Call for Stories

Decameron is reading submissions for its fall 2009 issue. Decameron is an annual anthology of one hundred quite short stories, under one thousand words each. We are looking for a variety of fiction (we can appreciate the fiction of Cheever, Munro, Borges and Calvino).  But we especially want to accept the works of writers interested not so much in plot but in revealing aspect of character through excellent figurative language, alongside a focus on the rhythm of the sentence. The deadline for submissions for our fall issue is July 31st. Please email your stories to Decameron.annual@gmail.com or mail them to:

Decameron

c/o The Pen and Anvil press

95 Melville Avenue

Boston, MA, 02124

We accept multiple and simultaneous submissions.

Sincerely,

Sean Campbell

Editor, Decameron

http://bostonpoetry.com/decameron/

posted 6/9/09

CALL FOR PAPERS

Understanding Superheroes

An Interdisciplinary Conference at the University of Oregon

Location: The University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Dates: October 23-24, 2009

“Understanding Superheroes” is conceived as an interdisciplinary multi-media event, held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition of original comic art at the UO’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

This exhibition, “Faster Than A Speeding Bullet,” will feature over 150 pages of original superhero comic art from the 1940s to the present, with examples of key works by many major creators in the industry, including Neal Adams, Mike Allred, C C Beck, Gene Colan, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, Bill Everett, Lou Fine, Ramona Fradon, Dave Gibbons, Don Heck, Carmine Infantino, J G Jones, Gil Kane, Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, Mort Meskin, Frank Miller, Joe Orlando, George Perez, H G Peter, Mac Raboy, John Romita Sr., Alex Ross, Marie Severin, Bill Sienkiewicz, Matt Wagner, and Berni Wrightson. 

Keynote Speakers include Danny Fingeroth (author of Superheroes On The Couch and Disguised As Clark Kent) and Charles Hatfield (author of Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature).

Guests Panelists include Kurt Busiek (author of numerous Superhero titles for Marvel and DC, and creator of the award-winning Astro City series), Greg Rucka (co-creator of Gotham Central, White Out, Queen & Country, and many projects for Marvel and DC), and Gail Simone (writer on Marvel’s Deadpool, DC’s Birds of Prey, co-creator of Welcome To Tranquility for Wildstorm, and current Wonder Woman scribe)!

Other guests TBA.

We invite 1-2 page proposals for 20-30 minute conference papers considering the implications of superhero fantasies for our understanding of such diverse topics as gender identity, queerness, theological yearning, and nationalist politics.  We also welcome appreciative discussions of superhero comics as significant aesthetic achievements — particularly insofar as those discussions contribute to the ongoing project within contemporary Comics Studies, to map the unique conventions of the comic art form.    Above all, we are interested in sophisticated, lucidly written analyses that utilize the conceptual tools and hermeneutic lenses of contemporary literary and cultural theory. 

It is our hope that this conference will help all participants, student and professional, skeptic and fan, to understand the extraordinary imaginative appeal of the costumed adventurer — an appeal that overlaps significant distinctions of age, gender, nation, and culture, and which no amount of silliness or cynicism seems quite able to dispel.

Please address queries and submit proposals via email to Ben Saunders, Associate Professor, Department of English by Monday, June 30th, 2009.  (Email address: ben@uoregon.edu)

Columbia Spectator

Do you like to read and write about books, attend literary events/exhibitions, and frequent cafés and bookstores for readings by authors and poets? If you answered yes to any part of the above question, you should write for Spectator Books! My name is Yin Yin Lu, and I am the new Spectator A&E Books Editor. There are many benefits and inimitable opportunities for Books writers besides being able to see your name in print: interviewing all sorts of published writers, from debut novelists to Nobel Peace Prize winners, attending events at the NYPL, Symphony Space, book festivals, and museums for free, and getting free review copies of books before they are released! Last semester, for instance, I interviewed Lytton Smith and Karen Russell, both published graduates of the Columbia MFA program, attended a talk with critics James Wood and Daniel Mendelsohn at the NYPL, and heard Malcolm Gladwell speak at the New Yorker Festival.

Besides being exposed to these exciting opportunities, another reason you should write for Spectator Books is that it is not a long-term commitment - you can contribute as often or as little as you like. You can start your own column, write a recurring feature, or submit an article once every few weeks (or once the entire semester). Moreover, articles are flexible in terms of length and style, depending on whether they are features, reviews, or pieces for the Eye (Spectator's weekly arts and features magazine). Or you can post reviews of any length or style anytime you want on Spectacle, A&E's new and amazing blog.

There really are no obligations to being a Spec Books writer besides actually writing the articles that you want to. I will be sending e-mails with pitches and other information every week, and holding biweekly meetings at the Spec office, but those are not mandatory and are just an opportunity for me to assign pitches and meet my writers.

Completely enticed? Mildly interested? Still uncertain and would like more information? Whatever the case, e-mail me at periwynkle@gmail.com.

posted 1/6/09

The Columbia Journal of Literary Criticism

*SUBMIT YOUR PAPER TO THE CJLC*
 

Want to see your academic work published?  The Columbia Journal of Literary Criticism is currently looking for papers in the humanities that exhibit strong theses, internal coherence, and   engagement with academic scholarship. Contributing authors will work with a team of editorial board members over the course of the year to expand, revise, and prepare the paper for publication in April. Participation in the journal is an excellent way to spend time elaborating ideas and refining prose beyond the levels that course deadlines typically allow for, and many past authors have gone on to use their papers as writing samples when applying for fellowships or to graduate programs.

The deadline to submit is Friday, October 24.  For more information, visit the CJLC website (www.columbia.edu/cu/english/cjlc), or send questions to cjlc@columbia.edu.

posted 10/15/08

Barnard's Literary Magazine, "Echoes"

Barnard's Literary Magazine, "Echoes," was founded in the fall of 2006 in order to foster the free expression by any Barnard student in all visual and literary arts... and is looking for submissions for its fifth issue!  We accept poetry, short prose, photography, and artwork.

Submissions should be sent by Wednesday, April 1st at midnight to barnardechoes@gmail.com. Submissions are also accepted through Echoes' website: www.barnard.edu/club/echoes.  Hardcopy submissions can be made to the editor-in-chief, Alexandra Loizzo, Box 5604 Altschul, though e-mailed submissions, if possible, are preferred. Submitters should include a phone number so that they can be contacted if questions arise.

posted 2/3/09

Decameron Short Fiction Contest

Decameron fiction Contest: $300 dollars for the best Short Short story of Less than one thousand words long.

Decameron is an annual anthology of quite short fiction, published by Penn and Anvil Press.

Please visit our website for further details: http://bostonpoetry.com/decameron/

Thank you,
Sean Campbell, editor

posted 6/9/09

2009 Rattle Poetry Prize

First Prize: $5,000

Ten $100 Honorable Mentions

Postmark Deadline: August 1st, 2009

Send Entries To:

Rattle

12411 Ventura Blvd.

Studio City, CA 91604

For Guidelines, please visit http://www.rattle.com/rpp/rpp.htm

Boar's Head Writing Competition

The Columbia Review, the official literary magazine of Columbia College is hosting the Spring 2009 Boar's Head Writing Competition.  Prizes will be awarded for poetry and prose, and submissions will be judged by faculty of the Columbia University English department, the Columbia School of the Arts Writing Division, and the Barnard College English Department.  Undergraduate students of Columbia College, Barnard College and SEAS may submit up to 6 poems and 15 pages of prose for consideration.  Please send your submissions to columbiareview@columbia.edu.

All undergraduate submissions will automatically be considered for prizes, and the deadline to submit will be announced sometime in March.

Please see our website for further information, www.columbia.edu/cu/review.

posted 2/13/09

The Institute on Political Journalism is now accepting entries for the

 Robert Novak Collegiate Journalism Award!

First Place $5,000
Second Place $2,500
Third Place $1,000

Awards Category:
The Robert Novak* Collegiate Journalism Award recognizes excellence in well-sourced news stories or analytical reports in collegiate publications that demonstrate an understanding of the basic ideas that support a free society.

Entry Guidelines:
Judges will recognize stories or series of stories that show initiative, original reporting and superior writing skills.

• Only one entry per person, up to 3 stories per entry

• Entries must be postmarked by April 1, 2009

• Entrants must be undergraduate students, currently enrolled in a 4 year college/university in the U.S.

• Entries must have been published in a print or on-line student publication

• Entries must be news stories; commentary or editorials are not eligible

• Entries must have been written between March 15, 2008 and March 15, 2009

• Stories should be copied from the original publication, onto 8.5 x 11 paper

• Enclose a cover letter with entrants' contact information

• Must submit 5 copies of entry

Submit Entries to:
Institute on Political Journalism
Collegiate Awards
1706 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Please visit the website at www.tfas.org/ipjawards for more information. Questions may be directed to Joe Starrs, Director, Institute on Political Journalism, at jstarrs@tfas.org or (202) 986-0384.

*Formerly known as the Thomas L. Phillips Collegiate Journalism Award. This award is sponsored by The Institute on Political Journalism (IPJ), which offers an intensive summer study and internship opportunity in Washington, D.C. This 8-week program is designed for students looking for professional, hands-on training in print or broadcast journalism. Sponsored by The Fund for American Studies in cooperation with Georgetown University, IPJ selects up to 100 of the nation's brightest college journalists to spend the summer in Washington, D.C. They intern at major news organizations throughout the nation's capital, attend site briefings at various government institutions, hear lectures from Washington's leading journalists and take courses in economics, ethics and leadership at Georgetown University. For more information about IPJ's summer program, go to www.dcinternships.org/ipj.

posted 1/28/09

ESSAY CONTEST FOR CHINESE AMERICAN

HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS AND NON-STUDENTS AGES 14-24

GROWING UP CHINESE IN NEW YORK CITY

Are you of Chinese descent, between the ages of 14 and 24, and did you spend an important portion of your teenage life in New York City? If yes, we invite you to write an autobiographical essay about your experience of growing up as a Chinese person in New York City. The essay should include your thoughts and ideas on your identity, family, friends and school, and how they impact you and the Chinese American community. Be sure to write an open and honest paper about how being Chinese affects your everyday life. All essays should be submitted to Drs. Ting Lei and Uwe P. Gielen who are currently preparing a book tentatively entitled Growing Up Chinese in New York City. There are two separate competitions: one for high-school age people and one for undergraduate students and college-age non-students. (If you attended a high school in New York but are now attending a college elsewhere, you are also eligible.) The two winning essays will be included in the book.

The two winning essay writers will each receive $500.

The two runner-up essay writers will each receive $250.

Your essay can be submitted in English or in Chinese. English language essays should be about 2,000-4,000 words (8-16 double-spaced pages) in length. When writing the essay, please change the name(s) of any person(s) that you are writing about. Also, you can use any writing style that you are comfortable with. You are welcome to write about any aspect of your life, as long as it pertains to the Chinese American experience. Essays must include a ‘Contest Entry Form’ that can be downloaded from the contest website.

Essays will be evaluated by a committee of judges, and they can be submitted by mail, electronically, or both (preferred). Send your electronic submission to chinese.nyc@gmail.com. Mail submissions should be sent to: Dr. Ting Lei, Professor, Department of Social Sciences – N620, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, 199 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007; Tel.: (212) 220-1216.

Submission Deadline: March 31, 2009

Contest Entry Form and Contest Rules can be found at: http://sites.google.com/site/chinesenyc/

posted 1/27/09

Japan Center at Stony Brook University-Canon Essay Competition (2008-2009)

AIM: The aim of the Japan Center - Canon Essay Competition is to promote awareness and understanding of Japan in the United States, and to help young Americans broaden their international horizons.

AWARDS:
Best Essay Award*: three awards in the High School Division (1st Place: $2,000; 2nd Place: $1,000; 3rd Place: $500) and one award in the College Division ($2,000)
Special Award: up to three awards in the High School Division and two awards in the College Division
Honorable Mention: maximum of ten in the High School and College Divisions combined ($100 each)

*Complementary awards (Canon cameras) will be associated.

Essay Theme: The Essay Competition theme is "Japan". Entries must be based on the author's personal views concerning Japan. What is it about Japan that inspires the author and why? Possible topics might be Japan's arts, pop culture, traditions, values, philosophy, history, society, politics, business or technology. Contestants do not need to have any experience in visiting Japan or studying Japanese, but insight gained from personal experience would be suitable for inclusion in the essay. The previous award winning essays can be viewed at the Japan Center's website: http://www.stonybrook.edu/japancenter. (Click "JCSB-Canon Essay Competition").

Entry Qualifications: The Japan Center - Canon Essay Competition is open to students who satisfy all of the following conditions.
1. They attend high school or college (private, public, or religious) in the Long Island counties of Nassau and Suffolk and the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn.
2. They are enrolled in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade or in undergraduate programs during the 2008-2009 school year.
3. They are US citizens or legal permanent residents of the US.

Conditions and Procedure:
Length: Maximum 750 words excluding title, footnotes, and bibliography for the High School Division. 1,000~1,500 words, excluding title, footnotes, and bibliography for the College Division.
Language: English
Format: Paper size: letter size (8.5” x 11”) Line spacing: 1.5
Font size: 12 pts. Margin: 1” (top, bottom, left, right)
Use of External Information and Sources: All use of external information or sources must be properly cited in the essay and the sources must be listed in a bibliography. Use of any external materials without proper citation will be considered plagiarism and grounds for disqualification.
Submission: Send your essay in MS Word or RTF format by e-mail attachment to: Japan_Center_Essay_Contest@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
(Alternatively, save it in a CD and mail it to: The Japan Center at Stony Brook, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5343, along with a hardcopy of the essay and a self-addressed and stamped envelope.)
Submission Deadline: December 31, 2008 (Acknowledgement of receipt will be sent by January 9, 2009)

The organization of your electronic file to be submitted should be as below:

The first page:
a. Author’s full name
b. Essay title
c. Affiliated school and current grade level / academic standing
d. E-mail address
e. Mailing address
f. Telephone number
g. Legal status (a citizen or a permanent resident of the US)
h. The name, title, specialty, and contact information of the teacher/faculty member who advised the author, if any
i. Name, mailing address, and e-mail address of the author’s guardian(s), if the author is a minor
j. Others (academic major, if any; any experience in studying Japanese or living in Japan)

The second page and after:
a. Author's initial
b. Essay title
c. Division (High School Division or College Division)
d. Exact word count of the essay
e. Essay text (no image should be included)
f. Bibliography, if any

 

Copyright: Note that submissions cannot be returned, and the JCSB owns the copyright of the award-winning essays.

Judging: Entries in the Japan Center - Canon Essay Competition will be evaluated by the following panel of judges on the basis of their insight, creativity, and originality of expression.
Honorary Judges: Shirley Strum Kenny, President of Stony Brook University, Joe Adachi, President & C.E.O. of Canon U.S.A, Inc.
Judges: Sachiko Murata (Chief Judge, Dept. of Asian and Asian American Studies), Clifford Huffman (English Dept.), Janis Mimura (Dept. of History), Gregory Ruf (Dept. of Anthropology/Asian and Asian American Studies), and Sheldon Reaven (Dept. of Technology and Society)

Recognition of Award Recipients: The award recipients and their essays will be posted on the web site of the JCSB (http://www.stonybrook.edu/japancenter) on April 1, 2009. The award recipients in the Japan Center - Canon Essay Competition will be formally recognized at the 2009 JCSB Annual Meeting, to be held at the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University on Saturday, April 18, 2009.

Organizing Committee: Eriko Sato (Chair), Mary Diaz, Marlene Dubois, Tatsushi Hirono, Patricia Marinaccio, Joan Miyazaki, Eva Nagase, Chikako Nakamura, Gerard Senese, and Megs Shea
JCSB Board of Director in Charge: Yoko Ojima
Canon U.S.A. Representatives in Charge: Emily Reynolds, Richard Booth and Dawn Shields

posted 9/11/08

The Poetry Center

At Passaic County Community College

 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards 2009

Honoring

Allen Ginsberg’s Contribution to American Literature

Sponsored by

The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College

First Prize: $1,000

Second Prize: $200

Third Prize: $100

Winners will be asked to participate in a reading to take place in the Paterson Historic District.

Please note:

The entry fee of $18.00 for the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards covers the cost of a subscription to The Paterson Literary Review.  The winning poems and all Honorable Mention winners as well as Editor’s Choice poems, will be published in The Paterson Literary Review.

Contest Rules:

1.  Up to five poems per person will be accepted for consideration.  Four copies of each poem should be submitted for distribution to the judges.  No poem should be more than two manuscript pages.  Since the poems will be judged anonymously, sheets which contain the poems should not have the poet’s name on them; instead a separate sheet should list the poet’s name, address, phone number, and the titles of the poems.  Poems cannot be returned.  Please do not submit poems that imitate Allen Ginsberg’s work.

2.  A check for $18.00 payable to PCCC must accompany submission (in the memo section of the check write “Poetry Contest”).  Please note there is a $45.00 “bounced check” fee for checks that are returned for insufficient funds.

3.  Only unpublished poems may be submitted to the Contest.

4.  Deadline: April 1, 2009 (postmark)

5.  Winners will be announced upon receiving the judges’ results, in Summer 2009.

6.  Contest entrants are asked not to call the College in reference to the Contest.  Winners will be notified by mail.  Winners’ names will also appear in newspaper announcements and on our website, www.pccc.edu/poetry.  Please include SASE for list of winners.

Send poems to:

Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Executive Director, Poetry Center

Passaic County Community College

One College Boulevard

Paterson, NJ 07505-1179

For further information, call the Poetry Center at 973.684.6555 or visit www.pccc.edu/poetry.

posted 9/11/08