POETS & PASSION Monthly after work lime featuring critically acclaimed featured writers, emerging talents, open mic performances and ol' talk.  WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8. 7PM Karl & Faye Rodney Resource Ctr., 2230 Light Street, Bronx, NY Andrene Bonner (Jamaica), Olympic Gardens Elizabeth Nunez (Trinidad & Tobago), Anna In-Between THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9.  7PM St Francis College, 182 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217 Christian Campbell (Bahamas / Trinidad & Tobago), Running the Dusk Jacinth Henry-Martin (St. Kitts - Nevis), Anna In-Between Presented with assistance form Bahamian American Cultural Society Join Our Mailing List!

The Caribbean Cultural Theatre 2010 - 11 season is made possible in part with support from the offices of State Senator Kevin Parker, Assembly member N. Nick Perry and Councilmember Mathieu Eugene; with public resources from the New York State Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Department of Youth & Community Development, and Material for the Arts; foundation support from Alliance of Resident Theaters/NY, Brooklyn Community Foundation and Poets & Writers, Inc; corporate contributions and individual donations from Friends of Caribbean Cultural Theatre 718-783-8345 / 718-994-5496

Failure in

‘The Republic of NGOs'

 2010/12/03

Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star

Eric Klein of Can-do.org, a non-profit relief NGO, delivers food to an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, including bags of a Cheezie-like snack.

 

Eric Klein is downing his first beer of the evening and smoking cigarettes as if the rapid injection of sugar and nicotine were all that stood between him and a torpor he's in no mood to embrace.

It's only 7 p.m., although that always feels like 10 p.m. in Haiti, and the effect of this quick consumption is all but intravenous in its effect.

Klein talks quickly, angrily, his language sometimes ripening with words not generally considered polite, but scarcely out of place for an exhausted guy in khaki wearing a Red Sox cap with a Boston accent to match.

He's dappled with pools of sweat after a day spent delivering water to the camps, ahead of another day ferrying food to orphanages in a hired tap-tap, one of the converted pickup trucks that normally serve as private buses.

It would be easy, and mostly wrong, to dismiss Klein as just another Hollywood type trying to share a bit of the glory that has attended the likes of actor Sean Penn, another guy who has forsaken home comfort to do God's or someone's work in Haiti, what cynics might see as a kind of moral atonement but with marketing potential.

So, yes, Klein has appeared on Oprah.

But what's really fueling Klein is, in his words, “anger, frustration,” mostly directed at all the mainstream aid groups, the non-government organizations or NGOs.

To Klein, they're bloated with money and staff, and yet daily life for the 1.3 million homeless Haitians hasn't much changed in the 10 months since the earthquake. “You see these kids who are emaciated and there's food two miles away,” he says.

“I'm so sick and tired of these NGOs coming up with excuses. There's no excuse for this.”

So Klein is in Haiti, delivering water and food to camps and orphanages that have somehow fallen through the cracks, untouched by all the major NGOs.

He's been doing that around the world since 2005, after watching television footage of two Sri Lankan kids fighting over a coconut, even though hundreds of millions of dollars had been raised for tsunami relief. Klein says he was seized with one question: “Where did all the money go?”

Armed with $10,000 (U.S.), he and a buddy flew to Sri Lanka to see what they could do to help. “Ten days turned into four months and I think we spent $80,000,” says Klein, who used up the compensation money he'd got after a car accident.

Ironically, that experience helped birth a mini-NGO, Can-do.org, the non-profit organization he now runs with his actress girlfriend, Carolyn Neff (Raquel Dion Santos on television's All My Children; Savannah Miller in the movie Absolute Evil).

His view of the big NGOs has scarcely improved in the interim, since their collective efforts still don't get to everyone in need. “If you've been around for that many years, don't you have some knowledge?” he asks. “They roll in with 50 paid staff.

“I think they don't show results because maybe if they show results, people will demand results. It's a total business. They've been doing it for years.”

Even before the earthquake, Haiti was often called “The Republic of NGOs,” with more aid groups and charities per capita than any place on the planet.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton, co-chair of the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, regularly says there are 10,000 NGOs in Haiti, but some estimates put the number at twice that.

The real tally is anybody's guess, since there is no central registry covering all the NGOs, from religious missions and Klein's virtual one-man show to such aid giants as Care International.

What is certain is that, in Haiti, the NGOs have become a vital fact of everyday life. In the absence of a viable government — the new leader of which may become clearer Tuesday with the announcement of preliminary results from last month's election — the majority of local services are delivered by NGOs, from water, vaccinations and clinics to schools.

“The work they're doing is life-saving and necessary, no question about it,” says Mark Schuller, an anthropologist and assistant professor at the City University of New York who has worked extensively in Haiti.

But NGOs have also come under compounding attack.

One of the harshest critics is Timothy Schwartz, an American anthropologist whose book, Travesty in Haiti, is both a damning and saddening account of the way aid groups operate.

As Schwartz wrote in a recent blog entry: “My own research on this matter suggests that at least 90 per cent are rife with corruption, functionally inert, or give money intended for the poor to people who do not need it.”

There is, in Schwartz's book, much moral outrage about aid workers not blowing the whistle when they encounter inefficiency and corruption.

But Schuller argues the problem is more systemic than individual.

“They're not bad people,” he says. “They're people who are following quite rationally the reward structure that is set out in front of them.”

No matter how lofty and charitable their aims, the NGOs are effectively private businesses, competing with one another. They all rely on donations, and in places like Haiti they must also bid on contract work financed by outside government agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Since the mid-'90s, virtually all USAID spending goes through NGOs.

Schuller says that puts much more emphasis on financial reporting — documenting that the money has been spent — rather than critically quantifying the results of that spending.

Nor do those working for NGOs have much real incentive to voice any criticism, especially if they're Haitian. At an NGO, they typically earn three times as much as they would with the Haitian government. “NGO jobs are the most lucrative jobs in Haiti, so people are afraid to speak for fear of losing their jobs,” says Schuller.

Concerns about the efficiency of using NGOs to deliver aid are scarcely new. In the past two decades, more than 20 major reports have all come to virtually the same conclusions: The NGOs need to start collaborating, submit to the authority of the state and actively encourage input from the people they're meant to be helping.

But who or what entity would enforce this? The central problem, says Schuller, is the international community's insistence in recent decades that virtually all aid should be delivered by NGOs rather than directly by governments.

“The aid system is privatized,” he says. “It's the NGOs, not the government, and it creates parallel structures.”

So entrenched are the NGOs that many reports by the United Nations mission include maps with symbols and colour coding to show what parts of Haiti are dominated by which NGO, as if they were states within the state.

Even efforts simply to list the NGOs active in Haiti have been laughably ineffective. Nearly 30 years ago, the U.S.-financed Haitian Association of Voluntary Agencies managed to list fewer than 100 of the thousands of NGOs before being wound down.

Some change, however, may be in the offing. At the recent G20 conference, a so-called Seoul consensus emerged around South Korea's proposal that aid to the developing world should concentrate on infrastructure and education, not just ameliorating hunger with food and water.

This is hardly a new idea. But if the Seoul consensus were to gain any traction, it would mark a significant shift in priorities. And a daunting one: By some estimates, NGOs now employ 9 million workers around the world and spend $1.1 trillion (U.S.) annually — four times what Canada's federal government will spend this year.

The Blessed Child Orphanage is essentially the bare, concrete shell of a house in a little courtyard surrounded by high fences.

This is Klein's last destination on this day, in the Chateau Blanc neighbourhood, reached by overburdened tap-tap bouncing along back alleys as rugged as a mountain riverbed.

Klein is soon unloading bags of rice and beans, tins of vegetable oil and condensed milk, along with a big plastic bag filled with little packets of a Cheezie-like snack.

The latter is a special, instant treat for the 27 orphans who call Blessed Child home, and it doesn't take long for their little fingers and mouths to turn orange.

The kids all laugh and smile as if this were the finest thing ever to have happened.

The orphanage is run by Jean Alexandre and his wife. He spent 25 years working in the United States, but on a trip home to Haiti in 2004 he was so struck by the sight of begging children that it overwhelmed his retirement plans.

“I came to the airport and saw the kids at the fence,” says Alexandre, who was soon setting up his little orphanage. “I really want to stay here.”

But it's also an orphanage on the cheap. Until Klein stumbled on to him, Alexandre didn't have a food supplier.

Now Klein is talking about helping to make the concrete shell of the orphanage more livable, having some walls finished, doors installed.

To his mind, Haitians are “the most patient people I've ever met.”

They have so little, need so much, and have been suffering for months despite all the promised largesse, the presence of so many giant aid organizations.

“The system is definitely broken,” says Klein. “It shouldn't be like this.”

NEW YORK—UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday that the cholera epidemic in Haiti could affect as many as 650,000 people over the next six months.

Speaking to an informal meeting of the General Assembly, Ban also said the current toll could be twice as high as the official numbers of 1,800 deaths and nearly 81,000 infected, because of difficulties in reporting.

He called on the international community to provide more and faster aid to fight the epidemic.

A UN appeal launched three weeks ago for $164 million has raised only 20 per cent of its goal.

“Admirable as they may be, these collective efforts are simply not sufficient. Without a massive and immediate international response, we will be overwhelmed. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people are at risk.”

 

Essay:

In Haiti, Election Is More Like

a Boxing Match

Emily Troutman Contributor

AOL News

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Dec. 4) -- Ladies and gentlemen, to your corners! It's the end of week one of Haiti's post-election madness. The final results aren't expected until Tuesday, but the 18 presidential candidates are still pounding the pavement and, through the airwaves, pounding each other.

It's a radio rumor mill, where accusations feel as real as facts, and facts themselves are in little attendance.

Round One is almost done. Candidates are waiting to hear if Sunday's elections will be upheld, or canceled, based on accusations of fraud. Twelve candidates came together to denounce the elections, but when the government rebuffed their claims, the leaders of the coalition backed out.

An annulment seems unlikely now, despite international concerns, so the fight will go on as the ballots are counted. The candidates in first and second place advance to Round Two in January.

In the center of our boxing ring is the referee, Haiti's provisional Electoral Council. Friday, the council held a news conference to urge calm while results of the election are being tabulated. Pierre Louis Opont, the director general of the council, said he took responsibility for the troubled process and promised to do better next time.

Hopefully, he'll see a next time. Highly political and highly controversial, the fight for the presidency is a match no one wants to judge. The nine members of this council, meant to be fair arbiters and representatives from across Haiti, are a mix of former politicos and unknowns.

For the next two months, the council will fight others and among themselves, between competing claims for recounts and with enormous pressure from the ruling party of President Rene Preval. The only major candidate at the Electoral Council news conference Friday was Jude Celestin, the president's pick. Preval feels omnipotent here. He's the neighborhood kid who invited everyone and doesn't miss a chance to remind us he's in charge.

Now for the major fighters, er, candidates.

In Corner No. 1: Mirlande Manigat, the impassive former first lady, who polls said was ahead in the race before voting took place on Sunday. At 70 years old, she is a steady, grandmother-like figure for Haitians desperate for calm. Her campaign is led by veteran politician Reynold Georges.

 

Dieu Nalio Chery, AP

Haiti's presidential candidate Mirlande Manigat, a former first lady whose husband was deposed by the military in 1988, arrives to a polling station to vote during general elections in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010.

On Sunday, Manigat joined a raucous news conference held jointly by 12 candidates, calling for the cancellation of the elections. On Monday, she did an about face and said people should respect the vote. This week she is declining interviews, but in the streets, she's still the object of interrogation.

In the marketplace of ideas, Haiti's security guards and mango sellers are divided about whether she's a force for good or evil. Manigat has been pummeled with accusations, though little proof, of an alliance with Preval. And friends say she is the highly principled victim of a smear campaign.

Assistants help her glide, as much as walk, through crowds. But don't be deceived by the streaks of gray hair and the granny act. She'll float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. She pretended to be shocked this week, and the victim of a whirlwind, when she sat at the table of 12 to call for cancellations, then changed her mind.

Though she hasn't held public office herself, many believe she already has the calm and cunning necessary to coast, quietly, into the National Palace.

In Corner No. 2: The musician/politician, Michel Martelly, or "Sweet Micky." His campaign, like the man himself, couldn't seem to keep its mouth shut this week. Martelly is led by the political consultants at OstosSola, who take credit for putting Mexican President Felipe Calderon in power in 2006.

 

Emily Troutman for AOL News

Michel Martelly roasts his competition. Here, he mimics the propriety of the leading candidate, Mirlande Manigat. His combination of biting satire and strong policy plans allows him to connect with voters in a way that other candidates have not. Emily Troutman for AOL News. November 23, 2010.

Not surprisingly, their candidate has been consistently in front of the crowds, framing himself as the candidate of the people. In the final weeks of campaigning, he raced ahead in the polls from almost nowhere to third place.

Like Manigat, Martelly backed off his statement that the election should be canceled and suggested that the public should respect the vote. Unlike Manigat, however, Martelly's campaign went into full force this past week and he held back-to-back interviews for hours at the Karibe Hotel.

He personally orchestrated the opposition meeting on Sunday, initially between himself and two other popular candidates, Jean Henry Ceant and Charles Baker. The meeting got away from him when Ceant invited everyone.

In the end, he used Sunday's event to his own advantage and staged a massive demonstration, with the intent, mostly, to threaten the electoral council into honesty and remind everyone, 18-year-olds love him.

Asked, in the event of fraud, whether he thought he could fight the electoral council without the other candidates by his side, "I'm not saying I'm powerful enough to do it alone," he said. "But believe me, I'm the one that asked them to come."

For better or worse, it's his openness, and his ability to mobilize the masses, that will be a one-two punch to reckon with.

In Corner No. 3: What's left of those opposed to the vote. Ceant and Baker lead this pack of presidential stragglers, who are aligned now not just in their opposition to the validity of the elections but also to the leading candidates.

 

Ramon Espinosa, AP

Haiti's presidential candidates, from left: Leslie Voltaire, Mirlande Manigat, Michel Martelly, Charles-Henri Baker, Jean Henry Ceant, Jacques-Edouard Alexis, Garaudy Laguerre, Anne Marie Josette Bijou and Wilson Jeudy react at the end of a news conference in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Nov. 28. Twelve of the 18 candidates endorsed a joint statement denouncing Sunday's voting as fraudulent and calling on their supporters to show their anger with demonstrations against the government and the country's Provisional Electoral Council. However, Manigat and Martelly later backed out of the protest.

The spat got ugly on Monday, when the remaining dozen held a news conference and Martelly declined to attend. In an interview with AOL News, Baker said he wasn't surprised, but he did feel manipulated.

"I trust, until I have reason not to trust," he said. He said Martelly was invited but refused to come.

Martelly confirmed that saying, "I heard my lawyer on the phone with Ceant, but I was headed out the door."

Manigat, too, made herself unavailable.

The other candidates gathered again on Thursday, to lead a march of solidarity, but saw crowds of hundreds instead of thousands.

So finally, from the revolution that seemed at hand Sunday night, the match is now a mishmash of candidates all with singular agendas.

Which suits one man just fine.

In Corner No. 4: Jude Celestin, a businessman with a powerful coach, President Preval. Celestin's campaign likely outspent every candidate combined. There were airplanes coasting the clouds with his name across the sky, and posters of his mustached grin on every corner.

 

Thony Belizaire, AFP / Getty Images

Haitian ruling party presidential candidate Jude Celestin leaves a meeting of the provisional election council, Oragnization of Amercan States (OAS) observers and presidential candidates in Port-au-Prince on December 3, 2010, four days before the results of the November 28 vote are announced.

He did no interviews, though a few debates. He often held rallies that he did not bother to attend. He was linked, impossibly, to Preval, a president so unpopular that secret U.S. embassy cables, released by WikiLeaks this week, say his singular obsession has been "orchestrating" this election to ensure he's not sent into exile.

So guard your bets, as it seems Celestin may yet win. Because even if no one voted for him, the judges here, and not just the referees, are so far sitting quietly to the side, perhaps ignoring U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon admonition Friday, according to Reuters, that irregularities in the election seem "more serious than initially thought."

The Organization of American States, which monitored the election, acknowledged that it was bad, but not bad enough to pay for twice. The election sites were plagued with trouble. Thousands simply could not find their names on voter registration lists. U.N. forces in Haiti reported that approximately 4 percent of polling stations were completely destroyed.

Ballot boxes were stuffed, monitors were sent away, some people got to vote twice, and others were -- imagine, in this atmosphere of love! -- bullied.

Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig (2010)

by Mark Saleski

Sometimes, the history of music is full of surprises. Another way of looking at it: I'm surprised by my own ignorance. When I think of the South and old-time music, the blues, whites, and blacks, I tend to think of the musics as being mostly separated, with old-time music being a purely white phenomenon while the obvious African influence makes the blues a black specialty.

Except that 'obvious' influences don't necessarily lock the outcomes into the simplest of endpoints. Country music and the blues are closely related, so overlap of both social issues and the music are inevitable. Duh!

Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson make me glad that the musical world has so many facets. They multi-talented musicians met at a gathering of black banjo players, and our ears are all the better for it.

The trio do some beatboxing, play banjos, guitars, autoharp, the fiddle, various bits of old-timey authentica (bones, jugs, kazoo), and can sing their asses off — especially Rhiannon, who has some opera in her past. While the Drops are paying tribute to music from another era, Genuine Negro Jig proves that the band has no intention of becoming the Black String Band Historical Society. A quote from Ms. Giddens says it all: "Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we are modern musicians."

Indeed. Skip to the very end of the record for a fine reading of Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose." Now back up to "Hit 'Em Up Style," a 'traditionalized' take on Blu Cantrell's R&B top 40 hit of relationship revenge.

As for the truly traditional material, it is all gorgeously rendered. "Trouble In Your Mind" stomps its way to the right philosophy, "Cornbread and Butterbeans" illuminates the simple life, and the slinky "Why Don't You Do Right?" puts the lament on a misbehaving man. The title track, "Snowden's Jig (Genuine Negro Jig)," is an instrumental with the fiddle taking the spotlight.

My first listen to this release had me convinced halfway through the opening selection, but it was Rhiannon Giddens version of "Reynadine" that totally knocked me out. I felt compelled to switch on 'repeat,' allowing the song to take up the better part of half an hour. On paper, you might not think that a traditional English ballad would fit in here. On the contrary, not only does it dovetail perfectly (while showcasing Giddens' beautiful voice), but it serves as introduction to the closing Waits cover.

I'm hoping that this record will not only put the Carolina Chocolate Drops on the map, but will also draw new listeners in to the genres of old country and blues. It's a big 'ole world out there, one that still can manage to pull out a surprise.

CREAM CITY REVIEW

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the cream city review. We are devoted to publishing memorable and energetic fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, by new and established writers. The magazine also features reviews of contemporary literature and criticism, as well as author interviews and artwork. Please note that we are now only accepting submissions via our online submission management system. Submissions via mail or email will be discarded without response. We are guessing that you are becoming increasingly familiar with the system we utilize and its numerous conveniences for writers (like us), as well as the cost savings for postage and the immense reduction of paper used by both writers and publishers. You can find the link to the online submission management system further down this page - after reading our guidelines.

 

**For now, submissions for our annual literary prizes will only be accepted via paper mail, due to the $15 entrant’s fee.**

The author’s name and address should appear on the first page of the manuscript or on each individual piece of artwork. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, as long as CCR is notified at the time of submission. We prefer that files be submitted in PDF, RTF, or DOC format. You may withdraw your own submissions via the submission management system; in the case of a partial withdrawal of a poem or poems, we request that you email our Poetry Editors at the address listed below. Be sure to keep a copy of your work, as CCR cannot be responsible for lost or damaged files.

You may include a few lines about your publication history and other information you think of interest. CCR seeks to publish not only a broad range of writings, but a broad range of writers with diverse backgrounds as well. Both beginning and well-established writers are welcome.

Reporting time is 2–8 months. We accept submissions for our annual theme issue from August 1 to November 1. General submissions are accepted from August 1 to November 1 and from December 1 to April 1. Our online submission management system will not allow submissions to be made at times outside of our reading periods. Contributors are given a one-year subscription to CCR beginning with the issue in which their work appears. Copyright automatically reverts to the author upon publication, although CCR retains the right to republish in future issues of the magazine.

Fiction: Preferably fewer than thirty pages, although we occasionally consider longer material. Please submit no more than one story at a time.

Poetry: No length restrictions. Please submit no more than five poems at a time. When submitting using the online system, please include all poems in a single file.

Creative Nonfiction: We are interested in well-crafted creative nonfiction and personal essays, book reviews (from one to ten pages), well-researched critical essays, and interviews.

For inquiries or withdrawals please email the appropriate genre editor at the below addresses:

poetry@creamcityreview.org

fiction@creamcityreview.org

nonfiction@creamcityreview.org

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR FICTION, POETRY, CREATIVE NONFICTION, BOOK REVIEW OR VISUAL ART USING OUR ONLINE SUBMISSION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

PAYMENT

 

Beginning with work submitted for the Spring 2011 issue (reading period 12/1/10-3/30/11), cream city review will pay authors the following rates when funds are available:

 

*Fiction/comics/essays (excluding book reviews or interviews): $3-5/printed page

*Poetry: $5-10 poem

We are interested in color and black-and-white artwork. We use 7–12 pieces of art per issue. Sometimes our aesthetic reflects the themes appropriate to each respective issue; at other times, it reflects a general interest in the blending of genre and media. Please submit high resolution (300 dpi or better) image files, JPG or PDF preferred.For inquiries please email: art@creamcityreview.org cream city review sponsors three annual contests judged by established writers: the A. David Schwartz Fiction Prize; the Beau Boudreaux Poetry Prize; and the David B. Saunders Prize for Creative Nonfiction. Past judges include Gordon Weaver, Susan Firer, Beth Ann Fennelly, Ron Rindo, Caroline Knox, Allison Joseph, A. Manette Ansay, Josh Bell, Michael Martone, and David Treuer.

 

Reading period: year round.

Deadline for current year’s contest: December 31.

Fee: $15/story (no longer than 30 pages) or 3-5 poems, payable to cream city review. The entrant’s fee includes the issue in which prize winners are announced.

Prize: $1,000.00 plus publication.

Address your submission to one of the following:

The A. David Schwartz Fiction Prize
The Beau Boudreaux Poetry Prize
or The David B. Saunders Award for Creative Nonfiction

and send your entry to:
cream city review
Department of English
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201

Prize submissions must be typed, double-spaced (poetry may be single-spaced), and include the author’s name and address. There is no need to include an SASE, as winners will be announced on this site before publication of the Spring issue. All entrants receive a copy of the issue containing the winners. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as long as cream city review is notified in the event the manuscript is accepted elsewhere. The reading fee, however, is non-refundable.

 

While going through submissions for both the Small Spaces Fiction Prize and A Very Avery Flasher Contest, it occurred to us: Why not give Small Spaces entrants another month to get ready?

The response for both contests has been great so far — keep it coming, guys! — but we know it’d be even greater if we gave everyone a little more time. Time to polish that last paragraph, rewrite that opening line, give the whole thing a once-over one. More. Time. Before sending it along. Especially our workshop student friends — you’re working on those final drafts right about now, aren’t you? We thought so.

So Happy Holidays, Avery friends, fans, and family: The Small Spaces Fiction Prize will remain open until December 25th!

 

Writing Contest Guidelines

Looking for TC's regular Submission Guidelines?

Questions about contest rules can be emailed to the editors or posted at Chasms & Crags.

General Contest Rules
Read these first. These rules apply to all Toasted Cheese contests. Specific rules for the Three Cheers and A Tiger, A Midsummer Tale & Dead of Winter contests are below.

1. There are no entry fees for any Toasted Cheese contest. Limit of one entry per person per contest.
2. Don't forget to give your story a title and include a word count.
3. Grammar, punctuation or spelling errors will count against your entry, so proofread thoroughly.
4. Contest entries must be emailed to the address designated for the contest you are entering (see individual contest rules below). Replace [at] with @.
5. Paste your entry into the body of the email. Attachments will not be read.
6. Place your contact information (name, address, phone number, email address) and a brief biography (100 words maximum) after your story. (All identifying information will be removed before judging.)
7. Late entries, entries that do not conform to contest guidelines, and entries sent to any address other than the designated contest address will be disqualified. Toasted Cheese and its staff are not responsible for any electronic transmission problems.
8. First, second,* and third* place stories are published in Toasted Cheese Literary Journal. Honorable mentions may also be awarded. (*Toasted Cheese reserves the right to not award second and third place if the quality of the entries does not meet the journal's standards.)
9. Feedback on submissions will be limited to a few lines and may include some judges' comments. After the contest is closed, we invite all entrants to post their stories on our critique forums.
10. By entering a contest, you grant TC exclusive electronic rights for a period of 90 days, should your work be chosen as a winner, as well as a non-exclusive right to maintain a copy of published work in the literary journal archives indefinitely. Effective January 2008, you also grant Toasted Cheese the right to post an audio version (podcast) of your work on the site (authors of work published 2001–2007 will be contacted to obtain permission for this use). You retain all other rights, including the right to re-publish the work in non-electronic form at any time. Any subsequent publication should include the credit "originally published in Toasted Cheese."

    "Exclusive electronic rights" means that you agree not to re-publish your work elsewhere online while the issue featuring your work is current. "Publish" means any public display of your work, and includes your personal website and posting to message boards. You are welcome to link to the page featuring your work instead. Once the issue has been archived, you are free to re-publish your work online.

---

Dead of Winter

Be sure to read the General Contest Rules above.

Dead of Winter is a fiction contest (any genre) for stories with horror* elements or themes. Ideally, stories should be set in autumn or winter. The most original, most haunting stories will be chosen for publication.

Details, including specific theme and length, are announced October 1.

The deadline for submissions is December 21.

Entries are blind-judged by Baker & Billiard. Decisions are final. Winners are announced January 31.

Winning stories are published in the March issue of Toasted Cheese. Winners receive Amazon gift certificates: $20 for first, $15 for second, $10 for third.

Stories submitted to the 10th Annual Dead of Winter contest (December 2010) have an OPEN THEME (your entry must follow guidelines below).

• The word limit is 2500–5000 words.
• Stories must be set in winter.
• Stories must fall in the horror genre. As to subgenres, any is allowed but note that the judges prefer gothic, dark fantasy, erotic horror (PG-13 max), noir, psychological horror, quiet/soft horror, and suspense horror. The judges tend not to like sci-fi horror, extreme/splatter horror, Lovecraftian, etc. Please no creepy children, people who don't know they're dead or overdone "monsters" (vampires, were wolves, sasquatch, etc.). As to gore level, we'd far rather know what's going on inside a character's head than to see it on a pike. We want to be disturbed, unable to shake your story and compelled to leave on every light in the house after reading it. See previous placed Dead of Winter entries to get an idea of what the judges enjoy reading (archived March issues).
• The contest opens October 1, 2010 and the deadline for submission is 11:59 PM ET December 21, 2010.
• Email entries to dow2010[at]toasted-cheese.com with the subject line: Dead of Winter Contest Entry

Post any questions you have about the contest in our DoW thread at the forums or tweet them to @toasted_cheese (hashtag: #TCdow10). Please do not post any part of your entry in the thread and be wary of including information that might identify your story on Twitter. If you need to contact an editor with a more specific DOW tweet, please send your Twitter DM to one of these editors: @theryn @amandamarlowe @deoris1 @unanalike @Mollienbonnets

You may post your work for feedback at one of the critique forums but please title your post "DoW entry for feedback" or similar so that the judges don't read it.

*Horror "uses literary techniques to frighten, unsettle or horrify the audience; employs macabre and/or supernatural themes."