Illinois State Poetry Society 19th Annual Poetry Contest (with haiku category)

The Illinois State Poetry Society is open to entries for its 19th Annual Poetry Contest.  There are several categories that you can enter -- most notably category #3, modern or traditional haiku.  The $6 entry fee allows you to submit three poems, and additional poems can be entered for $1 each.  Poems can not have been previously published or have won money in any other contest.  Prizes consist of $50, $20, and $10.  The postmark deadline is November 10th.

If you're in the mood for a good, short supernatural vengeance story, check out Lee Moan's "Guardian."  And with autumn and Thanksgiving creeping up on us, here's a good pumpkin pie haiku by Deborah P. Kolodji.

New Shantytown, Higginson tribute

The new issue of The Shantytown Anomaly is out now and available for purchase. Click on the link for a list of contributors, or to buy your copy.

The Australian Haiku Society has set up a tribute page for William Higginson. You can email them your haiku in memory of Bill, and once all the poems are gathered, they will be sent to his family. All poems must be submitted by October 27th. (Thanks to Deborah P. Kolodji for the link.)

Another contest and two ku

The Union County Writers' Club Annual Adult Literary Contest (try saying that five times fast) is taking entries until Halloween in four different categories: Short Story, Children's Story, Fantasy Story, and Poetry. Prizes for Short Story and Children's Story are $30/$25/$10, and for Fantasy/Poetry they are $25/$15/$10. Not a huge prize by any stretch, but entry fees are only $3/poem (two for $5) or $5 per story. And as far as sending reprints, the guidelines state you can not enter anything that has been previously published in a PAID publication. So that poem you had in Blue Collar Review or that story that appeared in Black Petals is fair game to re-use.

Speaking of non-paying publications, here's one to check out. Macabre Cadaver is an online speculative magazine that just put out its third issue. They're looking for unpublished short stories (500 to 8000 words), poetry, nonfiction, and artwork that relates to the speculative genres. No payment, but the magazine is free to read, and there is talk of a print edition in the future which contributors would be paid for.

Let's close with two speculative haiku. The first is a fantasy poem, titled "Lonely Fairy Rath," by R.H. Fay. The other is a scifaiku by the scifaiku master, Deborah P. Kolodji.

Happy writing.