Donna Volkenannt and Lou Turner Speakers at the Write Direction Conference in Columbia

Coffee and Critique members Donna Volkenannt and Lou Turner will be among the featured speakers at the Write Direction Conference in Columbia, Missouri, on Saturday, November 10.

Volkenannt will give a presentation on "Structuring Short Stories for Passion and Profit," and Turner, publisher of High Hill Press, will be part of a publishers' panel.

The conference is sponsored by the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild. The event will be held at:

The Unity Center

1600 West Broadway

Columbia, MO

Events kick off at 8:30 and end at 4 p.m.

Some other speakers are:

William Trowbridge, Missouri Poet Laureate and author

Dr. Edward Adelstein, anatomic and clinical pathologist

Bill Clark, columnist, Columbia Daily Tribune
Judy Stock, poet and writer
Linda Fisher, blogger, writer, and publisher, Mozark Press
And several others!

 

Click here for the agenda and speaker notes. 

 

 

Registration fees are modest and late registration is available at the door. Fee includes choice of breakout sessions, participation in a First Page exercise, opportunities to interact with writers with similar interests, and lunch.

 

Hope to see you there!

Alimentum: Literary Magazine About Food

As we head into the great season of eating, I thought I'd feature a lit mag dedicated to gustatory delights and frights, Alimentum. They publish food-related fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. Right now they are hosting a poetry contest.

Deadline: December 1, 2009

Prize: $500 and publication

Entry Fee: $15 (Includes one year subscription)

Submissions: Via Snailmail Only

Alimentum

P.O. Box 210028

Nashville, TN 37221

Here are some menupoems they have online.

I could wax poetic about food, no problem. Now where is that verse I wrote about bread?

Dante's Heart Poetry Contest

Märchenbrunnen 1 (Snow White and Rose Red) by Nordelch Creative Commons

DANTE'S HEART POETRY CONTEST

Entries Due: November 1, 2008
Winners Announced: December 2008

• 1st Prize - $125 + Publication
• 2nd Prize - $75 + Publication
• 3rd Prize - Honorable Mention + Publication

Contest Judge:
Ever Saskya, Author of _The Porch is a
Journey Different From the House_
Entry Fee: $7 (USD)

What We're Looking For:
This contest seeks work that speaks to the mission of Danteʼs Heart.

Dante's Heart (http://www.dantesheart.com/) is an online venue looking for creative work that explores how myth and fairy tale define and are defined by the human experience(s). We want to celebrate the shock, wonder, bewilderment, suffering, and enchantment of myth, of the fantastic; we want to hear about rivers running with wine and ghosts jumping the Mississippi on motorcycles. We're concerned with the neglect of myth, with the blindness of a culture determined by myths it hasn't thought about; we demand (beg, entreat, scream) that myths be thought about, made and remade, handled with a delicate & angry/sad/ desperate/joyous exuberance.

Contest Rules
Submit poems by e-mail to editors@dantesheart.com.

Submit entry fees using the "Giving" page on our website (www.dantesheart.com), and e-mail us to specify that the funds are for the contest entry fee. Entries & entry fees must be received by November 1 in order to be considered for the contest.

Submit one entry only. An entry may consist of any of these:

• 1 poem of up to 7 pages
• A series of 2-3 inter-related poems up to 10 pages
• A series of 4 or more inter-related poems up to 15 pages

Send your best work. Please peruse our journal, Danteʼs Heart, at www.dantesheart.com, prior to submitting.

Writer's Digest Poetry Contest 2008

Writer's Digest has announced their poetry contest for this year.

Entry fee: $10 for first poem

$5 for every additional poem
Style: Any
Length: 32 lines or less
Deadline: December 19, 2008



Prizes:
First Place: $500
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $100
Fourth Through Tenth Place: $25
Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place: $50 gift certificate for Writer's Digest Books.

* The First-Place winner has the option of a FREE package from Lulu.com
* The names and poem titles of the First through Tenth-Place winners will be printed in the August 2009 Writer's Digest, and winners will receive the 2009 Poet's Market.

You can submit online or mail this form to:
WD Poetry Awards
700 East State Street
Iola, WI 54990

Poets and Writers' Anthologies Seeking Submissions July/August 2008

Poets and Writers magazine has a list of anthologies currently seeking submissions. Just remember to check out any publication before you submit. They should pay you, not the other way around.

And remember this great advice on submitting to anthologies.

Saturday Writers One-Page Poem Contest

In honor of April being poetry month, Saturday Writers is announcing our 6th annual poetry contest!

Submission Guidelines:
1) Any style, any subject, any form allowed. Wow us in one page. (One poem per single-spaced page.)
2) No identification should appear on the entry. Attach a separate coversheet with title, name, address, e-mail, and phone number.
3) Two copies of each entry! (Both judges need a copy.)
4) Entry fee: $5 per poem, maximum of three entries.
5) Poems must be unpublished at the time of submission, original work of the contestant.
6) Deadline: March 15, 2008 postmark.
7) Prizes: 1st place - $100, 2nd place - $50, 3rd place - $25. Top 10 entries receive a certificate.
8) Winners will be posted on the website by April 30, 2008. Certificates and cash prizes will be mailed the following week.
9) Mail entries flat, not folded, to: Saturday Writers One-page Poem Contest, Tricia Sanders, 90 Westwood Trails, Foristell, MO 63348. Do NOT send by certified mail!
10) Checks payable to: Saturday Writers.

Contest is open to members of Saturday Writers and non-members. Prize winners and honorable mention recipients (top ten only) may be given the opportunity to have their stories included (one time rights) in the Saturday Writers literary collection, published the following year.

For a list of winners, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Or check out our website after April 30: http://www.saturdaywriters.org/.
Decision of judges is final. Not responsible for lost or misdirected entries. Poems will not be returned.

Quiz - Which Famous Poet Are You?

Thanks to my student Brandon for telling me about this quiz that determines which famous poet you most resemble. I'm not sure it's the same one he took, but he inspired me to look for the quiz and post it. I'm obviously doing something wrong. I need to work on getting my debauchery score higher.


Here are my results:

Your Score: William Wordsworth!

You scored 54 Demeanour, 27 Debauchery, 83 Traditionalism, and 50 Expression!

You are a happy person who looks for the beauty in everything. You play by the rules, but hey, people respect you for it. Don't they? Your masterpiece is "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey."

Link: The Which Famous Poet Are You Test written by Torontop on OkCupid Free Online Dating

The New Writer Magazine Writing Contest

Writing World has details on The New Writer Magazine's Contest. This international contest accepts both prose (including articles and interviews) and poetry, and award prize money for the winners.

They have the rules and an entry form on their site. Submissions must be postmarked by November 30, 2007. The entry fee is 4 pounds (Can't find the pound symbol on my keyboard).

I'm not sure what the exchange rate is now. When I was over there over ten years ago one pound was equal to about $1.80, but if you pay with your credit card, they'll know how much to charge in dollars.

Missouri Writer's Guild and Springfield Writer's Guild Contest Deadlines Soon

Just a reminder, entries to both the Missouri Writer's Guild Winter Contest and the Springfield Writer's Guild Contest must be postmarked by October 1st.

Both contests accept fiction, non-fiction, and poetry entries, so you have to have something you can send, right? You can't win if you don't enter... I've heard that somewhere before.

Of course, entering contests can get to be expensive. The Springfield Contest is really reasonable at $1 & $2 entry fees, and even the $5 at the Missouri Writer's Guild isn't bad. I usually stick to contests I'm familiar with, so I know they are reputable. Some contests are as legit as the latest capital hill lobbyist headed to jail. So let's be careful out there, people. (Ancient television reference dating me horribly)

Pat Parnell Poetry Contest

The Creative Writing Contests blog posted this info. The Chester College of New England is hosting the Pat Parnell Poetry Contest.

Entry fee is $3 per poem. The deadline is November 1, 2007.

The prize is $400 and publication in Compass Rose.

Seeking Poetry Submissions About Girls and Girlhood

Two editors are seeking submissions of poetry relating to girls and girlhood for an upcoming anthology. According to the submission guidelines, possible topics include, but aren't limited to:

"family relationships, work, activism, sexuality, friendship, consumer culture, physical or mental illness, body image, domesticity, athleticism, intellectual pursuits, creativity, geography, displacement, belonging, separation, identity formation, partnership and triumph. Poems that are not subject-driven or narrative but might still be of particular interest to a teenage girl reader are also welcome." Quoted from WhatsGoodforGirls. blogspot.com

The book will be aimed at high school and college age girls. You can submit up to three poems and the deadline is October 1, 2007. The anthology will be published in 2009.