqr.submittable.com/submit