Here are some perks of reaching 60 or being over 70 and heading towards 80 and Beyond.
1. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
2. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
3. No one expects you to run--anywhere.
4. People call at 8 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"
5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
7. Things you buy now won't wear out.
8. You can eat supper at 5 PM.
9. You can live without sex but not your glasses.
10. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.
A couple poetry competitions for your consideration. If interested just google the contest name for details.
Competitions for poets
The Society of Classical Poets Competition
Send 3-5 poems on any of these themes: The Issues of Our Age (at least one poem has to be on this theme – see guidelines for specific issues), Beautiful & Sublime, Great Culture, Humor & Riddles.
Value: $500; three prizes of $100 each – for High School poets, translators, and poets of Hudson Valley, New York
Deadline: 31 December 2017
Open for: All poets
The Keats-Shelly Prize and the Young Romantics Prize
This is a contest for poems and essays on Romantic themes. For the Keats-Shelly Prize, adult writers should respond creatively to the work of the Romantics; this year, the theme is ‘Liberty: a celebration of Shelly’s Prometheus Unbound’. Write your own poem on Liberty, or an essay, which can be on any aspect of the work or lives of the Romantics and their circles. For the Young Romantics Prize, writers aged 16-18 should make poetry/essay submissions on the same theme.
Value: Prizes of £3,000 for the adult, and £2,000 for the Young Romantics category
Deadline: 15 January 2018
Open for: All poets and writers
* copied from the free, Authors Publish, online newsletter
These five literary journals are all new which might make them especially willing to consider submissions from previously unpublished writers. For more information, check out their web sites.
Counterclock
This online literary and art publication founded in summer 2017 is dedicated to showcasing high-quality poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual art, and cross-genre work. They publish writing on a quarterly basis and have just published their first issue.
Speculative City
This literary journal publishes speculative and provocative works that are centered within a cityscape. They want to encourage writers and characters often underrepresented in speculative fiction, such as people of color, queer people, working-class people, and people with disabilities. They are a paying market. They close to submissions December 15th. They have yet to publish their first issue.
GUESTHOUSE
Founded by two women writers about to complete the University of Iowa’s Masters of Fine Arts program, GUESTHOUSE has a well crafted website and a dual focus on fiction and poetry. They are accepting submissions for their second issue.
Riggwelter
Riggwelter publishes poetry, fiction, visual art, and experimental media. They are looking for work that makes them fall in love, work with that ineffable something that makes them stop, and then start again in an entirely new direction. Their first issue is available online, and the foreword provides some thoughts by the editor about the process of selecting work for Riggwelter.
Ariel Chart
Ariel Chart is seeking brief writing. Based in Australia, they publish short works of poetry and microfiction. Like most small things, tiny pieces of writing are often ignored in the publishing world. Ariel Chart hopes to help. They aim to champion meaningful literary works, no matter how small. You can read the work published on their website to get a sense of what they like.
* excerpted from the free newsletter of, Authors Publish *
Submitted for your consideration, three themed 'calls for submissions' with deadlines , and they actually pay!
xxx
Baobab Press: This Side of the Divide Anthology
This is an anthology of short fiction exploring the United States West, from the untouched wilderness to hyper-urban settings.
Deadline: 31 Trouble the Waters – Tales from the Deep Blue
This is an anthology of water-themed speculative fiction stories that explores water-lore and deities, ancient and new, as well as unimagined tales.
Deadline: 1 November 2017
Length: 2,500-7,000
Pay: $0.06/word; $0.02/word for reprints
The Sun: Love and Justice
They want poetry on the theme. Poems may be personal or political or both. They favor accessible language and thought, but we are open to poems that push boundaries and challenge readers. They especially welcome entries from writers of color.
Deadline: 1 November 2017
Length: Up to five poems
Pay: $100 per poem
(excerpted from 'the 'Authors Publish' free, online newsletter)
What follows are neither 'competitions' nor 'calls for submissions', so sue me. This is a list of a dozen prestigious and payings sites most of we struggling scribes can only dream about accepting our work. The vast majority of the submissions they receive are rejected but if accepted, the prestige is great and the money ain't bad.. So google these sites and submit your best work. After all, dreams can come true. RdW
xxx
The Atlantic
The Atlantic is open to submissions of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. They pay well.
The New Yorker
The most famous (and most profitable) magazine with a literary bent, The New Yorker is very competitive to get into. However, they accept unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, and cartoons. They pay very well.
The Sun
The Sun is a fabulous ad-free magazine that has been around for over 40 years and has published so many famous writers, I have a hard time choosing even five. The publish fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir, and poetry. They only accept submissions through the mail. They even pay well.
The Paris Review
This venerable print publication accepts only postal submissions. They publish poetry and fiction, as well as interviews, which they are rather famous for. They were founded in 1953 and have published many well-known writers since then. Some famous authors including Adrienne Rich, Philip Roth, V. S. Naipaul, and Rick Moody were first published by The Paris Review.
Granta
This print and electronic literary journal publishes great straight-forward fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Granta has editions in twelve languages across three continents.
The Virginia Quarterly Review (VQR)
They publish poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction by award winning writers. They pay $200 per poem, and start at $1,000 per fiction piece.
Harper’s Magazine
Harper’s considers unsolicited fiction. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S.
Tin House
This respected print literary journal publishes some of the best contemporary writers, and has excellent distribution. They also have a regular online publication open to shorter work.
The Kenyon Review
They publish short fiction, essays, poetry, plays, excerpts, and translations of poetry and short prose. When you submit to their print journal, you are also submitting to their online magazine; both have a large readership.
POETRY
This is the most famous poetry magazine there is. It is published by The Poetry Foundation. The first time you have a poem printed by them, an asterisk appears next to your name to note your appearance as a debut poet with them.
Jubilat
This is one of the most prestigious poetry-only journals. They are print-only, and do a fabulous job.
(copied from the free, online newsletter of, Authors Publish)
Here are a couple calls for submissions from poetry sites that actually pay. (What a concept!)
Poetry Magazine
This well-regarded poetry journal publishes poetry, including translated poetry, and poetry-related prose, including book reviews.
Deadline: Rolling
Word count: Four poems or translations, up to 10 pages; up to 10 pages for prose
Pay: $10 per line of poetry ($300 minimum); $150 per page of prose
Rattle
They publish poetry and translations of poems. They publish both free verse and traditional forms.
Deadline: Rolling
Word count: Up to four poems
Pay: $100 per poem and subscription for print issue, $50 per poem online; all submissions are automatically considered for the $1,000 Neil Postman Award for Metaphor
* taken from the free online newsletter of, Authors Publish *
