MORE BITS & PIECES FOR Writers/Authors #174

REASON TO KEEP WRITING - ARTHUR C. CLARKE, age 90, science fiction writer, inventor, futurist, author of more than 100 books, including "2001: A Space Odyssey." host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941-1946, proposed satellite communication systems in 1945, which won him the Franklin Institute Stuart Ballantine Gold Medal in 1963. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1994. He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947-1950 and again in 1953. Later, he helped fight for the preservation of lowland gorillas. He won the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science in 1961. Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, and lived there until his death. He was knighted by the United Kingdom in 1998, and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honor, Sri Lankabhimanya, in 2005.

MONTANA MAGAZINE – looking for well-researched articles on issues, interesting people, life in Montana. Guidelines: http://www.montanamagazine.com/submissions.php

Note: Most states have their own magazines. Do a search.

CHRONOGRAM MAGAZINE – looking for news, politics, art, green living articles. Mag is distributed in counties abutting the mighty Hudson River, including Ulster, Dutchess, Greene, Columbia, Orange, Putnam, Westchester. Guidelines: http://www.chronogram.com/submissions

STEVE JACKSON GAMES – Have a game idea in you? Role-play, card games, board games. Guidelines: http://www.sjgames.com/general/guidelines/writers

LUTHERN WOMAN TODAY - audience primarily Lutheran women—young, older, in-between, career women, students, mothers, volunteers, those active in the Women of the ELCA and those not, single, married, divorced, widowed, liberal, conservative, and moderate. Articles are assigned, so have good query. Guidelines: http://www.lutheranwomantoday.org/writers/index.html

YOU & ME (AMERICA’S MEDICAL MAGAZINE) – seeks non-fiction articles about the human aspects of dealing w/all medical issues, from life threatening to chronic, some poetry and expressionistic pieces, cartoons. No informational articles. Guidelines: http://www.youandmemagazine.com/pages/submissions

2010 WRITE NOW!: CrimeSEEN CONFERENCE - Pre-Registration is now open at http://www.DesertSleuths.com August 14th, 2010. The conference has a new home at The Wrigley Mansion, an appropriately mysterious hilltop location. The conference will have a new bookstore feature this year enabling members and attendees to sell their books. Space is limited, so members who are interested please e-mail us ASAP at DesertSleuths@gmail.com for details.

COMPLEAT BIOGRAPHERS CONFERENCE - May 15, 2010, in Boston. Sponsored by Biographers International Organization (BIO). The daylong conference will focus on the practical aspects of the craft and art of biography and will feature workshops, panel discussions, networking opportunities with other writers, editors, and agents, speeches by prominent biographers such as Pulitzer Prize winner and BIO president Debby Applegate and the recipient of this year's BIO Award Jean Strouse. Info: http://www.biographersinternational.org/conference.html

NERO WOLFE BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD - Deadline May 31, 2010. Entries must be 15,000 to 20,000 words in length.. Guidelines: http://www.nerowolfe.org/htm/neroaward/black_orchid_award/BO_award_proc.htm

DRUE HEINZ LITERATURE PRIZE 2011 – Deadline: May and June 2010. Open to writers who have pub’d a book-length collection of fiction or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals of national distribution. On-line publication does not count toward this requirement. Guidelines: http://www.upress.pitt.edu/renderHtmlPage.aspx?srcHtml=htmlSourceFiles/drueheinz.htm

WINNING WRITERS 9th WAR POETRY CONTEST – Deadline: May 31, 2010. Entry fee: $15. Fifteen cash prizes. 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

ARTICLE: Speaking Of Bill Collectors, One City Steps Up For Freelancers http://www.mediabistro.com/mediajobsdaily/freelance/speaking_of_bill_collectors_one_city_steps_up_for_freelancers_160002.asp

YOU DO NOT NEED A KINDLE TO READ KINDLE BOOKS - They can be read on PCs, Macs, iPhones, BlackBerrys and iPADs. Download the free software at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_70030_14900930_nav_1/?ie=UTF8&docId=100049

LITERARY CONTEST SCAMS – Writers should bookmark this link & check the list before entering any contest. http://windpub.com/literary.scams

MORE BITS & PIECES FOR Writers/Authors #173

REASON TO KEEP WRITING - PAUL SCOFIELD, age 86, the towering British stage actor who won international fame and an Academy Award for the film "A Man for All Seasons." His first picture was That Lady (1955). Further acclaim greeted the actor for his work in films such as Kenneth Branagh's Henry V (1989) and Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990). In 1994, at the age of seventy-two, Scofield was once again nominated for an Oscar, this time for his performance as American poet Mark Van Doren in director Robert Redford's Quiz Show. Two years later, audiences could see him in The Crucible, lending somber authority to the role of Judge Danforth.

MILITARY OFFICER – Audience is commissioned and warrant officers, families, and surviving spouses of the 7 uniformed services: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, & Nat’l Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration,includes members of the Nat’l Guard & Reserve, actively serving and retired. 1000-2000/wds. Guidelines: http://www.moaa.org/pubs/pubs_mom/pubs_guidelines.htm

NOTRE DAME MAGAZINE – looking for fresh story ideas, writing meet very high standards. The editors value articles strong in storytelling quality, journalistic technique, and substance. They do not encourage promotional or nostalgia pieces, stories on sports or essays that are sentimentally religious. 750-2000/wds depending on dept. Guidelines http://magazine.nd.edu/about/writers-guidelines

INTERNET GENEALOGY, Canada – a "how-to" mag. Most articles should give clear information about how the reader can conduct their research..700-2000/wds Guidelines: http://internet-genealogy.com/author_notes.htm

WISCONSIN TRAILS – bi-monthly publication to showcase travel destinations, outdoor/indoor activities, nature, history, culture and people that make Wisconsin a great state. 250-500/wds for short, 500-1500/wds for long. Pays kill fee. Guidelines: http://www.wistrails.com/content/64.php

SUN OASIS - writing jobs, freelance writing jobs and online writing jobs. http://www.sunoasis.com

LORIAN HEMINGWAY SHORT STORY COMPETITION – Deadline May 15, 2010. created to recognize and encourage the efforts of writers who have not yet achieved major-market success. Stories in all genres of fiction are welcome. Maximum length is 3,000/wds, writers retain all rights to their work. Guidelines: http://www.shortstorycompetition.com

THE WRITER SHORT STORY CONTEST - Deadline May 31, 2010. Entry Fee: $10. Looking for original fiction on any theme 2000/wds/max. First Place: $1,000 +publication, free 10-wk creative writing workshop offered online by Gotham Writers' Workshop ($420 value) +1-yr subscription to The Writer magazine. Guidelines:
http://www.writingclasses.com/ContestPages/writer.php

2ND ANNUAL U.S. MILITARY WIVES WRITING CONTEST - contest will run from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. Open to ALL U.S. Military Families: Moms, Dads, Sons, Daughters, Wives, Husbands, Sisters, and Brothers. If you have a family member that is serving our country...tell us about them! Guidelines: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-taney-humphreys/second-annual-us-military_b_541954.html?ref=twitter

NASHVILLE INTERNATIONAL SONG & LYRIC COMPETITION - Over $100,000 cash & prizes awarded; Multiple contests throughout the year mean prizes are awarded faster and more often than contests that happen only once a year. Whether you write complete songs or lyrics only, this competition welcomes you. Get on mailing list: http://www.paramountsong.com/song-contests.php

WINNING WRITERS WAR POETRY CONTEST - Postmark deadline: May 31, 2010. $15 entry fee, payable to Winning Writers. Guidelines: http://www.winningwriters.com/contests/war/wa_guidelines.php

YOU DO NOT NEED A KINDLE TO READ KINDLE BOOKS - They can be read on PCs, Macs, iPhones, BlackBerrys and iPADs. Download the free software at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_70030_14900930_nav_1/?ie=UTF8&docId=100049

ONLINE WORKSHOP - Defining Erotica – Primer 4 All Genres - Apr 26-May 2, 2010
http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=174

ONLINE WORKSHOP - What an Editor Wants - Apr 26-May 7, 2010 http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=117

ONLINE WORKSHOP - Fairies & Other Magic Folk - May 2-May 29, 2010
http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=260

ONLINE WORKSHOP - Growing More Words - May 3-May 10, 2010 http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=267

ONLINE WORKSHOP - The Role of Secondary Characters in Romance - May 3-May 31,2010
http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=118

ONLINE WORKSHOP - The Anatomy of Writing Steampunk - May 3-May 31, 2010
http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=187

JOB BOARD LISTS - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1440.asp

LITERARY CONTEST SCAMS – Writers should bookmark this link & check the list before entering any contest. http://windpub.com/literary.scams

MORE BITS & PIECES FOR Writers/Authors #172

REASON TO KEEP WRITING - ROY SCHEIDER, age 75, an actor trained in the classics but best known for his role as the agonized police chief in the film "Jaws," his role as Joe Gideon in All That Jazz, and as detective Sonny Grosso in The French Connection. Scheider's final role comes as Joseph in the 2009 thriller Iron Cross. When Scheider died in February 2008, he had two movies upcoming: Dark Honeymoon, which had been completed, and British thriller Iron Cross, released in 2009.

SOUTH AMERICAN EXPLORER - 64-pg quarterly pub w/book reviews; travel tips & bargains; news from the Ithaca, NY headquarters and the clubhouses in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Quito, Ecuador and Lima and Cusco, Peru; news briefs; and classified ads. 800-3000/wds. Guidelines: http://www.saexplorers.org/publications/home

STAND MAGAZINE, UK (and VA) – quarterly literary mag, "an attempt to remedy the intellectual situation of reader and poet" 3000/wds/max. Guidelines: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~dlatane/stand-maga/submissions.html

WITTENBUR DOOR - brilliant humor, wicked satire, jaw-dropping interviews, Religious humor. Exposes venal televangelists not because opposed to Christians, but because opposed to people who make a mockery of the Cross. Guidelines: http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/writers-guidelines

ZYZZYVA - the journal of west coast writers & artists. West Coast writers and artists only. This means currently living in AK, HI, WA, OR, or CA. Pays honorarium. Guidelines: http://www.zyzzyva.org/zy-subs.htm

E/THE ENVIRONMENTAL MAGAZINE – largest independent environmental mag w/circulation of 50,000. E serves an important role as the voice for the environmental movement and as a vital info source on national and international coverage of environmental issues. 100-4200/wds/depending on dept. Guidelines: http://www.emagazine.com/view/?1512 E/The Environmental Magazine

HOW TO GET GOOD PR WITHOUT BIG RETAINER FEES –
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/advice/goodpr.htm

KID SPIRIT MAGAZINE - unaffiliated spiritual mag written by and for 11-15 yr old. Goal is to foster dialogue and understanding among kids of diverse backgrounds and traditions about values, spirituality and life's big questions. Free of advertising, KidSpirit empowers today's youth to explore deep issues and mankind's search for meaning in a spirit of openness. Guidelines: http://kidspiritmagazine.com/submit.html

JERRY JAZZ MUSICIAN FICTION CONTEST – Deadline: May 31. No entry fee.
Short Stories 1000-5000/wds. $100 +pub on website & anthology.
Guidelines: http://tinyurl.com/yeuyaah

ANTIGONISH REVIEW 5th SHELDON CURRIE FICTION PRIZE – Deadline: May 31, 2010. Entry fee: Canada $25; the US $30.00 (US funds); All others $40 (US funds). Guidelines: http://www.antigonishreview.com/contest.html

2010 NORTON PRESS STUDENT WRITER’S PRIZE – Deadline: May 28, 2010. Prize awarded annually for outstanding essay: literacy narratives, literary and other textual analyses, reports, profiles, evaluations, arguments, memoirs, proposals, mixed-genre pieces, and more: any excellent writing done for an undergraduate writing class will be considered. Cash award of $1500. Two runners-up: cash award of $1000. Guidelines: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/norton-writers-prize/?mid=145

BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD - Deadline: May 31, 2010. No entry fee. 15,000- 20,000/wds/max. Guidelines: http://www.nerowolfe.org/htm/neroaward/black_orchid_award/BO_award_proc.htm

LITERARY CONTEST SCAMS – Writers: bookmark this link & check the list before entering any contest. http://windpub.com/literary.scams

MORE BITS & PIECES FOR Writers/Authors #171

REASON TO KEEP WRITING - SUZANNE PLESHETTE, age 70, actress, star of films and Broadway plays who found her greatest fame portraying Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running "The Bob Newhart Show." She also was nominated for an Emmy in 1962 for a guest appearance on the TV series "Dr. Kildare" (1961) and in 1991 for playing the eponymous Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1990)(TV)in a 1990 TV movie. She co-starred with Hal Linden in another short-lived CBS TV series "The Boys Are Back" in the 1994-95 season, then had recurring roles in the TV series "Good Morning, Miami" and "8 Simple Rules...for Dating My Teenage Daughter." Her acting career lasted almost 50 years.

PANGAIA – dedicated to helping explore spiritual, emotional, practical lives in a way that respects all persons, creatures, and the Earth while offering immediate application to our everyday lives. Folks of all paths may send their work, but focus falls on material expressing an Earth-centered spirituality. Earth Spirituality is the topic. Guidelines: http://www.pangaia.com/contributorguidelines.html

PRISM INTERNATIONAL, Canada - original, unpublished material in short fiction, poetry, translation, literary non-fiction, drama. Contemporary writing and translation from Canada and around the world. Guidelines: http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/submit.php

CRIMELINE – Take the challenge: for writers who can introduce a crime, a suspect and a prosecution case and list witnesses by writing a short story about them, and +for crime fans who want to game play by selecting a judge, one or two prosecutors, one or two defenders, twelve jurors, a crime, prosecution and defense with witnesses and ask the writers of the back stories to participate in character in the online trial. http://crimeonline.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/10

DRAFT MAGAZINE - Beer, beer/brewery news, trends and ideas, current, accurate and creative coverage of beer and other areas of life. Guidelines: http://www.draftmag.com/submissions

PARADE MAGAZINE - General interest. Stories, involve news, social issues, common health concerns, sports, community problem-solving or extraordinary achievements of ordinary people. We seek unique angles on all topics—this is especially important for subjects that have already received national attention in newspapers and other media. Guidelines (slow loading): http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/images/WritersGuidelines.pdf

AMERICAN BAR ASSOC. ‘BUSINESS LAW TODAY’ - Basic articles, 3000/wds/max directed to business lawyers unfamiliar with a substantive area; technical legal issue. Guidelines: http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/blt/guidelines.html

LADIES’ HOME JOURNAL - Style, health, relationships, women's interests. Neg. fees & rights. Guidelines: http://www.lhj.com/lhj/file.jsp?item=/help/writersGuidelines

EL ANDAR - Best writing and visual journalism for and about Latinos in North America. It encourages iconoclastic thinking and new ways of looking at the world. Guidelines: http://www.elandar.com/submit.html

BOOKRIX WRITING CONTEST: "My Best Fiction" - Deadline: May 10, 2010. No entry fee. $1800 in prize money. All genres welcome. The work must be at least 20 BookRix pages long, but there is no maximum page limit. Guidelines: http://www.bookrix.com/precontest.html?show=BX_1268319265

H.O.W JOURNAL SHORT STORY CONTEST - Deadline May 15, 2010. Entry fee: $20. Open to all writers and all themes. 12,000/wds/max. 1st Place - $1000 +publication in H.O.W. Journal. 2nd Place - $300 +publication in H.O.W. Journal. 3rd Place - $100 +publication in H.O.W. Journal. Guidelines: http://www.howjournal.com/submit-contests.html

READING WRITERS’ ONCE UPON A DAY’ CONTEST – Deadline: May 15, 2010. No entry fee. 1000/wds/max. $100 prize. Guidelines: http://www.readingwriters.com/contest.htm

10th ANNIVERSARY FAILBETTER NOVELLA CONTEST– Deadline: May 15, 2010. No entry fee: Short Stories, Books. 8000/wds and suitable for serial publication. $500 +publication at Failbetter.com, a literary journal. Guidelines: http://www.failbetter.com/Novella.php

ROBERT TRAVER FLY-FISHING WRITING AWARD – Deadline: May 15, 2010. No entry fee. Short Stories and Creative Nonfiction. 3500/wds/max. Prizes: .$2000, $750, $250 +publication in Fly, Rod & Reel and on website. Guidelines: http://www.flyrodreel.com/fly-fishing/robert-traver-fly-fishing-writing

5 DEADLY SINS OF SUBMITTING SELF-PUB’D BOOKS FOR REVIEW –
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/advice/fivedead.htm

LITERARY CONTEST SCAMS –Writers should bookmark this link & check the list before entering any contest. http://windpub.com/literary.scams

MORE BITS & PIECES FOR Writers/Authors #170

REASON TO KEEP WRITING - GERALD FLAMM, age 93, former newspaper reporter, public relations and a public official, but he was best known for his books, "Good Life in Hard Times" and "Hometown San Francisco." Published in 1977, "Good Life in Hard Times" took a fond look at the Bay Area during the Great Depression. "Hometown San Francisco," published in 1994, contained biographical sketches of Mayor "Sunny Jim" Rolph, of local prizefighters, and Flamm's father, David, a veteran San Francisco police officer. He worked as a copy boy for The Chronicle in 1939 and in 1940 and 1941 was a reporter for the United Press and New York Herald Tribune bureaus in Mexico City. Flamm served in a number of positions in San Francisco city government, including a term as press secretary for Mayor Joseph Alioto, before turning to a career as an author and as editor of a monthly newspaper published by the Teamsters union.

TURTLE; JACK & JILL; HUMPTY-DUMPTY (US Kids) - needs high-quality stories, articles, and activities with a broad health and fitness focus that includes kids’ emotional lives, interests, and educational needs. All material submitted should reflect good values and healthy living. Guidelines: http://www.uskidsmags.com/cbhi/writersguidelines.shtml

THE MISSOURI REVIEW – looking for poetry, fiction and nonfiction of general interest. Novella-length manuscripts (30,000+ wds) or "flash fiction" (2000/wds/max) must be truly exceptional to be published. Guidelines: http://www.missourireview.org/main_info/guidelines.php

BREW YOUR OWN - each issue contains at least one feature that offers tips, techniques and recipes for brewing a particular style or category of beer, for all-extract, partial-mash and all-grain techniques, dry-hopping, lautering, priming, bottle conditioning and yeast harvesting. Guidelines: http://byo.com/about/guidelines

PHIL HARRIS’ BLOG RADIO SHOW - topics include spiritual, religious, political. social, environmental, global, economic and basically, "all things that matter" including authors and their books. URL: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pharris

CITY LIGHTS BOOKS – independent publisher of fiction, essays, memoirs, translations, poetry, and books on social and political issues. Guidelines: http://www.citylights.com/CLpubmanu.html

ESSENCE - mag for African-Amer/Caribbean women featuring personal-growth articles, celebrity profiles, well-reported pieces on political, social issues, relationships, careers, money, health, fitness, short items on community activists and people in the arts. Word length is given upon assignment. Guidelines: http://www.essence.com/writers_guidelines

DARK RECESSES - horror & dark fiction http://www.darkrecesses.com/?page_id=7

CRUCIBLE POETRY & FICTION COMPETITION – Deadline: May 5, 2010. No entry fee.
Poetry: 1-5 poems; Fiction: one story, 8000/wds/max. $150 prize in each category +publication in Crucible Literary Journal. Guidelines:
http://www.barton.edu/academics/english/crucible.htm

2011 DRUE HEINZ LITERATURE PRIZE – Deadline: June 2010. Open to writers who have pub’d a book-length collection of fiction or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals of national distribution. On-line publication does not count toward this requirement. Guidelines: http://www.upress.pitt.edu/renderHtmlPage.aspx?srcHtml=htmlSourceFiles/drueheinz.htm

E.M. KOEPPEL SHORT FICTION AWARD – Deadline: April 30, 2010. Entry fee: $15.First Place: $1100; Editors' Choices: $100 each. If the winning story is by anyone attending a college, a university, or a school when the story is submitted, the winner will receive, in addition to the $1100 award, the $500 P.L.Titus Scholarship. Guidelines: http://www.writecorner.com/award_guidelines.asp

WRITER’S DIGEST SELF-PUBLISHED BOOK AWARDS - Deadline: May 3, 2010. Whether you're a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, here's your chance to enter the only competition exclusively for self-published books! $17,000 in prizes. Guidelines: http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/self_published.asp

2011 NOVELLO LITERARY AWARD - Deadline May 1, 2010. The contest gives Carolina writers an opportunity to have their work published and distributed nationally. The winning author receives a book contract with NFP, which includes publication of the work and a $1000 advance against royalties. The contest is open to anyone over the age of 18 who is a legal resident of N.C. or S.C. Guidelines: http://www.plcmc.org/Novello_Press/newsdetails.asp?id=83

5th ANNUAL PORTIA STEELE AWARDS for POETRY & PROSE – Deadline: April 15, 2010. Poetry/Nonfiction. For women aged 50 or older. $100 award. Guidelines: http://www.portiasteeleaward.org/contest.htm

SONGWRITING CONTESTS - Find links to all the important songwriting contests in the world. http://www.allsongwritingcontests.com

CREATING AUTHOR & PUBLISHER EMAIL TAGLINES -
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/advice/taglines.htm

EXPERIMENTAL WRITING - including articles, markets, discussions, sample stories, etc. URL: http://experimentalwriting.weebly.com

BOOK PROPOSALS - Writing a book proposal? Keep from making these 5 mistakes. http://www.hiwrite.com/mistakes.html

LITERARY CONTEST SCAMS – Writers should bookmark this link & check the list before entering any contest. http://windpub.com/literary.scams