Quickfox Publishing

Poetry Contest (South Africa)

 

Deadline: 30 June 2011

 

About the QuickFox 2011 Poetry Anthology

Why produce a poetry anthology, you may be asking? Well, for starters, we love poetry. We also realise how difficult it is getting an entire book of your own poetry published. Our solution to this problem is to produce an anthology featuring the best of everyone's work, which opens the book up to a broader market.

 

Submission guidelines

 

* All submissions must not be published previously in a book or anthology although they may have appeared in a journal or newsletter
* All submissions must be the entrant’s own original work
* Each poem must not be more than one page or 33 lines in length
* A maximum of 3 poems may be submitted by each entrant
* The entry must include a short author biography
* Closing date for all submissions is 30th June, 2011
* Entrants must be 18 years of age or older

 

How to enter

Download and complete the application form and email it back to us with up to three poems and your short author biography before the deadline. No late submissions will be considered. Submission of your entry form and poems implies acceptance of all the terms and conditions.

 

When will the Quickfox 2011 Poetry Anthology be published?

Our estimated date of publication is October 2011.

 

Where will the Anthology be available?

The Anthology will be available for sale from www.publisher.co.za, kalahari.net and selected bookstores nationwide. We are also considering releasing it in Kindle format via amazon.com.

 

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM (PDF)

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM (WORD DOC)

 

 

 

TERMS & CONDITIONS

* Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published in a book or anthology, though they may have been previously published in a magazine / journal / periodical.

* Poems must be no more than 1 page or 30 lines in length.

* Poems may be simultaneously submitted to this and other competitions, or for consideration in a magazine or journal, but not for consideration for a book or anthology.

* Each entrant may submit up to 3 poems only.

* All entries must be in English.

* Regretfully faxed submissions will not be accepted for consideration.

* Entrants must be contactable at the email address they provide at the time of judging. Winners who do not respond to email contact will still be pronounced winners but will forfeit their prize if they do not claim it within 30 days of the results being published on the website.

* Worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the author, however Quickfox Publishing reserves the right to publish all submissions in the Quickfox 2011 Poetry Anthology (working title of the Anthology, herewith referred to as The Anthology) in all formats of The Anthology, be it printed, electronic or audio format. We also reserve the right to reprint the published poems in all marketing material used to promote the anthology, as well as on the www.quickfox.co.za website.

* Should their poems be published, entrants will have no entitlement to royalties or any other forms of remuneration, from the sale of The Anthology or any reprints of The Anthology. The only cash remuneration will be in the form of three prizes which will be awarded to the chosen winners.

* The judges' decision is final and no individual correspondence can be entered into.

* Prize winners will be notified by email once judging is complete. Judging will begin when the competition closes and may last several months. The list of prize-winners will be displayed on the website.

* All deadlines, including the closing date, date of announcement, etc., may be postponed by QuickFox Publishing without notice or consultation.

* Entry implies acceptance of all the terms and conditions.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: info@quickfox.co.za

For submissions: info@quickfox.co.za

Website: http://www.quickfox.co.za

Submissions to the Gaines Award will be accepted February 1, 2011 through April 29, 2011 for books published in 2010. Criteria for submission (2011 Award): - Any work of fiction published in the U.S. during 2010. - The writer must be African-American. - The writer must be a U.S. citizen. - The Gaines award accepts self-published books for judging under some circumstances. Self-published books must have substantial sales, be reviewed in well-known journals, or must be the choice of a major book club. Proof of sales, inclusion in book clubs, or published reviews must be submitted along with copies of the book. Without such documentation, self-published books will not be reviewed. The award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to honor Mr. Gaines, is designed to inspire and recognize African-American writers of excellence as they work to achieve the literary heights for which Ernest J. Gaines is known.    Please click here to download the submission form. To enter a book for review, send the completed registration form and 10 copies of the book to: The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence c/o The Baton Rouge Area Foundation 402 N. Fourth Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 For additional information, please email gainesaward@braf.org *The Judges reserve the right not to issue an award if they feel the selection pool lacks an acceptable candidate.

Submissions: Writing

We are accepting novel queries from May 1, 2011 to July 31, 2011 – details to come soon

Our next open anthology will begin accepting submissions on June 1, 2011, and we will take stories until August 30, 2011. The theme of this anthology is “Fish”. We want your mythic adventures and modern retellings. We want Dagan, not of Lovecraft but of the Phillistines. We want Ku-ula, of Hawaii, and Hatmehyt, and Nereus with his bounty. We want magic koi in ancient ponds and the street shaman with his fishy avatar, stalking the streets in some odd future. We want sharks, hunting far out at sea. We want carnival goldfish with short-lived secrets.

Send us something beautiful. 

Submit stories of up to 4,000 words (flash of under 1000 is also encouraged) to:

submissions@daganbooks.com

Stories must be sent as a .doc attachment. Do not double space after the end of sentences. Do use paragraphs and tab indents. Do not add an extra line after each paragraph.

Subject heading must have: [FISH] Story Title, Author Last Name

This project pays 1 cent per word plus 1% royalty, paid quarterly, for the first two years of the book’s life.

Cover art by Galen Dara will be available June 1, 2011.

2011 HURSTON/WRIGHT WRITERS' WEEK WORKSHOP

HOWARD UNIVERSITY  July 10 - 15 Do you want to meet publishers, agents & editors? Conquer writers block? Write that perfect poem? Tell your personal story? Finish your novel?    THIS IS THE WORKSHOP FOR YOU!   Hurston/Wright Writers' Week is the first multi-genre summer writers' workshop for writers of African descent.  This is a week long non-residency program of classes and presentations by publishers, agents and published writers. Writers' Week brings together an international community of Black writers who work in a nurturing/safe space to discuss their work, its meaning, and unique aesthetic. The workshop attracts published and unpublished writers, college students, seniors, retirees, and professionals.     Workshop Schedule   Sunday, July 10 - Orientation  Monday, July 11 - Friday, July 15  - Classes      Class Schedule   Building the Novel (Fiction) 9:00am - 12:00pm Nonfiction 12:15pm - 3:15pm Poetry 3:30pm - 6:30pm     One-on-one sessions will be conducted by workshop leaders throughout the week. Panel discussions and readings by workshop leaders and participants will also be held during the week. Once accepted to the workshop participants will receive a detailed schedule.    Admission   The selection process for the Hurston/Wright Writers' Week Workshop is competitive. In order to provide the highest quality instruction possible, class sizes are kept small. Therefore, we may not be able to accommodate ALL qualified writers.     How to Apply Complete application  Email your manuscript to info@hurstonwright.org  Submissions must be received by April 29, 2011. Submissions received after April 29 will be considered only if space is still available.    Letters of notification will be emailed to you by May 13.   Manuscript Requirements     Building the Novel (Fiction)  20 - 30 pages of a novel manuscript Nonfiction  20 - 30 pages of a memoir, biography, or factual story Poetry  5 - 10 poems, not to exceed 20 pages    Workshop Fees      Registration: $15   Tuition: $575    Workshops   Building the Novel A workshop designed for writers who have completed 75-100 pages of a novel and who are familiar with the technical aspects of fiction writing. The course will be conducted as a workshop with in-depth critique and analysis of a selected portion of the manuscript, as well as discussion of the broader issues and challenges inherent in writing book-length fiction.     Workshop Leader Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Wench: A Novel. The book is a 2010 Library Journal Book of the Year, NPR Book Club Pick, Oprah #1 pick, and winner of 2011 First Novelist Award given by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Dolen was nominated for two 2011 NAACP Image Awards. Dolen's fiction and essays have appeared in The Kenyon Review, StoryQuarterly, StorySouth, African American Review, PMS: PoemMemoirStory, and elsewhere. Dolen lives in Washington, DC. Follow the author on Twitter @Dolen or Facebook at facebook.com/writerdolen.   Nonfiction This workshop focuses on how to write a memoir, biography and factual story with an emphasis on research, oral history, and the use of vivid description that captures the urgency of the event(s) and the timelessness of its meaning.   Photo Credit: Julia Ewan Workshop Leader Wil Haygood is a national reporter for the Washington Post and the author of five nonfiction books. His trilogy of biographies of 20th century African-American giants has been acclaimed. His "King of the Cats: the Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell Jr.," was a New York Times Notable Book; "In Black and White: the Life of Sammy Davis Jr.," was awarded the Hurston/Wright Legacy award, the Ascap Deems Taylor award, and the Nonfiction Book of the Year award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association; "Sweet Thunder: the Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson," was an ESPN/PEN Book Award Finalist and a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Finalist. Haygood, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, has been Visiting Writer at the University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University, Ohio State University, and Colorado College.   Poetry In this intense boot camp-like poetry workshop, students will write poems in various forms as well as free verse. They will also revise poems and learn about preparing manuscripts for publication.     Photo Credit: Alyse B. Hammonds Workshop Leader Tony Medina is a two-time winner of the Paterson Prize, was born in the South Bronx and raised in the Throgs Neck Housing Projects. He served in the United States Army and earned a BA in English at Baruch College, CUNY, on the GI Bill. He has taught at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, and at Binghamton University, SUNY. The author and editor of sixteen books for adults and young readers, his poetry, fiction and essays appear in over ninety anthologies and publications. Medina, whose most recent books are Broke on Ice, My Old Man Was Always on the Lam and I and I, Bob Marley, earned an MA and PhD in English from Binghamton University, SUNY, and is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Howard University in Washington, DC. Apply Today!

Download poetavango_advert.mp3

MAUN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

MARCH 26th 2011

One of Poetavango’s dreams is about to come true. 

On March 26th at The Boma at Maun Lodge, Artists from across the SADC region will converge on Maun for the First Maun International Poetry Festival. This is a celebration of arts and culture that is unlike anything ever seen in Botswana!

Two shows over the course of the day will transfix the audience as over 18 poets slam the Okavango Delta with rhymes that will inspire and motivate.

 

Performer include (Keep checking back for more  performers to be added to the list):

International Poets  - Zwesh Fi Kush (South Africa), Flo (South Africa), Outspoken (Zimbabawe), Upmost MyBruthazKeepa

(Zimbabwe), Lesego Motsepe (South Africa), Clinton Smith (USA), 

 

 National Poets expected – Ngwao Putswa, Ntirelang Berman, Berry Heart, TJ Dema, Mandisa Mabuthoe, Poko Ya Setso, Mmakgari Dabutha, Andreattah Chuma, Ras Tshipa, Phegal, 

 

Poetavango Poets who will perform; Messenger, King Philosopher, Dredd X, Priskath, Vygos, Tautona, Caribbean Weed,  Mister Poke, Juby Peacock 

 

Venue: Maun Lodge- The Boma

Show Details:

March 25th: Performers Workshop- open to performers and local poets.

Facilitated by one of Botswanas most successful writers, Lauri Kubuetsile. Author of over 5 novels.

Preliminary Show (Curtain Raisers) 

    March 26th 10hr00

·         In the months of February and March, there shall be an Interschool poetry competition in Maun in partnership withWomen Against Rape

·         The top 10 young poets of this competition will have a chance to perform in the Preliminary show at the Maun International Poetry Festival.  

·         These young performers will also get the chance to perform alongside their favourite Poetavango and National Poets.

The Main Show

    March 26th 6hr00

·         There will be over to twenty performers in one night; local, national and international.

·         International and national poets will perform two poems each while host poets will perform one.

·         Poets will be varied in style and technique (slam poetry, spoken word, storytelling, traditional poetry)

·         A cocktail meal shall be served for all ticket holders.

·         Poetry books and CD’s will be on sale during the show.

 

Sponsorship: For information on sponsorship for this event, pleas contact info@poetavango.com

Volunteers: Please contact info@poetavango.com if you would like to volunteer to assist with the organization and staffing of this event.

__________________________

A Successful Beginning

Posted by LAURI KUBUITSILE on April 1, 2011 

Last Saturday Poetavango organised the inaugural Maun International Poetry Festival, I was there and from my seat it was a great success. The Saturday main event included poets from all around Botswana, as well as from South Africa, Zimbabwe and the United States. Some of the poets were well established, some new; some performed in English and some in Setswana. There was a good turnout for the event sponsored by Barclay’s Bank and the Department of Arts and Culture.

People who read this column know I’m a fan of performance poetry though I don’t do it myself. My perspective is, though, that the poetry should come before the performance, that the words are the foundation; the performance is only the decoration. The poem needs to use strong words and images to communicate with the audience. For me this is where some of the poets failed last Saturday. If wild costumes and bizarre behaviour are part of the performance, I see them as nothing more than a distraction. My take is if you need too much performance, you’re not spending enough time on your words. If you don’t want to put in that time, then you’d rather find yourself another place to perform your act because, quite frankly, you’re no longer a poet because a poet’s main love and primary focus is the words.

I have to mention here that my Setswana is no where near good enough to make any critique of the Setswana poets in last weekend’s festival. I hope somewhere someone else will. I’m confining my comments to the English poets.

The poems on the night often dealt with relationship issues and social problems. Mandisa Mabothoe’s poem “I Miss my Drug” was powerful in words and presentation. Priskath, from Poetavango, has a unique voice and her poem on abused women was a good start, I can’t wait to hear more from her. King Philosopher’s poem, “Mma Mothusi”, about a working class woman trying to cope with pressure from all sides and considers suicide as a way out but she concludes “There’s no freedom in a tree” had moments of brilliance. Dredd X should be hired by BTV to read his poem on men who sleep with young girls- it was powerful and spot on and could assist these men to see clearly how the rest of us view them.

Other highlights of the evening included Andreattah Chuma and TJ Dema who never disappoint. One of my favourite’s for the night was Clinton Smith, the poet from New Orleans who lives in South Africa. His first poem was about the dilemma of seeing a boy begging everyday. His second poem was a love poem to South African women. People new to performance poetry could learn a lot from him. He used simple language to produce powerful sentences delivered in a calm, subtle way that built a theme that pounded against the walls with its message. Very nice indeed.

All in all I think Poetavango have done a very important thing for the literary arts in this country. I think it is important that this event is outside of Gaborone to make it feel more like something for the entire country not just another capital city cultural event. Poetavango have a commitment to making performance poetry part of the tourism experience another reason to have it in Maun. My wish is that next year the Festival can be widened to include activities for all writers. Also, from the workshop I conducted with Bontekanye Botumile on Friday night, I could see there is a need for discussion around many topics facing creative writers in the country. Literary festivals are great places for such discussions to take place. It would be good if panel discussions around some of these issues are included next year. The Maun Festival could end up being the most important annual event for writers in this country.

 

My Trip to Maun

I had a lovely trip to Maun. I stayed with my friend Jenny Robson, a very famous children's writer from South Africa. The photo below is of a full Thamalakane River which is the view off Jenny's veranda. A bit of heaven!

Jenny teaches standard 2 and music at the Okavango International School. I spent Friday there reading some of my stories to the children and teaching them about the trumpet. Jenny and I played together, she on piano, me on trumpet, for their school assembly as well.

Sadly this "Keep Botswana Clean" dustbin is located along the Rakops- Maun road at one of the rest areas. Not a very good advert for tourists to see.

I also took this photo along the way. This is on the bridge over the Boteti River between Xhumo and Mopipi. It's been quite some time that the Boteti has flowed this far south. Apparently there is still more water on the way from Angola.

Friday evening I ran a narrative writing workshop with another writing friend and Maun resident, Bontekanye Botumile, for the poets participating in the Maun International Poetry Festival. It was a lot of fun.

On Saturday night the main event of the festival took place. There were twenty poets performing from all over Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and America. It was a great event. The highlights of the evening for me were Clinton Smith, Andreattah Chuma, TJ Dema, Outspoken, Dredd X, Priskath, Upmost-My BruthazKeepa and Zwesh Fi Kush.

They want the event to be an annual one and I hope their dream comes true.



One of my favourite poems of the night was from American born, South Africa living, Clinton Smith. Here is a video of him performing it elsewhere, enjoy!

Lauri

I'm Lauri Kubuitsile. I'm a full time writer living in Botswana. My love is fiction, but to make a living I write TV scripts, textbooks, news articles, lesson plans, radio scripts and anything else that requires words being placed in a pattern on a page.

>via: http://thoughtsfrombotswana.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-trip-to-maun.htm

 

__________________________

 

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Maun International Poetry Festival

Dredd X

Last weekend, I traveled to Maun, Botswana to perform in the first annual Maun International Poetry Festival.  The festival was coordinated and put together by a local spoken word group in Maun called PoetAvango, who put on monthly sessions for the poetry lovers of their country. The founder of the group, Dredd X, a talented poet/guitarist with an unyielding smile and an amiable sense of humor, invited me to be part of the festival a few months ago after seeing of my videos on youtube. Needless to say I was more than happy to take him up on such an opportunity.

At first, I was daunted by the prospect of an 18-hour bus ride, but there no way I’d let that stop me from meeting and performing with some of the best poets in southern Africa. The bus ride itself ended up being pretty easy, relatively speaking, with a few good books and a long nap used to pass the time.

Zwesh

In Maun, I roomed with another poet from South Africa named Zwesh. There are a lot of adjectives I could use in an attempt to describe Zwesh, but they would all be insufficient. Basically, Zwesh a wise African sage who dropped amazing Rasta knowledge on me the entire time I was there. Seriously, I don’t think this dude could go 5 minutes without saying subtly profound things. He also helped guide me through the chaos of the mini-bus station when we had to transfer buses, and moved vendors and taxi drivers aside as if he were parting the Red Sea.

Outspoken, Brighten, and Upmost

I also made good friends with two immensely talented poets from Zimbabwe, Outspoken and Upmost-Mybrotherskeeper. These guys run a really impressive arts for social and political activism organization back in Harare, and considering the current political climate in Zim, I commend them highly for the important work they’re doing.

Friday evening there was a workshop/symposium for all of the poets to discuss the our personal writing processes as well as the state of spoken word, what role it plays in our society, and how we can harness the power of our art to inspire others to bring about social change.

Saturday during the day there was a youth poetry competition where 10 teenage girls from Botswana competed in the finals of the Women Against Rape (WAR) poetry slam. The theme of all of the pieces had to do with gender-based violence and these girls went in! It was some of the most passionate poetry I’ve ever heard and you could tell that this was coming from a very real place for all of them.

Saturday night was the main show, where poets from across southern Africa got on stage and presented work that ranged from modern slam, to storytelling, to monologues, to traditional tribal poetry. While we had to bring the festival indoors because of the rain, it was definitely a cool experience to see so many different styles of poetry manifesting themselves on stage.

If only I actually glowed like this onstage

Overall the experience was a great one and if I’m lucky, it won’t be the last poetry festival I perform in.

 

 

  

Posted by Clint Smith

+++++++++++++

Clint Smith

For the next year I will be living in South Africa and working for Grassroot Soccer, an organization that uses soccer as a means to promote awareness and education about HIV/AIDS. I hope that this blog, and the photos and compositions posted within it, will allow me to share my reflections upon what will inevitably be a series of unique, exciting, difficult, and life-changing experiences.

Phone: +27 76 819 1155

Skype: cwsmith11

Email: cwardsmith@gmail.com

>via: http://clint-in-southafrica.blogspot.com/2011/04/maun-international-poetry-fe...

The Interrupters:

A Film by Steve James & Alex Kotlowitz

 

Trailer: 'The Interrupters'--Full Frame Special Jury Award Winner

The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. From acclaimed director Steve James and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz, this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn persistence of violence in our cities. Shot over the course of a year out of Kartemquin Films, The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in our cities. During that period, the city was besieged by high-profile incidents, most notably the brutal beating of Derrion Albert, a Chicago High School student, whose death was caught on videotape.

The film’s main subjects work for an innovative organization, CeaseFire, which believes that the spread of violence mimics the spread of infectious diseases, and so the treatment should be similar: go after the most infected, and stop the infection at its source. The singular mission of the “Violence Interrupters” — who have credibility on the streets because of their own personal histories — is to intervene in conflicts before they explode into violence.

In The Interrupters, Ameena Matthews, whose father is Jeff Fort, one of the city’s most notorious gang leaders, was herself a drug ring enforcer. But having children and finding solace in her Muslim faith pulled her off the streets and grounded her. In the wake of Derrion Albert’s death, Ameena becomes a close confidante to his mother, and helps her through her grieving. Ameena, who is known among her colleagues for her fearlessness, befriends a feisty teenaged girl who reminds her of herself at that age. The film follows that friendship over the course of many months, as Ameena tries to nudge the troubled girl in the right direction.

Cobe Williams, scarred by his father’s murder, was in and out of prison, until he had had enough. His family – particularly a young son – helped him find his footing. Cobe disarms others with his humor and his general good nature. His most challenging moment comes when he has to confront a man so bent on revenge that Cobe has to pat him down to make sure he’s put away his gun. Like Ameena, he gets deeply involved in the lives of those he encounters, including a teenaged boy just out of prison and a young man from his old neighborhood who’s squatting in a foreclosed home.

Eddie Bocanegra is haunted by a murder he committed when he was seventeen. His CeaseFire work is a part of his repentance for what he did. Eddie is most deeply disturbed by the aftereffects of the violence on children, and so he spends much of his time working with younger kids in an effort to both keep them off the streets and to get support to those who need it – including a 16-year-old girl whose brother died in her arms. Soulful and empathic, Eddie, who learned to paint in prison, teaches art to children, trying to warn them of the debilitating trauma experienced by those touched by the violence.

The Interrupters follows Ameena, Cobe and Eddie as they go about their work, and while doing so reveals their own inspired journeys of hope and redemption. The film attempts to make sense of what CeaseFire’s Tio Hardiman calls, simply, “the madness”.