Online literary magazine Memoir Magazine has extended the deadline for its first-ever book contest to April 30. The Memoir Prize is dedicated to memoirs and creative nonfiction of book-length works of exceptional merit. They have three categories: published, self-published, and unpublished. The grand prize winner receives $2,000. The fee to enter is $95. Results to be announced in June.
Nonfiction
Alaska Quarterly Review Moves Temporarily to Online-only Submissions
Due to the necessity of social distancing in this time, Alaska Quarterly Review will no longer be able to review hard copy submissions to the journal. But don’t fear, they are still accepting online submissions through Submittable. Poetry submissions are being accepted through April 16 and nonfiction submissions will be open from April 17 to 30. They do charge a $3 fee.
Also, don’t forget to pick up a copy of their Spring 2020 issue which includes a special feature “Carrying the Fire: Celebrating Indigenous Voices of Canada.”
Under the Gum Tree Celebrates 9 Years of Telling Stories Without Shame
Under the Gum Tree is an electronic literary magazine and they are currently celebrating nine years in 2020. They are partnering with Stories on Stage Davis for their Northern California Writers Creative Nonfiction Contest. There is no fee to submit. Winners will be featured at Stories on Stage Davis on October 10, have their stories published in the 9th anniversary issue of Under the Gum Tree, and receive a $100 cash prize.
The contest is open until June 30 at 11:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time. Entries cannot have been previously published.
Don’t forget to check out their Spring 2020 issue featuring Kathy Stearman, Laura Halferty, Kirsten Ismene Schilling, Catherine Jagoe, Marilyn Martin, and Janine DeBaise. They offer both print and digital subscriptions.
Carve Spring 2020 Preorder Week
That’s right! This week is the week you can preorder Carve Magazine‘s Spring 2020 issue. From now until April 12, you can reserve your copy of the special print edition and receive automatic free shipping to anywhere on print preorders. You also get 15% off a 1-year print or digital subscription. Need more reasons to preorder this issue? It features four new stories, five new poets, two essays and the winners of the 2019 Prose & Poetry Contest selected by Lydia Kiesling, Analicia Sotelo, and Benjamin Busch.
NewPages Mag Stand: Poetry
The latest issue of Poetry is at the NewPages Mag Stand, featuring work by Michael Hofmann, Martha Sprackland, Harmony Holiday, Pascale Petit, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Gertrude Stein & Bianca Stone, Tishani Doshi, Madeline Gins, Joy Ladin, Emily Jungmin Yoon,Sumita Chakraborty, Katie Pyontek, Sun Yung Shin, Torrin A. Greathouse, Sally Wen Mao, Lucy Ives, Shane Neilson, Nelly Sachs, Ocean Vuong, and more. Plus, an essay by Joy Ladin.
Reminder :: The Red Wheelbarrow Wants Work for Summer 2020 Issue
Formerly known as Red Savina Review, The Red Wheelbarrow Review is set to to debut its first issue under the new name this month. Don’t forget that they are still on the hunt for poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction where “word meets spirit in a commingling of the sacred and mundane.” Submissions accepted on a rolling basis. $3 fee. They also offer an expedited response option. Learn more…
Activities and Insight from James W. Pennebaker
NewPages guest post by Colleen M. Farrelly
As a lifelong logophile, I’ve found folks who are acerbic, insipid, and (occasionally) inimitable. However, I’d never thought about the his or hers or theirs aspect of life (or the importance of these words) until reading James Pennebaker’s The Secret Life of Pronouns.
By analyzing the words that knit together what I’d assumed were the important words of a sentence, one can learn a lot about the sentence’s writer or speaker—his/her personality, truthfulness, social status, and even future behavior. Pennebaker even includes links to writing activities used to analyze traits described in the book. According to the bottle project, I’m likely to attend art shows and avoid blow-drying my hair (guilty on both counts).
With a fairly low reading level required for the activities sections and insight from disparate fields like psychology, politics, and law, this book offers something for everyone in the family. Happy reading!
The Secret Life of Pronouns by James Pennebaker. Bloomsbury Press, August 2011.
Reviewer bio: Colleen M. Farrelly is a freelance writer in Palmetto Bay, FL, whose poetry has appeared in many haibun and haiku journals.
NewPages Mag Stand: World Literature Today
A special section devoted to Graphic Nonfiction, showcasing seven writers and artists from around the globe, headlines the Spring 2020 issue of World Literature Today. The issue also presents interviews with translators Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Isabel Fargo Cole; new fiction from Italy, France, and the Philippines; essays on Nigerian fiction and the “humanity on display” in museum exhibitions; poetry by Elyas Alavi (Afghanistan), Khaled Mattawa (Libya/US), and Mohamad Nassereddine (Lebanon); and Poupeh Missaghi’s recommended booklist about cities. More than forty book reviews also round out the issue, giving readers a wealth of titles to inspire their spring reading adventures.
Reminder :: Winning Writers Open to Fiction & Essays
April 30 is the deadline to submit short stories and essays of up to 6,000 words to Winning Writers. Entries to the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay contest can be previously published. $20 fee; two top awards of $3,000 given. This year’s judge is Dennis Norris II assisted by Lauren Singer Ledoux. The contest is co-sponsored by Duotrope. Learn more…
NewPages Mag Stand: Plume
The April issue of Plume is at the NewPages Mag Stand. This month’s featured selection: Christopher Salerno interviewed by Nancy Mitchell, with work by the poet included. Chad DeNiord in the essay & comment section. Mark Wagenaar reviews three new books on armed conflict and armed service. Plus our monthly poetry selections, which you can learn more about at the Mag Stand.
NewPages Mag Stand: The Massachusetts Review
The Spring 2020 issue includes poetry by Desirée Alvarez, Danusha Laméris, Julie Murphy, Nancy Miller Gomez, Charlie Peck, Cynthia White, Keith Leonard, Augusta Funk, and more; fiction by Sylvia Hanitra Andriamampianina, Karin Cecile Davidson, Tad Bartlett, Gabriella Kuruvilla, Hebe Uhart, Jung Young Moon, and others; and nonfiction by Gianni Celati, Lesley Wheeler, Amy Yee, and Melanie McCabe. Learn more at the NewPages Mag Stand.