Submit! dirtcakes

dirtcakes is a new literary journal based in Orange County, staffed by Chapman University MFA graduates and staff.

dirtcakes--a journal of creative non-fiction, poetry, and visual art--is dedicated to exploring themes suggested by the UN Millennium Goals to end extreme poverty by 2015.

Writers in their first two issues include local poets Karen An-hwei Lee (Ardor, Tupelo Press; In Media Res, Sarabande Books, a Norma Farber 1st Book Award Winner); Patty Seyburn (Mechanical Cluster, Ohio State UP; Pool, editor); and Danielle Mitchell (Pop Art, Moon Tide--anthology). National and international voices include Danish writer Pia Tafdrup, author of more than 20 books; Denise Banker, publicist for Copper Canyon Press; and Alicia Kozameh, author and former political prisoner of Argentina's "Dirty War."

dirtcakes recently co-hosted a fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Thomas on St. Lucia, a small Caribbean island. Poet Lynne Thomas (Beg No Pardon, Perugia Press) read from her own poetry, which is inspired by her Caribbean ancestry, and read the winner of the inaugural dirtcakes fundraiser contest: "Beningo Street—Wife” by Leah Green. The event was held at Chapman University, part of a weeklong series celebrating National Poetry Month, organized by poet and professor Anna Leahy of Tabula Poetica (http://www.chapman.edu/poetry).

dirtcakes has now reopened for submissions of poetry, non-fiction, and visual art, with the upcoming themes of “Girls Will Be Women” dedicated to UN Millennium Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women; and “Oh Baby” dedicated to UN Millennium Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality.

For more information on submissions, visit their website.