MORE BITS & PIECES #123

A VERY HAPPY EASTER and/or PASSOVER EVERYONE!

REASONS TO KEEP WRITING - MARILYN FERGUSON, age 70, whose best-selling book "The Aquarian Conspiracy" helped establish the New Age movement by tying together its disparate threads. "The Aquarian Conspiracy," published in 1980, was the first comprehensive analysis of the various unconnected efforts, such as scientists investigating biofeedback, midwives running alternative birthing centers and a Christian evangelist promoting meditation, that would coalesce into the New Age movement. She cast these activities as a cumulative force seeking to break away from mainstream Western attitudes toward medicine, psychology and spirituality. Ferguson studied psychology, gathered information about new research in hypnosis, meditation and extrasensory perception that she explored in her book "The Brain Revolution" (1973). She also created the "Brain/Mind Bulletin," a New Age journal she published for 21 years until 1996. Productive to the very end, in 2005, Ferguson released a follow-up to the "The Aquarian Conspiracy" called "Aquarius Now.

WINNING WRITERS 8th WAR POETRY CONTEST – Deadline: May 31, 2009. Entry fee: $15. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $5,000. Top prize $2,000. Submit 1-3 unpublished poems on the theme of war, up to 500 lines in all. Winning entries published online. Guidelines: http://www.winningwriters.com/war

E: The Environmental Magazine – bimonthly publication focused on green topics, appeals to general readers and environmental experts. Regular sections seeking submissions include Features, Currents, In Brief, Money Matters, Going Green, Consumer News, House and Home, Your Health, Eating Right, Tools for Green Living. Tools for Green Living review section is unpaid, all articles are paid around $0.30 a word. Editors Jim Motavalli jimm@emagazine.com or Kathleen Mangan kmangan@emagazine.com Guidelines: http://www.emagazine.com

MOTHER EARTH NEWS - bimonthly magazine promotes "self sufficient, financially independent, environmentally aware lifestyles." Readers range in age from teens to over 90. Their readership is over one million across the US and Canada. Mother Earth wants freelance articles that are written with practicality in mind, being informative, well documented, providing hands-on information readers can use. $25 to $150 depending on experience, content. Query w/short synopsis, 1 page outline: letters@motherearthnews.com URL: http://www.motherearthnews.com

THE SHINE JOURNAL POETRY CONTEST - Deadline: April 30, 2009. Poetry. 1 - 3 poems, max 100 lines each. Prizes: $100, $50, $25. URL: http://www.theshinejournal.com

WEBOOK - regularly updated writing tips widget you can add to your Google home page, your web page, your blog etc. Great place to upload your stories, novels, etc. for feedback. Has an active, useful forum. URL: http://www.webook.com/landing/Writing-Tips-Widget

THE NATION - weekly journal of left/liberal opinion, covering national and international affairs as well as the arts. Up to $500/articles. Guidelines: http://www.thenation.com/about/guidelines.mhtml

NATIVE PEOPLES MAGAZINE - seeks stories reflecting Native life throughout the Americas, from the Arctic Circle to southern tip of Chile, though our prime focus is on subjects set in the U.S. A diverse mix of topics, from serious to the entertaining, including artist/other personality profiles, events and issues reflecting today's Native peoples. Submit a brief outline of your proposed subject via mail or e-mail (e-mail is preferred). A biography/resume, writing sample(s) are encouraged. 25cts/pub/wd. Works 6 months in advance. Plans a year in advance. Guidelines: http://www.nativepeoples.com/about/editorial.php

NEW AGE RETAILER - practical, in-depth info for store owners/managers: articles on retail business methods; solid information about various aspects of running an independent store; inventory articles, lists of products suitable for store inventory and sources for them; educational articles to stay current. $250/article/2500/3500/wds (depending on topic). Submit by email or disk. Photographs, professional drawings to accompany articles. Contact page: http://www.newageretailer.com/pageid/161/default.aspx

THE NEW YORKER - submissions should be sent by e-mail to the appropriate department: Fiction: fiction@newyorker.com The Talk of the Town: talkofthetown@newyorker.com Shouts & Murmurs: shouts@newyorker.com Poetry: poetry@newyorker.com No attachments. Contact page: http://www.newyorker.com/contact/contactus

OUTDOOR AMERICA - Izaak Walton League. All stories must have a direct connection to League members, activities, or policies. Stories should also have a strong conservation or outdoor ethics message. Up to $1000/feature articles. Contact page: http://www.iwla.org/index.php?id=494

THE NEXT BIG WRITER NOVEL COMPETITION – (BookSurge) Deadline: May 16, 2009. Have you written three opening chapters to a novel that will keep us reading? Enter them in our writing contest to receive feedback, motivation, exposure, and the chance to win the grand prize of $500 and a $2,400 publishing package. URL: http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/index.html/referral/099174

JOBS AT ProBLOGGER - Do you blog professionally or would like to do so? This site pulls blogging opportunities listed on numerous Web sites. Although a lot of these listing don't pay well, if you cull through them consistently, you should be able to pick up some good assignments. If you are new to freelance, it is a good place to begin. URL: http://jobs.problogger.net