The Summer 2025 issue of The Midwest Quarterly includes my poem “To the Victor Go the Spoils” alongside work from my fellow April Gloaming Publishing author Darren C. Demaree.
The Midwest Quarterly publishes “To the Victor Go the Spoils”
Author: Bernadette Geyer
With more than 20 years of public relations/marketing/editorial experience, Bernadette Geyer is a communications and content expert. Geyer’s marketing and editorial skills are rounded out with experience providing editorial feedback for mobile apps, and services to translate business texts from German to English.
Contests for Already Published (Poetry) Books – Updated October 2025
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If anyone knows of additional contests for already published books (or galleys), please post a comment and I will add to the list.
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Recent update in October 2025: Added the Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award and Julie Suk Award. Removed the Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award and the Milton Kessler Poetry Book Award. Fixed some broken links.
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BOOK AWARDS FOR POETRY BOOKS
Note: advice of most of these contests is to submit book as soon as possible during submission period.
Continue reading “Contests for Already Published (Poetry) Books – Updated October 2025”
South Dakota Review publishes “Rib”
Very excited for my third appearance in South Dakota Review, which published my poem “Rib” in issue 59.1 in Fall 2024. Just got my contributor copy last week and am happy to see my work alongside that of Susan L. Leary, Michael Meyerhofer, Stella Wong, and many other fine writers.
Circling the Drain – A Craft Essay on the Brevity Blog
The Brevity Blog published my craft essay “Circling the Drain: The Movement from Idea to Essay” on 25 August 2025. The piece elaborates on my craft process in an extended metaphor.
Lamp Lit publishes my poem “The Most Beautiful Clown in the Circus”
My poem “The Most Beautiful Clown in the Circus” appears in the inaugural issue of Lamp Lit. The poem was inspired by my visit to the David Bowie exhibit at Gropius Bau several years ago, where I got to see his Pierrot costume. Bowie had told the designer to make him “the most beautiful clown in the circus.” How could I pass that up for inspiration?
You can download a copy of the issue or read it for free online at this link.
Dos and Don’ts When Seeking Book Blurbs
I wrote the featured article for the 6 June 2025 issue of FundsforWriters, published weekly by Hope Clark, in which I offer tips based on my own experience soliciting blurbs for my books and writing blurbs for others. Below is a short excerpt.
Continue reading “Dos and Don’ts When Seeking Book Blurbs”Emerge Literary Journal publishes “I waited for the sunrise”
Another of my short prose pieces on the topic of waiting appears in the new double issue (33|34) of Emerge Literary Journal.
Click here to read the piece , or click here to check out the whole issue.
Developing a More Efficient Submission Process
I wrote the featured article for the 4 April 2025 issue of Funds for Writers, published weekly by Hope Clark, which shines a light behind the curtain of how I changed my process for submitting writing to magazines to open more time for writing. Below is a short excerpt.
Continue reading “Developing a More Efficient Submission Process”South Carolina Review publishes my poem “Explaining Cremation to Our Daughter at the Dinner Table”
My poem “Explaining Cremation to Our Daughter at the Dinner Table” is included in the Fall 2024 issue of South Carolina Review. The poem is from my second full-length poetry collection, which is forthcoming from April Gloaming Publishing in October 2025.
Poetry – Medicine for the Soul Podcast episode celebrating responses to Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons
I recently had the pleasure of reading as part of a celebration of From the Belly Volume II: Food, a collection of poetry responding to Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons.
The event was for the “Poetry–Medicine for the Soul” series, sponsored by Topsham Public Library and curated by John Gillespie. I read with Karren Alenier (editor), Tara Betts, Aaron Caycedo-Kimura, and Fred Marchant, who all also contributed to the anthology.
The reading has been edited and produced into a podcast episode, which is now available for your listening pleasure.
Click here to listen to this delightful conversation about poetry, food, Gertrude Stein, and inspiration.
Bernadette Geyer 