Amplifying BIPOC youth activism and socio-political issues through creative expression how do you find a cultural identity in a melting pot? What’s your journey to explore cultural identity and how it has shaped your principles? It could be inspired by a real-life incident, movie, or a national event. Wingless Dreamer hopes to publish an anthology of writing by writers about these authentic experiences. We invite all the writers from across the globe to submit creative writing (poems, short stories, prose, etc) that shed light on their personal experience as a BIPOC or for a BIPOC. Works of writing will be accompanied by an illustration by one of our graphic designers.
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Entries for this Contest are now closed.
All the winners and commended writers will receive Certificates. The free complimentary copies of the book will be provided to the top three winners.
The winners will be promoted on our social media platform and the books will get published on our website: winglessdreamer.com, Amazon Kindle, and Lulu.
The book will also include your bio-statement alongside your published poem.
Your work can be full of light and laughter or it can capture sorrow, pain, and the fragility of life. Remember it should be related to the theme of Cultural Identity, Oneness, Togetherness, and Celebrating our differences.
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Theme: Winter poetry / or poems inspired by Emily Dickinson’s work Your poems can be full of light and laughter or it can capture sorrow, pain, and the fragility of life. Maybe it’s your time to share your poem with us.
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Judging criteria:
Relevance to the theme – 50%
Creativity/Style and Originality – 30%
The coherence of form and structure (harmony of words, presentation) – 10%
Clarity of imagery and language – 10% => TOTAL – 100%
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Poetry: No more than 20 lines.
Short-story: Word limit 500 words
Articles or personal experience: 700 words
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Entry fee: There are no entry fees but we do need your support. Please feel free to make any amount of donation to support aspiring writers and artists.
Deadline: 31st December 2020 (Promotional deadline may differ but this is the final deadline)
RULES AND GUIDELINES
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The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over.
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Entries may be submitted via Submittable or via email submit@winglessdreamer.com along with PayPal receipt if you made any donation https://www.paypal.me/winglessdreamer
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Any submission received with the expression of extreme violence, abuse, nudity, or pornography will be eliminated and forever be banned.
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Poems can be in any form or style as long as it goes well with the theme for the contest.
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In the case of poems, it must be typed and not longer than 20 lines (excluding title).
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Remember one submission per writer.
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Work should be in English, must be the entrant’s own work and should not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere (including online), should not have won another competition, or be the translated work of another writer.
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Kindly read our terms and conditions before submitting your work.
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Our judges will read all entries.
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No changes can be made to your work once it has been submitted.
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The decision of the judge is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
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WinglessDreamer Poetry Festival Trustees, employees or associates, or members of their families, may not enter.
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How long is your process?
It takes over 1-2 months to publish a book to include time for authors to work with our editors, and for the process of graphic design, illustrations, book cover, and layout. The outbreak of COVID-19 may cause delays in the publishing process but our team is trying their level best. Kindly bear with us.
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On what platforms the book will get published?
The book will get published on Amazon.com, Goodreads, and on our website Winglessdreamer.com. Kindly, note that only the winner will get a free complimentary copy. For more information please write to us at sales@winglessdreamer.com
Please note that submission fees of a minimum amount of USD$5 allow us to offer the winning honorarium and also to offset the cost of publishing and promoting the winning collection. Wingless Dreamer works to supporting the publication of excellent poetry, flash fiction, and short stories collection and supporting our mission to bring the highest quality literature into the world. All submissions will be carefully read, reviewed, and considered for this prestigious prize. Thank you for your understanding.
May 21, 2021 | Wingless Dreamer | Announcements
All of us go through experiences, build memories and experience religious customs, rituals and cultural interactions that shape our cultural identity. This cultural identity, however, has been challenged and violated countlessly by the powerful and privileged.
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All of us, with hearts, should take a stand and be an ally in the fight for justice for BIPOC communities. We must listen to their voice, provide a platform for their experiences, and do our part to create meaningful and lasting change. The BIPOC issue is not just a problem for those it affects, it is a problem for all of us, and it is up to us to take action and create a better future for all. We, at Wingless Dreamer, want to do our part the best way we can – with poetry and prose. Literary pieces from all of you, that could touch the hearts of all of us, everywhere in the world.
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What an amazing experience we had to review such spectacular works of literary art from all around the world. Wingless Dreamer aims to build authentic and everlasting solidarity among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), in order to eradicate systematic racism, and xenophobia and advance racial, cultural and societal justice.
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Our editorial team loves the way all the contestants participate and display such beautiful narration in their respective stories. It’s been quite a juggle among our judges to pick up the best out of the best. So, finally, after careful consideration, Wingless Dreamer Publisher has finally reached the verdict.
Beat the drums. This brave warrior of the contest shined their light on everyone’s hearts! The winner of the Writers of Tomorrow Contest is:
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The grand winner of Wingless Dreamer BIPOC Writing Contest 2021 is:
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PRAPTI SHARMA – A STRANGER IN MY SKIN
I am a 2000-born, young law student from New Delhi, India. I like to build worlds in my largely daydreaming head: worlds that I myself like to describe as “the musings of a fuzzy brain.” My love for books prompted me to pen down my first children’s adventure-mystery novel, ‘The Conspiracy’, at the age of thirteen. However, I brought it out to the world much later in 2017. I also self-published a short story called ‘The Long Road to Ranchi’ recently. I am passionate about history, mythology, and philosophy, and plan to bring out my poetry book soon as well. Legends like Shakespeare, Rupi Kaur, and Rumi are my ideals and I seek to fill in some love and beauty in the world that I live in outside my head. I live in New Delhi with my grandfather, parents, and younger brother.
Hurrah! Congratulations Prapti for achieving the first position in this contest. Bravo! The poem submitted by Prapti titled ‘A stranger in my skin!’ is written from a perspective of a woman of colour who is unable to accept her skin throughout the years since her father refuses to call her as of his own. It is beautifully written Prapti. Well done!
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The second position goes to:
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JAYDEM MARTIN – MORE THAN YOU THINK
Jaydem Martin is a poet from Queensland, Australia. He identifies as a First Nations Australian, his great grandmother an elder of the Wiradjuri tribe. At the age of 10 he was diagnosed with a connective tissue disease which has brought difficulties to his life. Creative writing is something that allows him to have a voice and express himself.
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and the third position goes to:
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MAYTE CASTRO – JOURNEY
Mayte Castro. a writer and educator who resides in Seattle, WA. She is from Southern California (daughter of Mexican parents); Mayte teaches youth and young adults ages 16-21 at an Open Doors program. Poetry Mayte writes focuses on immigration, culture and travel, and self expression as a road to healing generational traumas.
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Lastly, here are the top finalists:
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DAVID LIN – THE ASIAN MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO
Originally from Taiwan, David Lin lives in America. He has published poems in the UK.
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KIM TILLMAN – AMERICAN MONUMENTS PARIS 1928
Kim Tillman is a California native, singer/songwriter, and the lead singer of the band Tragic Gadget. She was a member of the fourth cohort of the #BARS Workshop, an immersive theater-in-verse writing and performance program at the Public Theater in New York. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature with an Emphasis on Creative Writing from Dominican University of California.
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LUIS DANIEL SAL GADO- SUBS
Luis Daniel Salgado is a Houston native. Luis is earned his Master in Fine Arts at Texas State University and graduated May 2020. Luis is currently working on his thesis and manuscript. Luis’ poetry is about growing up in a lower developed part of Houston, in a family with five siblings, and being raised by a single mother. Luis hopes his poetry can reach those who come from a similar background or shed light on those with completely different lives.
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VALERIA PACHECO – LETTERS TO THE ICE DETENTION CENTER
Valeria Pacheco is a first-generation Mexican-American residing in Houston, Texas. She attends Emory University in Atlanta and is pursuing a double major in Creative Writing and Psychology. In her free time, she loves to draw, write, play with her dogs, and read to her nephew.
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SAPTARSHI BHOWMICK – AM I DISPLEASED WITH MY ROOTS
Saptarshi Bhowmick is a thinker in his twenties. Exerted from his race he still shines as he takes joy in writing poetry from a society where it’s rare. His poems are on different topics; he enlightens the subject matter with a little touch of sublime rhyme. If you took a little time in reviewing his poems, you will understand the jovial touch which I speak of! (His Recent published work – ‘A Last Night’, The Rainbow Poems, Uk, Remembrance Edition)
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henry 7. reneau, jr. – we don’t say it’s wrong, says it’s right
henry 7. reneau, jr. writes words of conflagration to awaken the world ablaze, an inferno of free verse illuminated by his affinity for disobedience, like a discharged bullet that commits a felony every day, is the spontaneous combustion that blazes from his heart, phoenix-fluxed red & gold, exploding through change is gonna come to implement the fire next time. He is the author of the poetry collection, freedomland blues (Transcendent Zero Press) and the e-chapbook, physiography of the fittest (Kind of a Hurricane Press), now available from their respective publishers. Additionally, he has self-published a chapbook entitled 13hirteen Levels of Resistance, and his collection, The Book Of Blue(s) : Tryin’ To Make A Dollar Outta’ Fifteen Cents, was a finalist for the 2018 Digging Press Chapbook Series. His work has also been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net.
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MARIE ANNE- HOME ARRIVAL
As a Mexican writer, Marie Anne brings the kind of energy through her work as a pioneer for the latinx community, and an activist on behalf of poetry, creativity and spirituality. For Marie, everything is connected. When she works to heighten literature, she works to promote awareness about the environment, unfolding purpose and meaning to our individual lives. She is currently studying arts management at ITSON University, in Sonora, México, and has taken courses on Creative writing, Film photography, Screenwriting and is an active member at CIBEF, the Ibero-American Center for Photo and Film Studies in training, consulting, production and research.
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Finally, here’s the contributor’s list who made it in our upcoming issue: