Contest and Anthology Submission Opportunity from Warriors Arts Alliance

"Home from the War" by Winslow Homer (1863)

Image, courtesy of National Gallery of Art

 

Quick, grab a pen! Better yet, power up your laptop!

If you're a fast writer -- or if you happen to have a military-themed poem, short story, or essay already written and are looking for a place to submit -- here is an opportunity you might want to check out.

Warriors Arts Alliance has a no-fee contest and call for submissions for Volume 2 of Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors.

The editors are looking for poetry, fiction, essays, photographs, and interviews from military personnel, veterans, and their families.

Created by the Missouri Humanities Council, the Warrior Arts Alliance, and Southeast Missouri State University Press, this series of anthologies preserves and shares the perspectives of our military and veterans of all conflicts and of their families. It is not only an outlet for artistic expression but also a document of the unique aspects of wartime in our nation’s history.

Two types of entries:  1) anthology only;  2) contest and anthology

• 1.  Anthology-only entry: mail your previously unpublished work with self-addressed, stamped envelope for notification to Warriors Anthology, Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701.
• 2. Contest and Anthology entry: email previously unpublished work to upress@semo.edu

Contest: ($250 first prize in each category; all entries also considered for anthology)

• Entries must be sent electronically as Microsoft Word docs (or docx).
• Keep poems in one document (with 1^st poem as title).
• Put your name and contact info on 1^st page and nowhere else on the manuscript.

For both mailed and electronic submissions:

• Limit one submission in each category per person.
• Poetry: up to 3 poems (5 pages maximum).
• Fiction, essay, or interview: 5,000-word limit.
• Photography: up to 3 good-quality photos (will be printed in the book as b&w).
• Submissions exceeding the limits will be disqualified.
• Include a bio of 75 words or less with your submission.
• Winners & contributors will be notified by Nov. 1, 2013

Submission deadline is July 1 (postmark).

Visit the Warriors Arts Alliance website for more information.

Interview (Part I) with Deb Marshall, Director of the Warriors Arts Alliance

I'm pleased today to welcome Deb Marshall, Director of the Warriors Arts Alliance, to Donna's Book Pub. I met Deb several years ago at a Saturday Writers meeting and got to know her when she was president of the Missouri Writers' Guild. She is a writer with vision and energy and compassion. I'm certain those characteristics are what led her to get involved with the creation of the anthology Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, a collection of stories, poems, photos and articles written by and about American warriors who have served in the Armed Forces.

Here's Part I of my interview with Deb:

Donna: Welcome to Donna's Book Pub, Deb. I'm so happy you could take time from your busy schedule to answer my interview questions. The Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors (Volume I) is an inspiring anthology filled with moving stories, poems, photographs and nonfiction pieces from veterans and their families. Where did the idea come from for the anthology?

Deb: A handful of St. Louis area poets and writers led creative nonfiction and poetry workshops for veterans at Jefferson Barracks VA Medical Center. We had veterans from the Korean War to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars participating and the writing they were doing for the workshops were very individual stories, but their messages reflected the same sentiments, regardless of the generation it represented. We opted to put an anthology together to reflect a variety of voices from many generations.

Donna: Several organizations worked together to make this anthology a reality. What can you tell me about these organizations and their interaction?

 

Deb: The Missouri Humanities Council provided laptops for our workshops at Jefferson Barracks, but they also partnered with the Missouri Writers’ Guild to publish the “Storm Country” anthology to raise money for Joplin’s school libraries while I was president of MWG last year. Since the veteran writing initiative has continued to grow in scope, it needed to have its own organizational structure, so the Warriors Arts Alliance was born as a spin-off of the Missouri Writers’ Guild and is partnered with MHC.

I consider our editor Susan Swartwout a great gift to this program. She brings a proven publishing track record at SEMO University Press and over two decades of editorial experience, but, in this case, her role extends beyond that. There are bumps in the beginning of any start-up project, and this one was no different. Susan has been able to not only help us put those bumps behind us, she has also been instrumental in paving a new path.

We have an unusually well-balanced relationship between the three organizations.

Donna: Included in the anthology are contest winners of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. How did the contest work?

Deb: Our editor made selections for the first round. These were then forwarded to our judges, who each selected two finalists and a winner for each genre – fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry.

Donna: The list of contest judges is impressive, and the judges did an excellent job selecting the winners. What can you tell us about the judges?

Deb: Didn’t they do a fantastic job?  

William Trent Pancoast judged fiction. His character development of the Vietnam vet character in his novel Wildcat was superb and his reputation for being “the blue-collar writer” made him a good choice. Plus, he’s just a really nice guy and a true gentleman to work with.

Although Mark Bowden didn’t serve in Iraq as many people believe, he was a journalist imbedded with our troops for an extensive period of time. His book Black Hawk Down was probably the first nonfiction work to come out of the Iraq War.

Then there’s Brian Turner, another one of the literary giants to come out of the Iraq War in which he served as an infantryman. Now he teaches poetry. Brian had already agreed to be our judge before he was a speaker in St. Louis for the first St. Louis Humanities Festival last April. He is revered by his soldier/poet contemporaries, but he’s a wonderful down-to-earth guy who gave directions to people in the hallway who were attending his reading at Webster University. 

Donna: Beyond the contest winners, what was process for selecting submissions for the anthology?

Deb: That one you’d have to ask Susan. We talked at great length about my “vision” for the anthology. She did the rest. The selections and their order in the book is all hers and I couldn’t be more pleased with the way it turned out. Susan edits “Big Muddy” and “The Cape Rock,” so she’s tuned in to literary journals and what works well within a writing collection. Her ability to take what I thought the anthology should reflect and turn it into the final anthology has set the bar pretty high for any future editors I may work with. Our contributors are raving about their pride in the overall book, not just having their work published.

Thanks, again, Deb for insight into the making of this amazing anthology.

Please come back tomorrow  for Part II of my interview, in which Deb will discuss plans for another anthology.

Review of Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors

A month or so ago I received a call from Deb Marshall, Director of the Warriors Arts Alliance, asking if I would be willing to review Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors.

In the blink of an eye I said, "Yes!" I had heard about this project some time ago and was thrilled to be asked to read and review the finished product.

The anthology is a colloborative effort among the Missouri Humanities Council, the Warriors Arts Alliance, and Southeast Missouri State University Press.

It was such an honor to read this wonderful collection of stories, poems, and nonfiction from and about Americans who have served their country in the Armed Forces. The collection includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and photographs.

The winning nonfiction piece selected by Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down is: "Rockhappy 1944-45" from Paul Mims

The winning poem selected by Brian Turner, author of Here, Bullet, and Phantom Noise is:
"Baring the Trees" by Gerardo Mona

The fiction winner, selected by William Trent Pancoast, author of WILDCAT, is:
"First Day at An Khe" from Monty Joynes

The winner for Best Writing from a Missouri Writer, judged by the Missouri Humanities Council is:
"Between Wives" by Jay Harden

In addition to the entries from the competition prize winners and finalists are selections from other writing warriors and their family members.

One true story I found moving is "Hyphenated Americans" by Jan Morrill, in which she shares the experience of her family and in particular her uncle, Sergeant Yoshio Sasaki, as Japanese-Americans during World War II.

The selections in this anthology, edited by Dr. Susan Swartwout, are filled with discovery and daring, sacrifice and shared experiences, courage and compassion. But most of all this is an anthology of hope and healing.

Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors is available from Amazon, Southeast Missouri State Press, and other sources.

Note: This post was supposed to appear on Veteran's Day, but my Internet service was down, then there was a problem with my router, so I apologize for the delayed post.

Second Note: Later this week I will post my interview of Deb Marshall, who shares her insight on the creation of this impressive anthology.

The Early Bird Gets the MWG Discount and Woo Hoo, I'm a Winner!

Now that Christmas is over, I'm looking forward to the new year. I've already come up with goals for 2012. One biggie is to exercise more: my physical muscles, my writing muscles, and my spiritual muscles. I've already signed up for the MWG Confernece which will be next April. I'm organizing a writing group at my local parish, with our first meeting scheduled in early January, and I'm going to eat less and start walking more, starting right away.

If one of your resolutions for the new year is to get serious about writing and you're thinking about attending a writer's conference, here's one that local, regional--and by golly--even national or international writers can attend.

Tricia Sanders, the Missouri Writers' Guild Vice President and Conference Chair, has been hard at work planning the 2012 MWG Write Time! Write Place! Write Now! Conference which will be April 20 through 22, 2012 at the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center of St. Louis. The hotel address is 16625 Swingley Ridge Road; Chesterfield, Missouri 63017.

Attendees who register by mail on on line by Dec 31 can save money. I'm all about saving money, so I mailed my registration yesterday to take advantage of the early-bird discount. MWG members and Chapter members can also attend at a discounted rate. 

The scheduled presenters  on Apr 20-21 are impressive and include authors, poets, editors, agents, and publishers. Claire Cook, Jane Friedman, Susan Katz, Susan McBride, Debra Hess, and Walter Bargen are among the speakers. On the additional day, Sunday, Apr 22, attendees can sign up for smaller group optional Master Classes at an additional cost.

Attendees can also reserve a table to sell their books and sign up to pitch their works to agents and editors--and, depending on membership status, attendees are eligible to enter all or most of the conference contests for modest fees.

If you miss the early-bird deadline, you can still sign up to attend; it will just cost a bit more.

Pop over to the MWG Conference blog to read an interview MWP Publicity Chair Sarah Whitney had with  Highlights Editor Debra Hess. Leave a comment and you could win a conference tote bag.

Now for a bit of good news: Deb Marshall, President of MWG e-mailed and told me my short story "The Window Washer" won third place in the Fiction category of the Dr. Doris Mueller Poetry and Prose Contest. The contest judge was Harvey Stanbrough.

Congratulations to all the winners in the all three contest categories! There were nine winners in all. Texas poets cleaned up in the Poetry category. The Children's category was mixed with winners from Kansas and Missouri. But in the Fiction Category, the Show-Me State showed it was all Missouri, baby!

I'm excited. Not only that my story won third place, I made a little money, and the judge is awesome, but because "The Window Washer" is a story I feel strongly about and didn't give up on. So, I'll continue working on my story until it gets published. That reminds me; I need to work on some entries for the MWG conference contests.

So, there you have it. Two ways to kick your writing into high gear in 2012: a writer's conference with great speakers and a chance to win by entering the contests.