Ekphrastic Cats: the Contest!!!!! With Special Guest Judges, Kathryn Kulpa and t.m. thomson

We are ecstatic to announce Ekphrastic Cats, our new contest theme.

And even more excited to announce our guest judges- Kathryn Kulpa for flash fiction, and  t.m. thomson for poetry!!!

Kathryn and t.m. are both widely known in their field, and also give their time and hearts to cats in need.

Write poetry or flash fiction/microfiction, inspired by any of the artworks in our Ekphrastic Cats ebook. 

Finalists in both categories will be published here, and in an ebook anthology that will be free for writers and all readers to share with other readers. The winners in each category- poetry and flash fiction- will each receive $100CAD.

The ebook is a specially curated collection of 52 artworks through history featuring cats. These works have been selected to inspire your writing practice and curiosity about art history and its cats. 

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Rules

1. Your ebook purchase for $10CAD is your entry fee for up to five submissions: flash fiction or poetry or both.

2. Submit to [email protected] with CATS in the subject line.

3. Deadline is May 5, 2022.

4. Finalists and winners will be announced sometime in June.

5. Word limit 1000 for each story or poem. Style is up to you, but please note that experimental format is difficult to reproduce online.

6. Each poem or flash you submit must be inspired by one of the artworks in the ebook. Let us know which ones you used. Your work can be about the artwork or artist, or about anything the art inspires for you. Let each work ignite your imagination and see where it takes you.

7. A selection of finalists in both categories will be published here in The Ekphrastic Review.

8. One winner in flash and one in poetry will each receive $100CAD, to be paid via PayPal.

9. Editors' and judges' decisions are final.

​Kathryn Kulpa

Kathryn Kulpa is a New England-based writer and editor with stories in Atticus Review, Flash Frog, Monkeybicycle, Pithead Chapel, Smokelong Quarterly, and Wigleaf. Her chapbook Girls on Film was a winner of the Vella Chapbook Contest, and her work was included in Best Microfiction and has been nominated for Best Small Fictions. She is senior flash editor at Cleaver Magazine. In 2011, a pregnant mama cat walked into her life and started a habit of fostering cats and kittens.

t.m. thomson

t.m. thomson’s work has been featured in several journals, most recently in Hare’s Paw. Three of her poems have been nominated for Pushcart Awards. She has co-authored Frame and Mount the Sky (2017) and is the author of Strum and Lull (2019) and The Profusion (2019). Her full-length collection, Plunge, will be published in 2022. She & her husband have five cats: Talia, Percy, Tiberius (pictured here), Delphine, & Pearl, & both have volunteered at a no-kill animal shelter for over 16 years.

Ekphrastic Cats Ebook: 52 works from art history

CA$10.00

A collection of over fifty artworks on the theme of cats, curated to inspire your curiosity about art history and push your writing practice in new and unexpected directions.

ENTER

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Upcoming Cats Themed Workshop

Join us online on March 27 for a cats themed workshop! 

Ekphrastic Cats Workshop Sunday March 27 at 2 PM EST

CA$30.00

Ekphrastic Cats: Writing Cat Poetry and Cat Stories from Cats in Art History

Join us for a chat about cats in art history. There's a fascinating spectrum of ideas and depictions, showing that the human fascination for felines is ancient and widespread. We'll do a very quick tour through time to see some interesting highlights and learn more about our relationship with this amazing creature through visual art. Then we will do some fun writing exercises with cat art prompts. Poetry, flash fiction, prose, however you are moved.

Sunday March 27, from 2 to 4 PM EST

Doors open at 1.45 PM EST, for those who wish to meet and mingle.

Workshops often go over by 15 minutes. We prefer to end them organically after our last discussion and exercise, rather than abruptly.

We send Zoom links on the day of the event.

We aim to have interesting, informative content and challenging exercises to inspire your art journey and writing practice. We encourage discussion and sharing.

No refunds for cancellations, sorry. We will happily move you to a future workshop if you cannot attend.

JOIN