Death Rattle
Literary
10th annual 2023
Submissions for OROBORO Vol. 9 are currently
Open for Poetry, Fiction and Comics until
May 12th at 11:59pm mountain time.
Death Rattle is looking for Erotica submissions for an in-person reading details TBA!
Full Details TBA but will be taking place last week of May or first week of June
💖 In-Person in Idaho Treasure Valley — Stay Tuned!
Submit Here
Death Rattle Writers Fest is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing public platforms to underserved Idaho writers by providing the public with free access to quality literary programming throughout the year, culminating in our annual literary festival: a three day celebration of the arts in Idaho featuring over 60 local writers, artists, and performers as well as dozens of out of state writers all sharing their work at venues across Historic Downtown Nampa, Idaho. The festival has in the past three years included a book fair, featuring over 40 vendors as a place to celebrate and share poetry and comic art in print, with festival participants sharing their books, chapbooks, zines, comic books, and art.
All this strives to foster an accessible community for those that do not have traditional outlets available for the improvement and presentation of their literary arts, and creates opportunities for the public to engage with that community in a way that is positive, scholarly, and educational. We strive to be a resource in our community and to support work by and about those often marginalized in literary spaces, including Black and Indigenous people, and people of color; trans people, cis women, agender, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, two-spirit, and non-binary people; intersex people; LGBQA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual/aromantic) people; people with disabilities; and especially people living at the intersections of these identities.
Check back here and follow for event updates, submission opportunities, and ways to participate!
Be sure to check out past keynote poets and artists who have shared their work at past festival readings and at the book fair!
True Stories Told Live on Theme:
FEAST
@FlyingMCoffeeGarage
4/20 @6:30pm
ALL AGES $5 donation
In partnership with @PrefunkNampa
🍙🍑🌽🍕🍔🍣🍫🥂🍗🥬
PERFORMANCES:
Tyler Brewington
CL Young
Mara Bateman
James Herbert
Diana Forgione
Benjamin Poofy
Daisy Clar Rosenstock
Hannah Rodabaugh
Leonardo Aleksander Ryan
Saturday, March 23rd
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Idaho State Museum
610 Julia Davis Dr. Boise, ID 83702
A round table editing workshop - Make friends, read their poems, get constructive feedback and discussion of your work.
Limited to 12 students. Registration due by Feb 25th.
Karaoke night at Prefunk Nampa
Calling all cupids & cuties for a night of blushin and crushin featuring all your favorite
love songs, breakup songs, yearning songs, thirsty songs and everything in between.
Can’t wait to queue up the heart-breakiest, dream-makiest, love-takiest karaoke set ever!
Tip your KJ and donate directly to death rattle!
♥ 21+
Local Poetry + Fiction Reading in the basement @Shrine Social Club ✶
⭒ Line-up TBA and 2 Slots open for Sign ups!
If you'd like to get on the line-up, please email us
at deathrattlewriter@gmail.com with your info & what you'd like to read at the showcase! ✹
JANUARY 27 ⁂ 6:00pm doors ⁂ $5 Donation ⁂ ALL AGES
Calling all poets, flash fiction authors, and hybrid writers! We are seeking Ekphrastic poems, micro fiction, and prose inspired by music: a song, piece of music, composition, song title, musician or band, or the like to be presented live and in-person at a Death Rattle Literary Showcase at Storyfort 2024 in March.
SUBMISSIONS DUE FEB 24
More showcase details TBA
OPEN MIC STORYTELLING NIGHT
Share Feats of Strength, Air your Grievances, or proclaim a holiday Miracle It’s a Festivus for the rest of us!
Quirky gatherings and seasonal feasts, big wins and winter revelations, holiday beefs and griefs, lucky breaks and good fortunes.
We are fundraising for our upcoming fall and winter programming!
See more specific details on our gofundme about our upcoming submission opportunities, publishing endeavors for Penrose Poetry Prize and Oroboro and/or check out our calendar to see everything we’ve got coming up and coming up SOON! Thank you for helping uplift our arts community!
All donations, likes and shares help immensely!
OPEN CALL FOR first hand accounts dealing with the unsettling, the horrifying, the unexplainable, and the downright horrifying.
TALES OF THE UNEXPLAINED 4
At FLYING M COFFEE GARAGE
October 21 | 6:30PM | ALL AGES | $3
The music will ROCK… heads will ROLL! Join is for a beer, wine, and karaoke fright night benefiting Death Rattle Literary. Get on the mic and get spooky scary, singing through the pain while helping support a neighborhood arts fundraiser! If these songs don’t scare you… you’re already dead!
Costumes highly encouraged!
Submission Extension! Open now until Nov 30th (at 11:59pm mountain time)
Awarded for excellence in poetry by new, emerging, and established LGBTQIA+ artists as selected by our guest judge to be announced.
POETRY | COFFEE | WINE
Poetry Reading featuring Local Poets at Neckar Coffee
All Ages - $3-$5 Suggested Donation
STORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
Storyteller slots OPEN for sign ups!
DM or email us to sign up for a storytelling slot or show up at the event and hop on the open mic.
Stories are 5 minutes or less, told candidly without the use of notes (like you would tell a friend) !
Hear from local poets Jon Schoenfelder and Atticus Kirkham expanding on the night’s theme 🧠
All Ages - $3 Donations going towards 2C Mutual AidWe are running a donation and supplies drive for 2C Mutual Aid
FEATURING LOCAL ARTISTS
Lane Day (@artsupplyclub)
James Lloyd (@warlloyd)
Sarah Pincock (@artmuseum.edu_)
Dig Reeder (@digreeder)
Amy Gilles (@amygilles)
Snag some original artwork created live with audience prompts and participation with this live art auction fundraiser!
5 artists . 5 minutes. 5”x5” masterpieces for $5
@Prefunk Nampa
21+
please welcome some amazing folks who have been featured in Oroboro lit mag to the online stage for a cozy and intimate night of poetry and prose.
Come and share your dusty treasure for the world to laugh and regret and reminisce about together.
Come and tell us what the old you was up to!
Storyteller slots OPEN for sign ups!
Stories are 5 minutes or less, told candidly (like you would tell a friend) without the use of notes !
This event is proudly sponsored by Montucky Cold Snacks! All proceeds of purchases Montucky at the event and all donations at the door go towards funding our upcoming LGBTQAI+ literary contests and in-print copies of our lit-mag Oroboro!
Splash down and cool off with an ice cold beverage at upcoming Super Summer Karaoke Fundraiser for Penrose Poetry Prize 2023.
Come in your best patio hang attire and whip out those summertime bangers; road-trip singalongs, spicy dance classics, power-ballads, heartfelt anthems, favourite show-tunes and disney tracks, songs celebrating this hot and sultry season!
All donations at the event go towards funding our upcoming Penrose Poetry Prize 2023: Awarding cash prizes and publication for excellence in poetry from LGBTQIA+ Writers across the world.
Check out https://deathrattle.org/penrose-2022
for past winners and more about the award.
*𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 6 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴*
A writing workshop online with Zoom - Make friends and read their poems, get constructive feedback and participate in a round table discussion of your and other’s work.
Open to writers of all experience levels, the aim of these workshops will be to develop and build a mutually constructive vocabulary around poetry, enjoy, uplift, and discover each other's work as friends and fellows in the community.
Limited to 6 students so be sure to claim your spot! Register through our submittable at link in bio! See you there!
Flash Erotica & Fan Fiction Reading @ Prefunk Nampa | 21+
Come on down to hear some romantic short fictions from local artists! Artist announcement TBA!
Past reading selections have featured trucks, monks, dragons, aliens, Shrek, tinder dates, yearning odes and Klingons. Show up to see our featured artists plumb the depths of your imagination and show us the richness of the heart ˚ ༘♡ ⋆。˚
We'll also have a limited run zine edition being released of past erotic stories read at past events so be sure to be here to snag a copy!
Flash Erotica & Fan Fiction Reading @ Prefunk Nampa
Death Rattle is looking for Erotica submissions for an in-person reading March 4! Fan Fiction Welcome! Word count can be as low as 250 and as high as 1200 You may use a pseudonym on our advertising if preferred.
Please send submission drafts to deathrattlewriter@gmail.com by February18th.
There are only 8 slots available so hurry to snag a spot on the line-up! Event will be 21+ only.
Past reading selections have featured trucks, monks, dragons, aliens, Shrek, tinder dates, yearning odes and Klingons. We want to see you plumb the depths of your imagination and show us the richness of the heart ˚ ༘♡ ⋆。˚
March 4 | Time TBA
Prefunk Nampa
21+
Newsflash! calling all balladeers crooners and hearthrobs to @prefunknampa for a little fundraiser fling for Death Rattle! Join us for karaoke night featuring all your favorite love songs, breakup songs, yearning songs, thirsty songs and everything in between. Tip your KJ and donate directly to death rattle! Can’t wait to queue up the heart-breakiest, dream-makiest, love-takiest karaoke set ever!
February 11
6:30 pm
Prefunk Nampa
21+
The Spill: Coming Home
Hear a story, tell a story | open mic storytelling night
December 10 6:00PM
Flying M Coffee Nampa
For our 9th anniversary we invite you to celebrate our local literary arts community in true Death Rattle spirit.
Stay tuned for our all locals line-up announcement and mark your calendar ✺
November 19th 6:00pm at Flying M Coffee Nampa
Free / Donation / Pay What U Can & All Ages
Penrose Poetry Prize: an award for outstanding poetry by LGBTQIA+ writers Submissions Open
now until January 15th 2023
We hope to do our part in championing new, emerging, and established LGBTQIA+ voices by awarding $200, $100, and $50 cash awards to one grand prize winner and two runners up, with works to be published in a special Penrose volume of Oroboro, and a special note on the first place work selected from our guest judge.
Submit to tell your story! 5-6 minute storytelling slot, told without the use of notes (like you would tell a friend)! Email or DM a brief description of your tale to deathrattlewriter@gmail.com to sign up for a storytelling slot.
Click for storytelling prompt!
October 22nd @Flyingmcoffeenampa
Follow @spill_the_story
Join us at PreFunk Beer Bar Nampa for a autumnal evening of ghoooooulish Karaoke on the heated patio of Prefunk Nampa.
Added bonus, your support at the bar directly supports Death Rattle’s 2022 endeavors in readings, events, equal opportunity workshops and physical/online publishing. It's things like this that make Death Rattle happen!
Wear a costume, bring out your wicked hits and haunting ballads and get ready to monster mash.
Tip your Karaoke DJ & bar tenders! 21+
Open Mic, True Stories Told Live on theme "Sports Sports Sports" !!
Stories on everything athletics, getting that home run, swim meets, trying out for the team, getting picked first or last for dodgeball, Phys Ed disasters, watching sports on tv, going to sporting events live, going to the YMCA, picking up archery, trying to bowl a perfect game, queer sports, chess championships, Magic the Gathering tournaments, wargaming, sports video games tournaments with friends, getting those PF flyers because you’re obsessed with Sandlot that one summer, dance lessons, blue ribbons at the county fair, cheering on friends or family, slam dunks, taking the plunge, breaking your limits: the epic highs and lows of sports sports sports
LIVE! IN PERSON!
Live! In Person! At the Flying M Coffee Garage Nampa
Open-mic, true stories told live on theme “Late Bloomer”
See the theme prompt here →
Open-mic, true stories told live on theme “What are the Odds”
Chance encounters, bizarre coincidences, flukes of luck, surprising fortunes, fated moments, wacky evolutions of timelines, unexpected plot twists 🌎
Sign ups for 5 minute stories on the theme are open!
DM or email us at deathrattlewriter@gmail.com to sign up to regale us with your story
Register to attend here!
$3 Donation