Submission Announcement from Well Versed and Winner of Behind Every Door

The Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild is now open for submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and flash fiction for their 2017 issue of Well Versed.

Logo courtesy of CCMWG blog

Here are a few basic submission highlights:

Unpublished entries only

Deadline January 15, 2017

Winners announced April 7, 2017

Release date June 4, 2017

Complete guidelines, including cost for entering and prize amounts for each category, can be found on the Well Versed rules and submission guidelines page. 

***

Drum roll, please . . .

Next, is the announcement of the winner of Cynthia A. Graham's novel, Behind Every Door from Blank Slate Press, an imprint of Amphorae Publishing Group. Thanks to Cynthia for her interview questions and to everyone who left a comment.

My random number generator, aka my husband, picked the number five. 

Commenter #5 is : K9friend, aka Pat Wahler.

Congratulations, Pat. I will get the copy of Behind Every Door to you soon.

***

Finally, later this month I will feature a guest post about "setting as character" from Dixon Hearne, author of the short story collection Delta Flats: Stories in the Key of Blues and Hope.

I hope you will return to read what Dixon has to say on that topic.

Got Flash in a Flash? MWG Semi-Flash Fiction Contest Deadline September 1

The Missouri Writers' Guild, which was established in 1915, is looking for original, unpublished works of fiction for their semi-flash writing contest. Semi-flash is a new term to me, but according to the guidelines, the length should be no longer than 1,000 words.

 

Writers do not have to belong to MWG to enter the contest. In fact, they don't even have to live in Missouri or the United States, but all entries must be in English.

Deadline: September 1, 2015

 

Entry fee is $10

 

First prize is $100. Additional cash prizes and other awards are detailed in the official guidelines. 

 

List of winners will be posted on the MWG website after November 1.



 



The general guidelines are listed below, and her is a link to the MWG contest site.

 

If you have questions, you can e-mail Judy Stock contest@missouriwritersguild.org

 

Good luck if you enter! But act quickly, the deadline is September 1. 

 

General Submission Rules
1. Entries are open to all writers; there is no requirement to be a member of MWG.
2. Entries will be online and must be in English.
3. Entries must be original work of entrant and unpublished at the time of submission.
4. Each work must be treated as a separate entry. For each entry, use a separate cover
sheet/online entry form available at www.missouriwritersguild.org. The cover
sheet includes the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and
a statement that entrant has read and signed the Terms of Agreement.
5. The deadline for all entries is midnight, September 1, 2015.
6. Entry should be double spaced, with a 1000 word limit, not including title.
7. Entries containing pornography, graphic violence, explicit or gratuitous sex, and
scatological content will not be accepted, nor will entry fee be returned.
8. Fees: Entry fee is $10 per entry. Payment may be made online through PayPal.
If entrants prefer, a check payable to MWG may be mailed to:
Missouri Writers Guild
Attn: Donna Essner, Treasurer
PO Box 2093
Saint Peters, Missouri 63376
9. MWG assumes no responsibility for misdirected entries.
10. May address any subject (except as noted in General Rule 7).
11. If you have questions, email Judy Stock contest@missouriwritersguild.org

Terms of Agreement: Signing states the entrant agrees guidelines have been read and followed.
Judging
1. All submissions are judged by independent judges, whose decisions are final.
2. Judges may award up to three places, at their discretion, but will select at least one “Judge’s Pick.”
Entrants whose work the judges submit for Honorable Mention will receive certificates.
For a list of winners, check MWG website http://www.missouriwritersguild.org after November 1, 2015. Winners will also be announced in the MWG newsletter.

ENTER FLASH FICTION CONTEST HERE!

 

 

Good News: Missouri Writers’ Guild Chapter and Sponsor Contest Deadlines Extended

Friends, writers, Missourians, warm up your pens (or keyboards as the case may be).

Unless your name is Julius Caesar, I have some good news.

You don’t need to "beware of the ides of March," but to prepare for the ides of March. And in this case, being ambitious is not a grievous fault.

The entry deadlines for the Chapter and Sponsor contests for the MissouriWriters’ Guild Annual Conference have been extended to the March 15 (The Ides of March).

Contests are open to members of MWG and its state chapters, as well as anyone attending the annual conference in April.

Happy day; the extension gives me extra time to enter my favorite chapter’s contests. Saturday Writers is sponsoring two categories: #7 Flash Fiction and #9 Inspirational Essay.

On the topic of being given second chances, the Writer’s Society of Jefferson County is sponsoring an additional contest not listed on the MWG website. Category #17 is an essay contest on "Second Chances" with a limit of 1500 words. Send your essays for that category to entry coordinator

Anna Wells

10632 St. Andrew's Court
Festus, MO 63028

For a full list of all chapter and sponsor contests, including where to send entries for other categories, visit http://missouriwritersguild.org/2013AnnualContestRules.pdf

All contests have a $5 entry fee.

Note: This extension only applies to the Chapter and Sponsor contests, not the President's contests. (Woops! I already missed that deadline.)

Personal note: If you are eligible to enter, please consider the Saturday Writer’s Flash Fiction and Inspirational Essay contests.

Final note: Apologies to Will Shakespeare for my attempt at humor with Julius Caesar. My granddaughter and I visited the campus of Mizzou this weekend. While we were in Columbia, we ate at Shakespeare’s Pizza. Quick restaurant review: Long wait, great pizza!

Good luck, and happy writing!

Calls for Submissions: Be Quick on the Draw for These Contests

Recently I've learned about two writing contests with short deadlines and no entry fees.

The first was sent to me by Coffee and Critique group writing pal, Marcia Gaye. The Poetry in Motion Contest is sponsored by the Metro Arts in Transit and Poetry Society of America. Entrants for the Poetry in Motion Contest must be residents within 50-mile radius of St. Louis. Multiple winners will receive a $50 award and be invited to read their poems at a ceremony in November. The contest deadline is 5 p.m. September 24, 2012.

Lou Turner, my dear friend and publisher of High Hill Press, e-mailed me about the "The Greatest Western Never Told" four-sentence contest sponsored by HHP and Brett Cogburn. Western stories of no more than four sentences are eligible. Winner (or winners) will receive their pick of one of Cogburn's books and inclusion in a future Cactus Country anthology. Deadline is September 23.

Good luck if you enter, but remember -- be quick on the draw!

Fairy Tales are Hot, So Why Not Write One?

Once upon a time, life was very grim.

In case haven't noticed, fairy tales are hot. In the fall television line up alone I've found two network programs that are about fairy tales.

NBC has Grimm on Friday nights. I've watched a few episodes, and I find myself strangely attracted to the show. One of the main characters is a St. Louis native, so that got my attention. David Guintoli plays Nick Burckhardt, a detective and "Grimm-creature profiler." So far in the series, we've seen Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and a Jagerbar. Okay. That's one I hadn't heard of before. The program is scary and so far interesting, but with some violent scenes. When those come on, I cover my eyes and peek through my fingers.

Over on ABC, there's Once Upon a Time. It's a modern-day adaptation of Snow White, Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen. The action takes place in Stonybrooke, where the mayor is a controlling, evil, well - witch. Then there's Mary Margaret, the sweet teacher, and Emma Swan, the stranger who comes to town, and don't forget Jiminy Cricket and Rumpelstiltskin. The series is more sugar-coated than Grimm, but so far it's been entertaining.

If you're into writing fairy tales, here's a call for submission for adult writers from Vestal Review that caught my eye (it didn't really catch my eye; my eyes are still intact, but you know what I mean). 

* Theme - A twist on classic fairy tales. "About the yet unheard adventures of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White or any other well-known fairy tale character. Interpret the theme broadly and imaginatively, but incline toward a literary story."
* Flash fiction (limit 500 words)
* Deadline November 30, 2011
* State the source tale’s name before the title.
* No more than two submissions per author.
* Pay rates vary, depending on story length.
* "Stories of great merit receive up to $25 flat fee; 3 cents a word is a minimum pay in any case.”

** For complete details and to submit your story, click on their submission guidelines.

Good luck.

The End.

Whispering Prairie Press Contest Open

Whispering Praire Press Contest is seeking submissions from writers over 18 for its 2011 Poetry, Flash Fiction, and Essay Writing Contests.

Poetry: 36-line limit

Flash Fiction: 1,000 word limit

Non-fiction Personal Essay: 1,000 word limit

Postmark Deadline: June 30, 2011

Prizes in each category: $100/$50/$25

Entry Fee: $5 each or 3 for $10. (Can mix categories)

(Student discount 2 for $5)

For complete contest guidelines, visit the WPP website. Results announced August 1, 2011, and winners' names posted on Kansas City Voices.

FRESH BLOOD - Saturday Centus on Tuesday

After a busy extended weekend, it's back to writing.

Over on Jenny Matlock's blog, she posted her Saturday Centus challenge. Participants are to use the words "I'd catch a grenade for ya" and write a story of no more than 100 words (not counting the prompt).

If you don't recognize these words, they're part of the lyrics from a popular Bruno Mars song.

Here's my attempt.

FRESH BLOOD

Digging through a dumpster, Rudy’s stomach growled.

Heck of a way to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. Parents killed last summer by a drunk driver, Rudy ran away rather than live in foster care.

Humming a Bruno Mars song, he read an ad while nibbling a half-eaten pizza.

“HELP WANTED. Free: Housing. Meals. Training.”

After memorizing the address he cleaned up in a gas station restroom.

Later that day, the man in green asked, “How badly you want to join us?”

Remembering the song, Rudy answered, “I’d catch a grenade for ya.”

The Army recruiter extended a hand. “You’re just what we’re looking for.”

Saturday Centus

I'm a tad late posting this, but here's my entry for Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus.

The entry needs to be no more than 100 words and must include the phrase, "it was growing bigger by the minute."

The title of my story is: Well Done

Cobwebs draped the front porch of the Black’s crumbling mansion. Mrs. Black wore an ebony formal and greeted her son Ben and his fiancé Abbey at the door.

Wearing an apron over his tuxedo, Mr. Black stood in the kitchen. “Welcome,” he said. “You like barbeque?”

“Don’t mind Dad,” Ben said. “Any excuse to play with fire.”

Abbey asked for her steak medium rare.

Smoke poured from the grill, and Abbey’s meat looked like a piece of coal. As she chewed, it was growing bigger by the minute.

“Like your steak?” Mr. Black asked.

Between bites, Abbey said, “Well done.”

Dead of Winter Contests

Looking for a way to stay warm in the dead of winter? How about heating up the keyboard and entering a writing contest or two?

My friend Amy Harke-Moore from The Write Helper has not one, but two, contests going on right now that you might want to check out.

Amy is an award-winning writer and an editor who has won over sixty awards to date. Her work has appeared in The Writer, Chicago Quarterly Review, The MacGuffin, Permafrost, Grit, Writers’ Journal, Spring Hill Review, Echoes of the Ozarks, Cuivre River Anthology, and Bellowing Ark.

Not only is Amy an acclaimed writer and editor, her contests are a bit differnt from most others. How?

Feedback: Amy offers a free critique if entrants request it.

Money--and fame: The winning entry is posted and the winner profiled on Amy's website.

For the Winter Flash Fiction Contest, she is accepting entries of: Short fiction, open theme (no porn or gore) 500 words or fewer. Free critique upon request. Enter online or by mail. Fee: $7 per entry or 3 for $20 (limit 3 entries). Prizes: First - $100, second - $50, and third - $25. Winning entry posted, winner profiled on website. Deadline: postmarked Feb. 10.

For the Dead of Winter Nonfiction Contest, Amy wants memoirs, essays, articles, prose. Must be nonfiction of 2,500 words or fewer. Free critique upon request. Enter online or by mail. Fee: $10 per entry, limit 3 entries. Prizes: First - $150, second - $75, and third - $50. Winning entry posted, winner profiled on website. Deadline: postmarked Feb. 10.

For complete deadlines, check out The Write Helper website.

I have it on good authority that Amy hasn't received a lot of submissions for either contest, so your chance to win could be improved! Hmm. I might enter one myself.

But act fast, the deadline for both contests is Feb 10. Don't be left out in the cold!

A New Challenge - Saturday Centus

While visiting my blogger buddy Claudia, I found a link to Jenny Matlock's blog and her Saturday Centus challenge.

This Saturday's challenge is to write a fact, fiction or poetry piece of no more than 25 words.

The prompt is "the lottery ticket." I read several of the entries. They're unique and interesting, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Here's my flash fiction piece, which is exactly 25 words (excluding the title).

Chance of a Lifetime

In the crowded hospital, Maria squeezed her daughter's hand. A new kidney. Perfect match. The nurse announced, "The lottery ticket number is 228." Maria wept.

Missouri Writers' Guild Flash Fiction Contest

If you believe "brevity is the soul of wit" and as a writer you "write tight," the Missouri Writers' Guild has a flash fiction contest for you! Here are the highlights:

* Flash Fiction: 500 word limit, no gore or pornography
* Deadline: September 30, 2010
* Entry fee: $10 for non-members, $8 for members of MWG whose dues are paid by the date of entry.

* Prizes: 1st place - $100, 2nd place - $50, 3rd place - $25. Three honorable mentions receive certificates
* Certificates and prizes mailed by the end of October

* Winners announced on MWG website in October

For complete guidelines, visit the MWG website Contest page.

Good luck!

Last Call - Whispering Prairie Press Contest

Yesterday at critique group, Debbie, one of our newer members, read a lovely and emotionally charged piece that moved most of us at the table to tears. Well, me for sure. After giving my critique I encouraged Debbie to enter it in the Whispering Prairie Press contest.

I posted about the contest earlier, but if you're like me you wait till the last minute. And with Donna's Book Pub being a pub and all, I thought I would issue a "Last Call."

If you have an essay, a poem, or a flash fiction piece ready or almost ready, Whispering Prairie Press has a contest for you!

And there's still time to enter --- but not much! The deadline is June 30.

Contest categories are:

Poetry: any style, any subject. Limit: 36 lines.
Flash Fiction: 1,000 words or less
Personal Essay: 1,000 words or less

Entry fee: $5 each or 3 for $10 (May mix categories)
Prizes: $100, $50, $25 (in each category)

Results will be announced by Aug 1.

For complete guidelines, visit the Kansas City Voices site.

P.S. The organization is also having a 2010 Creativity Conference for Writers in July. Details can be found on the Kansas City Voices site. Early Bird deadline for the conference is also June 30.

Whispering Prairie Press 2010 Writing Competitions

Here's a contest announcement from the Kansas City Writers' Group and Whispering Prairie Press. The contest has a category for most types of writing.

KCWG is a chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild and publisher of Kansas City Voices magazine.

Whispering Prairie 2010 Poetry, Flash Fiction, and Essay Writing Awards

Prizes in Each Category: 1st place $100, 2nd place $50, 3rd place $25, plus one honorable mention for every 10 entries.

Open to all writers age 18 and up, except members of the Board of Directors of Whispering Prairie Press. All work must be the author’s original work.

Poetry: Any style, any subject. Limit: 36 lines

Flash Fiction: A complete fictional short story with a beginning, middle and end. 1,000 words or less

Non-fiction Personal Essay: 1,000 words or less

Submissions: All entries must be unpublished at the time of submission.
1. No limit on number of entries.
2. Submit hard copy with no name on manuscript.
3. Put word count for fiction or line count for poetry in the top right corner.
4. Include a cover sheet with name, address, e-mail, telephone number with area code, category, and title of entry. If author is a full-time college student, add the name of the school
5. Prose must be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman or Courier. Poetry may be single spaced.
6. Enclose SASE for next year’s guidelines. Entries not returned.

Entry fee: $5 for each entry or 3 entries for $10. (nonrefundable)
Full-time college students: 2 entries for $5 May mix categories.

Address:

Whispering Prairie Press Writing Awards
PO Box 8342
Prairie Village, KS 66208-0342

Postmark Deadline: June 30, 2010

Winners will be announced by August 1, 2010, and winners’ names posted at http://www.kansascityvoices.com/.Judges’ decisions are final.

Good luck!

Note: If you visit the KC Voices link you can also read their regular submission guidelines.

Today in St. Peters, MO: Windy, high 81 degrees.

Yipee! I've Got Some Good News to Share

Today in St. Peters, MO: Snow showers, high 35.

Last month over on Cathy C. Hall's blog I read about a flash fiction writing contest with no entry fee. Cathy is a funny and generous writer from Georgia who shares contest information and whose posts generally are a hoot.

The theme for the contest Cathy posted about was "Snow." The contest was sponsored by Elizabeth Guy on her ReadingWriters site. Talk about timing, that was right around when our record-setting low temperatures appeared to accompany our snowstorms and blizzards. With snow on my mind, I dashed off an entry, just shy of the 100-word limit.

Last week Cathy e-mailed that our stories made it through the first round. Along with about 80 others we made the cut for "Excellence in Milieu, The Ambiance of Snow." That was out of 388 total entries. Yipee!

When I checked the site I noticed the names of two more writer/bloggers I know, Claudia (aka Bookie) and Linda. Yesterday I checked again and discovered all four of us were among the around 40 finalists who made it through to the second round. The second round was for "Excellence in Storytelling, The Structure within the Snow. " So, what better news than finding out that not only I made the cut, but so did three other of my writer/blogger buddies. The winner will be announced on February 1.

To top that off, last week I received an SASE with results of a contest sponsored by the friends of the Decatur, Illinois Public Library. Some months ago I submitted "Santa Wore Cowboy Boots" in their essay contest, which permitted previously published works. I was pleased to find out my essay received an honorable mention and a commendation. What was neat about their contest was the judges provided comments for the top 10 winners in each category. The bad news is that at the top of the sheet which provided the names of the winners the words "Cancelled for lact of interest" was printed. So, I'm not sure if they will have the contest again next year.

My lesson from all this is to keep on submitting and share good news with your friends!

Got Flash? Enter the Pike's Peak NLAPW Contest

Today in St. Peters, MO: Areas of fog, high 40 degrees. The foggy weather makes me want to write a mystery.

Here's an announcement from an organization sponsoring a contest that I entered last year-- and won the Judge's Merit Award! Woo hoo!

The organization is Pike's Peak Branch of the National League of American Pen Women. They're looking for complete, but very short stories of no more than 100 words for their 2010 Annual Flash Fiction Writing Contest. All genres welcome. No poetry. This year's theme is: "The Power of Three"

1st Place Story $75.00
2nd Place Story $40.00
Judge's Merit Award $20.00
Entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2010

In addition to cash awards, all entries will receive brief feedback from members of the Pike's Peak Branch of National League of American Pen Women.

Entry Fee is $10.00 per manuscript. Submitters need not live in Colorado or be a member of Pen Women to enter.

Here's a link to the submission guidelines.

Mississippi Review Online Wants Your Flash Fiction

Today in St. Peters, MO: Light freezing rain, high 39 degrees.

Around the holiday season we've all been told, "Don't flash your cash," but here's some flash that can give you cash--in the form of a publication credit. (I'm not sure if they are a paying market.)

The Mississippi Review Online is looking for flash fiction. Kim Chinquee is editing a special collection of flash fictions for the January 2010 issue of MR online. She's looking for pieces not more than 750 words.

Send to flash@mississippireview.com as attachments in MS Word format or in the body of your e-mail. Submissions accepted Nov 1-Dec 15.

So, if you have something that fits their guidelines, send it. If you don't, write it, but quick about it because the Dec 15 deadline will be here--well, in a flash!

Inch Magazine, Where Good Writing Come in Tiny Packages

Today in St. Peters, MO: Mostly sunny, high 80 degrees. A good day for a walk.

After yesterday's informative, entertaining, and lenghty interview with North Carolina humor writer Celia Rivenbark and all the comments and questions left by visitors, I wanted to have a brief post. So, how about an announcement for a market located in North Carolina that focuses on tiny submissions?

I read about Inch Magazine in Pam Casto's Flash Fiction Newsletter and visited the magazine's website. Inch Magazine/Bull City Press is " a quarterly magazine devoted to tiny poems and tiny fiction. We believe that good things come in small packages, so we focus our eight pages on poems of one to nine lines, or fiction of 750 words or less."

The editors prefer electronic submissions and pay in three contributor copies. Note: they will not be accepting poetry submissions between October 15, 2009 and January 15, 2010. Visit their website for more details.

Monday's Market: Vestal Review

Today in St. Peters, MO: Foggy and misty this morning, expected high of 85 degrees.

If you like to flash--that is if you like writing flash fiction--Vestal Review is a print and on-line publication that accepts submissions up to 500 words. The have two submission periods: February-May and August-November and accept only two submissions per person during each period.

They do not accept porn, racial slurs, excessive gore, or obscenity. On the other end of the spectrum, no children's or preachy stories either. They love humor, and the title is an important part of the story. Make it pertinent but don't tell too much. They generally don't favor one-word titles.

Payment is in cash and contributors' copies.

Stories up to 100 words (excluding the title)--10 cents a word.

Stories between 101 and 200 words--5 cents a word.

Stories between 201 and 500 words--3 cents a word.

Stories of great merit receive up to $25 flat fee; 3 cents a word is a minimum pay in any case.
In addition, every contributor will get one free copy. For complete guidelines, visit their website.

I've submitted a few flash pieces and have gotten some kind rejection e-mails from Editor/Publisher/Webmaster Mark Budman. Maybe I'll try again this submission period. How about you? I know some of my regular visitors are great at writing humor.

Newport Review Flash Fiction Contest

Forecast for St. Peters, MO: Chance of thunderstorms, high 85 degrees.


Here's a flash fiction contest with a short deadline and a small entry fee. The Newport Review Flash Fiction Contest is open through the postmark deadline of September 1, 2009. Word Length: maximum of 1,000 words. Entry fee: $7 per story or 3 for $20. A total of $300 in cash awards, plus publication for winners and honorable mentions. They do not accept e-subs. Visit their website for complete details.

Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Mostly sunny, high 89 degrees. The hummigbirds were zipping between the feeder and the flowers on the front porch early this morning.

Here's a contest from Gemini Magazine (Fiction, Poetry, a Little Craziness and More) that caught my attention. I find the cover (at left) for the August issue a bit unnerving, but the magazine is sponsoring a contest that sounds intriguing: no entry fee, a short word count, an opportunity for a publishing credit--and since I'm a Gemini, well, it sounds like a contest to check out.

The GRAND PRIZE is $100 & publication in the October Issue of Gemini. Three HONORABLE MENTIONS will be published in the October Issue of Gemini. Word Limit: No more than 1,000 words (excluding title & byline). Any style, any theme (previously unpublished). Deadline: August 31, 2009. No Entry Fee. If you don't win or place, your story may be considered for publication in a future issue of Gemini. For complete details, visit their website The Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest

A Bittersweet Personal note: Sniff, sniff. Early this morning Cari left for Half-day Freshman Orientation at her new high school. Walt and I (with Harley on a leash--Michael was still asleep) stood on the front porch craning our necks, trying not to be too conspicious as we watched Cari wait up the street for the bus. She made me PROMISE not to take any photos or follow her to the bus stop. I did make a trip to the end of the driveway to put something in the mailbox where the view of the bus stop is much clearer--but only once! Before the bus arrived, she had sent me three text messages. By the time she got to school my cell phone was buzzing and beeping. In one she wrote she was texting seven other friends, who are all sharing a similar experience. Going from an eighth-grade class of 30 in a parochial school to a Freshman class of 300+ in a public school is a little intimidating. Only a handful from her grade school will be attending the same high school, but I'm sure that by the time she gets home this afternoon she will be bubbling with stories. And by the time school starts for real next week, she will not feel as anxious--and neither will I.

An Exciting Personal Note: Tomorrow I will post an announcement about an award I received from the very generous and funny Cathy C. Hall over on http://cathychall.blogspot.com/ So, stay tuned.