IHS International Haiku Competition, new issues of magazines

The Irish Haiku Society's 2013 International Haiku Competition is open for entries.  There are three prizes to be award: Euro 150, Euro 50, and Euro 30.  Unpublished poems, 17 syllables or fewer, are eligible, and all entries must be made by snail mail and postmarked by November 30th.  There is a $4 entry fee per haiku (or $25 for 7 poems).

Speaking of the Irish Haiku Society, Shamrock's new issue is available online for reading.  It has a lot of worthwhile poems, including some really good ones by Graham High and Ignatius Fay.

The new print issue of Scifaikuest (May 2013) is also out now, and it contains some good poems by Ross Balcom, Rebecca L. Brown, Aurelio Rico Lopez III, dan smith, and many more.  There are scifaiku, horroku, and tanka, among other forms.  Milo James Fowler is the featured poet.

The June issue of The Heron's Nest is full of talent, as well.  Curtis Dunlap, George Swede, Mark Forrester, and Jessica Malone Latham all have great poems featured in this issue.

Niteblade #24: Forbidden Island, is available now too.  The title poem, by J.A. Grier, is not to be missed -- a different take on the zombie poem.

Haiku app, a comic

The Haiku Foundation has developed a haiku app for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches.  This app came out last year (I'm behind the times) but a new version will be released this year, including one of my haiku (and a boatload of other ones that will all be better).  You can download the haiku app for free from the App Store.

In magazine news, new issues of both Shamrock and Apex are available online, so whether you prefer haiku or horror you can read your fill.  Shamrock is free, while Apex costs $2.99, but you can also find some free content on the Apex website.

Finally, fans of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide series will enjoy this comic.

market news

Inch, a journal "devoted to tiny poems and tiny fiction," will be temporarily closing to submissions on October 15th. If you've got short poems (under 10 lines) or microfiction (no more than 750 words) you want to submit, make sure to do it before then. Their online submission manager makes it easy to submit. Payment is in contributor's copies, but you'll enjoy them.

Entries are currently being read for the Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Nonfiction. There is a $5 entry fee, but if your story's funny enough, you could win one of the three prizes of $500, $250, or $100. The deadline is December 1st, and you can read some of the previous winning stories on the website.

For your haiku reading pleasure, there is a new issue of Shamrock online now (#11). And for your horror reading pleasure, the September issue of Niteblade is also live, including two haiku by yours truly. (Niteblade is still open to submissions for its annual print anthology, which pays $10 and a PDF copy.)

random stuff

The new issue of Scifaikuest is now online, featuring great poetry (as well as a horrorku and senryu by yours truly). Also now online is the current Shamrock Haiku Journal, issue #10. Check out J.D. Heskin's dark lawn-mowing haiku (toward the bottom).

If anyone is thinking of buying this year's Writer's Market, Poet's Market, or Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, now is the perfect time to snatch them up at half price. Not sure how long this sale will last, but if you plan on getting a couple books, keep in mind that you get free shipping on orders over $25.

Lastly, we have a new contest: InkSpotter's 6th Annual Finding the Right Words Flash Fiction Contest. Has two prizes of CA$60 and CA$30 for stories under 500 words. Entry fee is only CA$2, and the postmark deadline is July 21st.

Some new poems

Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. December has been a good month. Two more poems have been published online -- "Gift Horse" in the new issue of Niteblade and "Safety Scissors" in Down in the Cellar -- and I have some acceptances from Tales of the Talisman, Dreams & Nightmares, From the Asylum, and Scifaikuest.

Also, for haiku lovers, the new issue of Shamrock Haiku Journal is up, and it is FULL of good haiku and senryu, including a couple of exceptional poems by Marie Summers and Robert Lucky. (One of mine is buried in there somewhere, too.)