After months of receiving and reading poems, formatting, layout, proofreading and proofing again, the book is finished.  "Surrounded:  Living With Islands" collects the works of twenty-four poets from all over the country.  Whatever your views about living on an island, you may find them changed or altered after reading these lyrical/frightening/challenging/mysterious poems. The book's cover (photo above) was designed by one of the contributing poets, Constance Mears. There are two ways to obtain your very own copy of this lovely book:

1)  Pre-order a copy directly through me at Scatchetpoet@gmail.com.  I expect to have physical copies ready to mail out by June 6.  $12 plus $2.00 shipping; tax included.  OR

2)  Order online through CreateSpace; the book is available now.  Here is the link:
      https://www.createspace.com/3867511

In about 5-7 days, copies will also be available on Amazon.  Please be aware, though, that Write Wing receives a much smaller royalty from Amazon than from CreateSpace.  Have compassion for the small publisher!

This summer will bring a book launch party and/or library reading on Whidbey Island; stay tuned for details; and as always, thank you for being readers!

Write Wing Publishing Announces Poetry Prize

Happy National Poetry Month!  Here's to all the new poems being written, all the old poems being read and treasured, and all the uncreated poems still to come.  It is especially joyful for me to announce the winner of:

THE WRITE WING PUBLISHING 2012 POETRY PRIZE

The prize goes to Henry Hughes of Falls City, Oregon for his stunning poem "Making Islands."  Henry has been awarded $50.00, and his poem will appear in the forthcoming anthology "Surrounded:  Living With Islands."

The anthology is currently in the layout/format process, and should be available very soon.  Thanks again to all poets who submitted; those selected for publication will receive a contributor's copy of the book.

Special thanks go to Constance Mears for her beautiful work on cover design.

Stay tuned!

Readers are the Reward

ScatchetPoet wins a prize!  My nonfiction essay "Shaped By Cedar" was recently awarded second prize in the competition from Jane's Stories Press Foundation.  Watch for their new anthology, "Bridges and Borders," in which the essay will be published.  Many thanks to JSPF.

More rewarding than winning prizes, however, is knowing that my writing will be available in published form for readers all over the world.  Writing can be such an isolated activity; staring at that electronic page/monitor/taskmaster, some days it is hard to envision that real human beings will be reading the words.

Speaking of readers:  Write Wing's new poetry anthology "Surrounded:  Living With Islands" should be ready to read by late April or early May.  All submitting poets have now received responses to their poems, and decisions are well underway as to format, layout, cover design, etc.  Watch for a gorgeous book to be released!

"Surrounded" STATUS

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the poets who sent in their daring, beautiful, provocative, bizarre and/or experimental poems for inclusion in the anthology "Surrounded:  Living With Islands."  Final decisions are being made this month, and some poets have already been notified.  If you have not yet heard from me, please hang in there; the goal is to have all selections made and notifications completed no later than March 25.

A WORD ABOUT BIOS:  if you sent an author bio that exceeds 50 words -- and you know who you are -- you will be asked to revise it to fit within the 50-word limit.

I am humbled by the excellence of the poetry received.  Write Wing's book will be worth waiting for!

REMINDER:  February 10 Submission Deadline

A big THANK YOU to all the poets who have sent their heartfelt, glorious poems in for the new book "Surrounded."  I am overwhelmed and so gratified to see all this lively, musical, gorgeous poetry alive and well, arriving from all parts of the country.

The book promises to be excellent, based on the quality of poems being received.  If you have entertained even a tiny thought of submitting, now is the time ... the submission period will close February 10, 2012.  I will read your poems with the respect they deserve.

SEE blogpost December 15 for submission guidelines.  Questions?  Email me: <Scatchetpoet@gmail.com>

A Poem in Every Moment?

My friend the poet and artist Chris Luna sometimes reminds me that a poem can be about anything.  As I was gazing out the window yesterday and thinking about that, the resident quail tribe strolled into the flower bed next to the driveway and began foraging.  I'm fascinated by the way they travel everywhere together; no quail goes solo.  "Quail in the Garden" sprang into my head as a poem title, but of course I did not write a poem at that moment and soon became sidetracked.  Several hours later, I stood outside on the deck watching the moonrise.  A couple more days until it's full, I thought, admiring the way the moon appeared framed inside the tangled branches of a huge ancient maple.  "Moon in the Maple" could be a poem, I thought.  (That one is not written yet, either.)  A third thought, late in evening, was of my dad who died last Valentine's Day, and will not be watching quail or moonrise, at least not in the form I'm seeing them now.  And that led to an overwhelming mix of grief and gratitude, which could be the basis for a poem!  I'm thankful for those quail, for that luminous moon, for my friendship with Chris and all the other poets, writers and artists who give their gifts so we all may better appreciate the vast beauty around us.  Don't let your poems pass you by.

Here's to a new year filled with beauty, appreciation, and the creation of art for us all.

RE-POST Call for Submissions:  "Surrounded:  Living With Islands"

Now that Write Wing's ad is published in the current issue of Poets & Writers, a re-post of the submission guidelines is in order, so poets will not have to scroll back through older posts.  Here it is again, and good luck to all entrants:

Call for Poetry Submissions

Surrounded:  Living With Islands

            Write Wing Publishing calls for submissions of poems about living on, by or with islands.  These islands can be physical or metaphorical.  Poems may be prose poems, blank verse, free verse and/or traditional forms.

            What is your experience with islands?  Do you feel captive?  Insulated?  Serene?   Cabin fever, as residents of Hawaii have reported?  Surrounded seeks strong voices, both emerging and established, to explore this subject.  For inspiration, see Reuben Tam’s The Wind-Honed Islands Rise.

            Please submit 1-3 original unpublished poems, limit 60 lines each; Times New Roman 12-point font, single-spaced.  Include SASE, cover sheet with contact info, poem titles and brief author bio (<50 words), and $5.00 reading fee.  (Poems should not show writer’s name.)  Mail to:  Write Wing Publishing, 3795 Hubble Court, Clinton WA  98236.  Deadline:  February 10, 2012.

            A prize of $50.00 will be awarded for best overall submission.  Poets selected for publication will receive one free copy of the book.  All rights revert to authors after publication.

            ABOUT THE EDITOR:  Sheryl Clough holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  She taught literature and composition at UAF and Seattle’s Highline College, and taught three summer terms in the Upward Bound and Della Keats programs in Alaska.  Sheryl is widely published in journals and magazines, with credits in poetry, creative nonfiction, essays, interviews and travel writing.  She is a Founders Circle member of Soundings Review and 2010 winner of the William Stafford award from Washington Poets Association.  Follow Sheryl's blog at http://scatchetpoet.blogspot.com/