FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 1, 2019
MEDIA CONTACTS:
dave ring, OutWrite Chair
outwritedc@gmail.com
Submissions Opened for OutWrite’s 2019 Chapbook Competition
WASHINGTON, D.C. — OutWrite is pleased to announce its first Chapbook Competition, running from April 1st to May 25th, 2019. The winning chapbooks will be published the first weekend of August 2019, to coincide with the 2019 OutWrite LGBTQ Literary Festival. Submission details are included at the end of this text.
Each winner will receive 25 copies of their winning chapbook, an offer of print publication, and an opportunity to read from their work at OutWrite 2019 on Saturday, August 3rd.
Winning chapbooks will be selected in three categories by the competition judges:
NONFICTION: Kristen Arnett
Kristen Arnett is a queer fiction and essay writer. She won the 2017 Coil Book Award for her debut short fiction collection, Felt in the Jaw, and was awarded Ninth Letter’s 2015 Literary Award in Fiction. She’s a bimonthly columnist for Literary Hub and her work has appeared at North American Review, The Normal School, Gulf Coast, TriQuarterly, Guernica, PBS Newshour, McSweeneys, Electric Literature, Bennington Review, Salon, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, Mostly Dead Things, will be published by Tin House Books in June 2019. You can find her on twitter here: @Kristen_Arnett.
FICTION: JY Yang
JY Yang is the author of the Tensorate series of novellas from Tor.Com Publishing (The Red Threads of Fortune, The Black Tides of Heaven, The Descent of Monsters and The Ascent to Godhood). Their work has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Nebula, Lambda Literary and World Fantasy Awards, while their short fiction has been published in over a dozen venues, including Tor.com, Uncanny Magazine, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and Strange Horizons. JY is queer, non-binary, and lives in Singapore. Find them online on Twitter: @halleluyang.
POETRY: Wo Chan
Wo Chan is a queer poet and drag performer living in Brooklyn. They are the author of the chaplet ORDER THE WORLD, MOM (Belladonna), and has received fellowships from the New York Foundation of the Arts, Kundiman, Lambda Literary, and the Asian American Writers Workshop. Wo is standing member of the Brooklyn-based drag/burlesque collective Switch N’ Play, and has performed at venues including The Whitney, MOMA PS1, Joe’s Pub, National Sawdust, New York Live Arts, and the Brooklyn Museum. Wo was born in Macau, China. Check them out @theillustriouspearl.
There is a $5 entry fee, which can be paid through OutWrite’s website.
Please follow these guidelines in preparing your submission:
- Chapbooks may be submitted in three categories: fiction, nonfiction & poetry.
- We accept submissions in all three categories in English.
- OutWrite is a celebration of LGBTQ literature; entries that explore aspects of LGBTQ culture or identity are encouraged.
- Thematically-linked works are encouraged, but not required. There are no limitations regarding genre.
- Manuscripts should be no shorter than 20 pages and no longer than 40 pages. This does not include the table of contents or title page.
- Manuscripts can be collections as well as single pieces.
- Submissions are open from April 1st to May 25th 2019.
- Each writer may only submit one entry per category.
- There is a $5 reading fee. If the fee for entering is an economic hardship, please contact us at outwritedc@gmail.com. A limited number of entry fees have been sponsored by donations.
- Your manuscript should be in a standard font, size 12. Please single-space poetry and double-space prose. Please include a title page and a table of contents; do not include an acknowledgements page (winning entries will be given the opportunity to adjust front and back matter before publication).
- The collection as a whole must be unpublished, but individual poems/stories may be previously published (as long as relevant rights have reverted)
- We will be accepting simultaneously submitted work. All semi-finalists will be required to remove their work from simultaneous review upon notification.
- We expect to announce the semifinalists in June. Winners will be announced in July. Publication will be at OutWrite, August 2-4 2019.
Entries must be submitted no earlier than April 1st, 2019 and no later than May 25, 2019. The submission window closes at midnight EST.
Send all submissions to outwritecontest@gmail.com.
Each entry must include the following:
- A subject line including your last name and the words ““<Fiction/Nonfiction/Poetry> Submission: <Your Title> by <Your Name>.”
- In the body of the email: the title of the collection; your name, your contact information (phone number and email address), and the PayPal Transaction ID for your entry fee.
- It may also include a brief bio.
Any updates to these guidelines will be posted here:
About OutWrite
OutWrite is a celebration of LGBT literature, held annually the first weekend in August in Washington, D.C. The 2019 festival will kick off on Friday, August 2nd. On Saturday, August 3rd, there will be a full day of readings, panels, book sales, and exhibitors. To finish the weekend, a number of writing workshops will be held on Sunday, August 4th. For more information, visit: thedccenter.org/outwrite.
About the DC Center
The DC Center for the LGBT Community educates, empowers, celebrates, and connects the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. To fulfill our mission, we focus on four core areas: health and wellness, arts & culture, social & support services, and advocacy and community building. We envision communities where LGBT people feel healthy, safe, and affirmed.
