The Baltimore Review Winter Contest

The theme for The Baltimore Review’s winter contest is Destination. Where are your characters going? Why? How will they get there? And what awaits them at the end of their journey? Only one way to find out. Hop in your car, train, plane—at least shake out those typing fingers—and get going. Three winners will be selected from among all entries. 3,000-word limit for fiction and creative nonfiction. One to three poems in an entry. All entries considered for publication. Prizes are $300, $200, and $100. Entry fee is $10. Deadline is November 30, 2012. Visit us at www.baltimorereview.org/.

 

  

Theme: Natural Disaster

Everyone is affected by natural disasters. Preparing for, surviving or witnessing such phenomena can cause a fundamental shift that changes, inspires or defies us. And it’s not just weather-related catastrophe we’re thinking of—people can be natural disasters too, with mental or physical illnesses wreaking havoc on themselves and others as they lose control.

We seek short stories about characters affected by a natural disaster or its aftermath, whether it’s a twister in the air or a whirlwind within their minds. Give us a unique insight into a phenomenon and how it changes us.

**In light of Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters that affect us and our loved ones, we will be donating $1 of every entry to the American Red Cross.

GUIDELINES

Dates, Fees, and Prizes

Submission Dates: March 15-December 31, 2012.

Winners announced March 1, 2013.

Entry Fees: $23 online / $20 mailed, per entry.

Prizes: Four prizes of $1000 each for fiction and publication in the Spring 2013 issue on March 15, 2013.

Eligibility

Open to U.S. and international, but stories must be in English.

No genre fiction; literary fiction only.

There is no limit to the number of entries one may submit.

Stories must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions accepted if notified promptly that story is accepted elsewhere.

We ask that winners of the previous year’s Esoteric Awards do not enter.

Formatting

Word count limit: no minimum, max 8000.

Please do your best to format submissions as follows:

-double spaced
-at least 1” margins
-ONLY story title and page numbers (no author info) in header

Cover Letter/Page

If submitting online: no cover page in the uploaded document; Submittable provides a place for cover letters/bios in a form that is blind to readers and editors until the completion of readings.

If submitting by mail: cover page with ONLY story title, name, address, phone number, email, and word count. This will be removed and catalogued before stories are given to readers and editors.

 

For additional questions about the contest, please email the editor at contest@carvezine.com.

 

SUBMIT NOW

Submit online now with Submittable (formerly Submishmash) or mail with check or money order (payable to Carve Magazine) to:

Carve Magazine
Esoteric Awards
PO Box 701510
Dallas, TX 75370

 

2012 Willow Springs Fiction Prize Winner

Katherine Conner
 “I wanted to capture the tenuous nature of belief. Not belief in God, exactly, or even ghosts. But belief itself, conviction, and how difficult it is to ever really grasp.” Read Conner's personal profile.

 

 

Contest Submission Guidelines

• Every entrant receives a one year subscription to Willow Springs.

• The winner of the contest will receive a prize of $2,000, plus publication in Willow Springs.

• Include a $20.00 entry fee, or a $25.00 entry fee for international submissions. Submissions without an entry fee will not be judged.

• Send only one story per submission.

• You can submit a story online (see below) or through the U.S. postal service (see below).

• There is no word limit for submissions.

• Your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, as well as a short bio, should appear in a cover letter included with your submission.

• Do not include identifying information anywhere else in your submission.

• Submit only original, unpublished work. Contest entries may neither be previously published nor simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

Submit online here by November 15, 2012.

This is the only place to submit online for the contest. Credit card required for online submissions. If you prefer to submit hard copy by mail, see below.

Additional Guidelines for hard copy submissions:

Entries must be postmarked by November 15, 2012.

Do not send an SASE. If you would like confirmation that your work has been received, include a self-addressed, stamped postcard instead.

Don't send us your only copies—manuscripts will not be returned.

Handwritten submissions will not be judged and the entry fee will not be refunded.

Use a check or money order only for hard copy submissions; cash will not be accepted. Please make the checks and money orders payable to Willow Springs.

Please send hard copy entries to:

The Willow Springs Fiction Prize
Willow Springs
501 N Riverpoint Blvd, Ste 425
Spokane, WA 99202

 

 

"Democratic Womanism":

Poet and Activist Alice Walker

on Women Rising, Obama and

the 2012 Election

With less than 40 days to go before the 2012 presidential election, poet and activist Alice Walker reads her new poem, "Democratic Womanism," and discusses her thoughts on President Obama’s legacy, including his use of drone strikes. "You ask me why I smile when you tell me you intend in the coming national elections to hold your nose and vote for the lesser of two evils," reads Walker. "There are more than two evils out there, is one reason I smile."

Arthur Cooper (1789 - 1853), ca. 1850s

 

ARTHUR COOPER

A fugitive from slavery in Alexandria, Virginia, Cooper arrived in Nantucket with his family in 1820. Two years later, when a bounty hunter came to the island to capture him, Nantucket Quakers came to the family’s defense, thwarting the owner’s efforts to reclaim Arthur Cooper. 

Cooper worked as a shipping agent on the island and later became the first known minister of the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, also known as the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association.

| New Music

MC Lyte – “Dope Style” 

Will 'ill Will' Lavin

October 29, 2012

Taken from the upcoming Mick Boogie, Adidas, SLAM, and XXL collaboration mix #BrooklynOriginals honouring the Brooklyn Nets, “Dope Style” sees the return of veteran rhymer MC Lyte.

Proving that she’s still got it, the track title itself is a nod towards her famous diss song “10% Diss” [directed at MC Antoinette] where on the original 1988 hook she spit, “Cos I’ma run and tell your whole damn clan that you’re a…/ Beat biter, dope style taker/ Tell you to your face you ain’t nothin’ but a faker.” With a few tweaks the same line was also used by 2Pac‘s group Tha Outlawz on the infamous Notorious B.I.G. diss record “Hit ‘Em Up.”

Famed for being the first female emcee to drop a full-length album (1988′s Lyte As A Rock), it would have been an absolute travesty not to include the original Queen of Brooklyn hip-hop on a mix celebrating the newly relocated Brooklyn Nets. Produced by Caviar & OZ, the track hears Lyte get back to her grimy ways rhyming, “Some wonder can I do it without the cursing/ What the fuck for?/ Can’t a fly chick keep it real anymore?”

#BrooklynOriginals is set to drop October 31st.