Friday, September 24, 2010

MORE BITS & PIECES FOR Writers/Authors #195

REASON TO KEEP WRITING: LOUISE BOURGEOIS, age 98, artist, sculptor, whose sculptures explored womens deepest feelings on birth, sexuality and death were highly influential on younger artists. Among her most famous pieces are a series of giant spiders presented as symbols of the mother, entitled "Maman," with one standing more than 30 feet (nine meters) high outside the National Gallery of Canada. Working in a wide variety of materials, she tackled themes relating to male and female bodies and emotions of anger, betrayal, even murder. Her work reflected influences of surrealism, primitivism and the early modernist sculptors such as Alberto Giacometti and Constantin Brancusi. "The Destruction of the father," a 1974 installation, depicts her traumatic relationship with her father. Bourgeois' work was almost unknown to the wider art world until she was 70, when New York's Museum of Modern Art presented a solo show of her career in 1982. Among the honors coming to her were a National Medal of Arts, awarded by President Clinton in 1997. In October, she was inducted into the Nat'l Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, NY. France awarded her the Legion d'Honneur in New York in 2008. Bourgeois worked until two days before her death, helping the Italian foundation prepare an exhibition of her work to open in Venice. Some of Bourgeois' works have fetched over a million dollars at auctions in recent years.

INTERVIEW w/ELIZABETH: Author Kayelle Allen’s interview of author E. Lucas-Taylor http://romancelivesforever.blogspot.com/2010/09/interview-with-author-elizabeth-lucas.html

NEW YORK CITY SPIRIT – Holistic, creating cultural and personal history, a tool for understanding what has occurred and is occurring in our culture and our personal lives today. Brief Guidelines: http://www.nyspirit.com/about_us

SOUTHERN REVIEW – publishes the very best new fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and literary essays by established and emerging writers. Considers novel excerpts if they stand alone, short short stories, experimental work, and translations (provided the translator has secured appropriate rights.) No genre. Guidelines: http://www.lsu.edu/tsr or http://www.lsu.edu/tsr/submit.html (see submissions calendar)

OHIO MAGAZINE - stories that celebrate Ohio, its people, its rich culture, heritage, and especially its travel spots. Audience is educated, active, affluent and very loyal to Ohio. Contains stories about interesting Ohioans, top travel destinations, Ohio’s arts and cultural institutions, trend pieces and service pieces that provide readers with a statewide set of options on a particular topic, art to accompany. Guidelines: http://www.ohiomagazine.com/Main/WritersPhotographerGuidelines.aspx

THE EDGE, UK - short stories: modern crime, Gothic horror, fantasy, science fiction, slipstream, crime fiction or erotica. Experimental work welcome. Non-fiction: features, interviews, popular culture. Also interested in serious or humorous comic strips. Guidelines: http://www.theedge.abelgratis.co.uk/order.htm

AQUILA, UK - encourages children 8-13 to explore facts, find out about things for themselves, develop a caring nature. Carries mix of non-fiction under topics such as science, history, mathematics, crafts, language, fiction (sometimes serialized). Guidelines: http://www.aquila.co.uk/contact_us.html or http://www.aquila.co.uk/resources/Author_Guidelines.pdf

GROW YOUR OWN, UK - gardening mag giving info on growing (and cooking) fresh food from the garden. Seeks fresh and interesting contributions on anything relevant to vegetable, fruit, or herb-growing, or allotments, small greenhouses and similar. Guidelines: Query editor http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/contact.php

COLLISION POETRY & CREATIVE NONFICTION CONTEST – Deadline: Oct. 17, 2010. No entry fee. Open to Undergraduates anywhere in the world for Personal essays and narratives, travel pieces, feature articles, and poems accepted. $150 prize.
Guidelines: http://collision.honorscollege.pitt.edu (click on “submit”)

NEW VOICES YOUNG WRITERS COMPETITION – Deadline: Oct. 20, 2010. No entry fee. Open to Students worldwide, attending public, private, or home schools. Students must be in junior high/middle school or high school in the U.S., or the equivalent grade level in their specific internat'l school system. Genres: Poetry, Short Stories, Nonfiction. $100 grand prize +publication. Guidelines: http://newvoicesyoungwriters.com/enter.html

SCN ANNUAL NOVEL PITCH & FIRST 5 PAGES CONTEST – Deadline: Nov. 15, 2010. Entry fee: $8.50. Open internationally. First prize - $150. Second prize - $75. Third prize - $40. 6 HM. JUDGE - Agent Jeff Kleinman/ Folio Literary Management, NY, NY. Guidelines: http://www.janicewiley-dorn.com/smokecitynarrators/scnnovelpitchcontest.html

FROM MY TWITTER FEED:
ONLINE WORKSHOP: Scene of the Crime: Who Killed This Sentence? Oct 18-31, 2010
http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=279

ONLINE WORKSHOP: Romancing Nonfiction: How 2 Pay Bills While Fiction Career…Oct 3-16, 2010 http://fthrw.com/workshops/wkshop_2010_10.php

ONLINE WORKSHOP: Geisha Marketing for Authors - Oct 25 – 31, 2010
http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=546

ONLINE WORKSHOP: How to Hook Your Reader - Nov 1 – 4, 2010 http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=361

ONLINE WORKSHOP: Brainstorming Characters - Nov 1 – 6, 2010 http://www.savvyauthors.com/event.cfm?EventID=503

LITERARY SCAMS – Suggest writers bookmark these links & check lists before embarking on any writing venture. A search will give you more links.
http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware
http://www.spamlaws.com/literary-scams.html
http://www.bookawards.bizland.com/literary_scams.htm
http://www.authorslawyer.com/litscam.shtml
http://www.winningwriters.com/contests/avoid/av_avoid.php
http://www.writing-world.com/rights/contests.shtml