Contests & Publication

District Writing Competition is Live!

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Science Fact: 2 > 1

What’s better than one writing competition? Two writing competitions!

What’s better than two writing competitions? Three writing competitions! OK, you’re technically right. Three is better than two, but now you’re just being greedy. You’re going to live with two, and you’re going to like it. Or, you’re going to pretend you like it. When we walk past each other in the halls, share a table an an Open Mic, sit next to one another at a Saturday Morning Workshop, you’re going to smile and remark, “Yes, GCCAZCRW Blog, I do like two writing competitions. Also, that is a very long acronym, and it doesn’t particularly roll off the tongue. I sure hope there are snow cones here.”

And so it goes in civilized society.

Meanwhile, you’re going to submit your brilliant, creative, original work not only to The Traveler, but also to MCCCD’s District Writing Competition. Submission guidelines, eligibility rules, and instructions for the submission process can be found here: https://mcli.maricopa.edu/district-programming/district-fine-arts-program/creative-writing

The deadline for the district’s competition is eerily similar to the deadline for the Traveler, as if, perhaps, the two entities are colluding in some fashion. A joining, you might say. A convergence. That deadline is November 18th, 2016.

Any additional questions should be directed to Jeff Baker at jeffrey.baker@gccaz.edu.

The Traveler Wants You!

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The Traveler, GCC’s arts and literary journal, is set to open up for submissions early in October. Soon, we’ll be flush with wonderful poems, short stories, creative essays, and scripts. But, we need more staff to read through all of those submissions. It’s time, then, for you to volunteer. No more delay. No more evading. No more pretending like you don’t know me or see me when we pass by each other on campus, or acting like you can’t hear me when I’m speaking directly to you, or saying that your spam filter probably ate the email, or turning the house lights off and the sprinklers on and setting the guard dogs loose when you see me coming up your driveway. I know you’re in there, Henry!

Whether you’ve been reading and submitting to The Traveler for years, or if this is your first semester with us at GCC, we want your input. We value all readers. And, reading and working on The Traveler does NOT prohibit you from also submitting to the magazine for publication.

So, volunteer. It’s good for you, contains vitamin C, fends off colds and malware, allows kittens and puppies to live long and academically-fulfilling lives. Come read, serve as literary editor, and have a hand in choosing what we publish in our next issue.

Those interested, or those with additional questions, should contact The Traveler’s faculty literary advisor, Jeff Baker, at jeffrey.baker@gccaz.edu. Alternatively, come by his office in 05-139 and leave cryptic messages on or under his door that will take days for him to decipher. Stick figures of goats and cable TV boxes normally work best.

Announcing: The Traveler Winners!

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Please join us in congratulating this year’s Traveler winners. We received many, many strong submissions, but after much deliberation, the following pieces and writers were selected:

Fiction

  • First Place: “Leela” by Maneesha Lele
  • Second Place: “Stray Dogs and Leftover Bagels” by Dexter Ferrie
  • Third Place: “Immersion” by Maneesha Lele

Poetry

  • First Place: “Civility’s End” by Charles Hisey
  • Second Place: “Grandfather’s Gift” by Charles Hisey
  • Third Place: “Obsession: Always Climbing” by Karina Pineda
  • Honorable Mention: “Learning the Ways of the South” by Roderick McIver
  • Honorable Mention: “Flora” by Taylor Robinson

Nonfiction

  • First Place: “Fag Country” by Jamie Heath
  • Second Place: “Victims of the Time” by Tina Daquilante
  • Third Place: “Suicidal Reasoning” by Charles Hisey

Drama

  • First Place: “One Shining Moment” by Eric Bond

Flash Fiction

  • First Place: “Ghosts of John” by Daisy Cannon
  • Second Place: “A Pair of Galoshes” by Roderick McIver

To everyone who submitted to The Traveler: Thank you for letting us read your work. We hope you return next year and continue to make these decisions so difficult! To our student staff and our faculty judges: Thank you for your time and your commitment to writing here at GCC.

Stay tuned for more news about The Traveler as production commences!

 

District Writing Competition Winners!

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This week, the winners of MCCCD’s writing competitions were announced, and GCC is proud to see that four GCC students have been selected by the the judges. We are also thrilled that there is such a healthy crop of writers across the district, and we want to offer special congratulations to GCC’s own:

  • Phillip Boddy Jr. for winning 1st Place in the Essay category!
  • Eric Bond for winning 1st Place in One-Act Plays/Scripts!
  • Raymond Nokes for winning 2nd Place in Fiction!
  • Jamie Lee Heath for winning 3rd Place in Fiction!

We hope to see an even greater GCC presence with these awards next year. For a full list of winners, see below.

Essay:

  • Phillip Boddy Jr., GCC, “Our Summer of Love with the Goddess”, 1st Place*
  • Amanda Burns, SMCC, “The Frozen Chosen”, 2nd Place
  • William Alewyn, MCC, “Lucy’s Nick”, 3rd Place
  • Stephen Byrd, CGCC, “The Smell of Freedom”, Honorable Mention

Fiction:

  • William Alewyn, MCC, “And in Purgatory”, 1st Place*
  • Raymond Nokes, GCC, “New Home”, 2nd Place
  • Jamie Lee Heath, GCC, “Fag Country”, 3rd Place
  • Spencer Litman, PVCC, “The Monster”, Honorable Mention
  • Chaudhry Vidhushi, SCC, “The Shawl Seller”, Honorable Mention
  • James Wright, PC, “Ironic, Ain’t It”, Honorable Mention
  • John Chakravarty, PC, “Brake Lights”, Honorable Mention

Poetry:

  • Valerie Neal, MCC, “Carousel Transitioning into Stage Three”, 1st Place*
  • Matthew Hoober, SCC, “Perigee”,  2nd Place
  • William Pluchel, SCC, “The Rattle”, 3rd Place
  • Howard Gershkowitz, MCC, “A Survivor’s Story.  A Railcar’s Introduction”, Honorable Mention
  • Kylyn McCarty, MCC, “On the Third Street”, Honorable Mention
  • Joy Bickman, MCC, “Hid in a Soft-Sided Suitcase”, Honorable Mention
  • Charlotte Coburn, MCC, “Relative Distance”, Honorable Mention

One Act-Play/Script:

  • Eric Bond, GCC, “Potted Plants”, 1st Place*
  • Caleb Asay, MCC, “A Moment of Clarity”, 2nd Place
  • Ariel Tomb, RSC, “Before You Go”, 3rd Place

 

 

Last Day to Submit to CRW Competitions!

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Traveler Train 2015

Today, December 4th, is the FINAL DAY to submit your creative work to The Traveler and the district’s Creative Writing Competition deadline!

You have until 10:59PM to submit your poems, stories, scripts, and creative essays. Winning entries from the district competition go onto the national competition hosted by the League of Innovation. At both levels, the winning students will win cash awards and be published. At the district level, we publish a very nice paperback book of all first through third place entries. Chosen entries from The Traveler submissions will be published in our next issue, set to go into production in the spring.

MCCCD Competition 2015

Things to Know:

  • Requirements and submissions page for The Traveler can be found here: www.gccaz.edu/traveler-entry
  • Requirements and submissions page for the district competition can be found here: https://mcli.maricopa.edu/arts/creative-writing
  • The district creative writing competition awards $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place.
  • For submitting to The Traveler, you must have an active GCC email account. It is required by the submission page.
  • For submitting to the district competition, you must be an active student in the district, and you must create a CaFE account to submit your entries. Instructions for creating this account can be found at the submission page.
  • Both competitions require you to submit your work electronically. There are no physical submissions.
  • You are allowed to submit to both competitions at the same time. So, if you are submitting a short story, for example, you can submit it to both The Traveler and the district competition. Do not be shy.

MCCCD Creative Writing Competition Now Open!

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MCCCD Competition 2015

The district wide Creative Writing Competition is open for entries. The winning entries go onto the national competition hosted by the League of Innovation. At both levels the winning students will win cash awards and be published. At the district level we publish a very nice paperback book of all first through third place entries. Everyone at GCC encourages you to enter!

The categories:

  • Poetry – 67 lines
  • Fiction – 3,000 words
  • Essay – 2,000 words
  • One-Act Play/Script – 3,000 words including stage direction and production notes.

Submit online at: https://mcli.maricopa.edu/arts/creative-writing

Entries now close at 10:50PM on Friday, December 4, 2015.

 

Next Week: Free Association Open Mic Poetry & Prose Series

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On October 21st, this month’s open mic will feature the 2014 contributors to Glendale Community College’s literary arts magazine, The Traveler, and will also feature past Traveler contributor Dan Ramirez reading from his new book Flashes from the Molcajete.

Open mic begins at 7:00 p.m. with Traveler readers and Dan Ramirez to follow.

This event is open for GCC faculty, staff, students, and also community members.

Location:  GCC’s main campus, SU 104-A/B/C