April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

So says T. S. Eliot in “The Waste Land.” Though I don’t think our roots grew dull over winter, thesis defense season certainly stirs things up around here. I hope those of you heading toward graduation take time to breathe in the metaphorical lilacs and appreciate these moments that are the foundation of your next steps as a writer.

For all those who are in proximity to campus, I hope you’ll join us for the Conference on the American Short Story on April 18 and 19. This program has been delayed and reimagined over the last two years, and we’re excited to celebrate the short story together. The featured guests include our own Richard Bausch and Jim Blaylock, recent PEN award winner Yoon Choi, LA fiction writer Dana Johnson, and scholar Gavin Jones. See below for more info and the link to the conference website.

Of course, April is also National Poetry Month. Maybe you’ll read a Poem a Day. Maybe you’ll give NaPoMoWriMo a try. Maybe you’ll be part of Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 29.

Okay, time to scroll down to the kudos and opportunities!

—Dr. Anna Leahy, Director of MFA in Creative Writing

Alumni Achievements

Student Achievements

Upcoming Events

Politics and Prose will be hosting an in-person and virtual reading with Ocean Vuong on April 7.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and critically-acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky With Exit Wounds, comes Time Is a Mother, a deeply intimate poetry collection that finds Vuong searching for life among the aftershocks of his mother’s death.

Wilkinson College is pleased to host Stephen S. Power’s Master Class “Build the Business of Your Book,” which walks through the elements of a book proposal as a business model for a book and the tool nonfiction writers use to find an agent and publisher. 

Join us via Zoom on April 11th at 1:00 PM

The Conference on the American Short Story and the annual Pub(lishing) Crawl will take place on April 18th and 19th, 2022. This gathering brings together readers, scholars, teachers, editors, and writers—both established and emerging—for crucial conversations about how stories make sense of the world. All the public events will be free and are planned for in person.

Special Opportunity for Chapman U MFA Students and Alums

Anna Leahy seeks additional staff for Tab Journal to serve as readers, book reviewers, and potentially other roles. If you have taken a graduate poetry class at Chapman or have published poems in editorially reviewed outlets, contact her at leahy@chapman.edu if you're interested in joining the staff or have questions. These are currently volunteer positions. Responses preferred by April 10.

Opportunities

Broadsided Press is seeking submissions of poetry and prose for their annual Switcheroo, in which writers respond to the work of a Broadsided visual artist. The deadline is April 5.

The MSU Roadrunner Review is seeking submissions for its third edition. The deadline is April 12.

The Pen Parentis Writing Fellowship For New Parents offers one talented writer who is the parent of at least one child under 10 years old $1000 to further their writing career, a year of mentorship, and the opportunity to read their winning story at the Pen Parentis Literary Salon on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Submissions call for a new, never-published fiction story—any genre, on any subject—of up to 603 words, double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 point or similar font, with one inch margins. The deadline is April 17.

Open to un-agented writers worldwide, the First Pages Prize invites you to enter your first five pages (1250 words) of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. The extended deadline is April 24.

Miami Book Fair’s Emerging Writer Fellowships support writers who are working to complete their first book-length project within a year and help them launch their literary careers. Writers will receive critical mentorship from a nationally established author in their respective genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and Spanish-language) as well as a host of other strategic supports, including a $41,000 stipend and strong literary community support to allow for 12 months of uninterrupted time to craft their works. The deadline to apply is April 30.

Omnidawn's Single Poem Broadside Contest, with Martha Ronk as judge, is open through April 30. The submission fee is $10 for the first poem and $5 for each additional poem up to six, which must be submitted together. Omnidawn recommends poem of 8-24 lines to fit the broadside dimensions. In addition to broadside publication, the winner is awarded $1000.

The Muse is inviting poetry submissions for June 2022 issue. The deadline is May 10.

Ploughshares has announced that the 2022 Emerging Writer’s Contest is now open for submissions. Awarded annually, the contest recognizes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by writers who have yet to publish a book of their work. One winner in each genre will receive $2,000, a conversation with Aevitas Creative Management, and publication in Ploughshares. The deadline is May 15.

Poets & Writers has an extensive list of literary journals with website links and reading periods included, and you can filter by genre. There is also a good list of contests that rolls according to impending deadlines and a list of book review outlets.