We’ve had a good bit of positive feedback from authors who have really enjoyed our blog posts that outline some of the writing opportunities out there floating in cyberspace. This is the third article in the series, and we hope you all find it as useful as the previous ones. The writing opportunities are in order by deadline and separated by free and fee-based opportunities.

Ongoing 2014 (free)

Durham Editing and E-books

Of course, we again had to make the top of our own list. We are a small editing and e-books site that offers writers of all experience levels various opportunities throughout the year to publish poetry, short stories, memoirs, or songs. Publishing opportunities vary throughout the year, but there are five planned anthologies for 2014.  The number of pieces allowed for submission also varies per collection. Deadlines and collection details will be updated as publishing approaches. Submission is always free. Durham Editing and E-books asks only one-time rights to publish in the specified anthology, and writers retain rights to any pieces accepted to the collection. We also offer coupon codes for free e-book editions via Smashwords.com for all contributors and their followers and friends. We greatly enjoyed our first anthology of 2014, Aspiring to Inspire. This was our first women writers’ anthology, and it turned out wonderfully. It even made it to #2 in Literary Collections on Smashwords. We also had great fun with our collections this past year, including Whispers, Shouts, and Songs: Exploring Poetry Through the Independent Voice; Summer Shorts: Airing Out Secrets; Leaves of Change: Lessons on Love, Laughter, and Living; and Wrapped Up In Ribbon: Stories and Tales of the Christmas Season. More information on past collections and future opportunities can be found at http://editingandebooks.com.

Midlife Collage

Again, Midlife Collage holds weekly nonfiction contests for writers over age 40. Pieces are short, ranging from 500-800 words, and the $50 first prize seemed like a good enticement to give the website a try. We would love to hear from anyone who has entered or won this contest in the past. More information can be found at http://midlifecollage.com.

Poor Yorick Journal

Poor Yorick’s Journal, a journal of Rediscovered Objects, is a free online journal that takes submissions year round from any and every genre. Topics should be about lost objects and images of material culture. It seems like an interesting concept, but since the first edition will not launch until fall 2014, we don’t have any familiarity with the journal itself. You can find more information at http://www.pooryorickjournal.com/.

Songs for a Passbook Torch

Cherry Castle Press is a new publishing company that is taking submissions of poetry for their upcoming anthology, Songs for a Passbook Torch, an anthology dedicated to Nelson Mandela. Publication is scheduled for June 2015, and submissions are open-ended at this time. Pieces should celebrate Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, the Mandela family, and/or the past and present fight for racial justice in South Africa. Find out more information at: http://www.cherrycastlepublishing.com/.

Conclave: A Journal of Character Autumn 2014 Issue

Conclave is accepting Halloween poetry, short stories, photography, and short works of all creative forms. Anything Halloween is acceptable. Conclave chooses six of its best pieces each year as nominees for the Pushcart Prize. Find out more information at: http://www.conclavejournal.com/submissions/submissions.html.

Sequestrum

Sequestrum accepts fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and artwork on a rolling basis. Prose should be under 5,000 words. Poetry should be under 35 lines. Possible payment for accepted pieces. Visit the website for more details: http://www.sequestrum.org/submissions

Dialogual

Dialogual is a new magazine seeking submissions year-round of dialogue-only prose. All genres except erotica. Pieces under 300 words.  Find out more at http://dialogual.wix.com/dialogual#!sub/cqh1.

April 2014 Free

River & South Review

Deadline: April 7, 2014

Entry Fee: FREE

Prize: Publication

Contest: River & South is now accepting short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submissions for pieces not previously published. Prose should be less than 1500 words. Poets can submit up to 5 poems. Each piece must have a 50-word author bio. One-time rights to publish. Writers can only submit one genre at a time.

Website: http://riverandsouth.blogspot.com/p/guidelines.html

The Human Journal

Deadline: April 15, 2014

Entry Fee: FREE

Prize: Publication

Contest: Publication of poems about living or traveling to another country or about created countries. Preferably poetry about lesser written about countries such as Bosnia Herzegovina and Ireland.

Website: http://humanjournal.org/index.php/submission/guidelines

Mountain West Poetry Series

Deadline: April 15, 2014

Entry Fee: FREE

Prize: Publication

Special Requirements: This contest is only open for residents of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, & Wyoming.

Contest: Submit your poetry manuscript of 60-100 pages long. Individual poems may have been published before, but the collection should not have been published or self-published.

Website: http://mountainwestpoetryseries.submittable.com

No Tokens Journal

Deadline: April 15, 2014

Entry Fee: FREE

Prize: Publication and two contributor’s copies

Contest: Accepting fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art.

Website: http://notokensjournal.com/submit/

Proximity

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: FREE

Prize: Publication

Contest: Accepting submissions in the form of essays or other storytelling about the theme STUFF.

Website: http://proximitymagazine.org/submissions/

April 2014 (Fee-based)

Sundress Publications

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: $10

Prize: $200 plus publication as a full-color PDF available online.

Contest: Sundress Press is looking for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or any combination thereof. Manuscripts must be 12-20 pages long (one piece per page). Individual pieces may have appeared in anthologies, print journals, or online journals. Translations are not eligible. Include cover letter, Table of Contents, and acknowledgements and dedication.

Website: https://sundresspublications.submittable.com/submit/27713

Lime Hawk’s Mental Health Anthology

Deadline: April 15, 2014

Entry Fee: $10

Prize: Publication

Contest: Lime Hawk accepting creative nonfiction essays on mental health and mental illness. Word limit 5,000 words. Anthology seeks to promote awareness and help end the stigma of mental illness.

Website: http://www.limehawk.org/projects

Writer Advice 9th Flash Prose Contest

Deadline: April 18, 2014

Entry Fee: $15

Prize: $200 (1st); $100 (2nd); $50 (3rd); Publication for honorable mention

Contest: Writer Advice accepting flash fiction, memoir, and creative non-fiction 750 words or less.

Website: http://www.writeradvice.com/

Ninth Letter Literary Awards

Deadline: April 25, 2014

Entry Fee: $17

Prize: $1000 and publication in Fall/Winter 2014-15 issue.

Contest: Accepting entries for four categories: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, and Literature in Translation. All entrants will receive a one-year subscription to Ninth Letter.

Website: http://www.ninthletter.com/contest

Center of the World Festival Playwright Contest

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: $10 minimum donation required by check

Prize: $500 grant

Contest: Contest is for 10-minute manuscripts that are complete and appropriate for reader’s theater. No mature audience material. Theme is social issue topics, such as ecology, justice, peace, equality, crime prevention, freedom of speech, and so on. No collaborations allowed.

Website: http://www.cowfest.org/playwright-contest

2014 Bristol Short Story Prize

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: 8 pound

Prize: $1600 (1st); $1100 (2nd); $640 (3rd); 17 more $169 prizes

Contest: Writers in the UK and abroad over age 16 may submit short stories on any theme or subject. The 20 finalists will also be invited to awards ceremony in Bristol in October 2014. Graphic, verse, and genre-based stories accepted

Website: http://www.bristolprize.co.uk/rules.html

2014 Trio Award for First or Second Book for Poets

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: $25

Prize: $1000, publication, and twenty books (1st); $1100 (2nd)

Contest: Looking for 1st or 2nd book of poetry by emerging poets.Must not have more than 2 books published.

Website: http://www.triohousepress.org/

2014 Louise Bogan Award for Poets

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: $25

Prize: $1000, publication, and twenty books (1st)

Contest: Awarded for artistic merit and excellence in any poet, no matter publication status. Book of poems should contribute in an innovative and distinct way to American poetry.

Website: http://www.triohousepress.org/

The Ledge 2014 Poetry Awards

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: $25

Prize: $1000, publication in The Ledge Magazine (1st); $250, publication in The Ledge Magazine (2nd)

Contest: All poems must be previously unpublished. No criteria for theme, subject, style, or form.

Website: http://www.theledgemagazine.com/print%202009%20Poetry%20Awards%20guidelines.html

Snyder Memorial Poetry Prize

Deadline: April 30, 2014

Entry Fee: $25 ($27 for online)

Prize: $1000, publication, and 50 copies in lieu of royalties

Contest: Poetry books 50-80 pages, no more than one poem per page, single-spaced.

Website: http://www.ashlandpoetrypress.com/guidelines/snyder-prize

Our Featured Author for April is Julia Rose Grey. Julia began working with us in 2013 on a cover for her book Cry Before Supper. A beautiful relationship was born, and we have gone on to work together on a second book cover and three anthologies, as well. Her smooth, witty style and true-to-life characters are easy to relate to and a delight to read. Her stories are featured in Leaves of Change: Lessons on Love, Laughter, and Living, Wrapped Up In Ribbon: Stories and Poems of the Christmas Season, and Aspiring to Inspire, our 2014 women writers’ anthology. Julia has also written The Dream Catcher and various one-act plays.

Julia resides in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, with her husband of 31 years. She is active in a rug hooking guild and enjoys yoga. Writing, however, seems to take center stage. Julia is involved in local writing groups, including the Philadelphia Drama Center that promotes playwriting and performing and the Wellington Scribblers, a bi-monthly writing exercise group that she co-founded with a friend. She has also joined us for writing exercises online through Writer’s Crown, a Linked In writers’ group.

An eternal optimist, Julia has overcome adversity to blossom into a brilliant, uplifting author. Despite a critical home environment as a child, Julia remained resilient and hopeful. Her writing journey started at a young age, and in high school her humorous tone began to come out in parodies, such as her version of Poe’s The Raven in which she lamented homework as a task that would last “evermore.”

Julia’s more recent works have a truly nostalgic feel, bringing to life imaginings of Main Street, USA. Julia is currently working on another novel, a timeless piece set in the summer of 1957.

We were able to catch up with Julia and enjoy a bit of her wit and wisdom, both of which would outshine Erma Bombeck’s. Here’s what she had to say about writing, reading, and what you might expect from this amazing lady next.

When did you first start writing?

I started writing stories when I was a girl.  In my career, I wrote non-fiction–proposals, manuals, and competitive bid contracts.  Now that I am retired, I employ myself to do what I love, spinning yarns that engage people with characters and their stories.

Where did you grow up, and how did it influence your writing?

I grew up in small suburban towns outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.  It’s so much the location of the town–except that the area was steeped in American History, and I loved that aspect–but there were always books around, in school, in our home, and I loved to read.

Where do you write? Describe this area for us.

My office is in a small, 10’ by 12’ room at the back of our house.  I have a desk, a table for the printer, and two bookcases filled with reference books and file storage boxes.  I also have a radio so I can listen to music.  There’s a double window that faces the equestrian trail surrounding our development and I can rest my eyes while watching riders on their horses pass by.  It’s a very cozy place, and I painted the walls a mid-green to enhance my ability to relax there.

When you aren’t writing, how do you spend your time?

Oh my gosh, I do so much and love what I do.  I don’t have hobbies, I have passions.  I read a great deal; teach workshops on letter-writing and reading appreciation (how to get more out of what you read); a writers’ workshop in which we jot down thoughts in response to prompts; review books on writing for the local independent book store; rug-hooking, which is calming; walking and yoga.

What inspires you to get out of bed each morning?

There’s always something to look forward to each day.  I try to keep my life filled with things I love to do and wonderful people to do them with.

What are your five favorite books, and why?

Pride and Prejudice because of the wonderful way Jane Austen relates a story; Winter’s Tale because of Mark Halperin’s lyrical language; Les Miserable because of Victor Hugo’s extraordinary characters (who stayed swirling in my head for months after I finished the book); To Kill a Mockingbird because of Harper Lee’s simplicity in telling a compelling story; and Jane Eyre because of Charlotte Bronte’s story-telling techniques.

What is the best writing advice you can give another writer?

Keep writing.  Keep learning how to write better.

What are you working on now?

I am working on another novel, whose working-title is They Ran Out of Rhyme.  It takes place in the summer of 1957, and I hope to publish it later this year.

You can catch up with Julia Rose Grey or find out more about her writing on any of the social media sites here.

Twitter:  @jrgrey602

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/juliarose.grey

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/elegance0698/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6555819.Julia_Rose_Grey

Hip, hip, hooray! Aspiring to Inspire is available in both e-book and print editions. You can purchase an e-book edition on Smashwords.com, Amazon, Kobo, Deisel, Apple iStore, Barnes and Noble, Page Foundry, Baker and Taylor Blio, Flipkart, Oyster, and Scribd. You can also get a print edition in trade paperback on Createspace. Once the print book is available on Amazon, you can get the e-book for free with purchase of a print edition. The e-book is regularly $2.99, and the paperback is regularly $8.99.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Aspiring-Inspire-Durham-Editing-E-books-ebook/dp/B00J3C41YW/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/420499

Createspace:https://tsw.createspace.com/title/4721882

Aspiring to Inspire has already reached the #1 Bestseller on Smashwords Women Writers’ Literary Collections Bestsellers’ List. Way to go, ladies!

Join us for the official launch party on Saturday, March 22, 2014, at 7 p.m. EDT on our Facebook Event Page. We will be giving away coupon codes for free copies of the anthology, chatting with the authords from the collection, and playing trivia to win FREE prizes! Don’t miss out!

Facebook Launch Party Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/653850121317187/

We are proud to introduce our very first Featured Author, Mellissa Black. Mellissa has had poems appear in our first anthology, Whispers, Shouts, and Songs, as well as short stories in Summer Shorts and memoirs in Leaves of Change. She has had work published by Storey Publishing (“Mini Craft and Tool Belt” as Mellissa Abreu) and is awaiting the spring release of “Barney” with Fringeworks. Mellissa’s poetry melds the classicism of Browning with the stark intensity of the 21^st century. Her stories shift from modern literary to supernatural and beyond. Her voice really hits its stride in the recollections and narratives of her southern heritage. Whatever genre Mellissa takes on, she is, without a doubt, a literary heroine.

Mellissa is a small town southern girl who, since high school, has lived across the United States. She has a BS in Computer Science from Limestone College and is currently working on her Masters in English from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She now resides in Vinemont, Alabama, where she spends time with her two children, works on her writing, and lives the life of a busy grad student.

We caught up with Mellissa and asked her a few questions about her writing. We are proud to work with Mellissa and have her join us as this month’s featured author.

When did you first start writing?

I started writing in 2010. I’m not like most writers who dabbled as they grew up. My family wasn’t the type to foster and support creativity. In a way, I’m glad I came to writing when I was mature. At the age of 33, I’d seen and understood much more of the world than I had up until that point. I guess you could say I finally grew up.

Where did you grow up, and how did it influence your writing?

I grew up in Westminster, South Carolina. All my works contain southern characters and a lot of colloquialisms. I love the way southerners talk and try to convey that in every story.

Where do you write? Describe this area for us.

Lord have mercy. I can’t describe all the places I write. Writing is a mobile hobby, and I write everywhere. I’ve been known to write on anything I can find, like wrappers and receipts. I write at school and at home and most anywhere I’m standing when an idea hits me.

When you aren’t writing, how do you spend your time?

I’m an English Masters student, so I am constantly reading. I have to read about three novels (or plays) a week and the corresponding critical analyses of the works. When I finally have free time to do what I want, I am a reality show fanatic. This is the way I study people and come up with characters. Reality shows are my guilty pleasure. I should be ashamed, but I’m not.

What inspires you to get out of bed each morning?

Mainly my doggie needing to go pee. No, really. It is her because I love to lay in the bed and think up stories in my head. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be in there ‘til I had to go to class.

What are your five favorite books, and why?

Oooo…hard one. I never have a favorite anything. One mood or the other usually dictates what I’m into. I really love Apocalyptic Sci-Fi and Fantasy, though. I’m also a big cyberpunk fan. So, I’ll do my best to pick five.

1.       Snow Crash (for its beautiful use of present tense)
2.      Lucifer’s Hammer (because it dares challenge what morals we can afford)
3.      The Mote in God’s Eye (because it asks what not is better but what is best)
4.      Glory Road (because every person should answer an ad in the paper and find adventure)
5.      The Book of Margery Kempe (there is always someone crazier than me…or as crazy anyway)

What is the best writing advice you can give another writer?

Do it and do it a lot. Writing only gets better by writing, and you will suck at first and you will suck later, but in between all the suck fests will be beautiful works you will pour your heart and soul into, and they will sing. Never, ever, never be afraid.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on several things. I have a couple poems that are slow in coming. I have a Mainstream novel that first was formed as a short story but needs expansion. I also have an epic fantasy that will probably take me years because of the intricacy, but it is by far my favorite thing to work on right now. I have a middle grade novel that my kids are in love with so far. I always have projects going, and I’m sure next week I will have three other things I’m writing.

You can find more about Mellissa and her works at the following links.

Blog: http://terminalsunshine.com

Twitter: @black_mellissa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellissa-Black/242135835815021

You can read Mellissa’s works in these publications:

Whispers, Shouts, and Songs: Exploring Poetry Through the Independent Voice

Summer Shorts: Airing Out Secrets

Leaves of Change: Lessons on Love, Laughter, and Living