Flagstaff Cultural Partners (FCP) invites submissions for the High Desert Dispatches Writing Contest. Submissions will be open from April 15-July 15 and will be accepted online only at http://culturalpartners.submittable.com/submit. The contest is open to residents of Coconino County and members of the Hopi and Navajo Nations, ages 18+. A $200 cash prize will be awarded to each genre contest winner along with publication in one of the local art magazines. Winners will read their work at an event presented by FCP at the Coconino Center for the Arts or elsewhere. In order to cover program costs, there is a $10.00 fee for each contest submission. Judges are Viola Award winners Mary Sojourner (fiction), Ann Walka (nonfiction), and Jill Divine (poetry).

Please submit up to 6,000 words in fiction or nonfiction, or up to three poems in .doc or .docx, or .pdf format, double-spaced, numbered pages, 12 point font. For poetry, include all submissions in the same file.

All submissions will be read blind. Author’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Please include contact information in the cover letter only. Submissions with no email and phone contact will not be considered.

Multiple submissions are permitted, but each submission must be accompanied by the $10.00 fee. Please, no previously published works or works accepted or submitted for publication elsewhere (print or electronic media). FlagLive or Mountain Living Magazine will receive first and one-time publication rights for the winning pieces. Publication rights will revert back to the author after a single magazine cycle (one week for FlagLive or one month for Mountain Living Magazine). If FlagLive or Mountain Living Magazine are unable to publish a winning piece in its entirety, the piece may be excerpted in print with the full manuscript published online. If FlagLive or Mountain Living Magazine are unable to publish a winning piece for any other reason, the author will be represented in one of the magazines in another way, e.g. an interview, etc.

See specific genre guidelines below.

 

FICTION
Please submit up to 6,000 words in original literary fiction. The piece must include an element of the Northern Arizona climate, i.e. setting, characters having a conversation about a particular storm in Northern Arizona, weather as symbolism, internal dialogue about the broad climate changes in the region, etc.

Judged by Mary Sojourner, 2009 winner of the Viola Award for Literature.

NONFICTION
Please submit up to 6,000 words of original creative nonfiction, including memoir, personal essays, and traditional and experimental forms for the contest. The piece must include an element of the Northern Arizona climate, i.e. setting, characters having a conversation about a particular storm in Northern Arizona, weather as symbolism, internal dialogue about the broad climate changes in the region, etc.

Judged by Ann Walka, 2010 winner of the Viola Award for Literature.

POETRY
We consider poetry of any style. Please limit poetry submissions to no more than three poems, not to exceed five pages total. Please submit all poems in a single document.

Judged by Jill Divine, 2013 winner of the Viola Award for Literature.

 

How to Submit

·      All submissions must be uploaded through our online submissions manager at http://culturalpartners.submittable.com/submit

·      A $10.00 submission fee must be paid electronically through Submittable. One story or essay, or up to three poems per entry fee.

·      You will receive a confirmation email once your submission has been uploaded.

·      Submissions will be open between 4/15/2012 and 7/15/2013.

·      Winners will be announced on September 2, 2013.

·      Publication will soon follow.

·      Winners must perform a reading at an event presented by Flagstaff Cultural Partners at the Coconino Center for the Arts or elsewhere.

 

Thank you for your interest in Flagstaff Cultural Partners’ first ever High Desert Dispatches Writing Contest. This contest is made possible by grant funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. For questions, call (928) 779-2300 or email Whitney Packer at wpacker@culturalpartners.org.