Opportunities in the Great Big Literary World- June 1, 2011

Song of the Day: Dreams by Van Halen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Snf9oQ_ErM

    Hello all! This post is ridiculously late, but I got swamped yesterday and I didn’t get a free moment. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I usually discuss something writing related before the opportunities, but today I’m going to talk about my Memorial Day.
  
Disclaimer: If you don’t like Basketball, then feel free to skip over this.

    Guess where I was on Monday? At Dwight Howard’s Barbecue! If you know me at all, then you know that I have a tiny crush on him. *Insert dreamy eyes here* Anyway, I had a fantastic time, and I still can’t believe how close to him I was. What impresses me the most is the way he cares about his fans. He held a dance contest for the kids that attended and gave out cash prizes to the winners. There was also plenty of food for everyone, though my parents are the ones that told me this. I definitely did not notice the food!

    If you’re a basketball fan, then no doubt you’ve heard the rumors circulating about him leaving the Orlando Magic. There’s even been talk about him leaving for the LA Lakers (one of my least favorite NBA teams-I’m just saying.) At the end of the event he told fans that he’s staying in Orlando, but the team needs the support of the fans (definitely didn’t have to tell me that, as I am a die-hard Magic Fan.) I have tried to tell my friends who follow basketball, and they continue to be delusional about him leaving. Call me crazy, but I believe what he says. What NBA player do you know throws a free barbecue for their fans anyway? My two adopted sisters Pam and Quita are always talking about their celebrity crushes, just thought I’d share a little insight on why I like mine. I think it’s safe to say I had the best Memorial Day ever! (And for the record, I still managed to squeeze in some writing and reading time!)

    Okay, I don’t often blog about anything outside of the writing world, so give me a break! Also, occasionally my parents read my blog, so if you’re reading guys, Happy 32nd Anniversary!

I’ve gone on enough, here are the opportunities this week. I hope you are all at least finding a little time to submit?

Contests:

1. Literal Latte Short Shorts Contest

The literary magazine hosts its annual short short story contest. One First place winner will receive a prize of $500. All entries will be considered for publication. Stories should not exceed 2,000 words. The contest has a reading fee of $10 for up to three stories or $15 per set of six shorts. Contest deadline is June 30, 2011.

http://www.literal-latte.com/contests/

2. 2011 Spilling Ink Short Story Prize

Spilling Ink, a literary magazine, seeks short stories of up to 1500 words for an annual contest. This is a UK contest, but it’s open Internationally. First place receives a prize of £250, second place receives  £125, and third place receives £50. All three winners will receive publication and a free copy of the annual print anthology. In addition to the three winners, there will be entries that are shortlisted. Those authors will receive publication and a free copy of the annual print anthology. Entry fee is £5 and the contest closes on July 1, 2011.

http://spillinginkreview.com/

3. Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction

An annual national short fiction contest. One short story will win a prize of $2,000 and will be invited to an awards dinner at Rosemont College. The winning story will also appear in the winter print and online issues of Philadelphia Stories. Stories should be previously unpublished works of fiction of no more than 8,000 words. The entry fee is $10 and the contest deadline is June 15, 2011.

http://www.philadelphiastories.org/marguerite-mcglinn-prize-fiction-0

Calls for Submissions:

1. Fiction Fix

The University of North Florida’s Literary Magazine Fiction Fix, is currently accepting short fiction, short short fiction, and novel excerpts until August 1, 2011.

http://www.fictionfix.net/submit.html

2. Brevity Magazine

Brevity seeks unconventional non-fiction for their “Pushing the Boundaries” section. Deadline is June 13, 2011.

http://brevity.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/unconventional-nonfiction-wanted/

REMINDER:
This Friday June 3, 2011 will be the last day to submit to Black Fox Literary Magazine’s Fiction Contest. It will also be the end of the submission period for consideration in the Summer Issue (Can you believe it?) We’d love to see your work, so send it in now! Happy writing!

P.S. I’ve also noticed that I hit 150 followers! Yay! I think this is grounds for another contest! I’ll be thinking this week of what to give away in my upcoming contest!