As we move toward August, I encourage all our current MFA students and alums to participate in the Sealey Challenge to read one poetry book per day for the month of August. As I write this, I have a stack of poetry books and chapbooks to get me through the first two weeks, most by poets whose books I haven’t read before. If you’re not sure where to start, Ian Koh recommends Ada Limón’s new book The Hurting Kind in the Current Issue of Tab Journal, or and Soapberry Review (founded by current MFA student Audrey Fong) recommends Jenny Zhang’s My Baby First Birthday. I hope you each have some great summer reading in store.
We’d very much like to hear from alums about what you’re up to, near and far. And we encourage those of you who are on Twitter or Instagram to follow us @ChapmanCWMFA.
—Dr. Anna Leahy, Director of MFA in Creative Writing
Alumni Achievements
Meghan Kemp-Gee '21
(MFA)
Meghan Kemp-Gee's poem “Strawberry Tigers” was published in The Gamut Mag.
Jason Thornberry '21
(MFA)
Jason Thornberry's essay "Errant Crumbs" was published with Helix Literary Magazine and his personal essay "Psalms" was published with JMWW. His prose poem "Around the Garden Stone" appears in the newest issue of Phantom Kangaroo.
Student Achievements
Opportunities
The Conneticut River Review is open for their Experimental Poetry Contest. The deadline is July 31, 2022.
Pleiades has opened a call for submissions for a special folio titled "Silences of War: Erasure within Conflict." They are seeking poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid work. The deadline is July 31, 2022.
Omnidawn's annual chapbook contest is open for submissions. The entry fee is $18, and the deadline is August 15, 2022.
Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature is open access and publishes work under a non-commercial, no-derivatives Creative Commons license. This journal seeks submissions of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, artwork, video, audio, and more. The deadline is August 15, 2022.
The University on New Orleans Press seeks submissions for their Publishing Lab Prize. Full-length fiction manuscripts, either short story and novella collections or novels, are eligible. The selected author will receive a $10,000 advance on royalties and a contract to publish. The deadline is August 31, 2022.
The Lascaux Review is hosting a creative nonfiction contest. The entry fee is $15, and the deadline is September 30, 2022. The journal also considers general submissions with no fee.
Fresh Words is looking for poetry, short stories, essays, essays, and plays.
Kaleidoscope (a publication of United Disability Services) seeks fiction, nonfiction, poetry, artwork, and book reviews that challenge and overcome stereotypical, patronizing, and sentimental attitudes about disability. No fee, and it's a paying outlet.
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.
