Hey writers! You’re in luck—you still have time to submit to the 2018 WNBA Writing Contest! Winners get a cash prize and will be published not once but twice: first in The Bookwoman, the Women’s National Book Association’s official publication, and then in an anthology with other winners.
The guidelines are easy to meet; there are no specific themes required for any of the categories, so let your creative juices take you where they will! Submissions are accepted in four categories: fiction, nonfiction (including essay, memoir, and commentary), young adult, and poetry.
You have about a month and a half left to submit, so sit down and start writing, if you haven’t already. If your New Year’s resolution was to write more, to be published, to take more chances, or to participate, then sending something in is a great way to get started. And, even if you didn’t set a New Year’s resolution, then nothing should stop you!
Read on for short excerpts from last year’s winners in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction!
Poetry
Stacey Balkun, “When I am Red and the Moon Full”
It was a tall tale it was a wolf’s tail a tortilla stuck to the window
dishes piled high the grimy sink I locked the doors
triple-checked I heard howls felt a hunger deep
belly growl fur raised at neck’s nape knuckles strained
Read the full poem in The Bookwoman.
Fiction
Robyn Corum, “Coffin-Maker”
My daddy made the coffins.
Uncle Sawyer cut the wood and brought it over. He stacked it up in piles as high as the house; the whole place smelled like pine.
They asked my daddy ’cause he was the best carpenter around these parts . . . well, I hadn’t thought about it till now; but I guess he mighta been one of the only carpenters left, too.
Read the full story here.
Nonfiction
Jean Choy Tate, “White Woman Passes”
“White Woman Passes for Black.” A little over a year ago, this headline burst across the front-page news. A white woman, Rachel Dolezal, so longed to be black, that she lied, not just to others, but to herself in order to access power in the African American community’s fight for racial justice. Her story disturbs my morning coffee and roils the placid waters of my own oh-so-carefully constructed bicultural identity.
Read the full essay here.
And, if you’re looking to browse a bit more before you get to work for the 2018 WNBA Writing Contest, check out some wacky writing contests!
Great to post these winning entries for writing contest, and yes, start typing everybody!