Category: A Writing Life

New Pages Submission Opportunities – Have a Look!

By In A Writing Life, Stuff You Oughta Know

Some submission opportunities!

African Poetry Book Fund. Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets. Poetry. No Fee. 12/1

Agnes Scott College Writers’ Festival. Creative Writing Competition. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Drama. No Fee. 12/1

American Library Association. Schneider Family Book Awards. Children’s/YA Fiction, Children’s/YA Nonfiction. No fee. 12/1

American Library Association. W.Y Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction. Fiction. No Fee. 12/1

Breakwater Review. Breakwater Fiction Contest. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/1

Briarpatch. Writing in the Margins. Nonfiction, Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/1

december. Jeff Marks Memorial Poetry Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/1

The Fiddlehead. Poetry Contest. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/1

Five Points. James Dickey Prize for Poetry. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/1

The Heartland Review. Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/1

The Langum Foundation. David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction. Fiction. No Fee. 12/1

The Masters Review. Novel Excerpt Contest. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/1

Morehead State University. Thomas & Lille D. Chaffin Award. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry. No Fee. 12/1

Reed. Mary Blair Award for Art. Art. Entry Fee. 12/1

Regal House Publishing. W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/1

Slipstream. Poetry Chapbook Competition. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/1

Smith College. Poetry Prize for High School Girls in New England. Poetry. No Fee. 12/1

University of Evansville. Richard Wilbur Award. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/1 [even-numbered years]

Waywiser Press. Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize. Poetry. 12/1

Mono. International Short Story Competition. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/1

Invisible City. Nonfiction Flash Contest. Nonfiction. No Fee. 12/5

Mslexia (UK). Poetry Competitions (Single Poem & Pamphlet). Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/6

Columbia Journalism School. J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, Mark Lynton History Prize. Nonfiction. Entry Fee. 12/9

Columbia Journalism School. J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards. Nonfiction. No Fee. 12/9

Friends of American Writers Chicago. Literature Awards. Fiction, Nonfiction. No Fee. 12/10

Sarabande Books. Flo Gault Student Poetry Prize. Poetry. No Fee. 12/11

Daisy Pettles. Older Women’s Writing Residency & Grant Application. Entry Fee. Fiction, Nonfiction, Drama, Screenwriting, Comics. 12/12

Center for Kansas Studies. Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry. No Fee. 12/15

Chautauqua Institution. Chautauqua Prize. Fiction, Nonfiction. Entry Fee. 12/15

Columbia Journal. Winter Contest. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translation, Art. Entry Fee. 12/15

Gival Press. Poetry Award. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/15

Interim. Test Site Poetry Series. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/15

Longleaf Press. Book Contest in Poetry. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/15

Meridian. Editors’ Prize. Fiction, Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/15

MUSE Literary Journal. Holden Vaughn Spangler Memorial Award for Poetry. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/15

Poetry International. C.P. Cavafy Poetry Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/15

Story. Story Foundation Prize. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/15

Sunspot Lit. Culmination Contest. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Art. Entry Fee. 12/15

Sweet. Flash Nonfiction Contest. Nonfiction. Entry Fee. 12/15 (extended)

Voyage. Best Chapters Contest. YA Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/15

Toasted Cheese. Dead of Winter. Fiction. No Fee. 12/21

StoryShare. Story of the Year Contest. Fiction, Nonfiction. No Fee. 12/27

Virginia Commonwealth University. Cabell First Novelist Award. Fiction. No Fee. 12/30

Burnside Review Press. Book Award. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Center for Book Arts. Poetry Chapbook Program. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31 (extended)

Chestnut Review. Poetry Chapbook Contest. Poetry. 12/31

Cleveland Foundation. Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry. No Fee. 12/31

Do Wha(TS) Write. Creative Writing Contest. Flash Fiction, Short Stories. Entry Fee. 12/31

Dynamo Verlag. Book Contest. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre, translations. Entry Fee. 12/31

The Florida Review. Jeanne Leiby Memorial Chapbook Award. Fiction, Nonfiction. Entry Fee. 12/31

Hub City Press. C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/31 [even-numbered years]

Kallisto Gaia Press. Acacia Fiction Prize; Saguaro Poetry Prize. Fiction, Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

The Kenyon Review. The Short Nonfiction Contest. Nonfiction. Entry Fee. 12/31

The Lascaux Review. Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/31

LitMag. Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/31

Livingston Press. Tartts Fiction Award. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/31

The Lyric. College Poetry Contest. Poetry. No Fee. 12/31

The Moth. Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Hollis Summers Poetry Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Poetry Quarterly. Rebecca Lard Award. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Poetry Society of America. Robert H. Winner Memorial Award; George Bogin Memorial Award; Chapbook Fellowships; Four Quartets Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Press 53. Award for Short Fiction. Fiction. Entry Fee. 12/31

Rollick Magazine. Fiction Prize. Entry Fee. 12/31

The Society of Classical Poets. Poetry Competition. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Third Coast. Jaimy Gordon Fiction Prize/Poetry Prize. Fiction, Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Tofu Ink. Art Prize. Entry Fee. 12/31

Tofu Ink. Poetry Chapbook Prize. Entry Fee. 12/31

Tupelo Press. Dorset Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

Two Sylvias Press. Wilder Series Poetry Book Prize. Poetry. Entry Fee. 12/31

 

On Writing for a Catholic Newspaper

By In A Writing Life, Student & Alumni Contributions, Stuff You Oughta Know

SJU Writing Studies student Kevin Pitts talks with Pete Sanchez.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter “Pete” Sanchez (06’) is a Staff Writer and Social Media Coordinator at The Catholic Star Herald. In 2017 he launched the podcast Talking Catholic, which interviews Catholics leaders in the Diocese of Camden.

Since I’m interested in Catholicism and writing, I decided to talk to Pete about his work:

Kevin: You said you viewed telling other people’s stories as a “calling.” What did you mean?

Pete: I truly believe God has given everyone gifts, and I am thankful that he has given me the gift of being able to share other people’s stories through writing, about how God is working in their lives, be it in their parish, school, home, or community.  It’s a calling that I feel I should use this gift, to not only give God glory, but make known his goodness.  God has blessed me with the ability to write, and I have a responsibility to build up His kingdom here.

Kevin: The Talking Catholic podcast has a segment called “Talking Saints,” which simply tells stories from the lives of Catholic saints. Why do you do this?

Pete: My entire life, it seems, I’ve been inspired by the lives of the saints – Augustine, John Paul II, Teresa of Calcutta, to name a few. Their time here on Earth is a blueprint for how all of us should live out our daily lives. At the beginning of every show, my co-host, Laurie Power and I start off with a quote from Pope Francis: “To be a Saint is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone.”  We began this monthly program not just to show saints’ holiness, but their humanity and struggles; none of them were perfect.  God’s love and grace, however, transformed these men and women into models we can follow. They demonstrate that sainthood is possible for all of us.

Kevin: The Herald‘s intended audience is Catholics in the Diocese of Camden, which includes priests and laypeople of various ethnicities and levels of involvement. Writing for such a range of people, does your audience ever surprise you?

Pete: Honestly, I’m always surprised when I hear from my editor that one of my stories was picked up and shared by a national Catholic publication. It doesn’t happen often. On most days, I view my audience as the Catholic Community of South Jersey.  When I hear that one of my stories was read by someone in another state, it’s surprising and humbling. When it happens, it just reinforces the responsibility I have in my profession, as a Catholic who happens to be a journalist, to tell the truth.

Kevin: Is there a patron saint of newspapers for the Herald? Or have you chosen your own patron saint of newspapers, or writing in general?

Pete: In my office, I have artwork of Saint Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers and the Catholic press. In the 16th and 17th centuries, as a priest in Geneva, Switzerland, he would share the faith by writing it down and slipping it under people’s doors. I’m trying to do the same; get the Gospel message out to as many as possible.

You can find Pete’s work at the links below:

Home 1

https://talking.catholicstarherald.org/show/talking-saints/