The contest offers a $250 prize to winners in each genre the magazine publishes: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art/hybrid forms.
Villena-Aldama Contest: Art/Comics/Hybrid Forms by Young Creatives
Click here to get fast updates on literary contest, news, magazine submission and other available opportunities for writers
Ends on April 1, 2022
A generous gift from the Villena-Aldama Foundation provides BreakBread Magazine with the opportunity to present the first Villena-Aldama Art & Writing Contest.
The contest offers a $250 prize to winners in each genre the magazine publishes: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art/hybrid forms. Winners will be announced in June 2022 with their work featured in the Spring 2023 of the magazine.
Guidelines
Creatives under the age of 25 by May 2022 are invited to submit work in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art/hybrid forms between the dates of Jan. 1, 2022 and Mar. 31, 2022.
Contest entry is free.
Submissions must adhere to BreakBread Magazine’s general submission guidelines with one exception. Unlike our general submissions, those for the Villena-Aldama contest must be submitted with no identifying information.
Submitters will only be considered for the Villena-Aldama prize in one genre.
Selection Process
BreakBread’s selection process abides by the Code of Ethics developed by the Council of Literary Magazines and Press (CLMP): “The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. Intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree:
to conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and
to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public.”
All general submissions received by BreakBread Magazine between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2022 are eligible for consideration.
Finalists will be nominated by editorial staff, and contest winners will be selected by the board members of BreakBread Literacy Project.
Conflicts of Interest
Previous submitters are welcome to submit to the contest. BreakBread staff and volunteers, their family members, and their current and former students are ineligible for the Villena-Aldama Prize.
Editor's Pick
Enter some of these selected writing competitions and opportunities in 2022
Breakbread Submission Guidelines
BreakBread only accepts original, unpublished work by creatives under the age of 25.
(Unfortunately, if you have turned 25, you are no longer eligible.)
If you are new to publishing your work, and need assistance with Submittable, please email us at help@breakbreadproject.org.
BreakBread only accepts submissions through our Submittable page.
Pen-and-paper submissions are only accepted from young creatives in detention facilities. Those submissions should be sent to: The BreakBread Literacy Project, #252, 716 North Ventura Road, Oxnard, CA 93030.
All young creatives whose work is accepted for publication will be asked to verify their age.
You may publish under a pen name, but we do not publish anonymous work.
If you are under age 18, we must have permission from your parent/guardian to publish your work.
Creatives are limited to one submission per genre, per submission period.
BreakBread does not publish erotica or fanfiction.
Submissions that are excerpts from longer works must be fully realized in their own right, and must “stand alone” as complete.
Creatives must submit their own work and correspond directly with BreakBread staff.
BreakBread does not accept submissions made on behalf of young artists (for example, work submitted by parents, teachers, mentors or guardians). The only exception to this policy is for youth in detention facilities. Please email us at help@breakbreadproject.org for more information.
You agree to be added to the BreakBread email list upon submission to the magazine. You may unsubscribe from this list at any time.
When using the submittable.com submissions program, please be sure to add BreakBread's general email address (help@breakbreadproject.org) to your spam blocker software so that you can receive correspondence from us.
BreakBread retains First North American Serial Rights to published work. Those rights revert to the creative upon publication.
Submissions are open May-August, September-December, and January-April with short closures (a week or less) between each submission period for updates to guidelines.
We appreciate simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your piece is accepted elsewhere so we can withdraw it from consideration.
BreakBread does not print previously published material. Work is considered previously published if it has been posted in any digital arena, including social media, online forums (Wattpad, blogs/website, Amazon Kindle). Work is considered previously published if it has been self-published, appeared in a literary magazine or Zine, published in a newspaper or newsletter. If you’re not sure whether your work is OK to submit, please use this handy list:
Can I submit it to BreakBread?
Printed in a school newspaper or yearbook: Yes
Sent in an email: Yes
Written and posted on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube or other social media: No
Read aloud/performed on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube or other social media: No
Performed live on stage, radio, TV, or other public broadcast media: Yes
Printed in local, municipal, or community newspaper/newsletter: No
Published on a blog or website: No
Self-published print book or e-Book: No
Still not sure? Email us at help@breakbreadproject.org and we’ll let you know.
GENRE GUIDELINES
VISUAL/ILLUSTRATED ARTWORK AND NARRATIVES
BreakBread accepts art, photography, illustrated narratives, comics, photoessays, and hybrid forms (multimedia, 'new' media, intermedia, etc.). Your entire submission should be no more than four creative pieces. Please upload your work in PDF, JPEG, TIFF, SVG, or PNG format. Your work should be high-resolution, 2500x2500 and a minimum of 600dpi. Title each art submission and the body of work presented.
For comic submissions, please provide a storyline pitch and up to five pages of sequential art for comics that have a clear beginning, middle, and end. We currently accept:
Short-form comics – They may be up to 12 pages from beginning to end, with works over 6 panels only published online.
Long-form comics -- A max of 20 pages of sequential art, from beginning to end, with works over 6 panels only published online.
For submissions over 5 pages/panels, Art Editor Cara Echols will reach out for more if interested.
POETRY
BreakBread invites poets to submit up to four poems; your entire submission should be no more than four pages or about 1500 words. Poems longer than four pages are not generally accepted. Please use a standard 12 point font, leave a 1” margin on all sides, and title your poems. Include your last name and the page number in the upper right hand corner of each page. Title your file: Lastname, Firstname_Poetry.
FICTION AND NONFICTION PROSE
BreakBread publishes original short fiction and nonfiction (memoir, essays, journalism). Submissions should be no more than 25 pages or 7500 words. Please double-space your work, use a standard 12 point font, leave a 1” margin on all sides, and number your pages. Hybrid works, like photoessays and illustrated texts, should be submitted in our “Visual/Illustrated Artwork and Narratives” genre. Include your last name and the page number in the upper right hand corner of each page. Title your file: Lastname, Firstname_Fiction or Lastname, Firstname_Nonfiction.
A NOTE ON COVER LETTERS
We’re excited to get to know you and your work and look forward to reading each and every submission we receive. With that in mind, please keep your cover letters brief. The information we would like you to include is:
Name, age, location
Submission title, genre, wordcount (or number of poems/ number of visual pieces)
A list of previous publications (within reason—if your list is lengthy give us the highlights!)
A NOTE ON CONTRIBUTOR COPIES
BreakBread will send print contributor copies to any U.S. postal address.
%20(1).jpeg)
.png)
%20(3).jpeg)
COMMENTS