Contests – Mid-American Review Blog

Contest Winner: The Excavator and The Weaver

Mistletoe image over title of the flash fiction piece

Written by M.M. Porter

M.M Porter’s flash fiction piece titled “The Excavator and The Weaver” was selected for publication as the winner of the Winter Wheat 2024 Flash Fiction competition. During the competition, participants are given a short period of time to write a flash fiction piece from scratch. After each contestant completes their piece, the winner is selected through several rounds of crowd voting.

Author Biography: M. M. Porter is attending Ohio University to pursue her PhD in English with an emphasis in Poetry. She is a graduate of the MFA poetry program at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She has been published in Epiphany, The Shore, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Originally from Michigan, you can find her work at mm-porter.com.

The son of the blacksmith had always been in prison. There was no before or after, for him; there wasn’t even a now. Not a now like you and I know. He just was in prison. The moon hadn’t learned to spin and the sun hadn’t performed a pirouette. This was because time had not yet been made.

The daughter of the cobbler was also in prison, the way one is imprisoned when nothing changes. The pair had no need of anything, and didn’t really mind their prisons. Occasionally, the two would talk. It was only before, after, and between this talking that the pair decided that they didn’t care much for prison anymore. The cobbler’s daughter wanted to find a way out of their cells. The son of the blacksmith wanted to find a way to merge their cells.

He thought they would be content, if only they shared. Often, he would take his nail and scratch at the wall between them. The prison walls were skeptical of this, because the blacksmith’s son was trying to change things. However, the rocks allowed such things, if only to breed a new contentment and stillness. And though, for us, nails against rock would take a lifetime to break, the son of the blacksmith had no such concerns. And thus, the cells became one, and they talked face-to-face, and space was born. Black and brilliant. Infinite.

But the daughter of the cobbler was not contented. She insisted there would be a way out. All this space had made her cold. Besides, If they could combine their walls, they could do other things. But nothing happened, and how could they escape if no dog with a key in its mouth came down the hallway? Or no guard fell asleep? Or no food was brought by a pitying kitchen servant?

So the daughter of the cobbler took the only thing that seemed to change, and started to braid. She pulled black hair from her head, and blond from the son of the blacksmith’s head. With each hair she threaded together, she felt hope overtake her. She shaped their hairs patiently until they formed a stiff key. She placed it inside the lock through the bars, and turned the key. The son of the blacksmith was scared, but the bars were already opening. And as they stepped out, time began to unfold.

M.M. Porter Winter Wheat Flash Contest (1)Download

Contest Deadlines Extended!

The weather’s changing, the clock hands have been struck back an hour, and the winter darkness is upon us. But there’s a bright spot on the horizon: MAR has extended the deadlines for the Sherwood Anderson Fiction Award and the James Wright Poetry Award until November 15.

That’s right – you still have some precious time remaining to submit to these two contests. With a $1,000 prize + publication in each category, and with Alissa Nutting judging fiction and Oliver de la Paz judging poetry this year, you don’t want to miss out. The entry fee is only $10 (hey, compare it to other contests — $10 for a $1,000 prize is not too shabby) for each story up to 6,000 words or up to three poems. So learn more here and enter now!

Photo: stnorbert

MAR Announces Inaugural Art Contest

Calling all artists! MAR announces a new art contest for work inspired by writing published in our recent issues.

Prize: $500, display on blog and website, and share in proceeds of print sales
Final Judge: Artist Daniel Merriam
Entry Deadline: January 5, 2015
Entry Fee: $10 for up to three entries (combined in one submission)

The Finer Details:

Choose from among these six pieces from recent issues of Mid-American Review to inspire your artwork:

Fiction:
Mollie Ficek, “The Harvest Queen” (XXXIII.2)
Ryan Habermeyer, “In Search of Fortunes Not Yet Lost” (XXXIV.1)

Fineline:
Anika L. Eide, “Some Parents” (XXXIV.1)

Poetry:
Erin Lyndal Martin, “Colony Collapse—Aristaeus” (XXXIII.2)
G.C. Waldrep, “On Protestantism” (XXXIV.1)
Jude Nutter, “The Shipping Forecast” (winner of the 2013-2014 James Wright Poetry Award, XXXIV.2)

We invite artists to compose new work inspired by the writing of their choice from the list above. Medium/form may be painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, photography, textile, ceramics, metals, carpentry, glass—anything that may ultimately be translated to a two-dimensional image. Images may be submitted by post or on our submissions manager, as pdfs or jpgs. Cover letter/message should include brief biographical and contact information, and a 50-100 word artist’s statement about the method of composition and the inspiration behind it. Entries and cover letters need not be left anonymous.

A $10 entry fee for up to three pieces (combined in one submission) may be paid by check for postal submissions, or online for online submissions. Each entrant may choose to receive either a print of the winning piece or a one-year subscription to MAR. Our winning artist will receive $500 and display on the MAR website and blog. We will also produce a run of prints in various sizes for sale at events and on our website, and the artist will receive a share of these proceeds.

Contest is open to all artists, except those associated with the judge or Mid-American Review. Our judge’s decision is final.

For online submissions and online payment, please use our Submissions Manager. Send all postal entries with check or money order to: Mid-American Review Department of English Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43403

About the Judge: Daniel Merriam, a native of Maine, is an artist of the fantastic and the surreal. His watercolors have been exhibited across the country, and compiled in three books. His imagination blends the unexpected, the dark, the airy, the curious, and the luxurious with vibrant color and depth. His work graced the covers of MAR XXI.1, XXI.2, and XXV.1.

Good luck — we can’t wait to see the MAR-inspired art that comes our way.

Fineline Deadline Extended to June 15, 2014

Let our Fineline contest give you wings.

It’s summer and you’re busy — and whether “busy” means traveling, working, catching up on some reading, or simply lounging around in a baby pool with a margarita in hand, we get it. Mid-American Review is therefore happy to announce that our Fineline deadline has been extended until June 15 for our MAR friends. (As a reader of our new blog, that includes you!)

The Fineline Competition for Prose Poems, Short Shorts, and Anything In Between is the place to send your best short work. Each piece must be under 500 words; no line breaks in poems, please. Lindsay Hunter judges. First prize is $1,000 and publication in our special 35th anniversary issue. In fact, this issue will celebrate the prose poem/flash form in general, so we hope to publish several Fineline finalists as well as prose poems/short shorts that we accept through our general submission pool. So if you like short, send it to us!

Each Fineline entry packet of up to three pieces costs $10. We suggest you enter online using our submissions manager, but mailed entries are also accepted if received by June 15. Need more info? Go here. Otherwise, we look forward to reading your work!

Laura Maylene Walter, Fiction Editor