Call for Submissions: Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry

Yesterday I received an e-mail with a call for submissions from Eilis O’Neal, Editor-in-Chief of Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry, at the University of Tulsa.

The Call for Submissions for their Spring/Summer 2015 issue has the theme of: 

Circulatory Systems: Current and Connection.

For hints at what the editors have in mind, visit the Nimrod Journal website.

Here are some guidelines:

Stories and creative nonfiction  - up to 7,500 words

Poetry - up to 8 pages 

All work must be previously unpublished 

Postmark Deadline: November 30, 2014 

Publication Date: April 2015

Send manuscripts to:

Nimrod Journal

The University of Tulsa

800 S. Tucker Dr.

Tulsa, OK 74104

Please mark both your cover letter and the outer envelope with “Spring 2015 Theme.”

Questions? Email nimrod@utulsa.edu, call (918) 631-3080. Or visit the website.

Submission Opportunity from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels in our Midst

Do you believe in angels? I do.

I love hearing stories about angels and seeing them depicted in artwork, like the statues on the left.

Last month I visited the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis, the site of an official Vatican-sanctioned miracle. This photo is of the front altar--the altar of answered prayers.

I thought it would be fitting to use this photo to accompany this post about a submission call out from the editors of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels in our Midst.

The editors are looking for "101 miraculous stories of faith, divine intervention, and answered prayers."

Have you been visited by an angel?

Had prayers answered by an angel?

Received divine protection from an angel or guardian angel?

Witnessed a miraculous recovery?

Received news or a warning from an angel?

If so, you could have your true story or poem published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels in our Midst.

The editors want stories of "true wonder and awe from people who have directly encountered or received help from angels."

They do not want stories about "people who are angels because they do nice things or eulogies about loved ones who have died and are now angels."

Submission deadline is May 15, 2014. 

Expected publication date is October 2014.

Authors whose stories are selected will receive $200 and 10 free copies of the anthology.

For complete submission guidelines, including word counts and other details, visit the Chicken Soup for the Soul website.

Good luck!

Cardinals and Zombies and Snakes -- Oh, my!

Yesterday was strange, surprising --- and memorable.


Last night the St. Louis Cardinals clinched their 18th National League pennant and are headed for the World Series. Back in August, with the end of the season in sight, sports reporters, fans, and other ball teams pronounced the Cardinals’ season finished.

An opposing player from one team talked about burying the team in the ground and covering them with dirt.

Because the Red Birds refused to die, someone in the media dubbed them the “Zombie” Cardinals. Bats came to life. The bullpen woke up. Heroes emerged. Last night, amid champagne and celebration, third-baseman David Freese was awarded the trophy for Most Valuable Player in the National League series. A hometown hero was crowned!

Yesterday afternoon I witnessed another local hero emerge on a different field. His heroics took place in rural St. Charles --- on a soccer field surrounded by dry and dusty acres of recently plowed corn fields.

While my granddaughter’s soccer team warmed up before their game, I noticed commotion on an adjacent field. The game had stopped. Refs stood on the sidelines. Teenage girls from both teams huddled around midfield. People stood and stared at a man zigzagging near a goal post. I heard a few squeals as a soccer dad – with a Cardinals’ baseball cap on his head and a large plastic cup in one hand – chased a critter that had invaded his daughter's soccer field.

Soccer Dad bent down then quickly stood and backed up. Up and down. Thrust and parry. Back and forth. He maneuvered into position as he tried to capture something on the ground with his cup.

At first I thought the critter was a wounded bird unable to fly away. Then I caught a glimpse of slimy skin glinting off the midday sun when the critter hopped. A bullfrog? If so, it was a long and skinny frog. With a final thrust, Soccer Dad stopped the critter with his cup then lifted his catch by its neck. The captured creature shimmied and shook.

A snake. A black snake. A long black snake.

With fans applauding, Soccer Dad carried the wiggling reptile at arm’s length and deposited it in the closest, recently plowed corn field. Soccer Dad returned, victorious, brushing his hands on his jeans as the crowd whooped and cheered. The game restarted. A hero emerged, this one unnamed and unknown except to family and friends.

Yep. Yesterday had the ingredients that stories and memories are made of --- drama, tension, conflict, surprises, heroes, villains, adoring crowds, the victorious and the vanquished, and for St. Louis sports fans --- a happy ending.

Silver Boomer Books Call for Submissions on Widowhood

This morning I received an e-mail from Becky Haigler, one of the principals at Silver Boomer Books, announcing a call for anthology submissions.

The editors are looking for stories, essays, poems, and interviews on the theme of Widowhood for the anthology.

Short works, especially poetry, are favored. Their emphasis is on "quality rather than quantity."

The submission period opens December 1, 2011 and closes March 30, 2012.

Writers whose works are selected will be notified in August 2012.

Expected release date is October 2012.

For complete details, visit the Silver Boomer Books submission page.

Through the grace of God my husband is still alive, so I don't have anything to submit for this anthology, but I thought some of my visitors might be widows or have something to write about on the topic.

Good luck if you submit, and God bless you if you are a widow.