Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction 2020/ How To Submit (250$ + Publication)

Lunch Ticket has announced that it would be honored to serve as the host for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction in 2020.

The award was named after Author Diana Woods who, during her lifetime, exuded unwavering intellectual commitment and zeal, pursuing and receiving secondary degrees in law, social work, political science, and most recently, creative writing.

She received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles in 2011 at the age of 70.

Diana was born on May 31, 1941 in Long Beach, California and passed on November 2, 2012 at the age of 71 from a perennial battle with ovarian cancer. She is survived by her son Brian, his wife Emily, their son Benjamin, as well as her daughter Rani and Rani’s fiancée Sonia.

When asked how she wanted to be remembered, Diana wrote, “I had so many goals and too little time.” Her passion for exploration of place, self, and identity remains ageless. Diana wrote and published regularly throughout the last decade of her life.

 

About the Award

The Creative nonfiction award was established in Diana’s memory by her family, friends, and the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA community. Diana Woods Memorial Award serves as a special opportunity for authors worldwide to be published in the literary journal Lunch Ticket. Established in the spring of 2012, Lunch Ticket is produced by the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA program, an innovative creative writing graduate program devoted to the education of literary artists, community engagement, and the pursuit of social justice.

Twice each year an author of a work of creative nonfiction will be selected for the Diana Woods Memorial Award award by a special guest judge. One author will be chosen for the Summer/Fall issue of Lunch Ticket and one in the Winter/Spring issue. The winning submissions will be published in Lunch Ticket and the recipient will receive $250.

HOW TO SUBMIT FOR THE DIANE WOODS MEMORIAL CREATIVE NON FICTION AWARD.

• Creative nonfiction authors are invited to submit an essay of up to 5,000 words on the subject of their choice to be considered for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction. This can be a biography, memoir or autobiography.
• Chosen entries will receive $250 and their work will be featured in the next issue of Lunch Ticket.
• Each award recipient must submit a 100-word biography, current photo, and send a brief note of thanks to the Woods family.
• To submit, please click on the button called “Submit to Lunch Ticket” above, and choose the category called “Diana Woods Memorial Award.”
• The reading period for the award is the month of February for the issue that publishes in June, and the month of August for the issue that publishes in December.
• Please note that any work that has been previously published will not be accepted.
• All submissions for the award will be considered for publication in Lunch Ticket.

THE COMPANY POLICY

The Memorial Award is dedicated to upholding the Council of Literary Magazines & Presses code of ethics, defined as such:

CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. They believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, they agree to:

1) conduct the contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of their readers, judges, or editors;

2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and

3) to make the mechanics of their selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. The organizers have adopted this Code to reinforce their integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that the contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

Additionally: friends, family, and associates of the judges are not eligible for consideration for the award.

Good Luck!