Hello everyone. I just submitted my manuscript, including 24 poems written in 2013, to Two Sylvias Press.
https://www.twosylviaspress.com/chapbook-prize.html
The depression glass trophy pictured at the top of the post is one prize you could win, along with $500 and 20 copies of your chapbook.
Since I have nothing ready to share, I will write a special poem.
Ornery Owl has a lot to say
But time is always slipping away
Don't talk to me about fun
There's too much work to be done
And not enough hours in a day
Sadly, or thankfully, this piece will probably appear nowhere other than this post!
I mostly see prose from my fellow blog-hoppers, but I bet there are some closet poets in our ranks, and maybe even a few out in the open ones as well, but I haven't noticed!
While I always try to polish up my manuscripts before submitting them, I also try not to worry about if they get accepted. My current rule on work that I submit is if it's rejected the first time, for a year after that date I will submit it to other publishers if they seem like a possible good fit. After that it's mine to do what I want with it and make no mistake, I will self-publish it!
That's about all the damage I can do for now. I have a few other potential poetry publishers that I need to look at, and I need to get back to work on The Curse of the Ribbed Banana, the story I'm working on for submission to Dragon Soul Press.
https://dragonsoulpress.com/2022/01/01/upcoming-submission-calls-for-2022/
I know the title makes it sound like a comedy, but it isn't. It's actually a Lil DeVille erotic horror story. The steam has been turned down a bit to keep it in R-rated territory, but Naughty Netherworld Press will eventually publish it, whether or not Dragon Soul Press publishes it first. When that happens, we will turn the steam back up and anything goes!
I'm also participating in the Sixfold story and poetry competitions this month.
http://www.sixfold.org/howitworks.html#howtoentervote
Stories and poems for the fall competition are due July 24. It's just $5 to take part. Receive feedback on your work and a chance for publication.
I've advanced to the second round. Many of the participants in the first round are new writers. Part of the challenge is to give these folks good suggestions on improving their writing without discouraging them. I always try to find at least one thing that I really like about any story. The biggest issues I found with the group of stories I judged in the first round were repetition and adjective overkill.
I hope you have a great week.
~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~
Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors