San Antonio Writers Guild Annual Contest
2011 CONTEST OVERVIEW
The San Antonio Writers' Guild annual contest features five categories in the fiction, non-fiction and poetry fields and is open to all writers, both SAWG members and non-members. The deadline for entry is the first Thursday of October. Cash prizes are given in each category.
Categories
- Fiction categories:
- Novel, first chapter or up to the first 5,000 words
- Short story, 4,000-word limit
- Flash fiction, 1,000-word limit
- Non-fiction categories:
- Memoir/personal essay, 2,500-word limit
- Poetry category:
- One to three poems equal one entry for fee purposes. Each poem will be judged individually. There is a 40-line limit per poem (including blank lines between verses), any style.
Prizes
The first place winner will receive $150, second place $75 and third place $50 for acceptable entries in each category. Acceptable entries are those that meet contest format guidelines.
The dollar amounts of cash prizes in a category are not based on the number of entries in a category. However, all advertised prize money may not be awarded. If the number of entries in a category falls below the minimum number (10), not all prizes may be awarded in that category.
(Includes submission guidelines, judging procedures, info about the Lorraine Berenson Memorial Award and more)
2011 JUDGE BIOS
- Novel: Pamela Morsi
Pamela Morsi is a former librarian, romance author for Harlequin, and now published by Mira Books. She wrpte romances based on small towns and farms, mostly at the turn of the 20th century. As the market changed, her writing changed. Her first mainstream women’s fiction novel was published by Mira Books in 2000. Her women’s fiction career continues to chug along. Both her two books have been nominated for the prestigious RITA Award.- Short Story: Scott A Cupp
Scott A. Cupp has been a writer since the early 1970s. His fiction has appeared in original anthologies and online forums including Hardboiled, The New Frontier, Razored Saddles, Obsessions, Freak Show, Mean Lizards, 100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories, South from Midnight, Andrew Vachss' Underground, Strange Creatures, Horrors!, Tales from the Red Lion, RevolutionSF.com, For a Few Stories More, and Damn Near Dead 2. He has published book reviews in Pirate Jenny, Nova Express, SF Signal, and Missions Unknown.- Flash Fiction: Claudia Smith
Claudia Smith has written several short stories, as well as short short stories. She has been published in such places as Lone Star Noir, Wigleaf, Juked, Steel City Review, FriGG, Literary Mama, 3:00 A.M. Magazine, Night Train Magazine, Smokelong Quarterly, elimae, Mississippi Review Online, New Sudden Fiction: Short-Short Stories from American and Beyond, Ghoti, Pindeldyoboz, Hobart, Eyeshot, Failbetter, Temenos, Word Riot, The Salt River Review, and Annandale.- Memoir: Dr. Catherine Kasper
Dr. Catherine Kasper is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She received her B.A. From the University of Illinois-Urbana, her M.A. From the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Ph.D. From the University of Denver. Her teaching interests include creative writing, Twentieth Century literature, hybrid genre literatures, interdisciplinary approaches to literary studies, and material culture theory.
Kasper's books include Notes from the Committee (fiction), Field Stone (poetry), Hovering (short stories), A Gradual Disappearance of Insects (poetry), and Optical Projections (short stories). Her award-winning poetry and fiction have been published in such journals as The Ohio Review, Seneca Review, and Conjunctions. She has written on the experimental fiction writer, Steven Millhauser, and the poet and art critic, Barbara Guest. She is currently a co-editor of American Letters & Commentary, a journal of literary and visual arts now in its 22nd year.- Poetry: Valerie Martin Bailey
Valerie Martin Bailey is a member of the San Antonio Poets' Association, the Poetry Society of Texas, and the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. She is a book, magazine and anthology editor for 41 years.
Bailey has been published in Mobius Poetry Magazine, Inkwell Echoes, Voices Along the River, The Dreamcatcher, A Galaxy of Verse, Patchwork Poems, The Encourager, Life 101, Crosswalk, The Key, Eagles of Light, Lucidity, and The Rainbow Sampler. She has published two books of inspirational poetry, A Gathering of Roses and Spinning Straw into Gold. She is also published online on MotivateUs.com and Voices de La Luna.
She won the Poetic Excellence Award seven times. She's been guest poetry editor for the San Antonio Express-News and has written e-reviews for Rattler Poetry Magazine. She regularly judges for poetry societies in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Minnesota, as well as for the NFSPS annual contests and the El Paso Writers League.
2010 CONTEST WINNERS
First Chapter of a Novel (Judge: Joe McKinney)
1. Melinda Friedland, "Love, Texas, Population Two"
2. David Plylar, "Sunset at Rocksprings"
Poetry (Judge: Wendy Barker)
1. Jean Jackson, "The Fall"
2. Athena Wood, "Mama Wished for Pretty" by Athena Wood"
3. Stewart Smith, "Conversation with a Giant Squid"
Finalist Jean Jackson, "First Pressing"
Finalist Jean Jackson, "Favorite Aunt"
Memoir (Judge: Nan Cuba, MFA)
1. Sheri Anderson, "Taking Sides"
2. Junette Kirkham Woller, "The Incident" by Junette Kirkham Woller"
3. Charlene Plover, "My Sister Doris"
Finalist Bob Wehner, "My Name is Robert Earl"
Finalist Charlene Plover, "Two Minutes Fifteen Seconds to Touchdown"
Short Story (Judge: Andrew Porter)
1. Jane Dreyfus, "The Portrait"
2. Janet Alyn, "Beguiled"
3. Kathryn Kunkel, "Water Long Under the Bridge"
Finalist Rick Brooks, "No More Orphans"
Finalist Paige Lohr, "Midnight Wart"
Flash Ficition (Judge: Lyle D Rosdahl)
1. David H Plylar, "A Special Night"
2. David D Towler, "My January"
3. Susan Chandler, "Mexico 1911"
Finalist Sonya Barrera Eddy, "Julio Oscuro"
Finalist Debs McCrary, "Mimi"
PUBLICATION POLICY
The San Antonio Writers' Guild reserves anthology publication rights for a period of one year from date of contest deadline for all winning entries without further compensation to the entrants. SAWG will, upon written request from the entrant, release all holds and return full publication rights to the writer. Although it is SAWG's intent to publish an anthology using, among other material, contest winning entries, it is under no obligation to do so. Unfortunately, the San Antonio Writers' Guild is not in a position to offer additional compensation to writers appearing in any anthology edited and/or published by the Guild.