The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest

Dream Quest One is sponsoring Poetry and Writing (Fiction/Non-Fiction) Contests. In their own words:

Deadline: December 31, 2008
Open to anyone who loves to express their innermost thoughts and feeling into the beautiful art of poetry or to write a short story that is worth telling everyone! And to all who have the ability to dream. Write a poem or short story for a chance to win cash prizes. All works must be original.
Write a poem, thirty lines or fewer on any subject, style, or form, typed or neatly hand printed. And/or write a short story, five pages maximum length, on any subject or theme, creative writing fiction or non-fiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries and screenwriting). Also, must be typed or neatly hand printed. Multiple poetry and short story entries are accepted. All winners will be announced on January 31, 2009.
Prizes:

• Writing Contest First Prize is $500. Second Prize: $250. Third Prize: $100.
• Poetry Contest First Prize is $250. Second Prize: $125. Third Prize: $50.

Entry fees: Writing Contest entry fee: $10 per short story.
Poetry Contest entry fee: $5 per poem.
To send entries: Include title(s) with your story (ies) or poem(s), along with your name, address, phone#, email, brief biographical info. (Tell us a little about yourself), on the coversheet. Add a self-addressed stamped envelope for entry confirmation. Fees payable to: “DREAMQUESTONE.COM” Mail to:
Dream Quest One
Poetry & Writing Contest
P.O. Box 3141
Chicago, IL 60654
Visit http://www.dreamquestone.com for further details or to enter!

Damselfly Press Accepting Submissions ~

Damselfly Press is accepting submissions of Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry until December 15, 2008 for their next issue, to be published on January 15, 2009. In their own words:

Our fifth issue honors women of all experiences, ages and backgrounds. We are pleased to feature fiction, non fiction, and poetry that is excellently crafted, thematically diverse, and accessible.

• We read year round.
• Please send online submissions only with the genre in the header of the e-mail.
• Submissions must be in a Microsoft® Word document or .RTF attachment.
• Please include writer’s contact information on a separate cover page.
• We are unable to provide compensation to writers for accepted submissions at this time.
• If a writer’s work initially appears in damselfly press and is later published elsewhere, we request an acknowledgement.
• Fiction- Send 9-10 pages of fiction not to exceed 2,500 words max. Submitters may send up to two fictional stories per submission to the fiction editor.
• Poetry- Send 1-3 poems per submission to the poetry editor.
• Nonfiction- Send 3-10 pages of nonfiction not to exceed 2,500 words max. Submitters may send up to two nonfiction submissions such as memoir or personal essays to the nonfiction editor.
• Writers must include bios not to exceed 50 words.
• We do not accept previously published work.
• For writers whose work has been accepted by our journal, please refrain from re-submitting up to a year after publication.

What's The Worst That Could Happen?

If you've been through a particularly harrowing experience, a nightmare road trip where everything that could go wrong did, the Road Junky 2008 Travel Writing Contest -- Hell Trips is the perfect contest for you! They want to hear about your worst journeys, your near-death experiences, where you were beaten up, robbed, extorted, heartbroken or brainwashed. There's no fee to enter this contest from the dark side of life on the road, and the deadline's not until December 31, 2008, so there's plenty of time to figure out the best way to approach and describe for maximum effect. Not only that, there are prizes to be won!

• First Prize: $400
• Second Prize: $200
• Third Prize: $100

Also, if they choose to print your story in an anthology, you will get paid decent royalties. Send your 800 to 1500 word non-fiction story to editor(at)roadjunky(dot)com, and be sure to put "2008 Travel Contest" in the subject. Please go to their website to check out the rest of the contest guidelines.

Barn Owl Review Accepting Submissions ~

Barn Owl Review, a handsomely-designed print journal of poetry, literary fiction and critical prose, offers several options for submissions to it's upcoming 2009 issue. They are looking for high-quality work that takes risks while connecting to its readers. You may submit 3 to 5 poems to the attention of their poetry editors, (nothing of a greeting card or inspirational verse nature, please), 1 to 3 short shorts of 1,000 words or less OR one short story (5,000-word maximum), to the attention of fiction editors, or critical prose (also up to 5,000 words), to the attention of Adam Deutsch. Barn Owl Review 2 will be released February, 2009, so be sure to have your submissions in by November 1st, 2008. They will pay two copies of the issue that your work appears in, and offer half off for additional copies. Please go to their website to check out the rest of their submission guidelines.

Narrative Prize

Narrative Magazine is holding a fabulous writing competition. According to their site:

"The $4,000 Narrative Prize will be awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative.

The deadline for entries for each year’s award is June 15.

The winner is announced each September, and the prize is awarded in October.

Notices of the award, citing the winner’s name and the title and genre of the winning piece, will be placed in prominent literary periodicals. Each winner will also be cited in an ongoing listing in Narrative. The prize will be given to the best work published each year in Narrative by a new or emerging writer, as judged by the magazine’s editors. In some years, the prize may be divided between winners, when more than one work merits the award.

All submissions are carefully considered for publication. To submit your work for the Narrative Prize, please see the submission form below or visit our Submission Guidelines page.

Submissions by new and emerging writers are eligible for the prize, and we accept submissions year-round. For further information, please read our Submission Guidelines."

"I Love Cats" Magazine Accepting Submissions

For those of us with delightful furry companions, Lisa Allmendinger, editer of I Love Cats is now looking at stories for 2009 and beyond. They seldom publish poetry, but are interested in feature stories about cats and their owners, (no talking cats, please), interesting or odd happenings with cats, tips for cat owners, health issues, non-fiction, behavior problems, etc. They ask that you not send pieces about cats that go or live outdoors. She prefers stories with with photos or drawing that are between 500 - 800 words (1,000 words max). Payment upon publication is $50, ($25 for short fillers, which are also welcome). Please send your queries and/or completed stories to ilovecatseditor(at)sbcglobal.net. Check out the I Love Cats website for sample copies and further submission guidelines.

Whose Fawlt Is It?

Nobody's perfect, and now there is a magazine based on that premise: Fawlt Magazine is dedicating each of it's quarterly issues to human flaws. Guess I'll stop procrastinating long enough to tell you about it. ;) They are now taking submissions for their next issue, which will focus on Perfectionism. You have until August 1, 2008 to submit previously unpublished prose, poetry, art and photographs that will examine such issues as: who is affected by it, its impact on individuals, in which circumstances it can be especially bad (or actually good!), and any other aspect of the flaw that may be worth investigating. Please send your submissions to fiction(at)fawltmag.com, poetry(at)fawltmag.com, or artandphoto(at)fawltmag.com, depending on the category (don't forget to attach a cover letter). The Perfectionism issue will be launched online on September 15, 2008. They are also taking submissions for upcoming issues, Apathy and Arrogance. They ask that you do not send more than three prose pieces or five poems at a time, and if you are submitting to more than one issue, please send your submissions separately.

Profit From Mood Swings in Many Ways ~

If you are one of the estimated 5.7 million people with bi-polar disorder, you might be interested to know that there is an online magazine for you: bphope.com, whose aim is to provide "hope and harmony for people with bipolar." It is not a medical journal, but rather a lively and information-rich consumer magazine. The reason I mention it here is that, happily, they accept submissions -- articles and stories -- that relate to this often crippling disorder. They seek features that are:

• Useful to their readers, ie., they can relate the material to their own lives.
• Meaningful to readers on a personal level, through the use of stories, quotes, anecdotes and humor.
• Educational and rich in comments from experts and those living with bipolar.
• Informational and inclusive of resources such as Websites, books, and so on.

Main articles are between 1,500 and 2,500 words, and they also publish short features (650 to 750 words) on such topics as interviews with those living with bipolar; food and nutrition; healthy living; spirituality; parenting with childhood depression; exercise; wellness and so on. Email a query letter to queries (at) bphope (dot) com. Please go to their website for complete writer's guidelines.
Fees are negotiated on a per story basis, based on length, experience, complexity, etc. They pay for North American rights for original material, and for rights to post stories on their website, www.bphope.com.

* Celebrating the Goddess in Every Woman *

SageWoman, a quarterly magazine of women's spirituality, is dedicated to helping women explore their spiritual, emotional and daily lives in a way that respects all persons, creatures, and the Earth. Their readers relate positively with the term "Goddess," and include women from a variety of religious faiths, from Roman Catholic to Lesbian Separatist Witch and everything in-between. Their focus is on issues of concern to Pagan and other Goddess-friendly women, and they are accepting submissions (written by women), of non-fiction prose that relate to women's spiritual experience. They also accept modest amounts of poetry, photographs and graphic artwork. They do not accept fiction, screenplays, long narrative poems, erotica, or press releases. Since their editorial style focuses on personal experiences, please write in the first person!
Your articles should be between 800 and 5000 words in length. All material should be sent to the attention of the Editor to either meditor (at) sagewoman (dot) com, or P.O. Box 687, Forest Grove, OR. 97116. They'll pay $.01 per word for unsolicited material, with a minimum of $10, as well as one copy of the issue in which your work appears. They are often able to pay more for work that is commissioned especially for SageWoman, so please contact them directly if you are interested in working for them on this basis.
The theme of their next issue is "Giving and Receiving." For those of us who are already aware of some of the many instances that life is a plethora of give-and-take and sharings, that we are not as isolated and alone as we may feel, it might be a fun challenge to dip into this awareness and come up with something personal to illustrate this. You have until August 1, 2008 to send them your submission.
Please go to their website for more information and to find samples of articles they have published.

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.

Remember Those Who Forget - The Early Onset Project ~

Those of us who are aware of the immense therapeutic benefits of writing may be especially drawn to this request for submissions by The Early Onset Alzheimer's Project. They have already published one anthology, "The Alzheimer's Anthology of Unconditional Love: Early Onset Dementia," which focused on the 110,000 people in Missouri affected by this disease. Their goal now is to create awareness of how many Americans are affected, and to let these people know where to go for help, that they are not alone. They are seeking true stories about persons with Early-Onset Alzheimer's and Early-Onset Dementia, which develops in people under age 65. There is no entry fee, and the deadline is June 30, 2008. Authors of stories selected will receive a free copy of the publication. Although no other payment will be made, stories will automatically be entered in a contest:

• First Prize: $100
• Second Prize: $50
• Third Prize: $25
• Honorable Mention: $10

You may submit more than one story for consideration, but only one prize will be awarded for each author, and your work should be no more than 2500 words. Stories deemed to be fiction will be automatically disqualified. Please go to their website for complete submission guidelines, and to learn more about this wonderfully thoughtful and heroic enterprise!

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.

First Things First ~ Passager Calls For Submissions

If you're over 50, this publication may be just the thing for you! Passager's mission is to explore the imagination during the later years. They publish two issues a year, featuring poetry, fiction, memoir, and "Pass it On," a collection of their readers personal stories on a given topic. Their current topic is "Firsts," and you are invited to sent them 250 words or less of informal prose about some "first" in your life, (no poems or fiction, please). You have until September 15 to submit your work.

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.