Judge: Peggy Shinner

“Nonfiction writers do not make things up; they make ideas and information that already exist more interesting and, often, more accessible.” –Lee Gutkind

We agree. NDR seeks pieces that activate the compelling bits of “real” life. We welcome hybrid essays, ones that expose the insides of things to risk making language do new things. Personal essays are welcome, too. Use a slice of memoir, but use also a dose of self-awareness. Autobiographical moments which are digested and used to engage the reader delight us.

Prize: $150 and publication in The New Delta Review. Winners receive two contributors’ copies. Finalists will also be considered for publication.

Deadline: November 30th (postmark date)

Submit:
• previously unpublished nonfiction piece (up to 4,000 words)
• completed entry form/title page with all contact information
• $10 entry fee postmarked by November 30th

to:
Nonfiction Editor/2009 Nonfiction Contest
New Delta Review
Department of English
15 Allen Hall
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5001

Unlimited submissions are welcome; each submission must be accompanied by $10 fee.
Simultaneous submissions with notification are welcome.

Our website: www.lsu.edu/newdeltareview/New_Delta_Review/
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About the judge: Peggy Shinner’s stories and essays have appeared in The Southern Review, Daedalus, The Gettysburg Review, Fourth Genre, TriQuarterly, Alaska Quarterly Review, Western Humanities Review, Another Chicago Magazine, Bloom, River Styx, and others. One of her stories, “Jack’s Things, ” was selected as one of the 100 Distinguished Stories in the Best American Short Stories 2007. She’s been awarded two Illinois Arts Council Fellowships, several Pushcart Prize Special Mentions, and residencies at the Ucross and Ragdale Foundations. Her work has been anthologized in Chick-Lit: On the Edge: New Women’s Fiction Anthology and Her Face in the Mirror. Currently, she’s working on a book of essays about the body.