Submissions: Cup of Comfort

A Cup of Comfort is a bestselling anthology (book) series featuring uplifting true stories about the experiences and relationships that inspire and enrich our lives. These slice-of-life stories are written by people from all walks of life and provide unique personal insights into powerful universal truths.

We are now seeking submissions for the following volumes:

A Cup of Comfort for Breast Cancer Survivors - Submission Deadline: 8/15/2007

It has been said that "stories are medicine" and that "one of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is to share our stories." This volume gives the healing power of story to women (and men) who have survived breast cancer, enabling them to share their inspiring triumphs and courageous trials with others who have beat breast cancer as well as with those who are currently dealing with breast cancer. We want uplifting stories about the experiences and emotions involved in battling and surviving breast cancer. Possible story themes include but are not limited to: diagnosis, treatment, emotional impact, support systems, healing practices, coping mechanisms, effect on loved ones, effect on personal and/or professional life, life after recover, prognosis, positive post-cancer outcomes.

A Cup of Comfort for Spouses & Children of People with Alzheimer's - Submission Deadline: 10/15/2007

What happens when the person who raised you or the person with whom you raised your children slowly becomes a child who doesn't know you? What if that loved one changes so drastically that he or she is virtually a stranger to you? What if that person is difficult to deal with and requires substantial assistance? How will the reality of having a spouse or parent with Alzheimer's affect you and your family—emotionally, financially, physically, socially, personally, professionally? The inspiring stories in this collection will answer those questions and more—and will show how love prevails and how lives thrive when a spouse or parent has Alzheimer's.

A Cup of Comfort for Divorced Women - Submission Deadline: 12/31/2007

Divorce in the twenty-first century should come with an instruction manual, a release valve, and a support system. This anthology will serve essentially those three purposes, in the form of comforting, insightful, and inspirational stories about surviving and thriving during and after divorce. We seek uplifting, contemporary stories on a wide range of topics of importance to divorced women—including but not limited to: dating, children, relationship with ex, in-laws, finances, friends, solitude, personal transformation, healing, revenge, mending fences, the ex's new wife or lover. The majority of stories will be written by women who are or have been divorced. Stories can be poignant, irreverent, humorous, witty, or wise.

Terms & Conditions

• Payment: $500 Grand Prize awarded to one story per volume; $100 (each) all other stories published in book. Plus complimentary copy of book. On publication.
• Story Length: 1,000-2,000 words
• Point of View: First-person or third-person (no second person)
• Style: Narrative nonfiction, creative nonfiction, literary nonfiction. But it must be a story.
We do not publish articles, fiction, poetry, prose, profiles, eulogies, sermons, testimonials, letters, commentary, expository essays, persuasive essays, diatribes, academic papers, confessionals, erotica, pornography, or experimental literature. Only the Christian-themed volumes of A Cup of Comfort contain stories with religious themes or references.
• Tone: Stories must be uplifting and can be poignant, heartwarming, and/or humorous.

For complete guidelines and submission policy go to http://www.cupofcomfort.com/share.htm

Contest: New York Times Magazine (Deadline Aug. 6)

"College as America used to understand it is coming to an end."

In the turbulent late '60s and early '70s, college campuses played a major role in the culture and politics of the era. Today, according to author and historian Rick Perlstein, colleges have lost their central place in the broader society and in the lives of undergraduates.

We invite all college students to read "What's the Matter with College," Perlstein's full article on the subject, and submit an essay of no more than 1,200 words in response.

Is the college experience less critical to the nation than it was a generation ago? We invite you to join the debate.

The winning essay will be published in the special Sept. 30 College issue of The Magazine and on NYTimes.com/Magazine. Five runner-up essays will also be published on NYTimes.com/Magazine.

The winning essay will also be featured on mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, as well as mtvU.com. Tune in to mtvU or mtvU.com this month to see Rick Perlstein's challenge to the national college audience.

How to Enter: E-mail your essay, name, e-mail address, phone number, college, and year of graduation to essaycontest@nytimes.com

Submission Deadline: August 6, 2007

http://nytimes.com/marketing/collegeessay/rules.html

Contest: Alligator Juniper (Deadline Oct. 1)

National Writing Contest in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry

Alligator Juniper holds an annual contest in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and black and white fine arts photography. Our reading period is May 1- October 1. We currently do not accept general submissions; we only accept contest entries during our reading period. Writing submissions sent outside of our reading period or without an entry fee will be returned.

$10 Entry Fee
$500 First Place Prize
Postmark Deadline: October 1, 2007
Our annual contest awards $500 plus publication for the first place winner in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Additional winners selected for publication will be paid in copies (4). $10 entry fee, checks payable to Alligator Juniper. Every entrant receives one copy of the 2008 issue, a $10 value. The issue will come out in summer 2008. There is no theme for the 2008 issue. Work is selected upon artistic merit. By entering our contest you agree to allow us to select your work for publication even if it does not place first. We encourage submissions from writers of all levels, especially emerging or early-career writers. We accept simultaneous submissions; inform us in your cover letter and contact us immediately if your work is selected elsewhere.

Submission Guidelines
Submissions accepted May 1st through October 1st, 2007 (postmark deadline).
Include a brief cover letter, including the statement below.
Include S.A.S.E for response only; manuscripts are recycled, not returned.
Include a $10 entry fee payable to Alligator Juniper for each story or essay (30 page limit per entry), or up to five poems.
Additional entries require additional fee.
Indicate category with a large F, NF, or P on cover letter and mailing envelope.
Manuscripts must be typed with numbered pages. Prose double-spaced.
Double-sided copies encouraged. No email submissions.
Send to: Alligator Juniper, Prescott College, 220 Grove Avenue, Prescott AZ, 86301
IMPORTANT: Unfortunately, due to recent problems with misinformed entrants and withdrawals, we ask that you include the following statement in your signed cover letter: "I have read and understand the guidelines for Alligator Juniper’s national writing contest."
Back issues are available for all but 1995 (the premier issue) and 2001. Send $8 to above address and request a copy from any year, 1996-2006.

Selection Process
All entries are read and discussed by Prescott College students in the Alligator Juniper practicum class. This class is overseen each fall by two faculty members, each of whom is a working writer in the genres of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
All entrants receive a personal letter from one of our staff regarding the status of their submission. We usually inform in late January. The individual attention we devote to each manuscript takes time. We appreciate your patience.

Paid Intenship: BlueOregon (Deadline July 31)

From BlueOregon http://www.blueoregon.com/:

As BlueOregon starts its fourth year this month, and as the 2008 election cycle nears, we're announcing the BlueOregon Fellows program.

What's a BlueOregon Fellow?
In short, it's a paid internship in progressive blogging.

What sort of person are we looking for?
Well, a blogger. Someone whose idea of fun is reading newspapers and blogs and telling their friends about cool stories they found. Someone whose idea of fun is digging into the details and finding the salient fact or quote. Someone who is conversant in Oregon politics, but is dying to learn more.

Some details:
The fellowship lasts for six months, with the possibility of extending it to a year.
We'll pay the Fellow a stipend of $400/month.
You can be located anywhere in Oregon.
Students are encouraged to apply, but you don't have to be a student.
Blogging experience is helpful, but not necessary.
HTML skills are entirely unnecessary; it's writing and story selection we're after.

The expectations?
The BlueOregon Fellow will...
Review the papers and blogs around the state each day for stories of interest.
Post one or two in-the-news, elsewhere, or open discussion items each day (10/week).
Review incoming guest columns and post the good ones.
Post original commentary over his/her own name roughly once a week or so.

So, how do you apply?
Send an email to blueoregonfellow [-at-] mandatemedia.com.
Include a resume and a cover letter about why you're interested in joining the BlueOregon crew and blogging about Oregon progressive politics.
In addition, write a short "in the news" style item about two of these stories:
"Political passion comes in boxloads"
"Missed finger, missed fun, missed point"
"Remembering Tom McCall"
"Payday lenders lose interest in Oregon"

Deadline: July 31. We'll make a decision in early August.
Sounds like fun, right? Join the team. We'll change the world. (Or at least, this blue corner of it.)

Contest: Graywolf Nonfiction Prize (Deadline Sept. 30)

Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize Submission Guidelines
www.graywolfpress.org

Graywolf Press is pleased to announce the fourth annual Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize. A $12,000 advance and publication by Graywolf in 2009 will be awarded to the best previously unpublished, full-length work of literary nonfiction by a writer not yet established in the genre. Robert Polito will serve as the judge.

"This prize seeks to acknowledge and honor the great traditions of literary nonfiction, extending from Robert Burton and Thomas Browne in the seventeenth century through Defoe and Strachey and on to James Baldwin, Joan Didion, and Jamaica Kincaid in our own time," says Robert Polito. In looking for the winner, Polito goes on to say, "We seek the boldest and most innovative books from emerging nonfiction writers, although we define emerging (no more than two published books) as lightly and flexibly as we define literary nonfiction. Whether grounded in observation, autobiography, or research, much of the most beautiful, daring, and original writing over the past few decades can be categorized as nonfiction. Submissions to the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize might span memoir, biography, or history but it's essential that they be finished books (no miscellaneous essay collections, sample chapters, or proposals)."

Eligibility: Any writer who has not published more than two books of literary nonfiction (this excludes academic work and books in other genres) and resides in the United States is eligible. We welcome submissions from previously unpublished writers. Collections of miscellaneous essays/prose are not eligible for the prize. We will consider one submission per person. Manuscripts submitted for previous years' prizes will not be reconsidered unless resubmission has been specifically invited by Graywolf's editors or the judge.

Timeline: Submissions must arrive in the Graywolf offices between September 1-30, 2007. Please note that this is not a postmark deadline. The winner will be announced in February 2008 and published in February 2009.

Procedure: Please send one hard copy of the finished, book-length manuscript, along with a one-page cover letter containing contact information, a brief description of the manuscript (2-4 sentences), and previous publication history to Graywolf Press, attention Nonfiction Prize. Manuscripts should contain 175-400 pages of text, in a standard 12-point font, double-spaced, and printed on one side of the page only. Please use only a rubber band or binder clip to bind your manuscript. We will not consider manuscripts submitted by email or on disk. Please do not submit manuscripts or queries to the judge.

Requested Submissions: The judge and Graywolf's editors may request submissions from authors and agents.

Notification: Please check www.graywolfpress. org in February 2008 for announcement of the winner; this is the first place that the information will be posted. If you would like to be notified that your manuscript has been received, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard; for announcement of the winner, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped #10 (business-sized) envelope. We cannot answer any queries about the status of manuscripts or announcement of the prize. Manuscripts will not be returned.

All decisions are final, and the judge cannot comment on individual submissions.

Contest: Bellevue Literary Review (Deadline Aug. 1)

The Bellevue Literary Review Prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry

** Go to site to enter contest--only online entries accepted:

$1000 Magliocco Prize for Poetry
$1000 Goldenberg Prize for Fiction
$1000 Kaplan Prize for Nonfiction*

Judge, Marie Howe
Judge, Rick Moody
Judge, Richard Selzer

*sponsored by the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation

BLR Prize Guidelines:

1. BLR Prize awards outstanding writing related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. First prize is $1000 (in each genre) and publication in the Spring 2008 issue of the BLR.
2. Prose limited to 5000 words. Up to 3 poems (max 5 pages). We regret that simultaneous submissions cannot be considered for the BLR Prize (but can be submitted for regular publication).
3. Deadline August 1, 2007. Winners will be announced by December 31, 2007.
4. Entry fee is $15 per submission. For an additional $5, you will receive a 1 year subscription to the BLR. (There is a limit of two submissions per person).
5. Manuscripts are submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word document. (Save with a *.doc extension). Please combine all poems into one document and use first poem as title.
6. Do not put your name on the manuscript document or cover letter. (This will be entered separately on our website.)
7. When entering the title in the website, please prefix with "Contest." (e.g. Contest : The Iliad.) This is extremely important and we appreciate your cooperation!
8. Work previously published (including on the Internet) will not be considered.
9. BLR acquires first-time North American rights. After publication, all rights revert to the author and may be reprinted as long as appropriate acknowledgement to BLR is made. All entries will also be considered for regular publication.
10. Due to administrative costs, if no entry fee is received, manuscript will be placed with general submissions. Submit entry fee here.
11. After you submit entry fee, you will be guided through the online submission process. When your manuscript is successfully uploaded, you will receive a confirmation email.
Questions? Please contact us: info@BLReview.org