In other news, I've sent my poetry chapbook in to four different poetry contests, a play to another, and a short story to another.
The short story contest tho. Here's a copy of the first paragraph of my cover letter.
I was extremely
excited to discover Twisted Road Publications and its short fiction contest.
Twisted Road’s tagline, “Bringing Marginalized Voices Into the Mainstream,”
exactly describes what I aim to do with all my work. As a queer, chronically
ill, feminine person, I have some experience with marginalization and feel very
strongly about working to improve visibility and challenge common narratives.
The Southern Gothic Anthology contest marries my mission to my style—the
contest page’s description of Southern Gothic is the closest description of my
genre that I have ever encountered. From childhood I’ve written tragedy-ridden
depictions of people misunderstood by society, and have always struggled to
find a niche for my work. Discovering that Dorothy Allison was the final judge
was the absolute icing on the cake. I have greatly admired Ms. Allison’s work
for several years now, and in fact wrote my college essay on my relationship
with an essay of hers, “This Is Our World,” which put into words for the first time
how I felt about the purpose of art: to challenge the viewer’s comfortable
perception of their world.
This is not me trying to butter up the judges, this is pure enthusiasm.
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