Copyright protection/Prose contest

Writer’s Thought for the Week: Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. ~ Henry Ward Beecher 

The U.S. Copyright Act isn’t just about copyrights. The law includes other issues writers with book contracts should be aware of, such as a termination clause that may help some authors escape onerous contracts. For details, read “Will the CopyrightAct Open a Floodgate of Contract Rewrites for Authors?” 

LIBARTS LONDON PRIZE
Deadline: February 28, 2013

First prize: £200. Second prize: £100.

Word limit: 1500
No entry fee

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Use text, video, audio, photographs, or a combination of these to tell your story. Your story can be about anything: Freedom, Politics, Parents, Religion, Sex, Nature, Race, Education, Beauty…anything. Open internationally but text should be in English.

Psychic Distance/Poetry & Prose Contest

Writer's Thought for the Week: Everyone is a genius at least once a year. A real genius has his original ideas closer together.   ~  Georg C. Lichtenberg

At a book discussion I attended this week, we talked about psychic distance. The different levels are definitely something to consider whenever we begin a new manuscript. Just as we can and should vary the pace within a piece or novel, we can vary the psychic distance from our characters. Here's a great refresher from novelist Emma Darwin on the subject: http://tinyurl.com/3czjg2s

Carson Prize in Poetry or Prose

Deadline: November 15, 2012
Award: $100 and publication
Fee: optional

Publication will be in Mixed Fruit’s first print issue, to be published in early 2013. Open to all writers of any nationality in all genres. You may submit up to five poems of any length or up to two prose pieces (8,000 words or less per piece). If you feel that your submission blurs the line between prose and poetry, select one of the categories and it will be passed on to the appropriate editors. To enter, use the submissions manager and submit under the Carson Prize category. Donations do not influence the judges’ decisions.

Eric Hoffer Short Prose Award

ERIC HOFFER SHORT PROSE AWARD

Deadline: March 31, 2012. No entry fee. $250 grand prize. 10,000-word limit. Your submission must be previously unpublished, or published with a circulation of less than 500.

This award honors the memory of American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. The winning stories and essays are published in the annual anthology, Best New Writing.

Writer’s Thought for the Week: A true critic ought to dwell rather upon excellencies than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation. ~ Joseph Addison

Nature Poetry Contest and a Poetry/Short Prose Contest

Writer’s Thought for the Week: Books are the compasses, telescopes, sextants, and charts which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous seas of human life. ~ Jesse Lee Bennett

Friends of AcadiaNature Poetry Prize

Deadline: January 30, 2012

"Established in 1998, the Friends of Acadia Poetry Prize is awarded biannually to promote and recognize distinctive nature poetry. Three winning poems will be published in the Friends of Acadia Journal (print and online), and awarded prizes by category: 1st place–$350/2nd place–$250/3rd place–$150." You may submit up to three nature-based poems. No entry fee.

The Binnacle Annual Ultra-Short Competition

Deadline: February 15, 2012

The Binnacle's Ninth International Ultra-Short Competition is looking for prose works of 150 words or fewer and poetry of sixteen lines or fewer and fewer than 150 words. All works should have a narrative element to them.

"A minimum of $300 in cash prizes will be awarded, with a minimum prize of $50. At least one of the prizes will go to a University of Maine at Machias student."

You may submit up to two works, total, prose and/or poetry. No entry fee.