Goodness knows there are more chapbook contests out there than you can shake several sticks at. But how many of these contests welcome works of translation as well as work in other genres? Anomalous Press has just announced such a one, and you can apply for it until May 15 for a $15 fee. The work selected will be published in a paper edition (possibly letterpress) as well as online, and will receive a $500 prize.
I asked Erica Mena of Anomalous to comment on the goals of the project. Here’s her response:
Part of starting Anomalous Press was to eventually provide a home, in chapbook form, for literary works that fall outside of the norm. The kinds of things that most contests specifically exclude: translations, collaborative, and hybrid works for example. We were encouraged by the launch of the journal Telephone, by the appearance of several amazing works of innovative translation last year (false friends; engulf — enkindle), and by the enthusiasm of our judge for the translation category, Christian Hawkey. We are creating both a contest and a context. A context in which the creative visibility of the translator is brought into focus.
For more information, visit the Anomalous Press website, where you can also read and download various issues of the journal that have been published since its launch in May 2011.