Free poetry and short story contest

deadline June 30, 2013; poems can be any style and length, stories 3,000 words max; Cash prizes; details here:

http://torridliterature.com/Contests.html

2 fun, free writing contests!

Medusa’s Laugh Press is currently actively seeking work for the following anthologies. Submissions are open until June 15th. There is no entry fee, maximum of three entries per person, per call. More information can be found on our website, http://www.medusaslaugh.com/.

• Cadavre Exquis Anthology: “Exquisite Corpse” is the name of a part game re/invented by Surrealists. It is a collaborative activity in which multiple players contribute to a short literary text or visual image. In the text version, the first player writes some text at the top of a piece of paper, and then folds the paper over to conceal all but the last bit of writing. The next player adds to the piece, starting from the visible fragment. Each subsequent player writes something connected to whatever the previous player has left showing, and then conceals all but the final part of their section in this way. The game ends when all players have contributed, and the final work is read aloud. The game can also be played to produce a visual image.

  Medusa’s Laugh continues this tradition via this call for submissions. Use the first and last sentence provided below for a short work of fiction or poetry. The word limit is 2,000 words; works longer than that will not be considered. Other than the required opening/closing text, there is no limit on genre, writing style, length, or thematic elements. The more creative and playful, the better!

  Beginning Sentence: I have forgotten my umbrella.
  End Sentence: They are not shouting at the moment.

• Miniature Book MicroText Anthology: We seek compelling short works for this anthology of microfiction, micro creative nonfiction and very short poems. This work will be produced as a limited edition miniature book. Our absolute word limit for this anthology is 1,000 words, although shorter works are preferred. There is no theme for this anthology, and all genres and approaches are welcome.

  We agree with microfiction writer Joseph Young when he decribes microfiction as work that “need[s] to use language, description, dialogue, character to tell a story that can’t be told any other way. It’s not just compression, and it’s not just leaving things out, background info on characters or such. Microfiction needs to carve out whole worlds in a space small enough to fit the eye. You look, just once, and there the whole story is, on the page.” This description applies to the kind of writing we’d like to publish, whether it be fiction, nonfiction or poetry.

FREE nonfiction contest

Warren Hollister Prize; This one is for NONFICTION about the Land of Oz. Deadline April 15, 2013; cash prizes; 10,000 words max; details HERE:

http://blogofoz.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-2013-winkie-conventon-research-table.html

FREE fun photo caption short-short story contest!

Mitch Lavender is holding a very cool contest!

In 101 words or fewer, write a caption / flash fiction piece for the stunning photo on his website:

http://lifein64squarefeet.com/2013/03/02/creative-caption-contest-win-a-copy-of-office-2013/

Contest closes April 1, 2013. The winner gets:

– a retail version of Office 2013 for Windows (valued at $219)

– a well-used paperback copy of Stephen King’s book, “On Writing” with all the good parts highlighted! (NOTE FROM WENDY: This is one of my favorite books of all time!)

– a copy of Mitch’s book, “Untrue Stories, Volume One – It Didn’t Happen This Way”

Free flash fiction contest with iPad mini and $500 prize

Best-selling author James Patterson is behind this one. (Be sure to check out “The Kiss” in his Witch & Wizard series); deadline is Feb. 26; 500 words max; details HERE:

http://figment.com/contests/james-patterson/

Contest for engaged couples

Maggiano’s Bliss List Contest for 2013; deadline is Feb. 28, 2013; read details here:

http://contests.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=contests&cdn=hobbies&tm=5&f=10&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=11&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//blisslist.maggianos.com/

FREE contest about the Avengers superheroes

Win a Harley-Davidson Street Bob motorcycle and a trip to a world premiere of a Marvel movie; deadline Feb. 15, 2013; details HERE:

http://contests.about.com/od/carsweepstakes/p/130215-harley-davidson-marvel-answer-freedoms-call-contest.htm

Free poetry & story contest for kindergarten to high school students

Woman’s Club of Westfield; poems up to 30 lines; stories up to 2,000 words; deadline Jan. 30, 2013; details HERE:

http://www.nj.com/suburbannews/index.ssf/2012/12/womans_club_of_westfield_annou_4.html

3 contests for poems and short stories

http://www.michiganquarterlyreview.com/submissions/prizes/

FREE contest for creative nonfiction

Ellen Meloy Fund – Desert Writers Award; deadline Jan. 15, 2013; no entry fee; send up to 10 pages; $3,000 prize to spend creative time in desert; details HERE:

www.ellenmeloy.com