There’s been a real boom in the popularity of creative writing weekends over the last few years. There are some who say writers retreats are a waste of time, pandering to writers’ fragile egos and encouraging people to believe they have writing talents which they, frankly, lack. But on the other hand, many writers really enjoy them and swear that a weekend away with other writers is a positive part of the creative process.  The...

While the traditional view of formal poetry includes a very strict rhyme scheme that must be adhered to, the free verse style popularized by the great Ezra Pound largely eschews rhyme schemes altogether, instead relying on the power of the words themselves to paint a vivid portrait of the poet’s feelings. Free verse has become so widely accepted by publishers of modern poetry, in fact, that some won’t even entertain submissions of formal...

Have you survived an illness, personal tragedy, devastating loss, abusive relationship, financial ruin, or other life experience that brought you to your knees? Did the song “I Will Survive,” by Grammy Award-winning songstress Gloria Gaynor, inspire you to rise, survive, and move forward? If so, we’d love to share your story in a new book of personal narrative essays that tell the story of how you survived the experience and how the song...

First Chapter Writing Contest Contest Submission Period: April Fool’s Day-June 1st, 2013 Entry Fee: Zilch. Nada. Zippo. It’s totally free to enter! Contest Benefits: I will provide a short critique for all submissions highlighting the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is a HUGE benefit of entering my contest. We writers crave feedback. Feedback makes us better. Prize: The winner will receive a $25 gift card to Amazon. But wait there’s more! As...

Open City, an online magazine published by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, documents the pulse of metropolitan Asian America as it’s being lived on the streets of New York right now. Covered by the Wall Street Journal and NPR, a collaborative partner with the New Museum and the Museum of Chinese in America, Open City grants a $5,000 fellowship, career guidance, and publishing opportunities to five Creative Nonfiction Fellows to...

Gamelytic, a popular online game guide source,  is pleased to announce our $1000 game guide writing contest. Please submit your unique and unpublished game guides. We are offering two prizes of $500 each to the two most popular guides written for this contest. The first prize is given to the most popular and useful game guide over the term of this contest. The second prize is given to the most popular guide between 7/24 to 7/31. A variety of...