Unusual Calls for Submissions

Obsessions and Compulsions. We seek additional poems for an anthology project we started five years ago. Now that we’re gearing up again to complete the project and propose it to more publishers, we’d like more material to consider. What are you obsessed with in your poetry writing? What are you compelled to write about over and over? What subjects show up again and again across a wide body of work? The weirder the better. The National Enquirer? George Clooney? Psycho? Tattoos? Half-chewed cough drops from your grandmother’s purse? Broken rake handles in the cow barn? Artificial legs? Clam chowder? The ghost waiter at Cafe du Monde? Surprise us, delight us, and scare us with your obsessions and compulsions. (We do not want to see poems about ex lovers. We have enough already.) Those accepted will be asked to contribute an additional short essay later that explains why their subject matters so much to them and why it’s important to write obsessively and compulsively about it. E-mail attachments preferred. Send several poems about your obsessive, compulsive subject (so we can see just how obsessed you are) to Stephen Powers and Michalene Mogensen at obsessionsanthology(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail). Deadline: May 31st. Snail mail (with SASE for response) should be sent to Dr. Stephen Powers, Gordon College, 419 College Drive, Barnesville, GA 30204.

Whether you've never written a word in your life or write every day, we invite you to enter our Putting Our Heads Together Poetry Contest, 2011. Subject must be headache or Migraine related, but may be metaphoric or abstract. Form: Rhymed, free-verse, any form of poetry, but not prose. Poetry must be original and written by you. Submission of poetry written by someone else will result in disqualification. All poems must be unpublished work, never before published anywhere. Length: Maximum of 60 lines, no more than 80 characters per line (including spaces and punctuation). Please make special note of the 80 characters per line. This means LINES, not paragraphs. Number of entries: Please limit entries to no more than three poems per person. Age: Poems written by persons under 18 years of age must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian. "Family-friendly" language required. No profanity or other potentially offensive language. Deadline: Midnight, Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Submissions received after this date will be deleted. All poems that meet the contest rules will be published on HelpForHeadaches.com. Writer retains their copyright and is, of course, free to republish the poem elsewhere after the contest. More here.

Lavender Review is a biannual e-zine dedicated to poetry and art by, about, and for lesbians, including whatever might appeal to a lesbian readership. Contributors to the first two issues include Marilyn Hacker, R.V. Bailey, U.A. Fanthorpe, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Eleanor Lerman, Suzanne Gardinier, Judy Grahn, Ali Liebegott, Eileen Myles, A.E. Stallings, and Rachel Hadas. The theme of Issue 3 is Night, in honor of Marilyn Hacker's "night-fancied" Lettera amorosa. The deadline for submissions is 6/1/11. Send up to six unpublished poems (simsubs ok) in the body of an email to lavender.review com (replace (at) with @).

In the spirit of poetry, a literary form reliant upon small gestures of language, small spaces of silence — In solidarity with the people of St. Lucia, a small Caribbean Island still reeling from Hurricane Tomas — dirtcakes announces the First Annual Poetry Benefit Contest open to all writers. We invite poetry that celebrates the small, the individual, the overlooked. Contest winner will receive $100 and publication in an upcoming issue of dirtcakes.Winner will be announced on April 5, 2011 during a dirtcakes-sponsored Evening of Poetry and Music, one of the National Poetry Month events scheduled at Chapman University, Orange, CA. Poet Lynne Thompson will read the winning poem. All funds received will be donated to the St. Lucia Red Cross. More here.

Stymie’s FIRST ANNUAL TRADING CARD FICTION contest. Submissions will be accepted December 1, 2010 to March 15, 2011. General Guidelines: Submissions must be 100 words or less. There is a $5 entry fee. Stymie Magazine will publish the winning short story along with a selection of other finalists as part of a limited edition Trading Card Fiction set available in mid-2011. The winning story will receive a cash prize of $150 and a complimentary Trading Card Fiction set (a collection of the winning story and other finalists). All finalists will receive a complimentary Trading Card Fiction set. Submission Guidelines: * Stories must be no more than 100 words in length. * No submissions maximum per entrant, though each entry must be made separately. * Please do not simultaneously submit contest entries to another magazine or contest. * The submissions link will be active December 1, 2010 to March 15, 2011. All work must be submitted through our electronic system. We cannot accept paper submissions. * Winners will be announced in the late spring. Entrants will receive an e-mail notifying them of any decisions regarding their work. We are currently accepting entries via our Submissions Manager. Additional info may be found at our website.

Currently seeking contributors for a new book project entitled Gathered: The Anthology of Contemporary Quaker Poetry. Many anthologies of writing from other spiritual traditions have been published in recent years, and this Quaker anthology will be an important addition to the conversation. Formal membership in any branch of the Religious Society of Friends is not a prerequisite for inclusion. Contributors should, however, identify as Quaker. Submissions should be in MS Word (.doc or .docx) or RTF format, along with a cover letter containing contact information, an author bio, and a little something about your connection to Quakerism. E-mail your submission to: quaker.poetry(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail). More here.