Four Palaces Publishing

Four Palaces Publishing is Open for Anthology Submissions

The Four Palaces Publishing Logo
Four Palaces Publishing

Four Palaces Publishing is currently open to submissions for their fiction anthology contest. They are searching for short stories between 2,000 and 6,000 words long. They will also accept up to three flash fiction pieces. The theme of their anthology is “Desire to Escape.” The author of the winning story will receive $1,000 and a mentorship from guest judge Ivelisse Rodriguez, whose short story collection Love War Stories was a 2019 PEN/Faulkner finalist and a 2018 Foreword Reviews INDIES finalist.

Founded in 2021, Four Palaces’ goal is to promote and publish works by previously unpublished writers from underrepresented communities.

Frederick Tran is the executive director and publisher of Four Palaces. Emily Townsend is the managing editor, and her nonfiction piece “Consider the Honeybee” appeared in Issue 19 of Superstition Review.

Submissions close August 31, 2022! Go here to submit your story.

Contributor Update, Dara Elerath: ‘The Dark Braid’

Join us in congratulating SR poetry contributor Dara Elerath. Her manuscript, The Dark Braid, was selected by Doug Ramspeck for the 20th John Ciardi Prize for Poetry through BkMk. The book is scheduled for publication in fall 2020.

“What makes these poems so engaging is the way the poet constructs them from contradictory elements. The works feel both personal and mythic,” says prize judge Ramspeck.

More information about Dara and her new book can be found here. You can find her poetry from SR’s Issue 23 here.

Congratulations, Dara!

Contributor Update, Joannie Stangeland: Crosswinds Poetry Contest Winner

Join us in congratulating past poetry contributor Joannie Stangeland. Joannie recently won Crosswind Poetry’s grand prize for her poem, “Air on Air.” The Crosswinds Poetry Journal looks for well-crafted English language poetry on all subjects, supports poetry and outreach efforts, and completes charitable work each year.

More information about Joannie and her award can be found here. You can find her poetry from Issue 10 here.

Congratulations, Joannie!

Jordan Dahlen: Winner of 2016 Homecoming Writing Contest in Poetry

Every year, ASU holds the Homecoming Writing Contest to encourage aspiring writers to continue their craft. Here at Superstition Review, we were so excited to hear that one of our trainees, Jordan Dahlen, won first place in the poetry category!

Great job Jordan. Keep writing!

Contributor Update, Deborah Bogen: Winner of the New Letters Poetry Award

Deborah Bogen
Deborah Bogen

New Letters is a literary magazine that has an annual writing contest. Each year, three writers are chosen to receive $1,500 and publication in the magazine. This year, Deborah Bogen was chosen as the winner in the poetry section.

Deborah Bogen has contributed poetry to Superstition Review twice. To read her poems featured in issue 4, click here. For her work in issue 12, click here.

To learn more about the New Letters writing contest, click here.

Tempe Community Writing Contest and Cover Design Contest Deadline Extended– Submit Today!

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The Tempe Community Writing and Cover Design Contest deadline has been extended, and is now OPEN for creative writing submissions until Monday February 22, 2016! Submissions are accepted in poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction (memoirs, essays). ASU undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in any on-ground campus are invited to submit, as well as Tempe community residents including high school students and adults.

This is a great opportunity for emerging writers to get published! Winners will be selected in each genre and age group. Winning submissions will be published in the Tempe Writer’s Forum v.2 to be released in April 2016.

Winners will be recognized at a celebration at the Tempe Public Library on April 13 and will read from their work. Friends and family are invited to attend!

Click here for more contest information and the submission link.

Jerry Eckert: “Mahlapane’s Story” in Pooled Ink

Jerry Eckert’s “Mahlapane’s Story” (Issue 5) is available in the Northern Colorado Writers’ anthology, Pooled Ink. Pooled Ink publishes and celebrates the winners of the Northern Colorado’s Writers 2011 Contests and includes works of esteemed fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and cover design work. Eckert’s “Mahlapane’s Story” originally appeared in Issue 5 of Superstition Review and you can read a full version of the story in our archives.

Jerry Eckert is a former professor who has returned to his love of writing nonfiction after years of work in his academic field. He has published nearly 200 papers, some of which were award winning. His research and policy analyses for the Office of the South African Prime Minister helped speed the downfall of the apartheid, his monograph restructured Lesotho’s agriculture, he wrote the first economic policy package for the incoming Mandela government, and his op-eds in the Christian Science Monitor influenced American’s South Africa policies. “My career was in agricultural development and policy advising overseas.  I lived these events,” Jerry notes, “I was able to earn the trust of my host nations and their governments and they sucked me in very close to the center of the action. Every country I ever lived in long-term, I entered as a technocrat and ended up working for the President or Prime Minister directly, at their request.”

In our interview, Eckert mentions that his work and his love for literary nonfiction seem to come from two different cultures: “As an academic, I wrote a lot in ‘Academic Speak’ which is not a very creative (nor easily readable) medium. I [won] a couple of ‘Best Published Article’ awards from my professional association, and those were two papers I chose to write in the language of the average person rather than for the academic with his/her Ph.D.”

Jerry started writing when his studies took him beyond Arizona borders, and he felt the loss of leaving the desert that he loved: “I wrote for Arizona outdoor magazines as a way to re-live the Arizona desert and our sky islands vicariously. I could get back home in my mind every now and then. I wrote of my favorite mountains, the Santa Ritas, I wrote of my favorite species, the Coues deer (Sonoran whitetail). I think I got hooked when I discovered that I could get paid for what were essentially my love letters to an ecosystem. I fell in love with literary nonfiction when I discovered the richness of the feelings when writing memoir, recapturing my life’s high points, and finding that readers loved the stories.”

Eckert’s nonfiction pieces have previously appeared in Matter, Pilgrimage, Memoir (and), Weber – The Contemporary, in addition to Superstition Review. His piece “The Dustbin Telegraph” will be featured in our upcoming Issue 9 of Superstition Review, which will go live April 1st. “Requiem for the Night Sky,” a lament of losing the stars and the skies to pollution, will appear in the upcoming issue of Weber – The Contemporary West. Eckert’s “Ismail,” a nonfiction piece that examines life lessons learned from following the poorest people in Pakistan, is scheduled to appear in Memoir (and). Jerry Eckert is in the final stages of finishing his memoir, Weeping Kings and Wild Boars: Adventures of a Neocolonialist.

For those seeking to enter the literary nonfiction field, Jerry advises that budding writers “keep a journal, religiously.  I didn’t and now decades later it is really hard to pull up exact sequences of who said what to whom.” Jerry also encourages young writers to “Go through life with your eyes wide open. Like a photographer goes through life always seeing light more intensely than the rest of us, the writer needs to see life more intensely that most. Jump into the thick of things and, even if being swept along by the thrill of it all, remember to watch with what I call the Writer’s Eye, knowing that you are at the same time taking field notes for an essay some day.”

Pooled Ink is currently available on Lulu.com for $11.99 (plus shipping/tax) or at NCW for $11.00. Pooled Ink will be available on Amazon and additional markets in roughly 6-8 weeks.

Northern Colorado Writers is currently hosting their Short Fiction 2012 contest, which is open until March 15th, 2012. You can find more information and guidelines for the contest at the NCW website.

Congratulations Jerry Eckert. We’re proud of all that you have accomplished and look forward to your new work.


Narrative Goes Digital

Each week we feature a blog post by one of our many talented interns here at Superstition Review. This week’s contribution comes from Nonfiction Editor Jennie Ricks.

The literary magazine Narrative has started to dig deep into the changing digital world by offering a variety of options to its readers. Its ultimate vision is to connect writers and readers around the globe, which has prompted the publication to distribute their issue online for free.

Narrative was the first literary magazine on Amazon’s Kindle; it also offers an App, which is a free download for the iPhone, iPad, and the iPod. Their readers are able to access new stories each week the second they are published, as well as watch and listen to authors speak at events, and browse and select stories from award-winning authors like Sherman Alexie, T.C. Boyle, and Joyce Carol Oates.

Not only does Narrative publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, it also provides unique opportunities for writing and reading. One category is the “six-word story:” authors tell their story in only six words. Cartoons, graphic stories, and audio readings are also available to readers.

Narrative offers a wide selection of writing contests for writers to hone their craft. The most recent contest targeted writers between the ages of 18 and 30. Their next contest is open to both fiction and nonfiction pieces and called the Winter 2012 Story Contest (deadline is March 31). Not only are the winner’s published, but they also walk away with cash prizes.

Narrative is an intriguing literary magazine that offers many varieties of writing and reading for individuals with different preferences. It opens up options to people who want something fun and different, and have adapted to incorporate new options for a changing digital age.

Get Published in Crazyhorse and Win $2000. Deadline January 15th

Crazyhorse is accepting fiction and poetry entries for The Crazyhorse Fiction Prize and the Lynda Hull Memorial Poetry Prize. A winner from each category will be eligible for a $2000 prize and publication in the Fall 2012 issue of Crazyhorse. Submissions can be uploaded online or mailed in with a $16 reading fee, which includes a one year subscription to Crazyhorse. Entries must be a maximum of 25 pages in length (for fiction) or three poems up to 10 pages in length (for poetry). Multiple submissions may be entered, but hurry. This contest is only open until January 15. You can find the terms and conditions, along with more information at Crazyhorse.

Also check out their upcoming Crazyhorse Writers Conference at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina March 15-18, 2012. Faculty members, literary artists, and readers will come together to discuss and present literature and celebrated pieces throughout the weekend. This is a wonderful opportunity for writers, readers, and literature aficionados alike.

Meet the Interns: Peggy Dale, Contest Coordinator

margaritedale_0Peggy Dale, Contest Coordinator, is a senior at Arizona State University majoring in English.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Peggy Dale: I am coordinating the very first SR writing contest; basically I’m setting the parameters and then coordinating to make sure everything goes smoothly.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

PD: I received an email last semester, and I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to grow in experience and help SR as well.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

PD: I love it all; it really is a well thought out professionally executed magazine/journal. I guess I’ll say the Fiction section, because I love the scope of fiction and its story; however, you can say that of all great writing, so again I love it all.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

PD: Someone who has not yet been discovered, a shining light who will electrify the world; someone we give a helping hand to get started.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

PD: I would like to try editing the Fiction section.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

PD: I’m excited to be coordinating the first contest, seeing it completed, finding an exciting talent, generating more interest in Superstition Review.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

PD: I fell in love with Heidi, because my mother used to lay beside me and read it to me every night. That story of love and searching opened the world of literature to me, and the safe, warm, personal time with my mother worked to help me associate reading and peace. I’ve always loved reading and writing, and it all began with Heidi.

SR: What are you currently reading?

PD: The Edge Chronicles Beyond The Deep Woods by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

SR: Do you write?

PD: Yes, I am a writer. I am working on two books right now. One is a fiction story of modern troll warriors with several great twists (a lot of fun). The second is an historical autobiography. I’m very excited about both; they have tremendous potential.

SR: Do you create art?

PD: I love to create art of all sorts. I’m working on a family photo quilt for my daughter; it’s taking a lot longer than I had hoped, but it should be irreplaceable when it’s finished.