New Lit on the Block :: Northern Wanderer

Northern Wanderer is a new online quarterly edited by Dr. Darren Richard Carlaw and Elena Kharlamova.

The inspiration for Nothern Wanderer, write the editors, was the poem “After Breakfast (With Peter) Costing 5/6d” which appeared in Newcastle upon Tyne poet Barry MacSweeney’s first collection, The Boy from the Green Cabaret Tells of his Mother (1968):

“After Breakfast…” is a pastiche of Frank O’Hara’s “A Step Away from Them,” the walking poem from which Northern Wanderer's sister publication, StepAway Magazine, takes its name. Mr. MacSweeney’s after breakfast wander, however, takes place in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, beginning outside the Cloth Market Café and ending outside the Green Market

Northern Wanderer is a way of encouraging contemporary northern writers to follow in Barry MacSweeney’s footsteps, to explore and observe the North East of England on foot.

Which is precisely, then, what readers can expect to find in Northern Wanderer: A series of poetic walking narratives which celebrate street life in northern towns and cities.

Contributors to the first issue include Barry MacSweeney, Stevie Ronnie, Ira Lightman, Bob Beagrie, Ian Davidson, Lizzie Whyman, and Keith Parker.

In upcoming issues, editors expect that Northern Wanderer "will grow to become a repository of poetry and prose devoted to walking in the North East of England."

Writers are encouraged to submit one story or poem at a time via e-mail (no attachments). Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Response time is within 14 days with acceptance/rejection on a rolling basis. For more information, visit Northern Wanderer.

New Lit on the Block :: The Adroit Journal

The Adroit Journal is a triannual downloadable PDF publication edited by Peter LaBerge (Editor-in-Chief), Ameerah Arjanee and Magen Eissenstat (Poetry Genre Editors), Connor Cook and Kratika Mishra (Fiction Genre Editors), Michele Ang (Art/Photography Editor), and additional staff members.

LaBerge tells me, "The Adroit Journal was conceived for mainly two reasons: as a fundraising vehicle for an organization called Free the Children Organization, and as an opportunity for teenagers to come together to produce a collection of quality literature." A link to Free the Children is provided on The Adroit Journal website, and donors make their contributions directly to the organization.

Readers can expect to find a complete variety of poetry and fiction within the pages of The Adroit Journal. "Often readers and contributors remark that they cannot find a singular type of work that The Adroit Journal considers," LaBerge notes, "because we consider (and publish) all different kinds."

Some of the many contributors to date include: Poetry - Carol Guess, Dorianne Laux, Annie Finch, Lee Upton, Matt Mauch, Laura Kasischke, Darlene Pagán, Wendy Barker, Rebecca Kaiser Gibson, and Lyn Lifshin; Fiction - Kirk Nesset, James Valvis, William Walsh, Joel Allegretti, Kim Chinquee, Lydia Millet, and Karen Lizon.

LeBerge hopes to soon convert the journal to a print publication, and establish a direct way to contribute to the Free the Children organization, rather than the current implemented suggested donation method. This would then more directly fulfill his original goal for the publication and the efforts of its editors and contributors.

The Adroit Journal accepts poetry, fiction, and art/photography for publication in all issues on a rolling basis. Deadline information is made available on the website as deadlines approach. There are no themed submissions calls, and all submitted work should be submitted one at a time (i.e. each poem or piece of flash fiction separately) on the journal's submission server (Submishmash). Please see the website for more specific genre guidelines.

New Lit on the Block :: HOOT

HOOT is a unique monthly traditional-mail delivered postcard print format with additional separate content online.

When asked Why start a literary magazine?, Editors Dorian Geisler and Amanda Vacharat replied: "This is a great question. It does seem counterintuitive, a little bit, to start a literary magazine now, in 2012 - when there are already a bazillion magazines struggling to find readers and subscribers. We started a literary magazine because we thought we saw an unfilled niche, based on what people are looking for right now. It's not that people don't want to read new authors anymore, it's that they don't want it to take up a lot of time. People want concision. Furthermore, they want things that are shareable and self-defining (think Twitter and Facebook posts). So, we made a magazine that's short, and affordable, which (hopefully) looks good enough to be hung on a fridge, and is small enough that it can be easily passed along to others."

I have personally received the HOOT postcards, and as a fan of postcard lit, can attest that these are some of the best quality cards in full color that I have seen.

HOOT editors claim that their publications contain "Zest! We like zest. So readers can expect to find it! By which we mean: surprises - not 'twist' endings, but a wide variety in styles and subject matter from issue to issue. HOOT readers can also expect to find art that is visually appealing and also varied in style."

For the print (postcard) issue, there is only have one author per issue, so to date contributors include J. Bradley, John Steen, William Henderson, and Andrea Uptmor. Online issues, contributors to date are Meagan Wilson, Meghan Slater, Christopher Grosso, Stewart Lindh, William Doonan, Maria Anderson, Justis Mills, Caroline Zarlengo Sposto, Nick Sanford, Stephen Ross, Linda Simoni-Wastila, Thomas Mundt, and Marcy Campbell.

HOOT's plans for the future are "all about the idea that literature isn't just for capital-L Literary types." Editor Amanda Vacharat explains, "There's quality work being written that has appeal for a much larger audience, as long as it fits into their schedules. So, we're playing with the idea of printing literature on a variety of other mediums. We also want to make contemporary writing available to people who might not otherwise have access to it. We're working towards a model where we can send some subscriptions into prisons and inner city schools and libraries. [Editor's note: YEAH!] Also, starting in March, we'll be running free, in-person writing workshops locally (Philadelphia)."

Submissions are year-round and rolling. For print, writers can submit by mail or online. There is a $2 fee for submitting online via Submishmash (which the editors encourage! because this is how they are able pay their authors). But, mail submissions are accepted too, with a SASE. All for-print submissions are automatically considered for online publication. Authors only interested in online publication can submit by email.

In addition to all of this, HOOT editors run free online workshops every Wednesday evening in a chat room - for flash fiction/non-fiction and short poems (<150 words). "Basically," Vacharat says, "we'll read your work right there and give you immediate feedback. You're also welcome to help give feedback on other people's writing. We're very supportive, while still being honest. We try to give very specific things to work on. It's great for all writers - but especially if you're thinking of submitting, you'll also get a great sense of what we tend to like (and not like)."

[Pictured: HOOT: ISSUE 2, November 2011, "Poem" by John Steen]

Celebrate National Poetry Month with FREE Poetry

Free copies of the April 2012 issue of Poetry will be given to reading groups that request them by March 23. The Poetry Foundation asks that in return, you send a brief account of your discussion. Issues will be shipped in late March. Requests will be accepted online only here.

AWP Women's Caucus Meeting 2012

Where is the place for the woman writer within AWP and within the greater literary community? The women’s caucus discusses this as well as the continuing inequities in creative writing publication and literature. In addition, the panel will explore cultural obstacles in the form of active oppression, stereotypes, lack of access to literary power structures, historical marginalization of women’s writing, issues and perspectives, and the diverse voices of women. Networking opportunities.

Event Participants: Lois Roma-Deeley, Patricia Smith, Rebecca Olson, Kathleen Aguero, Lisa Bowden

Scheduled Day: Friday, March 2

Scheduled Time: 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM

Scheduled Room, Hotel, Floor: Lake Erie, Hilton Chicago, 8th Floor

AWP Conference
Chicago, Illinois
February 29-March 3, 2012
Hilton Chicago & Palmer House Hilton

Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers Winners

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their Short Story Award for New Writers. This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation greater than 5000. The next Short Story Award competition will take place in February. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: David Goguen of San Francisco, CA, [pictured] wins $1200 for “Old Teeth.” His story will be published in the Spring 2013 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in February 2013. This is David’s first story accepted for publication.

Second place: Allison Frase Reavis, of Carrboro, NC, wins $500 for “Episodic Tremors.”

Third place: James Wheeler, of Baltimore, MD, wins $300 for “The International Typographers Union.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadline for the Very Short Fiction Award: January 31 Glimmer Train hosts this competition twice a year, and first place has been increased to $1500 plus publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers, no theme restrictions, and the word count must not exceed 3000.

Authors Stand Up for Free Speech

2011 Fall Black River Chapbook Competition Winner

Black River Press has announced that Nick McRae has won the Fall 2011 Black River Chapbook Competition for his collection of poems, Mountain Redemption.

Nick McRae's poems, reviews, and translations have appeared or are forthcoming in Hayden's Ferry Review, Linebreak, Passages North, The Southern Review, Third Coast, and other journals. Formerly a Fulbright fellow in the Slovak Republic and a finalist for the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, he now studies poetry and teaches creative and analytical writing at The Ohio State University, where he also serves as Poetry Review Editor for The Journal.

Complete lists of the Fall 2011 Black River Chapbook Competition finalists and semi-finalists can be found on the Black Lawrence Press blog.

Les Figues Press NOS Contest Winner

Judge Sarah Shun-lien Bynum has selected Among the Dead: Ah! and Afterward Yes! by Becca Jensen as the winner of the first annual Les Figues Press NOS Book Contest.

Among the Dead: Ah! and Afterward Yes! takes place inside a family of five: Mrs. G, Mr. G, the daughter, the collector, and the chorus. It is a book about reading, imagination and the possibility of finding solace — or at the very least, meaning — in beauty. Among the Dead: Ah! and Afterward Yes! will be published in Fall 2012.

2011 NOS Contest Finalists:

Alice Boiln
Louis Bury
Roxanne Carter
Tom Comitta
Dot Devota and Brandon Shimoda
Travis Hessman
Brenda Iijima
Michael Joyce
Karla Kelsey
Katie Price
Theresa Sotto

Still Point Arts Gallery Exhibit Online

Still Point Art Gallery Current Exhibition THE ABSTRACTION ATTRACTION! opened on November 16 and will remain a featured exhibition through February 14. Abstract painting, photography, prints, and sculpture. Artists of Distinction for this show are Steven Bogart, Ling Ling Cheng, Nomi Drory, David Kinsey, Keith Parks, and Cat van der Heiden. These artists have also been awarded the opportunity to have their portfolios published in Still Point Arts Quarterly. The exhibit can be viewed in full on the Still Point Art Gallery website.