At Johnson County Library we love local authors. In support of our home-grown talent, we invite submissions of poetry, fiction, and essays.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
- Writers must be residents of the Kansas City Metro Area
- Poetry limit: 60 lines or fewer
- Prose limit: 1000 words
- Submissions must be in English and previously unpublished
- Submission limit: one submission per category (one poem, one short story, one essay, one open)
- Please do not include identifying information on your submission. We're serious about this! No name in the document or even the file name. NO IDENTIFYING INFORMATION!
- One short story, one essay, one poem, and one entry from an open category will be selected for publication on our Staff Picks blog
- Runners up may be posted on the Staff Picks blog
- Authors of selected works must be available for a reading in the Kansas City Metro Area
- Authors who read will receive a $200 honorarium, provided in part by The Johnson County Library Foundation and the Joan Berkley Writers Fund
- Johnson County Library staff are ineligible
- The committee selecting works is comprised of Johnson County Library Staff and community volunteers
- We reserve the right not to present an award
- Looking for feedback before you submit? Try the Writing Lab at Brainfuse. It's free with your Johnson County Library card and PIN!
Check For Writers | Johnson County Library (jocolibrary.org) for more information
Our contest theme for May - August is All Together Now
All Together Now: It’s a Beatles song, a mantra when times are tough, a promise to one another to tackle new experiences together. What does the phraseactually mean, though? And do we really, truly, want to be with everyone else, especially when our political leanings, religious beliefs, and personal convictions can be wildly different (and sometimes oppositional)?
We want to hear from you—what does the phrase “all together now” mean to you? Have you said these words to someone and kept them? Have you been sad when the promise dissolved over time? Show us examples, big or small, of when people moved together with shared purpose—or drifted apart after stating the sentiment.
Open Call for Art and Writing - Deadline July 15, 2023
Enter your work to be included in our Volume 6 Notebook, which will be distributed at our 8th annual Writers Conference.
Many of Johnson County Library’s writing programs have been supported by the Joan Berkley Writers Fund, which is administered by the Johnson County Library Foundation. The Berkley family started the fund to honor Joan Berkley, who was an avid reader and lover of literature. Bert Berkley has supported the fund since its inception in 2015 And we thought it would be fun to honor Bert along with Joan with a prompt all about his favorite thing: fishing.
Whether it be fishing for compliments, fishers of men, or actual fishing for fish, tell us about the ways you cast your net, what you’re hoping to catch, and the surprises along the way. Need inspiration? Read about Bert’s passion for fly-fishing in Anglers Journal: https://www.anglersjournal.com/people/bert-berkley
Disclaimer
All submissions must be original work. By submitting, writers warrant and represent that the work is their own. Writers will retain copyright of their submissions. By providing original work, writers agree to allow and permit Johnson County Library the right to print, publish, showcase, reproduce and distribute the submissions. By submitting, writers agree to any and all editorial alterations and abridgments including, but not limited to, re-formatting, grammatical correction, and cropping. Johnson County Library reserves the right to incorporate and/or disseminate the submission in any form, including, but not limited to, in other publications, marketing, promotions, and other material both internal and external. (12/22/2020)
All Together Now: It’s a Beatles song, a mantra when times are tough, a promise to one another to tackle new experiences together. What does the phraseactually mean, though? And do we really, truly, want to be with everyone else, especially when our political leanings, religious beliefs, and personal convictions can be wildly different (and sometimes oppositional)?
We want to hear from you—what does the phrase “all together now” mean to you? Have you said these words to someone and kept them? Have you been sad when the promise dissolved over time? Show us examples, big or small, of when people moved together with shared purpose—or drifted apart after stating the sentiment.
Please keep in mind: Your short story must be 1000 words or fewer. Do not include identifying information in your submission. Including identifying information will disqualify your submission.
All Together Now: It’s a Beatles song, a mantra when times are tough, a promise to one another to tackle new experiences together. What does the phraseactually mean, though? And do we really, truly, want to be with everyone else, especially when our political leanings, religious beliefs, and personal convictions can be wildly different (and sometimes oppositional)?
We want to hear from you—what does the phrase “all together now” mean to you? Have you said these words to someone and kept them? Have you been sad when the promise dissolved over time? Show us examples, big or small, of when people moved together with shared purpose—or drifted apart after stating the sentiment.
Please keep in mind: Essays are limited to 1000 words. Do not include identifying information in your submission. Including identifying information will disqualify your submission.
All Together Now: It’s a Beatles song, a mantra when times are tough, a promise to one another to tackle new experiences together. What does the phraseactually mean, though? And do we really, truly, want to be with everyone else, especially when our political leanings, religious beliefs, and personal convictions can be wildly different (and sometimes oppositional)?
We want to hear from you—what does the phrase “all together now” mean to you? Have you said these words to someone and kept them? Have you been sad when the promise dissolved over time? Show us examples, big or small, of when people moved together with shared purpose—or drifted apart after stating the sentiment.
Please keep in mind: Poetry is limited to 60 lines, and prose must be 1000 words or fewer. Do not include identifying information in your submission. Including identifying information will disqualify your submission.
Enter your work to be included in our Volume 6 Notebook, which will be distributed at our 8th annual Writers Conference.
Many of Johnson County Library’s writing programs have been supported by the Joan Berkely Writers Fund, which is administered by the Johnson County Library Foundation. The Berkley family started the fund to honor Joan Berkeley, who was an avid reader and lover of literature. Bert Berkley has supported the fund since its inception in 19?? And we thought it would be fun to honor Bert along with Joan with a prompt all about his favorite thing: fishing.
Whether it be fishing for compliments, fishers of men, or actual fishing for fish, tell us about the ways you cast your net, what you’re hoping to catch, and the surprises along the way. Need inspiration? Read about Bert’s passion for fly-fishing in Anglers Journal: https://www.anglersjournal.com/people/bert-berkley
Submission deadline is July 15, 2023.
Enter your work to be included in our Volume 6 Notebook, which will be distributed at our 8th annual Writers Conference.
Many of Johnson County Library’s writing programs have been supported by the Joan Berkely Writers Fund, which is administered by the Johnson County Library Foundation. The Berkley family started the fund to honor Joan Berkeley, who was an avid reader and lover of literature. Bert Berkley has supported the fund since its inception in 19?? And we thought it would be fun to honor Bert along with Joan with a prompt all about his favorite thing: fishing.
Whether it be fishing for compliments, fishers of men, or actual fishing for fish, tell us about the ways you cast your net, what you’re hoping to catch, and the surprises along the way. Need inspiration? Read about Bert’s passion for fly-fishing in Anglers Journal: https://www.anglersjournal.com/people/bert-berkley
Submission deadline is July 15, 2023.
Johnson County Library (KS) provides both monthly writing programming and a yearly writers conference that aim to uplift and celebrate writers in our community. Are you interested in teaching with us? If so, tell us who you are, what you're excited about, and how you might share with library patrons. There are no deal-breakers; we simply want to get to know you!