DailyHaiku

DailyHaiku is open for submissions through March 31st. There's no pay for contributors, but it's good exposure, and if your haiku are chosen for the annual print anthology, you'll get a copy. Submit 10 unpublished haiku by email. No simultaneous submissions.

Several magazines just put out new issues that are particularly good. For online reading, check out the March issue of Niteblade. If you prefer print magazines, order a copy of the current bear creek haiku or Scifaikuest. All three magazines are well-stocked with good poems (and Niteblade's got fiction, too).

Finally, thank you to whoever (whomever?) nominated my poem "Bats" for the Rhysling Award. It's an honor to be a part of the talented group that always makes up the Rhysling anthology, and "Bats" was an especially fun poem to write.

Rhysling nominations

For all of you SFPA members, the deadline's drawing closer to nominate poems for the 2009 Rhysling Award.

Nominations must be in (or at least postmarked) by February 2nd, and you can nominate one short poem (1-49 lines) and one long poem (50+ lines). If anyone hasn't chosen their nominations yet and are looking for more poems to choose from, here is a list of all my Rhysling-eligible poems from 2008, with links to the ones that appear online. All are under 49 lines. I encourage everyone to post a similar list in the comments, so we can all browse through them.

- "deadbeat dad" (Champagne Shivers, 2008)
- "angelfish" (Visionary Tongue, #23, Jan 2008)
- "monster" (From the Asylum, Feb 2008)
- "Undying Love" (Tales from the Moonlit Path, Issue 9, Feb 2008)
- "Matrimony" (Conceit Magazine, Volume 1 Number 11, Feb 2008)
- "Oil Change" (Niteblade, #3, March 2008) (also in Lost Innocence anthology)
- "Bats" (The Ashen Eye website, March 2008)
- "The Night Creatures" (Talebones, #36, Spring 2008)
- "Ode to Something Wicked" (Space & Time, #103, Spring 2008)
- "footprints in the snow" (Illumen, Spring 2008)
- horrorku (Star*Line, 31.2, March/April 2008)
- "The Eater" (The Ashen Eye, #1, June 2008)
- 4 horrorku (Twisted Tongue, #10, June 2008)
- 3 horrorku (Dreams & Nightmares, #80, July 2008)
- horrorku (Scifaikuest, Volume 6 Number 1, August 2008)
- horrorku (Scifaikuest online, Volume 6 Number 1, August 2008)
- horrorku (The Shantytown Anomaly, #7, Oct 2008)
- "Moon Shine," "The Dark" (Black Petals, #45, Oct 2008)
- scifaiku (Abyss & Apex, Issue 28, Oct 2008)
- 2 fantasy haiku (Mirror Dance, Winter 2008)
- "Out by the Shed" (Niteblade, #6, Dec 2008)

Star*Line, Rhysling nominations

For all you speculative poets, Star*Line is once again open for submissions. Editor Marge Simon is currently reading for the July/August issue (no theme) and the September/October issue (dark poetry, any genre).

Also, for SFPA members, you need to get your Rhysling nominations in by February 2nd. You can nominate one short poem and one long poem. Find all the details here.

One last note... if you entered the Penumbra Haiku Contest last year and wondered why you haven't seen the results yet, one of the judges was in a car accident, so the judging has been delayed. But don't worry... they haven't forgotten about us.

Black Petals #44, Rhysling Winners Announced, Contests

The new issue (#44) of Black Petals is now online. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but from the lineup it looks like a good one.

The results of the 2008 Rhysling Awards have been posted here -- congratulations to all the winners!

Here are two speculative fiction contests:

Science Fiction Writers of Earth Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story Contest: The entry fee for this one is $5 per story, which includes a one-year membership in the Science Fiction Writers of Earth. Additional entries are $2 each. All entries must be unpublished. The top prizes are pretty good: $200/$100/$50, and the story that wins first place may earn another $75 for web publishing rights. Deadline is October 30th.

Electric Dragon Cafe Short Story Contest: This is a quarterly themed contest with no entry fee. The theme this time around is "birth & rebirth." First prize is a $25 Borders or Barnes & Noble gift card (which by then will probably be the same thing), second prize is a $10 gift card, and third prize is an Electric Dragon Cafe writing journal. Deadline is August 31st, and only unpublished stories for this one, too.

A couple of good poems

Here are two poems I've read recently that really stuck with me. Both of them are technically excellent and evoke strong images.

- "April Again" by Charles Gramlich

- "When Again I Feel My Hands" by Marge Simon (scroll down past Tony Bernstein's article and the other poets)

Also, the official list of 2008 Rhysling nominations is online, if anyone hasn't seen it yet. I'm honored to have my name on the list, among so many larger-than-life poets, including David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Kendall Evans, J. Bruce Fuller, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Mike Allen, and Marge Simon.

Lastly, if anyone is looking for gifts for a fellow writer (or maybe for yourself), feel free to take a look at my Out to Lunch Cartoons gift shop. I've just lowered the prices on all the products, so now's a great time to buy something. If you're looking for a specific cartoon on a specific item that you don't see, just ask.

A Rhysling nod??

I just found out this weekend that one of my poems, "Night Falls," was nominated for a Rhysling Award. Wow... I never would've thought I'd open up a Rhysling anthology and see my name in there!

Thank you to whoever nominated my poem. It is certainly the biggest honor of my writing career.


Night Falls

night falls
like a curtain
on a quiet inn
deep in the woods.

the perfect setting
for a horror story
if only
the damn birds
would stop chirping.

(copyright 2007)

It's Rhysling Time

It's that time of year again... time for those of you who are SFPA members to get your Rhysling nominations in. You can nominate one short poem (1-49 lines) and one long poem (50+ lines), but they have to be in by Feb. 18th. The complete guidelines for submitting a nomination can be found here.

Also, Black Petals #42 (the first online issue) just went live. Even though it's on a screen instead of a page, it's still the same quality of stories and poems that the Black Petals team has been bringing consistently for years. This issue has two featured poets, Kendall Evans and Gary Every.