Contests & Publication

September Open Mic: Featuring L.M. Reker & Traveler Winners

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We know we’ve spent some time apart of late, Wednesday. First it was Tuesday that came between us, and then the summer months with their delirium-inducing heat. There arose in us the notion (far-fetched, we know that now) that Wednesday night readings were antiquated, a thing of the past, a glory day from a touch-too-long Springsteen concert, a near-real picture of you inside Robert Smith’s damp and neglected photo albums, Bryan Adams’ little-known second real six-string from 1972. As the great balladeers Skid Row once sang, “Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand. Love letters in the sand, I remember you.”

Well, Tuesday is gone, things done changed, and we remember you, Wednesday.

To celebrate the reborn commitment to our sacred union, we’re having a reading on–you guessed it–Wednesday. There’ll be an open mic, readings from our most recent Traveler winners, and excerpts from our featured reader L.M. Reker. Come to read, come to listen,  come to make semi-obscure references, come to dramatically perform lyrics to forgotten songs about love and nostalgia. There’s something for everyone!

  • When: Wednesday, September 20th from 7:00 to 9:00PM.
  • Where: GCC Main Campus, SU104.
  • Why: Because if society accepted Skid Row as artistic talents, it sure as hell will accept you!

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Call for Submissions: Four Chambers

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From our friends at Four Chambers comes a wonderful opportunity for ambitious writers:

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“Literally, Four Chambers is a small press and independent community literary magazine based in Phoenix, AZ. Figuratively, we’re a heart. And despite all the puns—or precisely because of them—we take that figure very seriously. While we’re interested in publishing a variety of contemporary literature from new and emerging writers that gets at, somehow, what it means to be human, we don’t like to think of ourselves as writers, we’re human beings, and we’re more interested in using creative writing to advance discourse, develop relationships and build community than we are in publishing. But we’re still publishing. Also, a heart.” http://fourchamberspress.com/submit

Winners for the District Writing Competition!

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Once again, we congratulate a series of dedicated and creative writers. Listed below are the winners for Maricopa’s District Writing Competition. This is a highly contested competition that accepts entries from all of the colleges in the MCCCD. Congratulations to all writers from all of our sister colleges, but we would be remiss not to highlight those from GCC.
Essay:
  • Malka Daskai, PVCC, 1st Place, The Rabbit Who Didn’t Believe
  • Bob Buchanan, SCC, 2nd Place, Apocalypse on the Prairie
  • Maja Zmyslowski, MCC, 3rd Place, The Alchemy of Pierogi
  • Sara Dobie Bauer, GCC, Hon. Ment., Mementos
  • Spencer Litman, MCC, Hon. Ment., Like Venom
  • Cholly Robertson, SCC, Hon. Ment., The Year of the Butterflies
  • Sydney Todd, SCC, Hon. Ment., When the Music Stopped Flowing
Fiction:
  • Maja Zmyslowski, MCC, 1st Place, Flipping the Bird
  • Jacquelyn Rowe, MCC, 2nd Place, Welcome to Everton
  • Spencer Litman, MCC, 3rd Place, Elephatine
  • Donna King, RSC, Hon. Ment., Eyes of Love
  • Daniel Matlock, CGCC, Hon. Ment., Beagle in Mind
  • Katarina Rector, RSC, Hon. Ment., The Desecrator of Power
  • Sameena Mathur, SCC, Hon. Ment., The Large House
Poetry:
  • Jaime Faulkner, MCC, 1st Place, On the Corner of Rural and Guadalupe
  • Jessica Gnoza, MCC, 2nd Place, Roundabout
  • Taylor Shepard, MCC, 3rd Place, Why I’ll Use It
  • Spencer Litman, MCC, Hon. Ment., Seven Minutes
  • Bob Buchanan, SCC, Hon. Ment., It Wasn’t Supposed to be that Way
  • Maja Zmyslowski, MCC, Hon. Ment., Citizen Ghost
  • Garrett Iannarelli, SCC, Hon. Ment., Down Range in Afghanistan
One Act Play/Script:
  • Eric Bond, GCC, 1st Place, Shared Body Parts
  • Carol Gibson, SCC, 2nd Place, A Scouting Trip
  • Maja Zmyslowski, MCC, 3rd Place, A Boat Afloat
  • Madelyn Sugg, RSC, Hon., Ment., Something About Kyle
  • Garrett Iannareli, SCC, Hon., Ment., Post Traumatic

Announcing: The Traveler Winners!

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Please join everyone from the Traveler staff, literary judges, and the English Department at GCC in congratulating the Traveler winners for 2016-2017. After even more deliberation and competition than last year, the following pieces and writers were selected for publication:

Poetry

  • First Place: “I See You” by Cynthia Herda
  • Second Place: “I Was a War Whore” by Charles Hisey
  • Third Place: “Crows Don’t Sing” by Wendy Wallace
  • Honorable Mention: “Dear Straight Dudes” by Jamie Lee Heath
  • Honorable Mention: “Giving Birth to a Sonnet” by Charles Hisey

Fiction

  • First Place: “Skipping Sundays” by Alex Parson
  • Second Place: “Zombie Walk” by Sara Dobie Bauer
  • Third Place: “Blue Acres” by Maneesha Lele

Creative Nonfiction

  • First Place: “My Tatum Place” by Tatum Morton
  • Second Place: “Gremlin of Doubt” by Ashley Davis
  • Third Place: “Summer” by Emma Matthews

Flash Fiction

  • First Place: “Ascendant” by Katelyn Cissel
  • Second Place: “Those Three Girls” by Alex Parson
  • Third Place: “She of Greatness” by Mary Barreras

To everyone who submitted: all of us with the Traveler sincerely thank you for your submissions. Reading your creative work is a tremendous privilege, and one we do not take for granted. We all sincerely hope to see more of your writing next year. To all of the student staff and the literary judges: Thank you for your tireless efforts!

Keep an eye on the blog for more information regarding the production of the Traveler, the availability of physical copies, and our traditional celebratory reading in October.

Last Call(s) for Submissions!

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Quick reminders with no funny business:

Later this week (Friday, December 2nd) is the final opportunity to submit your work to GCC’s Traveler Writing Competition. Submit right here on the GCCAZCRW blog: https://gccazcrw.com/traveler/submissions/

(This deadline has passed.) Monday, November 28th is the final day to submit your work to Maricopa’s District Writing Competition. Head here for guidelines and submission forms: http://bit.ly/2g4v7rL

 

District Writing Competition Extended to Nov. 28th

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In an effort to give writers more time to revise and submit their work, the District Writing Competition has extended its submission deadline to November 28th. This is a ten-day extension. For more information about submission guidelines, and to submit your work directly, please follow this link: https://mcli.maricopa.edu/district-programming/district-fine-arts-program/creative-writing

Now, those of us at The Traveler don’t want to act all superior here, claiming that the District is a bunch of copycats and pointing out how we extended our deadline first, but, well, we did. The power of The Traveler is far greater, it seems, than anyone ever knew.

So, for those keeping score:

  • The deadline for the District Writing Competition is now November 28th.
  • The deadline for GCC’s Traveler contest is now December 2nd.

Email Jeff Baker at jeffrey.baker@gccaz.edu if you have any questions or fashion tips.

Traveler Deadline Extended to December 2nd

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Because we want more of your submissions, and because you want more time to submit your work, and because the all-seeing and all-powerful entity known as The Traveler wishes it so, we have decided to extend the deadline for Traveler submissions from November 18th to December 2nd. This is a two-week extension.

All hail The Traveler.

Additionally, we have added a newer, simpler method for submission that can be found directly on this blog. From the Traveler menu in the header of our blog, there is a new link from the drop down menu called Submissions. By following this link, you can fill out a quick form, upload your file, and receive confirmation. For a direct link to the form, rather than trying to navigate the menu, you can head here: https://gccazcrw.com/traveler/submissions/

It’s important to mention that you can still use http://www.gccaz.edu/traveler-entry to submit your work, and if you have already submitted in that fashion, you work is safe and sound in the loving, caring arms of our overlord, The Traveler (all hail). This new method is simply a way to integrate the submission process more directly with the blog and allow for one-stop shopping.

So, you now have absolutely no excuse for failing to submit. Ignore The Traveler (all hail) at your peril, for It is a just but merciless entity.

Open Mic: Featuring Traveler Winners

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Wednesday. The middle child of the weekday family. The forgotten one. Pessimistic and cynical. Overlooked, but for good reason. Wednesday is to blame for everything, after all. No new bike for you, Wednesday. No new clothes either. Monday’s will fit you. Monday, who came first. Monday, who blazed the trail, set the tone, went boldly into a world filled with fresh experiences and innumerable possibilities. And then there’s Friday–the baby, the one Aunt Saturday and Uncle Sunday give the extra toys and attention to, the one everyone still thinks is cute and fun and worth their time.

Well, we here at GCC think you’re adorable, Wednesdays. So adorable, in fact, we’ve chosen to hold all of our open mics right there, atop your wee forehead. And our next open mic is special: We’re featuring writers published in our most recent issue of the Traveler magazine. 

So, come out to GCC,  share your work, and then listen to the fantastic pieces published in the Traveler.

  • When: Wednesday, October 19th from 7:00PM to 9:30PM.
  • Where: GCC Main Campus, SU104.
  • Why: Because Wednesday’s feelings will be hurt if you don’t come.