Undergraduate Student Call for Submissions

THE NORTH CENTRAL REVIEW

welcomes submissions of all genres from undergraduate students. Published twice yearly. Deadlines: October 15, February 15. Hard copies, proof of undergraduate status (.edu e-mail address) to NCR, North Central College, CM #235, 30 N. Brainard St., Naperville, Il 60565. For details, see orgs.noctrl.edu/review. E-mail submissions also accepted: nccreview@noctrl.edu.

a website for readers

if you love to read and like to keep up with what you read, i recommend signing up for a Goodreads account.

Goodreads allows you to have a list of what you've read, plan to read, and are currently reading. you can discover books that are similar to what you are currently reading, make friends and look through their reading lists, and follow your favorite authors.

it is free, easy to sign up for, and a useful tool for any writer looking for some reading to inspire them.

link: All the World's a Page: The 9 Woes of the Writing Life:

Recently at the end of a creative nonfiction class I taught, a student came to me with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. “I want to write. I want to be a writer. That’s what I want to do with my life.” I felt a gush of pride that I had managed a convert, but pity came next, then fear:  What had I done? I immediately knew I needed to fill in what I left out from the class script, the off-stage notes that turn out to be the most important. To her and to any other aspiring writers, I offer the cheerful remainder here (to be read in a sonorous voice, because the warnings are real).....   [ continue reading....]

"and we were hungry" Short Story Contest!

AndWeWereHungry, a new online literary magazine, seeks prose, poetry & art for Debut Issue

Deadline:  March 31, 2013

Theme:  "And We Were Hungry...." or "Hunger"

 Short Story Length: 2000-8000 words

From the website:
In honor of our debut issue, we seek work that is inspired by our name, “. . . .and we were hungry,” or, more broadly, “Hunger.” We believe that for writers and artists there is a deep connection between hunger, memory and the imagination in action, that “it’s lack that gives us inspiration.”
The theme is simply a thread for us to pull together a coherent inaugural issue and should be treated as a non-restrictive creative prompt, and contributors are thus encouraged to freely interpret it. We hope entries will embody a wild diversity of perspective, voice, and style; and suspect that the most powerful submissions will wear the theme lightly while presenting us with something new to discover. We encourage work from writers/artists of all backgrounds.
Short Story submissions are automatically considered for our Flying Elephants Short Story Prize, sponsored by "Ashes & Snow" artist Gregory Colbert. Four writers will share $5000 prize fund, with consideration for grand prize ($2000) reserved for short stories that connect the theme with nature.
Read more about the magazine's submission guidelines here.
Submit your story here.

Literary Magazines Worth Submitting To

Confused about where to send your poems and short stories? check out this article on literary magazines: Literary Magazines: Old School, New School, and Ones that Pay Cash

a wonderful and incredibly thorough guide to publishing in literary magazines

Whatever genre you write, I encourage you to check out The Writer's Studio Guide to Publishing in Literary Magazines and Entering Contests. It covers everything from what is a literary magazine to handling rejection--an excellent guide for beginners.

Two Essays on Editing A Poetry Manuscript

1} Notes from the Slush Pile by Tracy Brimhall
Advice from a writer who has screened many a poetry manuscript contest.

2}In the Poetry Contest Gulags by Erika Meiter
more advice from another screener