Mike Maggio

Free and ope to all

There are still four spots left for 30 for 30. Open to anyone, anywhere.

This year’s theme is as follows:

Let’s Not Talk About Cancer.  That’s wide open, kind of. But like cancer, I want you to go wild and uncontrolled. Let your imagination take you to where you’ve never been before. Let the page be your canvas. And let rhyme not exist except as it worms its way onto the page.

Your poem should be between 20 and 40 lines (no more, no less).

To participate, please follow these instructions:

1. Send an email to mikemaggio@mikemaggio.net stating your intent to participate. Do not send any poems at this time but do state in your email where you are from.
2. The first 30 poets who respond to this call will be selected to submit their poem. I will also create a substitution list should any of the 30 drop out.
3. Once the 30-poet limit has been reached, I will randomly assign each poet a day in April when their poem will be due and when it will be published.
4. Poets must submit their poem at least one day before it is to be posted. Earlier submissions are welcome, but don’t rush your poem.
5. All poems must be written by the submitting author. Poems should not contain any racist or sexist language but they must address the theme in some way.
6. Poems must be submitted as a Word document or in RTF format (not in the text of the email or in PDF format).
7. Poets should include a short 1–2-line bio with their poem. A copyright statement should also be included (e.g., Copyright 2025 by [your name]).
8. All rights automatically revert to the author. Please note that if your poem appears on this web site, it is considered by most journals to be previously published, and you will not be able to submit it anywhere else.
9. To promote community and discussion, readers and participants are encouraged to post comments on the web site about each of the poems.
10. At the end of the month, our judge will select the winning poem.
11. The winning poet will receive a free one-year subscription to Potomac Review.
12. All poems will be archived on mikemaggio.net. (I am working with George Mason University to archive the web site in their collection which now houses my papers, so your work will be preserved there for future researchers).

This year’s judge is Joan Dobbie who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon (1988). She co-hosts the River Road Reading Series (RRRS) on Zoom and is very happy when one of her poems finds a home in an anthology or journal.  She conducts “Poetry Immersion” classes in her Eugene, Oregon hometown.  Her most recent books are The Language of Stone (Uttered Chaos Press, 2019)and Zenyatta/Joanna (Finishing Line Press, 2023). Joan is presently Emerald Literary Guild President and is editing an anthology that showcases nearly 147 incredible writers. She is a devoted yogini and yoga teacher and a cancer survivor. You can read about her cancer experience here. Her poetry blog can be reached here.

If you have any questions, please email mikemaggio@mikemaggio.net. I look forward to your participation.

And a very special thanks to Albert Kapikian,, Katherine Smith and Monica Mische, the editors at Potomac Review,for once again sponsoring 30 for 30.

Today, February 4, is the official release date for my new novella, Woman in the Abbey, a gothic tale of love and betrayal, published by Vine Leaves Press.

Woman in the Abbey has been praised far and wide for its fidelity to the gothic tradition. Here’s what being said about the novella:

“A magnificent blending of horror, fantasy, romance and suspense.” — Midwest Review

“A chilling, frenetic gothic ride from beginning to end.” — Steve Zettler, Two for the Money

“An old-school gothic novel packed with horror, romance, and beautifully overwrought emotion.” — Norah Vawter, Author, Editor and Critic

“A go-to novel for aficionados of the underworld ” — Elizabeth Bruce, Universally Adored & Other One Dollar Stories

“Mike Maggio’s Woman in the Abbey delivers everything that a fan of gothic fiction could want—a crumbling, haunted abbey, an endangered heroine, supernatural intervention, unrelenting suspense. It will have you guessing till the end.” — Edward Belfar, A Very Innocent Man

“A thrilling reminiscences of Victor Hugo’s gothic malevolence in The Hunchback of Notre Dame — Cordelia Biddle, They Believed They Were Safe

“An enjoyable tale woven into perfection.” — Karen Brooks on Goodreads.

“A gripping read, brimming with dark atmosphere and suspense.” Bridget Turley on Goodreads.

I will be reading from Woman in the Abbey at the following locations:

February 9, 5PM – My Dead Aunt’s Books Address5132 Baltimore Ave, Hyattsville, MD 20781-2041

February 15, 11AM – 1 PM. Winchester Book Gallery 7 N Loudoun St, Winchester, VA 22601

Apil5 (TBD)  Reston Founder’s Day, Reston Community Center, Lake Anne, 1609-A Washington Plaza (Near the Intersection of Village and North Shore Dr.)

Stay tuned for more readings.

Woman in the Abbey

Order it now. signed by the author

Also available in Kindle format.