Winter 2020 Contest Theme - Rituals
by Barbara Westwood Diehl
The theme for the winter contest is Rituals.
Rituals, rites, routines, ceremonies, habits, patterns of behavior. Religious, mating, workplace, home life, every aspect of life. Rituals that are ingrained in us. Rituals of other cultures. Practices that make you feel accepted or excluded, comfortable or uncomfortable.
Make a ritual part of your poem, story, or CNF. You have a writing ritual, of course. Perform it. Then write something extraordinary.
Three winners will be selected from among all entries. All entries considered for publication.
5,000-word limit for fiction and creative nonfiction (may submit 2 or 3 flash fiction or flash CNF pieces). We're strict about word limits for contest submissions, and work that is well under that 5,000-word limit often suits us just fine.
One to three poems in an entry. Good idea to send us three if you can.
Prizes are $500, $200, and $100. Entry fee is $10.
All contest entries, regardless of genre, should be submitted through the Contest link. Deadline is November 30, 2019.
Judging is blind.
Final judge to be announced.
(As always, writers may submit work related or unrelated to the theme in non-contest categories and pay no submission fee. Of course, only contest submissions are considered for prizes. Contest entry fees are used for prizes and for payments to all writers published in the journal. Every penny. Thank you.)