Community Highlights

Susan Vespoli Publishes “My Ex-Husband Calls to Tell Me Our Son Has Been Shot By Police” in New Verse News

June 15, 2022

Congratulations to instructor Susan Vespoli, whose poem “My Ex-Husband Calls to Tell Me Our Son Has Been Shot By Police” was published in New Verse News.

Nancy Napier Publishes in Psychology Today

June 10, 2022

Congratulations to Nancy Napier, a student in our Novel Writing Intensive, whose article “Now They Tell Me: Yes, Fiction Writing is Hard!” was published in Psychology Today. 

Susan Vespoli Publishes “Orange” in Rattle

June 10, 2022

Congratulations to instructor Susan Vespoli, whose poem “Orange” was published in Rattle’s Summer 2022 print issue. 

Susan Vespoli publishes two poems in Anti-Heroin Chic

June 6, 2022

Congratulations to instructor Susan Vespoli, who published two poems this week in Anti-Heroin Chic. In memory of her son’s life, Susan read part of her poem “Adam Abecedarian” on YouTube here.

Susan Vespoli Reads With The Performance Poets of the Palm Beaches

June 1, 2022

On Sunday, June 12th, at 3 P.M. Eastern, instructor Susan Vespoli will read for The Performance Poets of the Palm Beaches. To receive the Zoom link (or to read yourself!), email performancepoets20@gmail.com.

Ali Mckenzie-Murdoch Publishes “Call Me Mary” in The Bluebird Word

May 26, 2022

Congratulations to Ali Mckenzie-Murdoch, whose short story “Call Me Mary” was published in The Bluebird Word. Ali wrote this piece alongside our instructor Barbara Henning. 

Recording of Barbara Henning’s Brooklyn Rail Reading

May 25, 2022

If you didn’t get a chance to see instructor Barbara Henning’s live Zoom reading with Brooklyn Rail, you can watch the recording at this link.

Giovanna Siniscalchi Reaches Bestsellers List on Amazon

May 12, 2022

Congratulations to Giovanna Siniscalchi, whose historical fiction novel The True Purpose of Vines reached the bestsellers list for Spanish Literature on Amazon. Giovanna self-published her novel on April 25th after working on it alongside instructor Jack Smith.

Is there a milestone in your writing that you'd like us to highlight? We'd love to hear about it!

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Publication Opportunities

Drexel’s MFA Program Launches Scholarship for Marginalized Writers

Drexel University’s MFA program in creative writing recently announced a fully funded scholarship for marginalized writers. The goal of the scholarship is to fund writers whose marginalization contributes to the body of work they seek to produce. Drexel defines the term “marginalized” loosely, and seeks to support writers from a variety of backgrounds, including those with disabilities or routine financial hardship. Learn more about the scholarship, and consider applying today!

Pause for Paws

Pause for Paws, a quarterly journal which celebrates love for wild and domesticated animals, is open for submission. The journal welcomes poems by new and established poets. Submissions to the Spring 2022 issue must be sent in the month of February. 

Feeling More Alive

Instructor Giulietta Nardone’s book “Feel More Alive! 30 Brilliant Ways to Reignite Your Inner Spark” is a year old. One way she chose to market the book was to hold a writing contest. The contest will be fun and down to earth, open to writers of all levels. No credentials needed. Creativity welcomed. Judged by a panel of Citrine Publishing authors and editors.

The idea is to read the book, choose a chapter or even a couple, and write a personal essay about Feeling More Alive. Creativity encouraged! Prizes will be art from the book. A print on deep edge canvas ready to hang, a five greeting card gift set or a 144-page writing journal with divider painting on the cover.

Open to those 18 and over. 

Contest closes on February 15, 2022, with notification by the end of March. 

If you need something to get you writing, this contest deadline might be it!

More information on the contest, the rules and where to purchase the book/ebook here. 
https://giuliettanardone.com/fma-writing-contest/

the rialto

Submit to The Rialto’s 2022 “Nature and Place” Poetry Competition

The Rialto invites poets to submit to their 2022 “Nature and Place” poetry competition. Poets are invited to submit poetry that deals with any aspect of nature and place – these terms will be given a wide interpretation by the judge Gillian Clarke.

Poems must be previously unpublished and no longer than 40 lines. There is a submission fee of £7 for the first poem and £4 for every subsequent poem. Prize winners will receive the following: 1st prize – £1000, 2nd prize – £500, 3rd prize – £250. 

Learn more below!

trip fiction

Submit to TripFiction’s “Sense of Place” 2021 Contest

TripFiction is looking for fiction or nonfiction for its 2021 “Sense of Place” competition. All submissions should provide a strong sense of geographic location, launching the reader into a completely different part of the world. Submissions are open until November 6th, and the winning prize is £1,000 / US$1,350!

the letters page

Submit Your Best Epistles to “The Letters Page”

Submissions are now open at The Letters Page, a literary journal based out of the University of Nottingham, UK. Writers are encouraged to send creative writing in the form of a letter to The Letters Page by mail. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, and all published writers receive a gift subscription to a literary journal or small press. 

Cesar Egido Serrano Foundation

Submit Your 100 Word Story to The César Egido Serrano Foundation

The César Egido Serrano Foundation is now open for submissions to its 100 word story contest. Stories must be submitted by September 30, and can be written in Spanish, English, Arabic, or Hebrew. The winning story will receive $20,000!

a moment of your time

Read Your Story for “A Moment of Your Time” Podcast

The podcast A Moment of Your Time is seeking 1-5 minute recordings of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, centered around “solidarity and hope.” All submitted work should be uplifting and positive. Cheer the world with your voice!

Recent Student Testimonials

Arnold Doyle – Telling Truth

Ollie was very encouraging and supportive; they not only knew their stuff, but shared feedback in a non-critical manner. This course provided an intimate and challenging opportunity for me to learn about various poetry forms/styles, as well as the experience of writing and sharing unedited, first-draft poems based on prompts provided by the instructor. It forced me to work outside my comfort zone, and that was a benefit in and of itself, outside of the class material.

Nancy LaChance – Telling Truth

Ollie was a wonderful teacher. I think it was through their feedback that I gained the best understanding of how working in this kind of format can truly revolutionize your writing.

Techwashed – Aravinda Garimella

If you are a writer interested in the pervasive effects of tech on society, this course is a must-take. Shankar creates an inspiring space for creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and celebration of each other’s work. I found the generative prompts in this class inspiring. The students in this class were truly amazing people and the course has opened up a whole world of possibilities for my creative writing. Shankar is also extremely generous with resources, so you are learning for long after the class is over

Lori Posdal – Scene Study

Susan is a gifted teacher. She created an atmosphere of safety to express ourselves. Use of strongly written scenes along with lecture on technique was very helpful as a set up for our assignments. I especially enjoyed the break out sessions in class which allowed for time to meet classmates more intimately. I learned quite a bit!

Maria Warner – Scene Study

This class was great. Susan went above and beyond what I expected. Her feedback and workshopping with the other students was extremely helpful. Susan is a gem!

Chris Peterson – Scene Study

Susan Pohlman is very encouraging and her critiques of our work (not just suggestions but reasons for them) were most helpful. She’s warm, welcoming and obviously very knowledgeable and experienced in the writing field, as well as very talented. Her enthusiasm and love of sharing that knowledge is palpable and encouraging in itself.

Anne Samulevicius – Ordinary to Extraordinary

Excellent. Tina gave consistently thoughtful feedback – on various aspects of the poems, from structure to tempo to content – and was able to meet each writer where they are which is crucial, I feel. As a beginner I felt encouraged but also nudged to consider things I hadn’t before.

Joe Medeiros – The Joy of Poetry

Joy is a tremendous teacher and an enthusiastic person who has made me want to write at a time of my life when I wanted to be as far from pen and paper as possible. Her enthusiasm and love of poetry is truly infectious. She challenged us to write on the spot with no pressure or judgement. The way she analyzed poetry made it understandable and accessible. Without a doubt one of the best writing teachers I’ve ever had because she made me want to write.

writers.com Courses Starting Soon:

Next-Level Creative Nonfiction: Elevating Essays, Memoir, Travel Writing & Literary Journalism

August 15, 2014

Elevate your memoir, travel writing, literary journalism, & lyric and personal essays.

The Ongoing Fiction Workshop

November 10, 2014

Many students have attended this 10-week online fiction workshop with Shelley Singer multiple times, completed novels, and come back to finish more books.

Claiming Our Stories: Autobiography, Memoir & Autobiographical Fiction

November 12, 2014

Turn your experience into fiction, autobiography, or creative memoir. Bring forward stories with a powerful truth at their core. Instructor Anya Achtenberg.

Creative Nonfiction and the Personal Essay

November 12, 2014

Gretchen Clark pick axes her way into the volcanic marriage of real life and fiction. Weekly writing with incisive feedback.

Poetic Prose: The Prose Poem

November 17, 2014

Explore the border between prose poetry and flash fiction. For writers of fiction, poetry, essay and memoir.