3 Sets of 4…Assorted Contests

We've discussed the value of entering writing contests before. First, entering a writing contest guarantees your work is read by a professional. Second, even if you don't win the contest, you may catch someone's attention with a strong second, third or honorable mention showing. Third, contests always have prizes. Sometimes the prize is cash, while other times it is publication or production. (all the contest listed here have cash prizes.) Whichever it is, entering a contest can only benefit a writer.

Very few writers write in one form and only one form. So here is an assortment of contests for the assorted writers within you. Click the contest name to get the full guidelines.

Good luck!

Are you the dramatic type?

3rd Annual 10-Minute Play Contest - Magnolia Arts Center - Deadline: August 31 - Prize: $50 Grand Prize, possible finalists prizes - Entry Fee: $3/mail, $5/online. - Each entry is subject to the fee, but writers may submit more than one entry. NO musicals or adaptations. Plays must be unpublished/unproduced. Can submit online.
The David Calicchio Emerging Playwright Prize - Marin Theatre Company - Deadline: August 31 - Prize: two public staged readings plus $2500 and travel/lodging for rehearsal period - Established in 2007 to honor David Calicchio's career as a playwright and "in support of the Marin Theatre Company's commitment to the discovery and development of new and emerging American playwrights." Open to full-length comedies, dramas or musicals that have not had a full-scale professional production. Elaborate guidelines/submission policy.
Palm Beach Dramaworks - Deadline: August 31 - Prize: public readings - Submit only one full-length play. NO collection of one-acts or musicals. Plays must be unpublished/unproduced and not previously submitted.
The Sky Cooper New American Play Prize - Marin Theatre Company - Deadline: August 31 - Prize: full production by MTC plus $10,000 and travel/lodging for rehearsal period - Established in 2007 to "celebrate the work of the American playwright and to encourage the creation of bold, powerful new voices and plays for the American stage." Open to full-length comedies, dramas or musicals that have not had a full-scale professional production. Elaborate guidelines/submission policy.

Can you tell me a story?

12th Annual Short Fiction Contest - Zeotrope: All-Story - Deadline: October 1 - Prizes: $1000/1st, $500/2nd, $250/3rd - Entry Fee: $15 - Open to all genres of literary fiction up to 5000 words or less. Entries must be unpublished.
16th Annual Short-Story Contest - Boston Review - Deadline: October 1 - Prize: $1500 plus publication - Entry Fee: $20/US entry, $30/international entry - Submit original, unpublished stories of 4000 words or less.
2009 Short Story Prize - Ruminate Magazine - Deadline: October 15, Prizes: $300 plus publication/Grand Prize, $150/Runner-Up - Entry Fee: $15 - Submit one story per fee of 5000 words or less. Submission form and payment option online. Multiple submissions OK.
Family Matters Short Story Contest - Glimmer Train Magazine - Deadline: October 31* - Prizes: $1200, publication and copies/1st, $500/2nd, $300/3rd - Entry Fee: $15 - Submit unpublished, original stories about family of 12,000 words or less. NO creative nonfiction or personal narratives. Submit using a form online. (*This contest runs multiple times during the year. This is the next deadline.)

Have you renewed your poetic license?

Anderbo Poetry Prize - Anderbo.com - Deadline: November 1 - Prize: $500 - Entry Fee: $10 - Open to poets who have NOT published on Anderbo.com. Submit up to six poems per poet and entry fee.
Award for Poetry - Fourth River - Deadline: November 15 - Prize: $500 plus publication - Entry fee: $5 - Submit up to three unpublished poems "that capture the places - natural, built and imagined, urban, rural or wild - where humans and nature converge and collide." Multiple submissions OK with fee. Creative Nonfiction Award also offered in conjunction.
Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry - Harpur Palate - Deadline: November 1 - Prize: $500 plus publication - Entry Fee: $15 - Established to honor Milton Kessler and "his dedication to the development of writers." Open to original, unpublished poems no more than three pages long. Send up to five poems in a single envelope and with a single fee. Multiple submissions OK if mailed separately. All entries will be considered for publication.
Poetry Contest for New & Emerging Poets - The Teacher's Voice - Deadline: November 7 - Prizes: $150 Book Award/1st, $100 Book Award/2nd, $50 Book Award/3rd - Open to unpublished poets ONLY. Submit up to three poems that "reflect on teaching and/or education in the United States or abroad." All submissions will be considered for publication.

The World in Words…Contests for Your Poetry Collection

Earlier this month, 3 Questions featured an article about novel contests. While researching that article, I found that contests for poetry collections and chapbooks outnumbered novel contests by about 2 to 1. How could I ignore that?

How hard is it to get a poetry collection published?

If you are willing to go the self-published route, you can put together your own chapbook or longer manuscript and get it published in whatever quantity you'd like. However, if you want to go with a traditional publisher, you'll have to do your research. Few will take a chance on poetry collections. The competition within the poetry publishing houses is tight. You have to have a publishing history in magazines, anthologies and reviews. And as with the novel contests, the right poetry award on your resume can land you in a publisher's upcoming catalog.

One thing I learned while researching contests for this article, most of poetry contests for collections or chapbooks, offer publication as part of the prize. Once you have a published book, you'll have an easier time publishing the second. Contests can help you reach that goal.

Do you have enough to call it a collection?

Only you can decide when you have enough material to publish a poetry collection, but chapbooks run about 20 to 30 pages with one poem on each page. Book manuscripts range from 48 to 100 pages depending on the publisher, again with one poem per page.

You probably don't want to slog just any poems together to make a collection. The goal of any book is to entertain the reader so much that she can't find a way to put the book down. So poems that flow easily from one to the next, or that show a progression in the development of a theme will lead the reader from page to page.

In her interview with 3 Questions in May, poet Dana Wildsmith quoted advice once given her: "if a poetry collection has 24 poems, the 25th is the collection (itself)." Readers like having a beginning, a middle, and an end in their books, no matter the medium. Make sure your collection is not only complete, but also whole in the eyes and mind of a reader.

What else should you know about contests and poetry collections?

Most require a reading fee, which will be noted in the listing. The manuscript as a whole must be previously unpublished but individual poems may have been published, unless otherwise noted. Some require you list the poems published and cite the publications separately. Most do not want any identifying marks on the manuscript, instead asking for a coversheet with full contact information. If you have any questions, click the contest name to go to the contest guidelines page.

The 2009 Green Rose Prize in Poetry: New Issues Poetry & Prose and Western Michigan University - deadline: September 30, entry fee: $20, prize: $2000 and publication, open to poets who have published one or more book-length collections of poetry.
The A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize: BOA Editions, Ltd. - deadline: August 1-November 30, entry fee: $25, prize: $1500 plus publication, open to poets who have not yet published a book-length poetry collection.
Charles B. Wheeler Prize: The Journal, Ohio State University Press - deadline: September 1-30 ONLY, entry fee: $25, prize: $3000 and publication, submit at least 48 pages, identify any individually published poems.
Codhill Press Chapbook Award - deadline: November 30, entry fee: $20, prize: $500 plus 50 copies of your book, submit 20-30 pages.
De Novo Poetry Contest: C&R Press - deadline: October 1, entry fee: $20, prize: $500 plus 20 published copies, all entries are considered for publication, open to American poets who have not published a book of poetry, submit 55-85 pages.
Firewheel Chapbook Award - deadline: September 29, entry fee: $15, prize: publication plus copies, submit no more than 20 pages of "innovative work."
The Gatewood Prize: Switchback Books - deadline: October 1, entry fee: $15, prize: $500 plus standard publishing contract with 1000-copy print run, open to women between the ages of 18-39 who have yet to publish a book-length poetry collection, submit 48-80 pages.
Kinereth Gensler Awards: Alice James Books - deadline: October 1, entry fee: $25, prize: $2000 plus publication, poets must live in New England, New York or New Jersey, submit 50-70 pages.
Poetry Chapbook Contest: Flume Press - deadline December 1, entry fee: $20, prize: $500 plus 25 copies out of a 500-copy print run, submit 24-28 pages that include poems, title, contents, and acknowledgement pages in the count.
Perugia Press Prize - deadline: August 1-November 15, entry fee: $22, prize: $1000 plus publication, open to women who haven't published a book-length poetry manuscript and those who have published one, indicate on the acknowledgements page the title of the first book, submit 48-72 pages.
Slipstream Poetry Contest - deadline: December 1, entry fee: $20, prize: $1000 and 50 published copies, submit up to 40 pages of poetry, can submit online.
Yale Series for Younger Poets - deadline: October 1-November 15 ONLY, entry fee: $15, prize: publication with royalties contract, open to American citizens under the age of 40 who have not published a full-length book of poetry, submit 48-64 pages.


(ED. NOTE: top - detail of the engraving "The Distressed Poet" by William Hogarth, above - founder of BOA Editions, Ltd, A Poulin, Jr.)

Workshops & Retreats…Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference

What is the Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference?

Not every poet can attend this poetry conference, held at The Round House in Colrain, MA. The conference has an application process before you can register. On the website is a list to help you decide if this is the right conference for you. The first element of a successful applicant is that you have a completed book-length poetry manuscript. The three-day conference will help you organize and polish your manuscript, covering everything from the merit of individual poems to the order in which they are collected.

The conference begins with a dinner on Friday, August 22 and ends with a wrap up session Monday morning, August 25. Saturday is dedicated to manuscript preparation with the conference faculty, then Sunday has a panel of editors taking questions in the morning, but most of the day will be spent meeting with the editors in small groups. Monday morning the conference faculty will help participants review the work and advice they have received and will help to set goals for their next steps in the publishing process.

Who are the faculty members?

This list does not include the visiting editors that will meet with participants on Sunday. That list is not available at this time.


Jeffrey Shotts - Poetry Editor, Graywolf Press
Jeffrey Levine - Editor-in-Chief/Publisher, Tupelo Press
Joan Houlihan - Founder/Director of Concord Poetry Center (and this conference); Poetry Editor, Del Sol Press
Fred Marchant - former Acquisitions Editor, Graywolf Press; Director of the Creative Writing Program, Suffolk University


How much will this cost you?

The only thing not covered by the conference fee is your transportation. Your lodging, meals and tuition are included in the $995 fee. You can receive a full refund up to July 11. After that, your fee will be credited to a future conference. The registration form is online here and you can pay by PayPal or by snail mail.

The Round House

Details:

Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference - August 22-25, 2008, at The Round House in Colrain, MA.
Tuition - $995 all-inclusive (except travel), full refund available until July 11.
Registration form online - all applications will be reviewed to determine acceptance to the program.

Interview…with Kezia the poet

At 25, Kezia Snipe (a.k.a. Kezia the poet) has been fascinated with poetry for almost 20 years, writing rhymes as soon as she could string words together. She says it's more of a "why" than a "how" when talking about her first steps into poetry.

"There were a lot of things I didn't understand," she explains, relating how her brother moved out when she was just four years old leaving her a lonely, only child in the house, "and things frustrated me…so I wrote and somehow (the lines) ended up rhyming."

Now she co-wrote a book of poetry and recording a CD of spoken word poetry in her "spare" time between her full-time job at a hospital and going to school.

Why does Kezia like speaking her poems?

"Sometimes a message is not always conveyed by someone just reading (the poem). By speaking the poem, the listener can 'feel it' and 'get it' from the writer's perspective, and all the emotions, movements and feelings that the writer put in it are released."

She did her first poem in front of an audience a couple years ago at a Poetry, Rhythm & Soul event in Memphis, TN. Poetry, Rhythm & Soul is a production company that hosts an open mic night once a month for local musicians and poets to share their work. Kezia went just to enjoy the show, but she found herself up on stage.

Poster from Poetry, Rhythm & Soul event

"And (I) haven't left since!" She likes the warm, friendly atmosphere at these gatherings. "There aren't any big "I"s or little "you"s…everyone supports everyone and …cheers everyone on. I always look forward to going."

How does she get from idea to performance?

Her life is her muse, she says, admitting that sounds cliché. She's influenced by her faith, her family, love and many other people and things in her life.

"Just when you've been overwhelmed with subject matters, you peel back a layer and BOOM! There's something else to write about. It amazes me sometimes."

Like almost all writers, her ideas come at the most inopportune times. Sometimes she can "hold that thought" until she has time to write, but recently one idea kept pestering her as she tried to sleep until she got out of bed and put a rough draft on paper. "As soon as I was done, I was fast asleep."


Not every poem becomes a spoken word poem. A spoken word poem must grab a listener's attention, through language, through subject, through the rhythm. It must maintain that attention, giving the poet a means to connect directly with the audience. That connection is the primary reason Kezia memorizes her poems for performances.

Without that piece of paper between you and the audience "you can even go as far as looking a particular listener directly in the eye…and really draw (him) in. It's a beautiful thing."

Is there a market for a CD of spoken word poetry?

Kezia thinks so. "Indie music is rising at an increasingly sharp rate, and any well-marketed CD, no matter the genre or style, can do well."

Her marketing scheme includes MySpace, FaceBook, ReverbNation and other sites specifically geared toward independent artists. She will also sell the CDs at her performance venues and she has plans to talk with some bookstores.

She has found that creating a solo CD is a lot more challenging than co-writing a book. She and her good friend Louis Bryant recently completed Unclassifiable: Entries from Entities, a poetry collection. It is with a publisher.

"We were each other's motivation. Most days…we'd end our conversations with 'Yo, write something tonight! When you're doing a solo project, you have to challenge yourself, encourage yourself, push yourself, EVERYTHING yourself."

Still she hasn't been swayed by the challenge and lists among her goals the desire to make more CDs. "Maybe another book. I haven't set anything in stone because the last thing I want to do is limit myself."

And she offers that advice to new poets and writers, too. "Don't be afraid to be a trendsetter and an individual. Poetry is a free form of expression. Use it to your advantage. Play with the words, move them around, make it your own. You'd be surprised what you will come up with."




Learn more about Kezia the poet through her MySpace page, and you can listen to some of her poetry at ReverbnNation.

Interview…with poet Dana Wildsmith

Dana Wildsmith has received honors for her poetry across the country. She's served as a writer-in-residence from Alaska to South Carolina, but in the last two years, she estimates she's only written about four poems.

"I published a book called One Good Hand, and in it I write about what it's like to live on a old farm in the midst of all this extreme growth," she explains. Wildsmith lives on her family's 120-year-old farm in Barrow County, GA, which was recently ranked in the top 20 fastest growing counties in the US. This fact doesn't sit well with this environmentalist and nature lover.

"I found the poems didn't say everything I had wanted to say so I decided to write an essay."

One essay turned into two, then more and more until she had enough for a book-length collection. Essay collections don't sell well, and she was advised to write a memoir. The result is Back to Abnormal: Finding Home on an Old Farm in the New South, a memoir of a place, the one place, as a minister's daughter and a Navy wife, she ever lived twice, and where she works to maintain its rural charm while the towns and cities around her sprawl dangerously close.

How hard was it to write nonfiction after so many years of poetry?

"Writing the different essays was easy," she says. "That was fun. I was always amazed at how many pages I could write."


Learning how to tie them together into a book was an experience. She had to learn how to carry her readers along through the chapters, a technique she referred to as "weaving a narrative thread."

"A poet once said that if a poetry collection has 24 poems, the 25th is the collection (itself)," she says, so there is wholeness to a poetry collection, but it is more subtle.

"In a book, like this memoir, you have to have storyline on the page. You have to have that connection from one chapter to another. People don't want to be left at one point at the end of one chapter then find themselves in a totally different place at the start of the next."

The learning curve didn't stop there. Other tasks Wildsmith had to tackle included writing a synopsis, querying publishers and building a marketing platform. "It was all really new to me," she says.

Not that Wildsmith is new to book publishing. She has several books under her belt. One Good Hand was published by Iris Press in 2005. In 1999, Sow Ear Press published Our Bodies Remember, which also published her first collection, Alchemy, in 1995. Alchemy sold out its first printing within months, a surprising feat in poetry publishing.

How will her poetry readers take to her nonfiction?

She believes they will. Fellow Georgian Judson Mitcham is a master poet and has written beautiful and successful novels. So she has that example, and she is encouraged by the few readings she has already done and the feedback she's received. One poet friend really liked the sound of the manuscript, especially when he could hear the poet in it.

Even in her poetry Wildsmith has been a storyteller. Although she writes in different poetic forms, the narrative form is her favorite. Narrative poetry focuses on the story. Ballads and epics are examples. So her command of storytelling served well in her memoir.

Wildsmith with Fred on her family's farm

Does Wildsmith think she'll return to poetry?

Having begun her poetic life as a child ("I know this," she claims, "because Mama kept them all."), it is doubtful that Wildsmith will abandon it now. However, she has considered other prose projects. She is currently reworking some of the essays to print in journals and magazines. She has an essay set to appear in The Sun, a literary magazine in Chapel Hill, NC, this June.

"I was just thinking the other day that there's this type of magazine article that I'd like to try writing," she says. "I may end up writing a novel. I keep finding these wonderful story lines that appeal to me and (keep) wondering where I can go with them."


To learn more about Dana Wildsmith, visit her website.

Waxing Poetic…Competitions for Your Poetry

Would you like to try poetic parody?

Before getting down to business, here is a bit of fun. Phil Kloer, the book blogger on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website, posted Monday about a recent feature from "This American Life" on National Public Radio. The feature was on apologies that weren't really apologies and on the poem "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams. Kloer wrote "…the show then jumped to the proliferation of parodies of this poem" and listed some of them. He ended by inviting readers to leave their parodies of the poem in the comments section. Check out the blog and try your hand at poetic parody here.

Can you make any money in poetry competitions?


There are thousands of poetry competitions waiting for your latest creation. The prize money varies from contest to contest, but most usually include publication of the winning poem or poems. The prizes in the competitions below range from a low of $35 for first prize for a single poem to $3000 and publication for first prize for a collection of poems.

Where do you start?

Contests sponsors can be newspapers, magazines, some civic groups, poetry societies, writer's groups and even book publishers. WritersMarket.com lists over 200 poetry contests. Poets & Writers' online database had over 300 grants and awards. The National Federation of State Poetry Societies has 50 contests lined up for 2008 on its website and ByLine Magazine sponsors at least one, more often two, poetry contests each month.

Below is a short list of some competitions, including their entry fees, deadlines and prizes. Click the contest names to go to their websites. Good luck!


Blue Lynx Poetry Prize - Entry Fee: $25; Prize: $1500 + publication; Deadline: May 15.
ByLine Magazine Contests: all entry fees: $3/poem, $5/ 3 poems; Prizes: $35-1st, $20-2nd, $10-3rd.
New Talent Form Poem - Deadline: May 3.
Heavenly Poem - Deadline: May 17.
Water Poem - Deadline: June 7.
Time to Rhyme! - Deadline: June 21.
Deane Wagner Poetry Contest - Entry fee: $10/first poem; $5/ever additional; Prizes: $200-1st, $150-2nd, $100-3rd; Deadline: June 14.
Fineline Competition for prose poems, short shorts and anything in between: Entry Fee: $10; Prize: $1000 + publication + engraved contest pen; Deadline: June 1.
Gival Press Poetry Prize - Entry Fee: $20; Prize: $1000 + publication; Deadline: December 15.
Literal Latte Poetry Awards - Entry fees: $10 for up to 6 poems, $15 for up to 12 poems; Prizes: $1000-1st, $300-2nd, $200-3rd; Deadline: July 15
Morton Marr Poetry Prize - Entry fee: $5; Prizes: $1000-1st, $500-2nd; Deadline: September 30.
Red Hen Press Contests: all entry fees: $20.
Benjamine Saltman Poetry Award - Prize: $3000; Deadline: October 31.
Ruskin Art Club Poetry Award - Prize: $1000, Deadline: September 30.
Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize - Entry Fee: $20; Prize: $2000 + publication; Deadline: May 1.
White Pine Press Poetry Prize - Entry fee: $20; Prize: $1000 + publication; Deadline: July 1.

(above - detail of the engraving "The Distressed Poet" by William Hogarth)

Interview with...poet Paul Siegell

"(I) woke up, had a thing going in my head and reached for a piece of paper." Paul Siegell describes writing his first poem after attending a pair of Phish shows his sophomore year in college. "(The poem) wasn’t very good - at all - but I liked the way it felt to me, to write like that, to make something up, feel like an artist."

Twelve years later, Siegell published his first collection of poetry, Poemergency Room, which illustrates the emotions and challenges of the poet's "realworldolescent."

"It's those in-between years when you're out of college and thrown head first into the working world," he explains, "It's a transitional stage, a sometimes grueling maturing process that's chockfull of growing pains…I know I'm not the only one who feels this."

How did he get from a really bad teenage poem to a 64-poem published collection?

Once bitten, Siegell kept writing for a year on his own, "mostly awful yet kinda (sic) quirky poems." Then during his junior year at the University of Pittsburgh, he enrolled in Introduction to Poetry Writing with Jeff Oaks, an award-winning poet and professor in the University's English department. Siegell went on to publish in the school's literary magazine, Three Rivers Review, then published professionally at the age of 22 in 5AM, the Magazine of Contemporary Poetry. His work has appeared in nearly two dozen online and print publications.

He wrote the poems in Poemergency Room at different times throughout the last 10 years. He credits his girlfriend with helping him define the eight sections and with plotting the development and progress of "the story" within the poems.

He found his publisher, the Australian-based Otoliths, through Coconut, an online poetry magazine. He has published with the magazine and also uses the links page to research markets when he has a new poem ready.

His first submissions to Otoliths, the journal was in October 2006. After publishing a handful of poems in the journal, Siegell asked the editor if he'd like to see a manuscript. The editor accepted, and earlier this year, the book was published.

Where does he get his ideas?

Music holds a great influence over his poetry. His first poetic venture and many poems since have been written about rock concerts.

"Music teaches me how to listen, and one who writes must listen. Not to just other people and events or even yourself…but also to the words themselves." He quotes a line from one of his poems: "all I want is for my page to play the piano."

"I mean it kinda (sic) kick-started my writing," he adds. "Without my ear, I'd have no sense for all these crazy words."

When asked if there are any other muses, Siegell lists nearly every other aspect of his life: love, the city, friends…"Things I can wrap my brain around and articulate." He admits he doesn't necessarily write every day, but he comes close.

"I don't get up at 5:00 a.m. every day and force expression. I take it as it comes," he says. "At times, I can go two or three weeks straight where I write…a complete poem every day. It's an incredible feeling to be that productive, to be that tapped in."

If he isn't writing, he's revising, a process he takes very seriously. "I reread and reread my work until I don't resist a single word. If I feel any amount of unwanted tension…then the piece isn't finished and I can't move on."


That includes how the poem looks on the page. His poem "Antibiotics" was already with his publisher when he decided it wasn't finished. "I just knew the piece could be, and do, more," he says, "I felt the narrative was about as solid as I could make it, so the only thing left to change was the layout."

"The runner was pretty much always there, in the poem. It just took a few years and a little nagging feeling from my better angels to get it out." At the left is a picture of "Antibiotics" from the book.

Can he make a living writing poetry?

Siegell writes ad copy for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. He tries to sneak an idea or some poetics into the print ads or radio commercials he writes for the newspaper, but most of the time they get shot down. He admits his day job and his art don't mesh.

"They push up against one another," he continues. "I've found that when I'm asked to write some pretty dry stuff at work, the next piece I write for myself is as out there as the work stuff was dry. But without my passion for poetry, I'd never have been able to land any of the writing jobs that are on my résumé. Poetry does pay after all!"

He has another completed poetry manuscript, jambandbootleg, the first of a trilogy of sorts, he says, a portion of which has been published online by BlazeVOX. Poemergency Room is the second part. The third, Trombone Bubble Bath, "continues with the maturing process." In addition, he has started a fourth.


"And ya don't stop."

Poemergency Room is available from lulu.com or from Siegell. You can learn more about Siegell and read his poetry at ReVeLeR @ eYeLeVeL.

Workshops & Retreats…Santa Barbara Writers Conference

This column briefly profiles writers' workshops, retreats, seminars and conferences. Inclusion in this column is not an endorsement.

What is the Santa Barbara Writers Conference?

There's actual two Santa Barbara Writers Conferences: the smaller poetry conference in March and the comprehensive summer conference in June. The dates for this year's summer conference are June 21-26. It will be held at the Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort.

The workshops cover such areas as story crafting and structure, screenwriting, humor, creative nonfiction, children's literature, marketing as well as several genres of fiction, poetry and memoir. The workshop activities include instruction plus readings and critiques with fellow students and instructors.


There are also panel discussions, guest speakers, late-night "pirate workshops" and "The Ultimate Write-Off Reality Show." You can register for the Agents and Editors Day and for a manuscript review.

There is a Young Writers Program for students 14-18. Students can participate in all conference activities but there are other special presentations as well.

Who are the instructors?

There are 33 workshop instructors. Click here to see the full list: faculty. The book jackets featured represents work from the faculty. Special guest include: (book signings will follow each presentation)


Ray Bradbury - opens the conference with a keynote speech.
Joseph Wambaugh - author, screenwriter, his latest book Hollywood Crows was released in March.
Bob Mayer - presents How to Pitch to an Agent/Editor followed by a book signing.
Jane Heller - author, journalist, her latest book Some Nerve came out in paperback in November.
Luis Alberto Urrea - author of The Devil's Highway, The Hummingbird's Daughter and others.
Sue Grafton - receives the Barnaby and Mary Conrad Founders Award for Fiction with a Q&A.

How much might this cost you?

To attend the full conference is $725 and includes all workshops, special lectures, panels, speakers' presentations, opening night barbecue, closing dinner and award ceremony. Manuscript evaluations are $40 and must be received by May 15. Meet with an Agent and Editor is $35.


The conference has a "Taste of the Conference" option which runs from June 21 through June 24, giving you access to the workshops, but not all the special events. Individual tickets will be available for purchase for some of the events not included with the discounted tuition. The tuition for "Taste of…" is $475.

The Young Writers Program tuition is $525 and allows the students access to all conference classes, presentations and activities as well as special Young Writers activities.

Registrations must be received by May 15. Online registration is available here: Registration. Rooms at the Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort run at the conference rate of $225. You must mention the conference to get that rate.

The Details:


Santa Barbara Writers Conference: June 21-26, Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort
Workshops in several fiction genres, story crafting and structure, creative nonfiction, children's literature, humor, screenwriting, marketing, poetry, memoir and the Young Writers Program for students 14-18.
Fees: Full conference - $725, Taste of… - $475, Young Writers Program - $525, Manuscript Evaluations - $40, Meet with an Agent and Editor - $35, Rooms - $225
Online registration is available. Registration deadline: May 15






NOTE: Don't forget The Virtual Book Tour by Font Literary Agency & Writing Centre is coming April 8. Click here to read more about Lover's Hollow author Orna Ross.

Workshops & Retreats…MWG Writers Conference & Spring Retreat

This column briefly profiles writers' workshops, retreats, seminars and conferences. Inclusion in this column is not an endorsement.

What is MWG?

MWG is the Mississippi Writers Guild. The group has chapters in 11 cities throughout the state. It sponsors two events this spring and summer: the Spring Retreat, April 4-5, in Gulfport and the MWG Writers Conference, August 15-16, in Vicksburg.

The Spring Retreat features an Open Mic Night on April 4, then two two-hour writing workshops, plus lunch on April 5. There is also an additional lecture by workshop facilitator John M. Floyd after the workshops.

The Writers Conference begins in the mid-afternoon on August 15 with a book sale/registration, then a reception and dinner followed by an Open Mic Night. The next day is full with four workshops, panel discussions, an award ceremony, an autographing and book sale and critique sessions.

Who are the instructors?


John M. Floyd is the only announced faculty for the Spring Retreat. He is the author of more than 600 short stories, plus a collection of short stories, Rainbow's End and other stories, published in 2006. He won the 2007 Derringer Award and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

The Writers Conference has six announced faculty members:

1. Novelist Howard Bahr - author of Black Flower, The Year of Jubilo, and The Judas Field;

2. Novel/screenwriter/playwright Tom B. Sawyer - Head Writer of 15 network TV series, including "Murder She Wrote," author of two novels, one of which is due out this year;


3. Agent Gary Heidt - with the FinePrint Agency, which represents both nonfiction and fiction for adults and young adults;

4. Poet/publisher Sue Brannan Walker - internationally known for her own poetry and for her writing on other poets and writers, her publishing company Negative Capability Press has published both famous and new poets in writers, earning a ranking of third out 2700 poetry markets by Writer's Digest;



5. Freelance writer/journalist Cheryl Sloan Wray - author of six books, including Writing for Magazines: A Beginner's Guide, and over 100 magazine and newspaper stories;

6. Playwright/actress Rebecca Jernigan - playwright of numerous plays produced throughout the Southeast, including Actor's Theatre of Louisville, taught at playwrititng and scriptwriting at Yoknapatawpha Writing Seminar and The Mississippi Governor's School among others.

What are the fees for these events?


For the Spring Retreat it is $50 for the 2-day retreat. If you're not attending the Retreat but want to take in a lecture/workshop with Floyd, there's a $10 fee for adults, $5 for students and seniors.

For MWG members, the conference breaks down like this: Early Bird (before June 30) $115, Regular $135 and critique $35. Nonmembers: Early Bird $135, Regular $155 and critique $40

The Details:

The Spring Retreat: April 4-5 at Magnolia Plantation, Gulfport MS, with Open Mic at Mockingbird Café Additional John M. Floyd Lecture: 4:00-600 April 5 at Magnolia Plantation

The Writers Conference: August 15-16 at Battlefield Inn, Vicksburg MS


See the MWG website for complete guidelines, bios, registration forms.

Meet...poet Gwendolyn Brooks

What should you know about Gwendolyn Brooks?

Born in 1917, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Gwendolyn published her first poem at the age of 13. In 1945 Harper & Bros., now HarperCollins, published her first collection poetry A Street in Bronzeville. Her collection about growing up in Chicago, Annie Allen, came four years later, winning the Pulitzer in 1950. At the time she was a homemaker and mother, writing poems between chores and caring for her son. Her daughter was born a year later and Gwendolyn continued to find moments to write.

Did her career end with the Pulitzer?


No, Gwendolyn continued to write throughout her life. Her last book, In Montgomery: And Other Poems was published after her death in 2003. In addition, she taught at many colleges and universities, received fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and the Guggenheim Foundation as well as numerous awards. She was name the poet laureate of Illinois in 1968. In 1999 then-First Lady Hillary Clinton presented Gwendolyn with the First Women award. She was constantly working to inspire and encourage writers, especially elementary and high school students.

Gwendolyn died in 2000 at the age of 83.

Can the Pulitzer-Prize-winner still be found?


Several of her books are still available for sale. I found her novel Maud Martha on Amazon.com as well as the collections Bronzeville Boys and Girls, To Disembark, and Aloneness, and her Primer for Blacks and Young Poets' Primer. However, I could only find Annie Allen on the used book sites alibris and abebooks. First editions were selling at prices ranging from $75 to over $600. Her first book, A Street in Bronzeville, was also on alibris, going for $75 to $750.

Don't forget to check your public library. I also found three copies of Annie Allen searching in the Georgia Public Library System's electronic catalog.


Sources: aalbc.com, Circle of the Brotherhood Association, Cybrarian's Cyberworld


Don't forget the deadline to enter to win the free handmade journal is Wednesday Feb. 27, 6pm EST. Click here for full details.