Unusual Calls for Submissions

Jane's Stories Press "Bite Size" Contest
Your query letter-whether to agent or editor-must be concise yet compelling. It may be the most challenging writing you do. Send us your best effort, in 200 words or less. Veteran and highly respected agent Jane Gelfman of Gelfman, Schneider Literary Agents, Inc. will make the final determination.Submission Deadline is January 31, 2011. Winner will receive $25.00. Judge's decision final. No fee! Entries accepted only through submishmash.

Submission calls: FRIDGE
Sure, you're proud of your work -- but do you like it enough to put it up on the FRIDGE? The editors of FRIDGE are reading for the debut issue of their new online journal, coming soon from the makers of Mid-American Review and Prairie Margins.We favor shorter work in any genre. We want to see work that reflects what's on our own fridges -- work that we are eager to come back to again and again until something even more compelling comes along. We like humor, but gravity is not a deal-breaker. Opinion pieces that deal with any aspect of the writing world are also sought.We pay in Thanksgiving leftovers. You should probably send soon. Really soon. Submissions are accepted here. With questions, contact Karen Craigo, karenka(at)bgsu.edu.

ANTHOLOGY CALL: SEEKING ESSAYS BY WOMEN WRITERS ABOUT CRAFT AND THE WRITING PROCESS
In our own lives as writers and educators, we have felt buoyed by, and thirsty for, dialogue about the creative process. We think it is particularly essential to gather a collection of process/craft-based essays by women who span several different generations. We hope that an anthology such as this will serve as both a historical document of the times and lives of a sampling of women writers, but also as a rare look into some of the concerns of a diverse body of writers writing about craft, process, and their relationships to the literary arts in different personal/socio-political contexts.We are open to a variety of styles, from the more personal to the more academic. Based on the suggestions of a guiding group of women writers, we have drawn up a list of questions which can serve as a guide for your essays. Please feel free to use them in any way that is helpful to you (or not at all). We are also interested in re-publishing relevant essays by some of our luminaries (dead and living): Audre Lorde, Muriel Rukeyser, June Jordan, Cherrie Moraga, Adrienne Rich... In addition to contributing your own, if you have read any essays that you think should be included, please send them our way. Please submit essays by March 15th, 2011, to discuss with publishers who might be interested in April. Please send essays toelanzobell(at)gmail.com and agia(at)hampshire.edu> (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail).

call for submissions: poetry for shaving anthology
Poems, no more than 40 lines each, about the male ritual of shaving the face, even if it is secondary to the message of the poem (or especially if it is). Deadline: Jan. 17. Include a short bio. Attach as Word doc and send to: sweeper905(at)aol.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail).

ANIMAL FARM is seeking submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for Issue #2 of its exciting, online literary product. Please submit by January 31, 2011.
The special theme of Issue #2 is "THE ABYSS." Not James Cameron's film, THE ABYSS, although we would welcome essays and fan fiction related to that cinematic product if they achieve the level of literary distinction endemic to all things ANIMAL FARM. Please take a look at the pieces collected in Issue #1, "GREETINGS," in order to get a sense of whether the FARM is right for you. Please submit by January 31, 2011. And, as always, CONTEMPLATE THE ABYSS.

CONTEST: The Night
postmark deadline January 31, 2011. Co-sponsored by The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Judged by Susan Orlean. Creative Nonfiction and The Salt Institute are seeking essays about "The Night": It was a dark and stormy night; Strangers in the Night; the night sky; Friday Night Lights; things that go bump in the night; Take Back the Night; night owls; The Night Before Christmas; The Night Watch; The Night Kitchen; The Armies of the Night; The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down; prom night; date night; Good Night, Nurse! Essays must be vivid and dramatic; they should combine a strong and compelling narrative with a significant element of research or information, and reach for some universal or deeper meaning in personal experiences. We're looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice. More here.