Call for Submissions: UCity Review

The UCity Review publishes twice a year, both on the web and as a limited edition letterpress print edition. Each issue highlights a noteworthy writer, whom the editors believe deserves more exposure. Each issue includes approximately twelve authors.

UCity Review considers poetry in February of each year. We will strive to provide the status of submissions by the end of March of each year. As for the likes and dislikes of UCity editors, take these words from Zbigniew Herbert:

In Poland, we think of the poet as prophet; he is not merely a maker of verbal forms or an imitator of reality. The poet expresses the deepest feelings and the wildest awareness of people... The language of poetry differs from the language of politics. And, after all, poetry lives longer than any conceivable political crisis. The poet looks over a broad terrain and over vast stretches of time. He makes observations on the problems of his own time, to be sure, but he is a partisan only in the sense that he is a partisan of the truth. He arouses doubts and uncertainties and brings everything into question.

Submissions can be emailed to editors[at]ucityreview.com. Please include the author's name and submission date in the subject line. We accept the following file formats: .doc; .pdf. Please limit poetry submissions to six poems, and please do not submit simultaneous submissions.

For more information, please visit our website: www.ucityreview.com

Call for Submissions: The Whistling Fire

The Whistling Fire is proud to announce our ongoing Guest Editor Themed Selection. Throughout the year, we will have various Guest Editors taking over The Whistling Fire for an entire month and selecting special themed work of their choice. The lucky few selected will be published every Tuesday of their Guest Editor's month. The Guest Editor for May is David Crawford, a graduate of the UC Riverside Palm Desert Low Residency MFA. He gives the following message for submitting writers:

What place do we have for humor in literature? We know the weighty subjects of the world are approached with a deferential reverence, but who is to say we cannot use humor just as effectively. Poets such as Billy Collins and Ron Padgett make humor a regular part of their work. Narrative writers like David Sedaris draw us into their world with the comedic exposé of self. We find humor in the larger premise and in the tiniest moment. So what can we create with humor? I want to hear the biggest subjects treated with humor that doesn't depreciate the weight or the importance of the topic; the humor of the character, the humor of the experience, the humor of language, bring it all to the table.

The Whistling Fire will be accepting submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry under 3000 words. Please send your submissions to whistlingfire[at]gmail.com. Please include the words "May Editor" in your subject line. No more than two submissions per author. All submissions must be sent as an attachment (MS WORD preferred). Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Previously published work is also allowed as long as the author retains the rights. Please include a short, third-person bio for our contributor's page. The deadline for submissions is April 23, 2011.

There is also still time to submit to our April Guest Editor, Lindsey Lewis Smithson, whose deadline is March 26. For more information, please visit http.whistlingfire.com.

Call for Submissions About Women: ADANNA

Call for creative writing submissions about women: ADANNA poetry, short stories, essays, and reviews of books and visual arts:

Adanna: A Journal for Women, about Women will be an annual perfect bound print book publication, first issue Summer 2011.

Editor: Christine Redman-Waldeyer

Guest Editor: Diane Lockward

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

• The reading period for this first issue begins on January 31 and closes April 30.
• Please send your submissions to adannajournal@yahoo.com
• Adanna accepts poetry, short stories, essays, and reviews of books and visual arts.
• We welcome both National and International submissions in English.
• Please submit only unpublished pieces, 3-6 at a time.
• Please limit prose pieces to a maximum of 2000 words.
• Submissions should be one file in one attachment.
• Include your name in the header of each page along with current contact information including e-mail and phone number.
• Simultaneous submissions accepted.Please notify us as soon as possible of any accepted work.
• For works accepted, the author will receive a free complimentary copy.

Visit the Adanna Website for additional information:

http://www.adannajournal.blogspot.com

Call for Submissions from Chicano & Latino Writers (Some Pay)

Call for Submissions from Chicano & Latino writers: fiction, flash fiction, poetry, novel exerpts, cross-genre/hybrid work and short plays. Some pay.

Call for Submissions
PALABRA invites Chicano & Latino writers to submit fresh, engaged work that stretches beyond the boundaries of conventional form, content and context. We accept fiction, flash fiction, poetry, novel excerpts, cross-genre/hybrid work and short plays. Some pay. Submission period: September 1 to May 31.

Specific guidelines are available on the website: www.palabralitmag.com.

Queries:
Submit via USPS only.

PALABRA
A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art
P. O. Box 86146
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0146

Call for Creative Writing Submissions: Sunsets and Silencers

Call for Submissions for innovative short fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, essays, paintings, photography, and comic strip:

Sunsets and Silencers," an online magazine, is now accepting submissions for our new issue.

"Sunsets and Silencers" is open to a wide variety of styles and wants to publish only the most innovative and creative work. We are careful about the work we publish, and we read and consider every submission, carefully. S&S publishes short fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, essays, paintings, photography, and comic strips as a platform for emerging and established artists to showcase their work. On promising work, we may offer feedback, even if the piece didn't work for us. Please, keep in mind, however, that we do not respond to every piece, mostly because of the volume of submissions received. We want to provide exposure to artists and writers who create
out of a restless fever, and who are fearless in their choice to submit. So, send what you have, but please pay attention to our submission guidelines.

More detailed submission guidelines can be found at: http://sunsetsandsilencers.com/home/archives

The current issue of Sunsets and Silencers can be found at: http://sunsetsandsilencers.com

What Makes LA Fabulous? The Library!

A friend who moved to Los Angeles from back east once told me that, "Los Angeles is a great town to be broke in." I have to agree. Yes, rents are high. Yes, owning real estate is out of practical reach for most people who live here. Yes, gas is expensive and owning a car cleans out your bank account. However, free and low-cost entertainment and fun awaits in nearly every LA neighborhood. Free movie screenings and interviews with industry folks are available on practically any day of the week. We have parks, hiking, lectures, roller blading along beaches, snow-filled mountains that a mere couple hours drive away, museums, piers, live music, movie screenings in cemeteries, all things that are absurdly cheap and/or free.

As great as these options are, none of them are as awesome as the Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL). Housing nearly 7.5 million volumes, our library system stands as the single greatest free resource in our city. As of July 2010, it became the 4th largest Public Library in the United States in terms of volumes, and the largest public library system in the Western United States. The LAPL system alone makes living in Los Angeles worth all the high rents and the time sitting in traffic. This should-be-legendary library system offers a comprehensive collection with branches in nearly every neighborhood, free internet access, free movie rentals, free book borrowing,

and free delivery of anything in their catalog for easy pick-up at to your local library.

Central Library is the LAPL headquarters stands sphinx-like on West 5th between Flower and Grand and is both is parking friendly and public-transit friendly - just two short blocks from the 7th Street Metro station. This easily-accessible library houses art exhibits, free lectures, a video-lending library, an awe-inspiring multi-storied atrium, seemingly endless rows shelves - 90 linear miles of shelves to be exact, and nearly 7.5 million volumes. It is apropos that it sits on a street between Flower and Grand, because it is just that, beautiful and grand. This enormous block-long building feels both historic and new all at the same time. Inside, murals depicting California history, mosaic wall-art, and modern art sculpture chandeliers all proudly nod to one another, artistic reminders that we can all live together in harmony. After the 1986 fire, architects Pfeiffer Partners redesigned and restored the library. They also designed the Boston Public Central Library and their website contains gorgeous photos of Los Angeles Central Library's interior and exterior. If you've never been to the downtown Central Library, take a day trip and go see it. You may never leave.

The LAPL online catalog will take your breath away, not only because of its comprehensive vastness but because it is digitally connected. The behemoth catalog integrates with social networking - you can tweet or create a Facebook post about nearly any item in their online catalog. Many items display links to amateur reviews on Goodreads.com and to professional reviews from publications like Publisher's Weekly and the Library Journal. Options to view a book's table of contents comes in handy when perusing anthologies. Many books even outline the characters in the book and have handy excerpts. The catalog lists how many available copies are available and at which branches you can find them.

Now, our fabulous library system has stepped even further into the digital age with downloadable digital content: E-books, electronically rentable movies, downloadable music, and audiobooks. With a library card number, renting online to an iPhone, iPad, Android device, Mac, or PC (just to name a few), can be a few clicks away once you've invested the inevitable learning time that necessarily accompanies new uses of new technologies. There are no late fees because when your time is up the download disappears like a self-destructing message right out of a Get Smart episode gone digital.

It takes a bit of time to master the whole digital borrrowing system, but the culprits are not the libraries - although it would be nice to be able to search by digital format - nor is it the fault of the companies that provide the digital content to the libraries, but the frustration comes from the digital e-reading devices, such as Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android devices, etc., because certain types of content isn't available on certain devices.As far as what content is available on what device, the short answer is: If you have a Kindle, you can't (yet?) borrow an e-book. If you have anything else, you probably can borrow an e-book. The long answer is that E-books (for reading, not listening as you would with audiobooks) are generally available in two formats: EPUB format or PDF format, so you need to have a device (Mac, PC, iPad, Kindle, Nook, iPhone, Android phone) that can read at least one of these two formats. Sadly, neither EPUB nor PDF is currently supported by one of the most popular e-book readers, Kindle, so you can't rent e-books from LAPL if the only device you own is a Kindle.

Whether you groove on that irreplaceable smell and feel of a book in your hands at home, prefer sitting in a gorgeous library for hours, or you geek-out on the ability carry 150 e-books at all times, the Los Angeles Public Library awaits, ready to accommodate your every bibliophilic, artistic, or researchable whim.

Our List of Writing and Literary Agent Blogs

We've compiled a list of writing and literary agent blogs on our website.  It's a long list compiled over the last few years, so please check it out and let us know what you think!  There is also a form there to add a site if you know of any that should be on our list.  Enjoy and happy reading.

http://www.lawritersgroup.com/list-of-writing-and-agent-blogs.html