Ok, I don't know Carol Despeaux...but I know Carol Despeaux. Let me explain. At my win for SIWC last year, Carol Despeaux, a Seattle writer, came in a close second to win the honorable mention.
Later, on a whim, I entered the Writer's Digest contest and came in fourth (out of 2300). When I saw them print the top ten list in a later edition of the magazine, Carol's name was listed in eighth place. We BOTH made the top ten in a contest of more than two thousand entries? Are you kidding me?
A few months passed and PNWA (the Pacific Northwest Writers Association) listed eight finalists in poetry for their two poetry prizes (and they receive roughly 1000 entries per year). Carol's name was on the list with mine. The odds of this happening, for any of you who have entered writing contests before (editors are so subjective) are astronomical. I ended up winning, and she did not win the second prize, but...she WON for memoir writing, another contest they run at the same time.
So I think I have what is the closest possible to my own personal ghost or shadow. I Googled her, and she's a Seattle writer who seems very sweet and family-oriented. If I'm going to be tracked by anyone, she seems a fine choice...but, I hope the sun doesn't shift suddenly and have me chasing her. So far, I've been quite fortunate; I can only hope my luck continues.
Thursday 30 August 2012
CATCHING UP: PNWA WIN! (and...?)
Ok, time to update. I'll try to be a bit more regular on here (for more than a few reasons) but let me explain my "writing year." My writing year begins in October, not January, when the Surrey International Writer's Conference (SIWC) rolls into Surrey. In October of 2011, I was fortunate enough to win first place, the $1000 prize in poetry--for a single poem, a single sheet of paper.
After that, my next "placing" was in Writer's Digest seventh annual poetry contest. I placed fourth out of 2300 entries. That was the good news. The bad news was first to third had MUCH better prizes and fourth through tenth had ho-hum prizes, all the same--a small amount of money and a book--the new Poet's Market.
A few months later, I found out that I was one of eight finalists in the poetry contest for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association contest. They get about one thousand entries per year, so I was thrilled to be among the final eight. In July, I found out that I WON--$700--for FIRST PLACE, for three of my favorite poems! It was my second major contest win in less than a year.
In the meantime, I have other news, about the Mary Ballard Chapbook Contest. I entered a chapbook, My Body, Broken for You, on June 15th. They received 350 books in their contest. On July 31st, they made their first cuts. The list was reduced to "quarter-finalists," the top 100 books of the 350 submitted. I made the cut. Next, to make it to the semi-finals, my book had to outlast 75 others on that list. The good news is that it DID! The next cut is the toughest to make. That list of 25 will now be reduced to 3 finalists. I have to wait two weeks to find out who those three are (by Sept. 14th, I'm guessing), but in the meantime, my heart is literally in my mouth as I consider what might happen. You see, out of those 3 finalists, only one gets ALL the prize money, and gets his or her chapbook PUBLISHED! Fingers crossed...
One thing is certain...hard work definitely pays off. I've been concentrating on my poetry in the past few years, reading a pile of literary journals and studying technique, and now I'm starting to feel like my poems belong at that level. It's nice to see some results coming my way, so I'm encouraged and excited to see what the end of my writing year still has to bring...
After that, my next "placing" was in Writer's Digest seventh annual poetry contest. I placed fourth out of 2300 entries. That was the good news. The bad news was first to third had MUCH better prizes and fourth through tenth had ho-hum prizes, all the same--a small amount of money and a book--the new Poet's Market.
A few months later, I found out that I was one of eight finalists in the poetry contest for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association contest. They get about one thousand entries per year, so I was thrilled to be among the final eight. In July, I found out that I WON--$700--for FIRST PLACE, for three of my favorite poems! It was my second major contest win in less than a year.
In the meantime, I have other news, about the Mary Ballard Chapbook Contest. I entered a chapbook, My Body, Broken for You, on June 15th. They received 350 books in their contest. On July 31st, they made their first cuts. The list was reduced to "quarter-finalists," the top 100 books of the 350 submitted. I made the cut. Next, to make it to the semi-finals, my book had to outlast 75 others on that list. The good news is that it DID! The next cut is the toughest to make. That list of 25 will now be reduced to 3 finalists. I have to wait two weeks to find out who those three are (by Sept. 14th, I'm guessing), but in the meantime, my heart is literally in my mouth as I consider what might happen. You see, out of those 3 finalists, only one gets ALL the prize money, and gets his or her chapbook PUBLISHED! Fingers crossed...
One thing is certain...hard work definitely pays off. I've been concentrating on my poetry in the past few years, reading a pile of literary journals and studying technique, and now I'm starting to feel like my poems belong at that level. It's nice to see some results coming my way, so I'm encouraged and excited to see what the end of my writing year still has to bring...
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