Shifting Subjectivities

The Time Is Now
4.12.22

In a profile of Tracy K. Smith by Renée H. Shea, published in the March/April 2015 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet discusses the “shifting subjectivities” she discovered while writing her memoir, Ordinary Light (Knopf, 2015), in which she includes stories from her childhood. “Tracy the citizen was allowed to engage with these private stories, just as Tracy the mother was allowed in at times,” says Smith. Consider two identities that you hold, then write a poem from one of these perspectives. What is left out, and what is let in?

Deadline Nears for New Ohio Review Literary Prizes 

G&A: The Contest Blog
4.8.22

Submissions are currently open through for the New Ohio Review Literary Prizes. Given annually by New Ohio Review, the three awards honor a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Kim Addonizio will judge in poetry, Madeline ffitch will judge in fiction, and Melissa Febos will judge in nonfiction. The winning writers will each receive $1,500 and publication in the journal. 

Submit a poem or group of poems of up to six pages or a story or essay of up to 20 pages with a $22 entry fee, which includes a subscription to New Ohio Review, by April 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

New Ohio Review is published twice yearly by the creative writing program of Ohio University and is based in Athens, Ohio. Previous contest winners include poet Emily Lee Luan, fiction writer Nicole VanderLinden, and nonfiction writer Tania De Rozario. 

Find a Writing Contest

The Grants & Awards database includes details about every writing contest we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it, making the Grants & Awards database the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Search the database

The Sound of Music

The Time Is Now
4.7.22

“My problem isn’t writer’s block—it’s writer’s doubt,” writes Diana Marie Delgado in an installment of Writers Recommend in which she explains how a hypnotic and emotionally swelling piece of music helps inspire her writing. “If I feel overwhelmed, I listen to William Basinski’s ‘dlp 1.1’ from The Disintegration Loops,” she writes. This week, write about a piece of music that helps you enter the headspace for writing. What’s the story behind the music, and what about it, specifically, helps you write?

Con Artists

The Time Is Now
4.6.22

From New York socialite con artist Anna Delvey to Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the fraudulent health technology company Theranos, to Simon Leviev, who allegedly conned millions of dollars from women through the dating app Tinder, these actors of true crime have dominated the subject of several television shows, documentaries, and movies. Inspired by these dangerous tricksters, write a story with a con artist as the protagonist. What do they think and sound like? Do they have an unrecognizable accent or use popular social media platforms to connect with their victims?

Tourniquet of Concrete

The Time Is Now
4.5.22

“[Nashville] is hot chicken on sopping white bread with green pickle / chips—sour to balance prismatic, flame-colored spice / for white people,” writes Tiana Clark in her poem “Nashville,” published in the New Yorker in 2017. The poem interlaces personal experience and anecdotes with a historical overview of the Southern city’s development. “I-40 bisected the black community / like a tourniquet of concrete. There were no highway exits. / 120 businesses closed,” writes Clark. Write a poem about a city you’ve lived in. How does your time there intersect with the history of the town? Use research to find significant events that take your poem to a deeper place beyond your own life.

Deadline Approaches for Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grants

G&A: The Contest Blog
4.1.22

The Whiting Foundation is accepting submissions for its annual Creative Nonfiction Grants. Given to writers “in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction,” up to ten grantees will receive $40,000 each. The grant is meant to help sustain multiyear book projects that are mid-process and require a significant amount of focused research. Writers who have a project under contract with a publisher in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Canada are eligible to apply. 

Using only the online submission system, submit a completed application, which includes uploading a fully executed publishing contract, the original project proposal that led to the contract, a writing sample of up to 25,000 words from the nonfiction book-in-progress, a résumé, a statement about the funds and time will be spent, a list of all sources of funding received for the book to date, and a letter of support from the book’s editor or publisher, by April 25. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines. 

Through this grant the Whiting Foundation aims to support nonfiction books “written with an artful sensitivity to complexity and nuance,” with the belief that these works are essential “in shaping the way we understand the world.” The 2022 grantees will be announced in the fall. Recent creative nonfiction grantees include Rebecca Clarren, Ashley D. Farmer, Kevin González, Sangamithra Iyer, Albert Samaha, Brandon Shimoda, Walter Thompson-Hernández, and Salamishah Tillet. Through this grant the Whiting Foundation aims to support nonfiction books “written with an artful sensitivity to complexity and nuance,” with the belief that these works are essential “in shaping the way we understand the world.” The 2022 grantees will be announced in the fall. Recent creative nonfiction grantees include Rebecca Clarren, Ashley D. Farmer, Kevin González, Sangamithra Iyer, Albert Samaha, Brandon Shimoda, Walter Thompson-Hernández, and Salamishah Tillet. 

Find a Writing Contest

The Grants & Awards database includes details about every writing contest we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it, making the Grants & Awards database the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Search the database

Film Studies

The Time Is Now
3.31.22

In “The Romans in Films,” an essay from his 1957 book Mythologies, Roland Barthes analyzes Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1953 film Julius Caesar by focusing on the presence of fringes in the hair of the characters. “Some have them curly, some straggly, some tufted, some oily, all have them well combed, and the bald are not admitted, although there are plenty to be found in Roman history,” he writes. “What then is associated with these insistent fringes? Quite simply the label of Roman-ness.” Inspired by Barthes’s cheeky analysis of the believability of this ancient Roman period film, write an essay about a film you have criticized. Describe scenes of the film using unique details to illustrate what inspires your argument.

Shaping

The Time Is Now
3.30.22

“When I think about the writers and books I have worked with, it’s the dialogue about shape that I most remember. A draft of a story in which a kind of sonic boom goes off at the beginning demands an answering boom at the end,” writes Rebecca Saletan, vice president and editorial director of Riverhead Books, in “A Thing Meant to Be: The Work of a Book Editor” published as online exclusive for Poets & Writers in 2018. “Rather than trying to launch six complicated characters at the outset, how about introducing them one by one, like a juggler putting balls into the air?” This week find an old draft of a story and reshape its structure. How does this exercise force a new perspective on the story’s elements?

Untranslatable

The Time Is Now
3.29.22

From the Czech word litost—a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery—to the German word schadenfreude—the pleasure derived from the misfortune of others—to the French word dépaysement—the restlessness that comes with being away from your country of origin—untranslatable words have continued to be a source of inspiration for writers across languages. Each word reflects the culture from which it comes as well as illustrates the inability for language to fully capture the human experience. Write a poem using an untranslatable word as a jumping-off point. For inspiration, read Barbara Hamby’s poem “Toska” included in her book On the Street of Divine Love: New and Selected Poems (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2014).

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

G&A: The Contest Blog
3.25.22

April’s first writing contest deadlines include several stellar book prizes for poets. Other opportunities include a writing fellowship for poets, a humor writing prize, and awards honoring short works of fiction and nonfiction. All of these contests have a deadline of April 1 and a cash prize of at least $1,000. Good luck!

Just Buffalo Literary Center Poetry Fellowship: A fellowship, which includes a stipend of $1,500 and a monthlong residency in Buffalo, will be given annually to a poet. The fellowship includes lodging at a private apartment for the month of August 2022 and an invitation to read at a Just Buffalo Literary Center event. Entry fee: $20.

Nimrod International Journal Literary Awards: Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Nimrod International Journal are given annually for a group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each category receives $1,000 and publication. The winners and runners-up will also participate in a virtual awards ceremony and conference in October. Entry fee: $20 entry fee (includes a subscription to Nimrod International Journal).

North American Review Terry Tempest Williams Creative Nonfiction Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review will be given annually for an essay. Lyric essays, memoir, personal essays, and literary journalism are eligible. Lacy M. Johnson will judge. Entry fee: $23.

Orison Books Prizes in Poetry and Fiction: Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication by Orison Books are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction. Rajiv Mohabir will judge in poetry and Tania James will judge in fiction. 

Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,500, publication by Saturnalia Books, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Roberto Tejada will judge. All entries will also be considered for the Editors Prize, which awards $1,000 and publication. Entry fee: $30.

Southeast Missouri State University Press Cowles Poetry Book Prize: A prize of $2,000, publication by Southeast Missouri State University Press, and 30 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $25.

Winning Writers Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest: A prize of $2,000, a two-year gift certificate for membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website is given annually for a humorous poem. A second-place prize of $500 is also awarded. Jendi Reiter will judge. Unpublished and previously published works are eligible. Entry fee: None.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. 

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