The Writer January 2015

■ Virginia Hamilton was the first woman of color I read. More than anything, reading her books as a child and knowing that she was black sent a message to me that I could do this, too. ■ John Steptoe, whom I mention in Brown Girl Dreaming. The voice in his book Stevie was at once so familiar and so universal – that of a child being jealous of his mother sharing her love with another child. At the same time, because Stevie was black and spoke like the people I knew and loved, Steptoe was teaching me about the importance of voice in story and how being true to one’s authentic voice is really important. ■ Cornelius Eady’s You Don’t Miss Your Water is a collection of poetry I…

It is the south that brings my mother and my father’s mother, Grace, together. Grace’s family is from Greenville, too. So my mother is home to her, in a way her own kids can’t understand. You know how those Woodsons are, Grace says. The Woodsons this and the North that making Mama smile, remember that Grace, too, was someone else before. Remember that Grace, like my mother, wasn’t always a Woodson. They are home to each other, Grace to my mother is familiar as the Greenville air. Both know that southern way of talking without words, remember when the heat of summer could melt the mouth, so southerners stayed quiet looked out over the land, nodded at what seemed like nothing but that silent nod said everything anyone needed to…

Cicada “YA lit/comics magazine fascinated with the lyric and strange and committed to work that speaks to teens’ truths.” GENRES: Poetry, realism, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, essays, comics. WORD COUNT: 500-9,000 words. SUBMIT: Through contributors’ guidelines on website, via “Submittable.” EDITOR: Anna Neher, cicada@cicadamag.com cicadamag.com Creative Kids “Everything in the magazine is written by kids.” GENRES: Songs, stories, puzzles, games, editorials, poetry, plays. WORD COUNT: 500-1,200 words. SUBMIT: By USPS mail with cover letter and self-addressed stamped envelope. Editor: Katy McDowell, Creative Kids, P.O. Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813. ck@prufrock.com ckmagazine.org Kidspirit Online “Created by and for young people to tackle life’s big questions together.” GENRES: Nonfiction, poetry, media reviews, puzzles, cartoons, art. WORD COUNT: Up to 1,000 words. SUBMIT: By e-mail or USPS mail. EDITOR: Elizabeth Dabney Hochman, KidSpirit Online, 77 State Street, Brooklyn, NY…

The MFA is no longer onesize-fits-all. Each year, hundreds of genre writers join advanced degree programs to polish their craft and jumpstart their careers. Simmons College, Pine Manor College, Chatham University, Seton Hill University, Spalding University and Hamline University are among the growing list of schools that offer MFA programs with specialized tracks for children’s and young adult authors. Shelley Adina found her path to writing success through Seton’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. Her courses included “core modules that apply to all the genres: setting and research, plot and structure, dialogue, and so forth,” followed by electives that focused more specifically on her selected tracks. Adina concentrated on romance and YA fiction, a combination that helped her publish more than 30 books post-graduation. Her first book-length sale was her…

Are you ready for the big leagues? These fellowships, awards and grants provide huge opportunities for established writers to complete dream projects. Many of the organizations waive application fees, but be prepared for some stiff competition. Keep these tips in mind before you throw your name in the ring. The grants, fellowships, awards and contests here are a sampling of what the industry has to offer. For a complete listing, visit writermag.com. INFORMATION in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry C = Children’s Y = Young adult O = Other $ = Offers payment WriterMag.com Subscribers to The Writer have online access to information on publishers, publications, conferences, contests…

F THE BIG MOOSE PRIZE Submit unpublished novel through online submission manager. Manuscripts should be 90-1,000 pages in length. Open to new, emerging and established writers. Deadline: Jan. 31. Entry Fee: $25. Prizes: $1,000 and publication. Contact: Black Lawrence Press. editors@blacklawrencepress.com blacklawrence.com F PTHE BRIDPORT PRIZE Submit flash fiction (max 250 words), a short story (max 5,000 words) or a poem (max 42 lines) online or by regular mail. Open to writers of any nationality writing in English. Deadline: See website. Entry Fee: £7 - £9 per entry, depending on category. Prizes: £5,000 / £1,000 / £500 for poetry and short story categories. £1,000 / £500 / £250 for flash fiction category. Contact: The Bridport Prize, P.O. Box 6910, Dorset, UK DT6 9BQ. Email via online form. bridportprize.org.uk F CARPE…