DEADLINE EXTENDED: MAY 14TH

 
Bacopa Literary Review is an annual international print journal published by the Writers Alliance of Gainesville.* Our Bacopa Literary Review Editors’ blog shows the quality of writing we seek by highlighting work we respect from previous Bacopa issues as well as other sources.

Themed Submissions Request: Censorship

In light of the rising wave of book bans, academic gag rules, attacks on freedom of the press, and other attempts to limit access to information—particularly the work of creative writers--here in our home state of Florida and around the United States, we are issuing a call for works on the theme of censorship. This is a call for writing on the topic of censorship in all six of our current submissions categories.

Please note that this is not an exclusive theme; we are accepting work on any and all topics, in all genres. But we would like Bacopa 2023 to highlight this issue, which concerns every thinking and writing person in our society.

Contest Rules

• Submission dates: March 19 — May 14, 2023
• No submission fee
• $200 Award and $100 Honorable Mention in each of six categories
• Authors submit to only ONE category (see below).
• Submissions to more than one category can result in disqualification.
• Bacopa Literary Review does not accept previously published material in any category of submissions.

Category Descriptions

Fiction (up to 2,500 words): Bacopa Literary Review is looking for engaging and original pieces of short fiction capable of capturing and engaging the reader. Unique descriptions, vivid language, and original ideas are appreciated. Use precise language, make sure your work is as polished as possible before submitting, and most of all, enjoy the writing process!

Creative Nonfiction (up to 2,500 words): We publish true stories, written beautifully, and based on the author’s experiences, perceptions, and reflections in the form of personal memoir or literary essay (for example, nature, travel, medical, spiritual, and food writing).

Humor (up to 2,000 words): Make us laugh in any literary form up to 2,000 words. This can include personal essays, satire, poetry, short fiction, grocery lists, manifestos, or modified insurance policies.

Formal Poetry (1-3 poems): Sonnets, villanelles, pantoums, haiku, and other established forms. We are seeking words that illuminate the human condition, tell us something new, or just entertain. Send us your best. Please note the specific form of each poem you submit. All voices are welcome, and we are interested in reading poems on all themes and subjects.

Free Verse Poetry (1-2 poems): Free verse, visionary poems, the strange and unusual. Absurd, thoughtful, experimental, political, romantic, funny, entertaining. Give us your best work, unfettered, unrestrained, free from forms—or make up your own form. All voices are welcome, and we are interested in reading poems on all themes and subjects.

Visual poetry (1 poem): In a new category for us, we are seeking visual poems. At the moment we can only accept images in black and white that can fit within a 6 x 9-inch page. We don’t know what we are looking for—surprise us! Please submit only one visual poem.

Editorial Staff

Editor in Chief J.N. Fishhawk is a poet and freelance writer. He is the author of two poetry chapbooks and Postcards from the Darklands, ekphrastic poems accompanying artwork by artist Jorge Ibanez. The second book in his and illustrator Johnny Rocket Ibanez’s ongoing World of Whim Sea children’s series is forthcoming in 2023 (info at fishhawkandrocket.com).

Managing Editor T. Walters is a poet, writer, and musician living among the orange trees. Their work appears in Nymeria Publishing’s Descendants of Medusa. Books, baking bread, and pulling needle through thread make up a significant portion of their life. They live to connect, create, and marvel at nature’s many wonders.

Poetry Co-Editor Reinfred Addo is a Ghanaian-American writer, and author of the poetry collections Washed Over and The Dedicadas. His work has been published in various publications and by different organizations. He currently lives in Gainesville, Florida, and enjoys the area’s arts initiatives, including Poetry Jam, DOPEnmic, and ARTSPEAKS.

Fiction Editor Alec Kissoondyal is an undergraduate at the University of Florida pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English. His fiction has been published in Zephyr Literary Journal, Bacopa Literary Review, The Bookends Review, Roadrunner Review, Let’s Stab Caesar! Magazine, Retro Press Magazine, Drunk Monkeys Magazine, The Centifictionist, and The Los Angeles Review. He has a forthcoming short story to be released in Cornice Magazine.

Poetry Co-Editor Oliver Keyhani is a visual and performance artist, poet, and writer. He is a member of the Gainesville Fine Arts Association and a founding member of the Carousel of Souls Curiosities Circus Troupe (CoSCCT). His short experimental poem-play “Children of Gaia” has been produced at the Tank Theater in NYC. His hybrid visual-poetry works the “dada manuscripts”: thé avec dada and the book of dada dandies have received international acclaim, with forthcoming releases planned.

Creative Nonfiction Editor Stephanie Seguin studied English Literature and French at the University of Florida. She has published humor, short fiction, and personal memoir and spent over 15 years as a freelance editor and teacher of languages.

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You do not have to be a member of Writers Alliance of Gainesville (WAG) to submit. To join WAG click here. Membership ($36) includes a copy of the most recent Bacopa Literary Review.