Friday 23 November 2018

Ellipsis Zine, Five: Love Pride

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon from Pexels

* Submissions for this zine open 29th November. *
This zine will be a celebration of LGBTQ writers and writing. Please take a moment to read through the guidelines set out below before submitting. Thank you.
What and how to submit
  • This issue will be blind-read by Helen Rye and SmokeLong Quarterly Editor, Christopher Allen.
  • Email all submissions to: EllipsisZineSubs@gmail.com and format the subject line of your email with ‘Five’ and title of your work. For example: Five – My Flash Fiction.
  • Paste all submissions into the body of an email. Please don’t include any attachments.
  • The word count should not exceed 800, excluding the title.
  • Please confirm in your covering email if you identify as LGBTQ or if your piece celebrates LGBTQ characters.
  • Only one piece per submission.
  • We may ask for, or suggest minor edits/changes to your piece before publication.
  • Unfortunately, we don’t accept simultaneous submissions for our printed issues.
  • All submissions must be previously unpublished online or in print.
  • No racism, sexism, homophobia or religious hatred. Sex is acceptable, if it is relevant to the piece.
  • Only submit your own work.
  • All published authors are entitled to a free copy, a discount of issues and a share in the royalties. See our royalties page for more details.
  • The list of published authors will be posted on this page 17th January 2019.

Thursday 22 November 2018

Women's Aid Northern Ireland Anthology - Submissions closing soon


WOMEN’S AID NI ANTHOLOGY

Background and Context
This anthology of poetry and prose will give voice and agency to victims & survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their allies while also being an income stream to Women’s Aid Federation Northern Ireland in a time of decreasing funding and an increasing demand for our services.
The content will include experiences of domestic violence abuse and survival; works of the imagination and personal experience. It will also include work from first time writers alongside seasoned writers.

We will collect and collate poems and prose from women who are using or have previously used our services as well as other victims, survivors and allies which will help raise awareness of the pervasiveness of domestic and sexual violence and to facilitate changing the conversation in society in ending harassment, abuse and impunity.

This is a women led project, inclusive of those who are women with a trans history, non-binary and/or presumed female.

It is envisaged that the anthology will celebrate journeys beyond survival; of survival and of celebration. This will be a collection of writing addressing the issues of violence, unequal treatment, of identity and self-determination that will include some well-known writers as well as first time and emerging writers, carefully crafted to give to break the silence and challenge assumptions around issues that pervade our existence.

Contributors’ Guidelines

Closing Date for submissions: Friday 30th November 2018

Who can send work in?
Primarily women, including those who are women with a trans history, non-binary
and/or presumed female.You can be anything from a first time to an established
writer.

On What Themes?

Survival and Empowerment
This can be of any kind: from life-threatening to life limiting, mental,
physical, emotional. Eg bullying, social attitudes, negating laws,
upbringing, religious teaching, etc.

Autonomy
Owning and defining your body, your self.
How you live and control your own life and wellbeing;

Identity
Who you are, what defines you? Your journey. This can be personal, or perhaps
historical, referring to women you have known or identitfy with or wish to
make visible. (perhaps this should be a separate category?)
Breaking down myths.

Celebration
Of self, of the journey, of life, of change, motherhood/ parenthood, love, friendship

In what form?
Original poems, prose poems, short prose (which may be story, flash fiction,
personal recollection or reflection. Must be your own work, preferably not previously
published. If previously published, please give details of publication and copyright
permission to republish.

How much and how long?
Up to three pieces of work per person, total line length (including line spaces) 114.

Please send by email to: kellie.odowd@womensaidni.org

What and How do I send in my submission?
Please send your work in a word document. Include your name and email address
on each page of the word attachment accompanying your email.

Put the titles of your submissions, your name, email and contact phone number in
the email.

If it is not possible to send work by email, please post a paper copy to:

Kellie O’Dowd
Anthology Contributions
Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland
129 University Street
BELFAST BT7 1HP

We will acknowledge receipt of all work sent in. Unfortunately we cannot include all
work, so please send what you feel is your best and most relevant work. We cannot
return work, so keep a copy.

Monday 5 November 2018

Literary Competition Tips and Advice


  1. Always read the rules. Therein you will find everything you need to know about what is expected of you as an entrant. Don't comply at your peril.
  2. Edit. It cannot be said often enough. You think you're finished. You're not. There's always a bit of fat to be trimmed. I know I'm finished when all I'm doing is moving the same punctuation mark back and forth. There is no more heartsinking feeling than seeing a spelling error in the first paragraph after you have clicked "submit".
  3. If you write niche (horror, speculative...) seek out niche competitions. Often the entry rate is low so you'll stand a better chance if winning.
  4. If there is a guest judge, read interviews they've done where they discuss the kind of work they like. Read the winners of other competitions they've judged. It's useful to bear in mind as you write but don't try to copy what they do. Write to your own strengths. Be mindful though that some competitions employ readers to get through the initial slew of entries and arrive at a longlist. In these competitions the guest judge then takes over and picks the shortlist and winners from that longlist. So there is always a chance that the piece you've tailored to the tastes of the guest judge might be tossed out by a reader before they even have a chance to consider it. In my opinion guest judges are ultimately a good thing though and they keep a competition fresh and current.
  5. Some competitions offer each longlisted author publication in an anthology or online. This can be fantastic exposure and the buzz of being listed among other great authors in a popular anthology series is hard to beat. As an author you have to make the call. Mostly payment is only in the form of a free copy of the anthology. If you think your piece is good enough to win a different competition, hold on to it and submit elsewhere.
  6. Let's talk entry fees. When they are higher than the norm, writers will often balk and sometimes justifiably so but it is worth remembering that high entry fees will mean fewer entries and a better chance of getting listed or even winning. Free to enter competitions will attract more entrants, unless they are relatively obscure and in that case they are worth entering because you have a greater chance of standing out.
  7. Don't take not placing or winning to heart. It is a very subjective process. Persist and you will eventually prevail. I know of cases of rejected stories going on to win competitions. Ask any author, it happens all the time.
  8. If you are entering a competition in a different country, take time check out previous winners through the years. If they are all from the country in which the competition is held, it probably isn't worth entering.
  9. Unless a competition offers feedback, don't look for it. Some competitions offer advice for a slightly higher fee which can be worth availing of.
  10. The judge's decision is final. Don't quibble. It's a small world you don't want to make a name for yourself as a sore loser.