Bananagrams writing contest

The Newport Review is an online magazine which publishes creative writing, poetry, photography, and other visual art forms. They sponsor an annual writing contest, and this year the competition has a Bananagrams theme. Between May 1 and September 30, 2010, entrants can submit either a poem (<=21 lines) or a short story (<= 2100 words). The catch is that a Bananagrams grid made up of 21 tiles will be posted on the Newport Review site, and every word in that grid has to appear in the submitted story or poem. It's sort of a form of constrained writing. (More severely constrained forms of writing were described in my post on word game poetry.) You can read some of the previous contest winners to get a sense of what the Newport Review might be looking for.

Also, it is useful to note that links to information about two of the judges have been given: John Landry, a poet, and Jincy Willett, writer of fiction and blogger of blogs. Jincy Willett clearly has a sense of humor which gives me hope that any entry I might happen to submit might not be immediately dumped (as it were).

Check the site for full details on the contest. Prizes include a $500 cash award (donated by Abraham Nathanson), publication in the Newport Review, and, of course, Bananagrams sets. There is also a per-submission entrance fee of $7. Void where prohibited. Do not bend, fold, spindle, or mutilate this blog.

Good luck!