Thanks to everyone who came to read at our open mic on Tuesday evening, including Ifraah from England and Tadeusz from Brazil. I love Zoom for its ability to bring together people around the world.

It’s definitely here to stay, for better or worse. So you may as well learn how to look and sound like a pro during online meetings, presentations, and TV appearances. To help you, the CT Press Club is sponsoring a “Fireside Chat” Your Best Zoom Self: Tips from a TV Pro, featuring award-winning journalist and TV personality Mercedes Velgot, host of Born to Explore (PBS), on Tuesday, March 23, from 7-8pm ET. She’ll share tricks of the trade on everything from lighting and sound to creating a professional presence during virtual meetings, TV appearances, and media interviews. CPC members free (email ctpressclub@gmail.com  for the link). Non-members ($10) register here.

Gotham Writers in New York is hosting a free Zoom webinar, Inside Writing, every Wednesday afternoon from 1-2 pm, ET. In each one, host Josh Sippie, and two guests (writers, agents, editors, etc) discuss the inside scoop on publishing and writing. Guests change week-to-week, and audience members will be able to ask questions. Upcoming are: Inside Writing vs. Life, March 24, featuring writers Sarah McColl (Joy Enough) and Daniel José Older (The Book of Lost Saints). Inside Writing Contests featuring writer Seth Fried and editor Dani Hedlund, is scheduled for March 31.

Literary magazine The Pinch is running their Pinch Literary Awards contest for poetry and fiction, with first prizes in both categories of $2000 each. The deadline is March 31. First-place winners will be published in the Spring issue. Pinch is a highly rated contest (#41 in Pushcart ranking) and you can read past winners online. Entrance fee $20.

The Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest is now in its 20th year and is looking for today’s best humor poems. There’s no fee to enter and they accept both published and unpublished work. Deadline April 1. First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from the co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value) The top 12 entries will be published online. Submit here.  For more details check the link above.

A prize of $1,000, publication in The Tusculum Review, and creation of a limited edition chapbook is awarded for the winning story (2,000-6,500 words) in their 2021 Fiction Prize. The entry fee of $15 includes a one-year subscription to The Tusculum Review (an annual publication) and consideration for publication. Deadline April 1.

The Rising Stars Flash Fiction Contest is accepting submissions (under 1,000 words) through midnight ET on April 2. They offer cash prizes of $250 for the winners in two categories: flash to a prompt or flash freeform – where you write on the subject of your choosing. Entry fee: $20.00. Feedback from the judges costs a further $20. Full details here.

Connecticut Literary Festival/Central Connecticut State English Department is accepting submissions for the second Connecticut Literary Anthology featuring Nutmeg state authors. Authors must reside in the state of Connecticut by January 1, 2021. The anthology will include previously unpublished work: fiction (up to 3500 words), creative nonfiction (up to 3500 words), and poetry (up to 2 poems). The book will premiere at the 2021 Festival, October 23, at Real Art Ways. (COVID permitting). Submissions are open until April 10.

Woodhall Press is seeking well-crafted, true narratives from BIPOC writers who self-identify as women (cis/trans) for their upcoming anthology, Nonwhite and Woman: 153 Micro Essays on Being in the World. A micro essay/memoir or prose poem has 300 words or less. You may submit up to three pieces. Deadline April 30. Publication Date April 8, 2022. Nonwhite and Woman celebrates how women of color live and thrive in the world, and how they make their lives their own. How has the color of your skin influenced your life? What did you do to claim yourself and your identity, or how was it challenged? Full submission details here.

Three of your readers at Tuesday’s open mic were poets, so I mentioned The Poets’ Salon, which runs a monthly meetup where you can read and ask for critiques of your poetry, or simply come to listen.  They also offer a comprehensive list each month of places to submit your work. One item from this month is an article on how to publish a chapbook.