prose

District & GCC Writing Competitions

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Friends. Fall is here, winter approaches, and with these seasons come the usual visitors: 90 to 100 degree weather, National Novel Writing Month, existential dread, and writing competitions within the Maricopa Community College District and here at GCC.

First up is Maricopa’s competition, which is open to all students within the Maricopa district. The contest accepts submissions in essay, fiction, one-act play/script, and poetry categories. The deadline for this contest is November 17th, 2017.  

UPDATE: The deadline has been extended to December 1st, 2017 by 10:59PM.

Read through the official entry guidelines and submit here: Creative Writing at MCCCD.

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Not to be outdone, GCC has our own writing contest through the Traveler, our arts and literary magazine. We accept the same genres as the district competition above–essay, fiction, one-act play/script, and poetry. Plus, we also accept submissions of flash fiction (500 words or fewer) as a separate category.

To read the full entry guidelines and submit your work, head here: Submissions

Don’t know which competition to submit to? Simple: submit to both.

Any work you enter into the district competition can also be entered in the Traveler competition, and the reverse is also true.

Problem solved. Now, get your work ready, polish it up, and submit!

Reminder: Open Mic & Kimberly Williams Tonight!

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kwilliams-bookcoverDon’t forget that tonight (Wednesday, 10/18) GCC is hosting our October Open Mic event. This event is free and open to the public. Come share your own creative work, be it poetry, prose, or some other genre. Or, simply come listen to the creative endeavors of your peers and neighbors.

In addition to the Open Mic, poet Kimberly Williams will read from her new collection of poetry Finally, the Moon. She is our featured reader for the night, and will take to the stage after the Open Mic portion ends.

All of this begins at 7:00PM on the GCC Main Campus, in SU104. Follow the signs! We’ll have some light refreshments. Have questions? Contact Jeff Baker at jeffrey.baker@gccaz.edu.

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

Saturday Workshop: How to Write a Sexy Sentence

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If you don’t think that the way an adjective pairs perfectly with a noun is erotic, then you have a thing or two to learn…

This workshop focuses on developing prose, word by word, sentence by sentence, with agonizing attention to detail. Whether fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or lyrics, at the foundation of nearly any exquisite piece of writing is a grammatically sexy sentence in which every piece of it works together harmoniously to perfectly express its meaning.

Semi-colon or period? What associations does this word carry with it to the page? What is a synonym for synonym? These questions and more will be explored during our workshop as we discuss diction, connotation, denotation, punctuation, and other –tions while we practice crafting the most perfect, most fluid, sexiest sentences we’ve ever seen.

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This workshop is free and open to the public. Breakfast-y refreshments will be provided, but bring your own caffeine!

  • What & Who: “Syntax: How to Write a Sexy Sentence” will be conducted by Jayme Cook.
  • When: Saturday, March 25th from 9:30AM to 11:30AM.
  • Where: GCC Main Campus, LA-141
  • Why: Because sex sells.

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.

Saturday Workshop – The Role of Truth in Nonfiction, Fiction, & Autobiographical Fiction

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For the Spring semester of 2017, we will again continue our Saturday Workshop Series. The first of our Saturday Workshops is nearly here, and we are pleased to welcome a new presenter: David Martinez.

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Explore the space between nonfiction and fiction through writing from your core, and discover truth. Writing is hard for a myriad of reasons, and one of the most trying and difficult aspects for many people is finding that space that makes the writing (whether fiction or nonfiction) ring true. Join us as we sift through writings and methods that may help us grab hold of that ever-questioned, ever-scrutinized truth.

  • What & Who: “The Role of Truth in Nonfiction, Fiction, & Autobiographical Fiction” will be conducted by David Martinez.
  • When: Saturday, February 11th from 9:30AM to 11:30AM.
  • Where: GCC Main Campus, LA-141
  • Why: Because if you don’t, your friends and family will think less of you.

The Slam!

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Join GCC students, faculty, and staff, along with numerous talented writers and performers from across the valley, for 2016’s Poetry & Prose Slam. Whether you want to participate, or if you simply wish to listen, the slam always proves to be a great time.

  • What: GCC’s Annual Poetry & Prose Slam
  • Where: GCC Main, SU104
  • When: Wednesday, November 16th from 7PM to 10PM, but arrive early to register if you want to participate (Hint: You want to participate!)
  • Why: Cash Prizes!

Obligatory disclaimer: We accept all performers’ rights to express their creative works and art freely, so we do not censor subject matter or content

Saturday Workshop – Characterization: Populating Your Fictional World with Realistic People

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Missed the workshop and want to see some of what Mark had to offer? Attended the workshop, but want to refresh your memory on some of Mark’s book selections and concepts? Head over to Workshop Materials and peruse the content covered in the workshop.

Have you ever read a book, watched a show, or sat through a movie and thought any of the following?

  • “Who does that? Real people don’t act like this!”
  • “I can’t keep track of these people. What’s his name is with what’s her face? Who’s that guy?”
  • “All of these characters could die in a fiery plane crash and I wouldn’t care.”

The fictional world may be fascinating, the conflicts may be intense, and the writing may be beautiful, but without fully realized characters to follow and root for, the story is ultimately doomed. Don’t fret, however. You can build unique and complex characters! Moreover, you can create characters with their own drive and will so that they surprise even you, the writer. Come join us or a free workshop to help breathe life into characters you will want to save from a plane crash.

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  • What & Who: “Characterization: Populating Your Fictional World with Realistic People” will be conducted by Mark Broeske, GCC Creative Writing faculty.
  • When: Saturday, November 5 from 9:30 to 11:30AM.
  • Where: GCC Main Campus, LA-141.
  • Why: Did we mention it’s free?