Ten Questions for Gabe Montesanti
“Prioritize writing. Make time for it. Plan it like you plan your grocery lists. Plant your ass in the chair and do it.” —Gabe Montesanti, author of Brace for Impact
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Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Maggie Nelson and Hari Kunzru
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“I had wanted to write a book about freedom,” reads Maggie Nelson from her latest essay collection, On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint (Graywolf Press, 2021), in this 2021 virtual reading and conversation with author Hari Kunzru for the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
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Sing About It
“I was certain that writing should be more about breaking or lifting the reader’s heart than, say, mending my own heart. And then I lost somebody,” writes Ian Stansel in “How Deep This Grief: Wrestling With Writing As Therapy” in the September/October 2017 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. In the essay, Stansel shares the V. S. Naipaul quote that helped guide him to write a novel after his sister’s sudden death honoring her love of horses and career as a riding trainer: “No one cares for your tragedy until you can sing about it.” This week, write an essay that makes the connection between a challenging time in your life and a writing credo that guides your work.
Ten Questions for Putsata Reang
“There are plenty of hard truths in Ma and Me that were difficult to put down on the page, and then there are other truths that are mine, and mine alone, to keep.” —Putsata Reang, author of Ma and Me
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Upcoming Contest Deadlines
Now that summer is on the horizon, bring in the warm weather by submitting to contests with deadlines of May 30 or May 31. Prizes abound for fiction writers with six awards being offered for short story collections or novels; additionally, nine fellowships of $5,000 each, plus other perks, are available for emerging fiction writers living in New York City. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more and two do not require an entry fee. Good luck, writers!
Anhinga Press Prize for Poetry: A prize of $2,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Erika Meitner will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25 ($28 for electronic submissions).
Autumn House Press Literary Prizes: Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Carl Phillips will judge in poetry, Venita Blackburn will judge in fiction, and Lia Purpura will judge in nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $30.
BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a short story collection. Peter Conners will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25.
Center for Fiction Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships: Nine fellowships of $5,000 each, a one-year membership to the Center for Fiction in New York City, and a year of access to the Writers Studio writing space at the center are given annually to fiction writers living in New York City who have not yet published a book of fiction. Winners also have the opportunity to meet with editors and agents who represent new writers. Applicants who on June 1, 2022, will be enrolled in a degree-granting program or are currently under contract with a publisher for a work of fiction are ineligible. Deadline: May 30. Entry fee: none.
Elixir Press Fiction Award: A prize of $2,000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or a novel. Anthony E. Varallo will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $40.
Gival Press Novel Award: A prize of $3,000 and publication by Gival Press is given biennially for a novel. Deadline: May 30. Entry fee: $50.
Milkweed Editions Max Ritvo Poetry Prize: A prize of $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Henri Cole will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25.
Southern Poetry Review Guy Owen Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $20 (which includes a subscription to Southern Poetry Review).
University of Georgia Press Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction: A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Georgia Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Lori Ostlund will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $30.
Writer’s Center First Novel Prize: A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a first novel published in the previous calendar year. Deadline: May 31. 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.
A Celebration of Karen Tei Yamashita
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“In the last year of her life, my mother Asako spoke more openly of the trauma of the war years and her incarceration at Topaz,” reads Karen Tei Yamashita for this event celebrating her work, hosted by the University of California, Santa Cruz and the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Yamashita was awarded the 2021 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.
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Excursions
In an attempt to escape the “constellation of grief” that shrouded him in his early thirties, visual artist and writer Ben Shattuck set out on a series of journeys around New England that became the basis of his book, Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau (Tin House, 2022). The book is featured in “The Written Image” in the May/June 2022 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine along with a sample of Shattuck’s drawings from his excursions, which import a visual and emotional landscape to each individual place. This week, inspired by Shattuck’s process, take three walks outdoors throughout the week and write down as many observations as possible. Then, write an essay using these notes to create distinct sections elaborating on each outing.
Jami Attenberg With Kristen Arnett
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“For a long time, I worked day jobs that were different from the one I have now.” In this Books Are Magic recorded event, Jami Attenberg reads from her memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home (Ecco, 2022), and speaks about her writing process with author Kristen Arnett. For more Attenberg, read “1000 Words of Summer: How an Accountability Project Opened Up My Writing Life” in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Marcelo Hernandez Castillo and Marwa Helal
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This reading hosted by the University of Arizona Poetry Center presents the work of Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, author most recently of Children of the Land (Harper, 2020), and Marwal Helal, author most recently of Ante body (Nightboat Books, 2022), which is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Bird Day
How did you celebrate May the Fourth? Did you know it isn’t just for Star Wars fans but also for the birds? In 1894, Charles Almanzo Babcock, a school superintendent from Pennsylvania, launched the first Bird Day “in a bid to create awareness and promote the conservation of all bird species.” This week peruse the National Audubon Society’s Guide to North American Birds, which features the habitats, calls, feeding behaviors, and migration patterns of over eight hundred species of birds. Then, pick five feathered friends that stand out to you and write a section of an essay dedicated to each one. As you write, discover links beyond the germane aspects of your chosen species.
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