Pushcart Prize Ranking of Literary Magazines (2013)

the 2013 Pushcart Prize Ranking of Literary Magazines (Poetry)

What's your excuse?

Writing Exercise:

Write a poem made up entirely of excuses.

Agnes Scott 42nd Annual Writer's Festival Writing Competition

Creative Writing Competition

Entry Deadline December 3, 2012

"Agnes Scott College's 42^nd annual Writers' Festival will be held on the college's Decatur campus on Thursday and Friday, April 4 and 5, 2013. Finalist entries in the Festival contest will be judged by distinguished guest writers Gish Jen, Cristina Garcia, and Anjail Rashida Ahmad '92. All three will also give public readings during the Festival.

Contest categories are poetry, short fiction, personal essay, and one-act play. A prize of $500 will be awarded to the winning entry in each category. Contest finalists will be notified by email in January. Finalists will be published in the Festival magazine and will be invited to a workshop with the visiting writers during the event."

For more information and submission guidelines, please visit { This Link }

Call for Southern Poetry and Essays on Southern Poetry

"Every issue of Rattle gathers poems from a specific ethnic, vocational, or social group, comprising a special section of about 30 pages. We’re currently seeking submissions from poets of the American South for our Spring 2013 issue. We will define Southern Poets as those who have lived at least half of their lives in: Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, or Texas. The poems don’t have to be about the South, or relate to the region in any way–as always, we want to publish a representative sample of what the featured group happens to be writing.

We’re also seeking essays on Southern poetry. For more information, see our call for submissions page. To submit poems or essays, just follow the regular guidelines and note that it should be considered for the tribute. The deadline for this issue is November 15th, 2012."

The Marks of Oft-Rejected Poems

The Indiana Review editors reveal 5 marks of a poems they typically reject--a must-read if you are interested in submitting there!

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Stephen Dobyns, on Revision

"When I was much younger, I would write a poem in the morning, work on it through the day, and then go to bed with a sense of accomplishment. The poem seemed finished. However, when I looked at it the next morning, all was changed. What had seemed graceful now looked clumsy; what seemed intelligent was now vague, while the formal qualities I had admired were a mishmash of inexact barrowings. My first sense, though I knew it wasn’t true, was that someone had entered my apartment in the night and wrecked my poem."

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How to Format a Cover Letter When Submitting Your Writing To Magazines (when submitting via snailmail)

Your Name
Your Address
youremail@email.com
555-555-5555

Poetry Editor's Name
Literary Magazine's Name
Literary Magazine Address

Dear Poetry Editor,

Please consider my poems "Title 1," "Title 2," and "Title 3" for Your Literary Magazine. I am studying writing at Your University's Name, and I have recently published in Literary Review, Literary Mag, and Lit Magazine. Big Name Poet's work in your recent issue was truly inspiring.

Thank you for reading my work!

Best,

Your Name

~

A few notes:

1. number of poems: follow the guidelines listed on the magazine's website

2.  If you have publications, list a few of them (three or four is fine). If you do not, tell them that too--magazines like to find new talent.

3. If you are studying writing somewhere, you can list that. 

4. Keep it short and sweet. 

5. Tell them why you are submitting to their magazine--did you recently read a poem in there that you admired? Do you admire their editor, poets previously published, prestige, etc? But if you haven't, don't make one up, obviously.

6. Be Honest.

7. Don't stress about the cover letter too much--the writing is what matters, ultimately.