Gazing Grain Press Chapbook Contest

Gazing Grain Press, an independent publisher founded by alumni of George Mason University’s MFA creative writing program and sponsored by Fall for the Book, is currently accepting submissions for its second annual chapbook contest. Gazing Grain seeks poetry and hybrid manuscripts that explore “ideas of identities as connected to gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, culture, and ability,” according to the press’s website. “This contest is open to feminists of all genders and sexualities and is meant to promote socially conscious poetry and hybrid writing to a wide audience. We adhere to no one ‘definition’ of feminism—we encourage a broad and diverse range of approaches. Challenge us!”

Manuscripts should be 15-25 pages, and the winner receives publication, contributor’s copies, and an invitation to read at the upcoming Fall for the Book Festival, September 22-27, 2013 (airfare and accommodations included). Deadline for submission is June 1, and the winner will be announced in July. Full guidelines can be found here.

The judge for this year’s contest is acclaimed poet Cathy Park Hong, who appeared at last year’s Fall for the Book and whose own books include Translating Mo’um, Dance Dance Revolution, and most recently, Engine Empire.

For more information on Gazing Grain Press, visit the website here or check out recent articles on the press in Poets & Writers and in The Writer’s Chronicle. And don’t miss The Busy Life by Laura Neuman, selected by poet Brian Teare for Gazing Grain’s first chapbook contest and available for purchase here.