New Writer competition closing soon

This is the 12th year of the Prose and Poetry Prizes sponsored by The New Writer magazine. Prizes are awarded in the following categories:

FACT

Essays, Articles, Interviews - covering any writing-related or literary theme in its widest sense up to 2,000 words. 1st prize £150, 2nd £100, 3rd £50.

FICTION

Short Stories, Micro Fiction - short stories 500 to 5,000 words, micro fiction up to 500 words; on any subject or theme, in any genre (not children's). Previously published work is not eligible. Short Stories: 1st prize £300, 2nd £200, 3rd £100. Micro Fiction: 1st prize £150, 2nd £100, 3rd £50.

POETRY

Single Poems and Collections - Single Poems up to 40 lines; Collections of between 6 - 10 poems - no restriction on length of poems in the Collection category. Single poem entries must be previously unpublished; previously published poems can be included as part of a Collection. Collection: 1st prize £300, 2nd £200, 3rd £100. Single: 1st prize £100, 2nd £75, 3rd £50.

Closing date November 30th

Entry fees: vary from £5 for two flash fiction stories to £12 for a collection of poetry. Reductions for magazine subscribers. 

Read the rules: follow the rules. It's not rocket science - the administrators will exclude anyone not obeying without even reading the first line...

Felt in the mood for a poem about October...

...to be reminded what it's supposed to be like and here's one by Robert Frost. I presume he was writing about New England and I love the amethyst/mist rhyme (although I probably wouldn't volunteer to read it aloud).
There's nothing mauve and misty about old England right now. July got lost and ended up here, leaving a metallic taste in the mouth. There is gold in the air from a warm winter sun and bronze on the pavement from fallen leaves: there's even silver in the cash registers from unexpected visitors.

Saturday October 1st was the hottest October day EVER - hotter than Athens, Barcelona or Los Angeles.

It's like a present we didn't know we wanted until we got it. 

October by Robert Frost

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if the were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost--
For the grapes' sake along the all.

Mslexia's how-to poetry guide

To coincide with the MSLEXIA poetry competition (closing date July 14) the writing magazine have published an excellent guide to writing poems.

The last instalment is all about preparing your work for submission.

Summing up the advice in one sentence it goes something like...if you think it is ready to send off, don't...until you've answered the following questions:

Hold out the poem and scan it - does it look right on the page?

Does the poem fit the magazine or competition you’re targeting?

If it is free verse, what were your reasons for choosing to break the line there? (Clue: you really should have a reason...)

Does the poem feel abrupt? 

Is it too wordy?

Lots more advice (and answers) on the website - click the title of this post to go there

A Poetry workshop that inspires, transforms and let's you do things you never thought about doing before

Just heard about an exciting writing workshop that will be run by the performance poet Paradox in central Brighton on Friday April 2 .
NEW WRITING SOUTH are the hosts and they describe it as being “genuinely transformational”. It certainly sounds very special, very different…here’s what it will contain 

An entertaining, thought provoking, performance from Paradox
A theatrical introduction exercise
A historical of the question "What is the meaning of life?"
An examination of perception
A critique of belief/celebration of perspective
A date with death
A guide to the poetry in paradox and the paradox of poetry
A challenge and opportunity to write and perform an epic semi-autobiographic tragicomic poem, that inspires you to live a more creatively meaningful life 

No previous experience or creative writing skills necessary, just the willingness to be more than you thought you were.

A semi autobiographical tragicomic poem: write it, perform it. Bet you never thought you'd want to do that. But now you've read about it you are tempted, aren't you?
Cost for the full day workshop is £35. Bookings can made via the New Writing South website - click on the title of this post.

On Blake's Steps

An open poetry reading on the site of Blake's birth

with NAOMI FOYLE, NIALL McDEVITT and JEREMY REED

SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDE: TYMON DOGG, SUSAN DE MUTH & AJDEHANY THE CHILDREN

The organisers say that all are welcome to perform.

 Sunday Feb 2O at William Blake House, 8 Marshall Street, Soho, W1 (Oxford Circus tube) 2pm Free

N.B. On Blake's Steps is, as always, an outdoor event so dress inappropriately and bring your own scandalously cheap alcohol. (Blake doesn't care if it's an 'Alcohol Restriction Zone'). If the weather's biblical I gather that everyone will decamp to The John Snow on Broadwick Street.

"The Angel that presided o'er my birth

Said 'Little creature formed of Joy and Mirth,

Go Love without the help of any king on earth"

For Valentine's Day...

...the most profound expression of affection that has ever appeared in a poem. 

I like you more than I would like 

To have a cigarette.

From Wendy Cope's Giving Up Smoking

Poetry in Brighton

Naomi Foyle, a poet I admire very much , is running two poetry courses this spring. Details below. If you want to learn all the difficult bits in a  supportive atmosphere then check this out.
Lyric Poetry: Open Form
January 11th – Feb 1st
Tuesday evenings, 7:30 – 9:30
Cost:  £40 / £35 conc.
The lyric poem is `a brief subjective poem strongly marked by imagination, melody and emotion, and creating for the reader a single, unified impression' (C. Hugh Holman).  In this course students will study and write lyric poetry in `open forms' (or `free verse') and discuss the role that metre, rhyme and other elements of poetic craft  play in the composition and appreciation of open form poetry.
Narrative Poetry
March 1st - 22nd
Tuesday evenings, 7:30 – 9:30.
Cost:  £40 / £35 conc.
Whether long or short, fictional or confessional, the narrative poem tells a story. While it may contain lyric elements including imagination, music, and emotion, this poem moves the reader through time, developing character and
plot.  In this course students will read, write and workshop narrative poems, with a special look at the ballad, the dramatic monologue, and their own life histories.
The Kemptown Bookshop
95 St George's Rd
01273-682110

THE WRITER LETS GO

Sent off the 201 page manuscript of my second novel on Wednesday and this poem by Anne Bradshaw* sums up some of my feelings...

THE AUTHOR TO HER BOOK

THOU ill-form'd offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth did'st by my side remain,
Till snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true
Who thee abroad, expos'd to publick view,
Made thee in raggs, halting to th' press to trudge,
Where errors were not lessened (all may judg).
At thy return my blushing was not small,
My rambling brat (in print) should mother call,
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
Thy Visage was so irksome in my sight;
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
Thy blemishes amend, of so I could:
I wash'd thy face, but more defects I saw,
And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
I stretcht thy joynts to make thee even feet,
Yet still thou run'st more hobling then is meet;
In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
But nought save home-spun Cloth, i'th' house I find.
In this array, 'mongst Vulgars mayst thou roam,
In Criticks hands, beware thou dost not come;
And take thy way where yet thou art not known,
If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none:
And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,
Which caus'd her thus to send thee out of door.

I especially like the line

rubbing off a spot, still make a flaw

Sometimes it is hard to know when to give up on the editing, sometimes a little distance** is needed before you can decide when to leave well alone or when major surgery is required.  It's in my agent's hands now and I know he will look at it with a critick's eyes.
I wait. I wait.
*  America's first published poet. Northampton born, she was part of 17th century Massachusetts aristocracy - the men in the family were state governors and founders of Harvard
** Aristotle recommended nine years I believe...

Publish your poem

Want to find a home for that well crafted poem - the one that went down so well in workshops? Entering a competition is one option but you could also consider submitting for publication in a literary magazine....such as The View From Here
It has both a print and on-line existance and publishes author interviews, book reviews and original fiction and poetry.  Although it is British based, it is edited by an international team and - this is the really interesting bit - ithas a close working relationship with some big names in publishing such as Random House. There's no money in appearing in The View From Here but it's a damn fine writing credential and it could get you noticed.

Read the magazine (click on the title of this post o go to the website), do your research and polish your best work until it shines.  This is what The View From Here are looking for in the next six months....

November: “Regret For Dinner”
December: “Empty Rooms”
January 2011: “Absent Light”
February: “Sweet Nothings”
March: “Forget About It”
April: “Fools”

Poetry is all around us

Southbank Centre in London are running an engaging new project. GLOBAL POETRY SYSTEM is an international map of poetry created by users. It's based on the idea that poetry is everywhere - on gravestones and graffiti, in books and blogs, living in our memory. Southbank want people to load up poetry that inspires in video or audio recording, in photographs and, of course, in writing.
Warning note: this is not a platform for your own work (unless Seamus Heaney or Carole Ann Duffy are reading this in which case go ahead)
Click on the title of this post to travel the world in words.
(Just looked and there's no entries for Brighton. How can that be? Brighton is full of poets...postman-poets, teacher-poets, tarot reader-poets, nurse-poets. I thought it was one of the qualifications for living here...)

International TROUBADOUR Poetry Competition

It will be judged by Gwyneth Lewis & Maurice Riordan and it is nice to know that both judges will read all poems submitted
Prizes: 1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250
& 20 prizes of £20 each
plus a spring 2011 coffee-house poetry season ticket
and  a prizewinners’ coffee-house poetry reading on mon Nov 29 2010 for all prize-winning poets
Deadline: Oct 15 2010 

Judges 

Gwyneth Lewis was the first National Poet of Wales (2005) and her words appear over the Wales Millennium Centre, opened in 2004.  Her poetry collections in English include Parables and Faxes (1995), Chaotic Angels—Poems in English (2005) and A Hospital Odyssey (2010, all Bloodaxe).

Maurice Riordan from County Cork is the author of three collections of poetry, A Word from the Loki (Faber, 1995, a PBS choice), the Whitbread shortlisted Floods (Faber, 2000) and The Holy Land (Faber, 2007) which received the Michael Hartnett Award. He has been Poetry Editor of Poetry London and is currently Professor of Poetry at Sheffield Hallam University.
 

Rules
Competition open to poets of any nationality over 18 years; no competitor may win more than one prize; judges’ decision is final; no individual correspondence will be entered into.
 

Poems must be in English,  no longer than 45 lines, must fit on one page of A4, must be the original work of the entrant and must not have been previously broadcast or published (in print or online); winning and commended poems may be published (in print or online) by Troubadour International Poetry Prize and may not be published elsewhere for one year after Friday 15th October 2010 without written permission. No limit on number of poems submitted. No alterations accepted after submission.
 
Fees: All entries must be accompanied by fee of EITHER £5/€6/$8 per poem, if fewer than 4 poems, OR £4/€5/$7 per poem if 4 or more poems submitted; payment by cheque or money order (Sterling/Euro/US-Dollars only) payable to “Coffee-House Poetry” with poet’s name (and/or e-mail Entry Acknowledgement Reference, if appropriate) written on back.
 
By Post: No entry form required; each poem must be typed on one side of A4 white paper showing title & poem only; do not show author’s name or any other identifying marks on submitted poems; include a separate page showing Name, Address, Phone, E-Mail (opt), Titles and Number of Poems EITHER @ £5/€6/$8 each OR @ £4/€5/$7 each; no staples; no Special Delivery, Recorded Delivery or Registered Post; entries are not returned.
 
By E-mail: No entry form required; poems must be submitted in body of e-mail (no attachments) to CoffPoetry@aol.com; entries should be preceded by Name, Address, Phone, Titles and  Number of Poems EITHER @ £5/€6/$8 each OR @ £4/€5/$7 each; acknowledgement will be sent to entrant’s e-mail address showing Entry Acknowledgment Reference; send payment by post within 14 days quoting Entry Acknowledgement Reference; e-mail entries will be included only when payment received by post; no Special Delivery, Recorded Delivery or Registered Post.
 
Acknowledgement/Results: will be sent to all e-mail entrants after entry deadline and winners announcement respectively; no correspondence; postal entrants should include stamped, addressed postcard marked “Acknowledgement” and/or stamped, addressed A5 envelope marked “Results” if required.
 
Deadline: All postal entries, and postal payments for e-mail entries, to arrive at Troubadour Poetry Prize, Coffee-House Poetry, PO Box 16210, LONDON, W4 1ZP postmarked on or before Friday 15th October 2010. Prizewinners will be notified individually by Monday 22nd November 2010. Prizegiving will be on Monday 29th November 2010 at Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour in Earls Court, London.
 
Anne-Marie Fyfe (Organiser)
coffee-house poetry at the troubadour
www.coffeehousepoetry.org
www.annemariefyfe.com

 

Modest writers step forward

This month a new Irish literary review are accepting submissions for the inaugural issue of A Modest Review, a journal of short fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction.

Short fiction: minimum 1,000 words
Poetry: no restrictions
Creative nonfiction: minimum 1,000 words

Deadline: July 1st 2010
The website doesn't say, but I presume they are paying the usual reward for writers: honour and glory. However, I rather like their mission statement...

At Modesty Press we believe in three things above all else: happiness, good health, and fantastic literature. Our mission is to publish challenging new writing in beautifully designed books at a reasonable price.

We hope to publish in a variety of print formats - novels, novellas, fiction and nonfiction anthologies, as well as a literary review. For the more digitally inclined we plan to offer streamed audio recordings of all publications and podcasts available for free download.

An almost free to enter competition

You have plenty of time to work on this one because the closing date isn't until October 22nd 2010.  This competition is run by Sefton Arts in Merseyside (home to the Aintree race course - but I digress this hasn't nothing to do with horses). They are looking for:

poems up to 40 lines

short stories 

essays 

dialogues

mini-dramas

monologues
short texts......Nothing over 500 words

This is a FLASH FICTION competition, although they don't call it that.
And unlike most competitions, they welcome fiction and non fiction AND those passages of writing that are beautifully crafted, zing with description and energy, but can't be called a story. (At least that's my definition of a text....or could Sefton Arts be thinking of something else....? Any other suggestions?) 

The theme is IF which is about the most useful word there is for a writer at the ideas stage.

Children (under 14s) can enter for free but they have to include an illustration. Everyone else it's £2. The prizes aren't huge (£250 for the winner) but it would be a massive writing credit. The phrase prize winning writer never looks bad on a CV.

Click on the title of this post to download an entry form.

Dutch Inspiration

The history of a woman's life. How she sought the cool depths wherein lies deliverance, and how she found it.

If that quote inspires you then start writing. It is the first line of a Dutch novel by Frederick van Eeden (1860 - 1932) and the publishers want you to write a poem based on your personal experience that takes flight from the idea expressed here.

Deadline June 30

Prize £100 plus publication

The rules are pretty precise -- especially about the way you submit by email so read them all carefully.

Click on the title of this post to go to the website

Pantoum anyone?

  Birkbeck College is running a poetry competition with a first prize of £100 open to everyone - including children. 
What they want is a PANTOUM. 
 This is based on a Malay verse form. It consists of four line stanzas where the second and fourth line of each stanza is repeated as the first and third line of the next. In the strict form (and that's what Birbeck want) the first and third lines of the opening stanza reappear as the second and fourth lines of the last stanza. Phew! Poets like making it tough...deadline is Friday May 14 and to submitt email your pantoum to poetrycomp@bbk.ac.uk


A Brighton Weekend SUNDAY

Sunday evening was the first night of Bernadette Cremin's one woman show Altered Egos.
Iambic Arts Theatre in the North Laines was packed - they were standing at the back to hear stories of Val, Patsy, Trudy, Joan, Sophia and Tina...Here's how Bernadette describes it.

Listen to six women who have cat-walked and crawled out of my poetry over the last decade! They will invite you to into their own very different worlds... using spoken-word, music and film in a mish-mash of Shameless and Sex in the City.

It was an impressive and moving performance. The hard edged, fragile women that populate Bernadette's tight metaphors deserve this wider stage and she proved that the quality of her acting matches the quality of her poetry.
Last show next Sunday evening May 9 2010
Iambic Arts Theatre, above Bell Book & Candle on Gardner St with the entrance behind the shop on Regent St, signposted with balloons 
** table seating and cash bar
Time: 7:30 for 8pm
Price: £10/8

Free to enter poetry competition

erbacce-press are a Liverpool poetry publishers striving to be a writers co-operative. That hasn't happened yet, so in the meantime two dedicated and technically savvy poets run the press by themselves and provide an impressive range of publishing services free or cost price to writers...all with the aim of getting the work out there where it belongs, in readers' hands.
Right now they are running a competition and the first prize is a publishing contract, including publication of the poets’ work (up to 160 pages). The winner will also receive ten free copies of the finished book, in addition to generous royalties. Closing Date 14th June 2010.

Check out the website for all the details (click on the title of this post).

After thought: erbracce is Italian for weeds

Only Bernadette

Only Bernadette

could launch her third volume of poetry MIMING SILENCE hours after being discharged from hospital

Only Bernadette

can give a bravura performance and look as sleek as an otter in brown velvet while shaking off the effects of a night of sedation

Only Bernadette

wouldn't be phased by a brief, unexpected gap in the programme. Instead of waffling she treated her
audience to a tantalizing taste of her one woman show

Only Bernadette

can perform from memory instead of reading from the page, bringing a room to silence with the power of her words

Only Bernadette

would organise a raffle for the National Epilepsy Society with items from her home as prizes (tied up in plastic bags so you couldn't see what you might win).

Only Bernadette 

Go buy her book

Go to her one woman show Altered Images. It is on May 2nd and May 9th during Brighton Festival at the Iambic Arts Theatre. 

Go because there is only one Bernadette Cremin






         

Coming up

First I do the washing, then the packing...including laptop (I need about twenty thousand more words by the end of April)...then I go to Seville...then I come home

AFTER THAT....I'm guesting at a fantastic BOOK LAUNCH on April 14 at the Iambic Arts Theatre in Brighton.

Bernadette Cremin's third volume of poetry Miming Silence is brave and bold. She writes lines that hit you between the eyes and that you will never ever forget.

The Poet Laureate on Beckham

From Carole Anne Duffy's
ACHILLES

But when Odysseus came, with an
athlete's build, a sword and a shield,
he followed him to the battlefield,
the crowd's roar, 

And it was sport, not war,
his charmed foot on the ball ...

But then his heel, his heel, his heel ... 

"the best Laureate poem in 340 years"  - Ros Barber

click on the title of this post to read the full poem