Interested in Breaking the Rules?

For those of you who appreciate that beauty lies in imperfection or in uneven intervals, the Interstitial Arts Foundation has issued it's 2nd annual call for their Second Anthology of Interstitial Writing called Interfictions II. According to their Web site, they are "a not–for–profit organization dedicated to the study, support, and promotion of interstitial art: literature, music, visual and performance art found in between categories and genres — art that crosses borders."

From their Web site:

Submission Guidelines for
Interfictions II: The Second Anthology of Interstitial Writing

What We’re Looking For
Interstitial Fiction is all about breaking rules, ignoring boundaries, cross-pollinating the fields of literature. It’s about working between, across, through, and at the edges and borders of literary genres, including fiction and non-fiction. It falls between the cracks of other movements, terms, and definitions. If you have a story idea that’s impossible to describe in a couple of sentences, it may be interstitial.

We’re looking for previously unpublished stories that engage us and make us think about literature in new ways. Rather than defining “interstitial” for you, we’d like you to show us what genre-bending fiction looks like. Surprise us; make us see that literature holds possibilities we haven’t yet imagined.

We are also open to graphic stories of about 10 pages.

Who We’re Looking For
Writers in all genres of fiction (contemporary realism, mystery, historical, fantasy, whatever) who have an idea that challenges generic tropes and expectations..

Practical Matters
Our submission period will be from October 1, 2008 to December 2, 2008.

For the Birds ~

LBJ is not only an acronym for "Little Brown Job," (used by birders to describe those difficult-to-identify species, such as many sparrows); it is also the name of an upcoming literary magazine. The LBJ is a uniquely literary venue, publishing creative non-fiction, fiction, poetry, narrative scholarship, and literary journalism of the feathered variety. The inaugural issue will be out this June, for which they are not only accepting submissions, but are also announcing prizes of $300 for the best previously unpublished poetry and prose. You may submit only one contest entry per genre. For poetry, each entry may include up to 5 poems; for prose, submit only 1 piece of no more than 20 double-space single-sided pages. The reading fee for the contest is $10 for one category, $15 for both. The deadline for both contest entries and submissions is May 15, 2008, and all contest entries will be considered for publication.
They are also looking for visual art, as well as cutting edge stories about birds, their habitats, and the people around them! So if you are into birding (bird-brained?) or know anyone who is, please go to The LBJ website for further details and the addresses (snail and email) of where to send your work.

Here Comes The Sun * * *

The Sun Magazine publishes essays, interviews, fiction and poetry. They tend to favor personal writing, but they're also open to thoughtful, well-written essays on political, cultural, and philosophical themes. In fact, they're open to just about anything except journalistic features, academic works or opinion pieces. They invite us to "surprise them:" they often don't know what they'll like until they read it. This generous attitude is matched by generosity of payment also:

• $300 to $3000 for essays and interviews
• $300 to $2000 for fiction
• $100 to $500 for poetry, the amount determined by length and quality

They may pay less for very short works. Contributors will receive a complimentary one-year subscription to The Sun. They also use 10 to 30 photographs in each issue, so if your creativity includes talent in that direction, The Sun is equally as generous on that score as well:

• $100 to $300 for one-time use of photographs inside the magazine
• $500 for those they use on the cover
• $500 to $1000 for photo essays

The give contributors four copies of the issue in which their work appears, as well as a complimentary one-year subscription. Please go to their website to check out the rest of their submission guidelines and also the snail-mail address to send your work.

Got Erotic? In the Rain?

If your writing has the steam of eroticism, this contest is for you! Desdmona's latest sex story contest will take place in the rain. It could be one of those warm afternoon drizzles, or a gushing torrent, but whatever it is has to contain some of "that wet stuff falling out of the sky." You may enter up to two stories of 1,000 words or less by March 31, 2008. There is no entry fee. Prizes will be awarded to the judges three favorite stories:

• 1st Prize: $250
• 2nd Prize: $150
• 3rd Prize: $75
• Honorable mention prizes of $25 will be awarded at the discretion of desdmona.com and the judges.

Entrants must be at least 18 years old, and no child pornography will be accepted. Your story must have a title, and all your characters must be fictional. Please go to their website for the rest of the contest guidelines, and then tap into your erotic imagination and let your story flow!

From Freckles to Wrinkles: A Sliver Boomer Book ~

From Freckles to Wrinkles: A Silver Boomer Book, is accepting submissions of prose and poetry until April 15 for publication this year. They are looking for stories of lives lived large, or of simple, significant sagas spanning from the Great Depression to September 11. Fiction or memoirs, essays or scenes, poetry, prose, or something in-between, they're interested in stories of ordinary lives lived in extraordinary times. Beyond these simple guidelines, they welcome surprises. They will pay $5 for poetry, and $10 for prose, plus a contributor's copy. If you agree with them that a writer's most productive years are between 60 and 80, and you have achieved this accomplishment, here is a chance to share your wisdom and achieve the public acknowledgment you richly deserve!

Writer Beware: The Dangers of Writing Fiction

Although writing about the stuff of our own lives, (non-fiction, memoirs, journals, etc.), may seem as though it would entail more emotional risks than writing fiction, through her own experience, Jennie Nash shows us that the exact opposite is, in fact, the case. She discovered that she revealed more of herself than she anticipated when her first novel was published, and in this insightful and informative article, explains how and why this happened.

Love Story Contest - Story Quarterly and Narrative Magazine

StoryQuarterly announces the SQ Love Story Contest

Open to fiction and nonfiction entries,the contest offers a First Prize of $2,500, a Second Prize of $1,500, a Third Prize of $750, and ten Finalists each will receive $100.

Deadline for entries: March 31, 2008.

Click here for complete details.

Call for Submissions: Cold-Drill

cold.drill: "cold-drill is published annually by the MFA Department of Boise State University and is actively looking for fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction from the traditional to the experimental for our 38th issue. We strive to publish work that goes beyond the obvious and that provokes and stimulates us and our community of readers. We are also interested in innovative and interesting visual art. We take great pride in our design and the finished product, which includes first-time published writers side-by-side with established authors and poets, and feel that a journal should be both visually appealing and mentally stimulating. Submissions are read from September 15 through January 5."