Call For Entries: Plenary Publishing Short Fiction Competition

Thanks for your submissions! We will be announcing the winners in March 2011!

Competition Background

Plenary Publishing solicited short fiction entries for publication in an anthology that will survey the lives of modern African-American/black women. We asked for authentic works that reflect our joys, our struggles, our highs and lows, and the challenges of living in a society that stereotypes your existence while preaching to you about how to live it.

Competition Updates

Now that the antology is taking shape, we’re opening it up to poets. We hinted at this before in our FAQs, but we think poetry will add a nice flavor to our collection of work. We are again interested in diverse stories that center on the lives of black women, and we are specifically interested in poets who have received limited exposure.

There is no fee to enter this competition.

Deadlines and Publication

The deadline extension to enter the competition is May 1, 2011. Publication is scheduled for November 2011.

The Benefits

Anthologies are an excellent way to gain recognition and exposure, and to stretch yourself as a writer. Alyice Edrich penned a great overview of anthologies, including the benefits and risks of entering some competitions.

Each poet will receive $150 and ten free copies of the book. Plenary Publishing will host a nationwide reading series tour to promote the anthology, and featured writers and poets will participate in these events at our expense. We are also planning a documentary about modern black women, and featured writers will be asked to participate in the making of this film.        

Submission Guidelines

1. Your poetry must be original. No previously published poems will be considered. Poems that have been previously published or contracted to run in other publications will not be considered. Please note that your work cannot appear in any other publication, whether online, in print, or any other distribution method, until after the publication of our anthology.

2. There are no theme restrictions. You may decide the subject matter.  

3. Your submission must not violate the rights of any third party.

4. Each poet must have a body of work. You must submit at least five poems and provide a short description/essay on why you write.

5. Poets may submit multiple entries. Each entry must be submitted separately.

6. Please do not add illustrations or pictures to your poems.  

7. Submissions must be in Adobe PDF (our preference) or Microsoft Word. Please run a virus scan before you submit your entry.

8. We are accepting submissions via email only (our humble efforts to be a green company). In the subject line of your email, please type “Anthology Submission-Poetry.”  In the body of your email, please provide:

*Your complete contact information (name, address, email address, telephone number)

Do not paste your submission into the body of your email. All submissions must be attached to the email. Please email your submission to anthology@plenarypublishing.com.

FAQs

We tried to cover all bases, but please submit any additional questions to compfaqs@plenarypublishing.com.

Who owns the rights to my submission?

Copyright remains with the author.  

Will you provide critical evaluation or feedback?

No.

May I use a pen name?

Yes.

Can I also submit my novel?

Not through this competition. Please review our submission guidelines for novels and other works at www.plenarypublishing.com

Why can’t I submit my submission via snail mail?

Online submissions make it easier for us to distribute your submission to our reading panel in a timely manner. It also saves a few trees, as we’re able to do our initial screening online.  

What happens after I submit? How soon will I find out?

We anticipate a large number of submissions. Submissions will be grouped and screened according to the month of submission. Submissions will be forwarded to a reading panel that will suggest their top works. Those submissions will then be reviewed by the Plenary editorial team for final publishing decisions.

We plan to announce the poets in June 2011. We reserve the right to adjust the announcement date depending on the volume of submissions. We encourage you to submit early, as our eyes will likely be tired the deeper we get into this.

How many poets will you select?

Depends. If we love the work, we plan to feature it without regard to arbitrary cut-offs.

Can I submit my poetry to other publications after the anthology’s release?

Absolutely! In fact, we hope that inclusion in our anthology will lead to reprints in other publications, and we will discuss this specific issue with selected poets. If your poetry is accepted for publication prior to our selection and/or publication, you must notify us asap.