Monday Miscellany for July 26, 2010
July 26, 2010 by Mary Anne
Filed under Writing Contest News
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Hello!
You know, I don’t really plan in advance what I am going to write about in these weekly posts. Usually something happens or occurs to me between one Monday and the next, and I just start clicking away at the keys to see what emerges. The first drafts of my Monday Miscellaneous messages are as close to free-writing as I ever get these days, except for when I make time to write in my journal.
During my college years, I wrote a handful of personal letters every week—to my parents, of course, and to high school friends attending other colleges, my siblings, and the boyfriend back home. I described the people I met, campus life, classroom misadventures (like the time my hair caught fire over the Bunsen burner during chemistry lab), and how I couldn’t wait until we could get together during winter/spring/summer break. I tailored each letter to its recipient; only my closest friends knew how I struggled with being a middle class girl at an Ivy League school, or the tremendous heartache of learning that the hometown boyfriend was dating other girls, or my shock at discovering that college courses came nowhere near as easily to me as high school had. The letters to my parents and others painted a different picture, of course, one of a confident, successful undergrad having the adventure of her life.
I miss writing and receiving personal letters. I miss shopping for new stationery, and getting letters in return. Now it’s all about receiving forwarded jokes and links to videos, and posting tweets and Facebook statuses, while my snail mail brings primarily ads, magazines and direct mail from a host of charities to my brick and mortar mailbox. I have more return address stickers now than I’ll ever use, and less knowledge about how my friends at a distance are really doing and feeling these days.
I guess my point here is that writing these quick messages to you each week reminds me a lot of my old letter writing days. I love just writing about whatever comes to mind, and seeing whether or not I connect with anyone. It’s a type of writing I don’t get to do enough of these days, writing in my own voice to friends across the miles, with no client or editor to please.
You know what? I think I’ll go and buy some pretty computer paper. I just may go back and do some letter writing after all.
Thanks for listening. Here’s to your writing success.
Mary Anne
P.S. Oh yeah, and here’s this week’s list of writing contests.
Multiple Categories
Best and Most Delightful Stories About Paris from Paris Writers News
Twelve stories will be selected for publication in a collection of short stories about Paris. All themes, periods and approaches will be considered.
Prizes: Publication
Deadline: November 30, 2010
Fees: 10 euro
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The Earth Vision Nature Writing Contest 2010
Entries may be fiction, creative non-fiction, poetic prose, or poetry on a theme of nature, deep ecology, spiritual ecology, or any work that has some element of nature woven into it. Word count limit is 500-2500 words per entry.
Prizes: 1st: $500; 2nd & 3rd: $100 each; Two (or more) honorable mentions
Deadline: October 15, 2010
Fees: $12
http://www.evbooks.net/my_site/ev_contest.pdf
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Fiction
International Aeon Award 2010
Entries should be no more than 8,000 words.
Prizes: 1st: €1000 and publication in Albedo One; 2nd: €200; 3rd: €100
Deadline: September 30, 2010
Fees: €7 (euro) per entry
http://www.albedo1.com/html/aeon_award.html
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2010 Second Annual Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction
Submit your previously unpublished works of fiction up to 8,000 words. To be eligible, the authors must reside in the United States.
Prizes: $2000 and travel expenses to an awards dinner in Philadelphia.
Deadline: August 4, 2010
Fees: $10
http://www.philadelphiastories.org/2010-second-annual-marguerite-mcglinn-prize-fiction
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Open City’s 2010 RRofihe Trophy
Limit one submission per author. Unpublished short stories of up to 5,000 words will be accepted.
Prizes: $500
Deadline: October 15, 2010
Fees: $10
http://www.opencity.org/rrofihe.html
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Boulevard Emerging Writers Contest
Submit your fiction works of up to 8,000 words. Authors who have previously published work may not submit.
Prizes: $1,500 and publication
Deadline: December 31, 2010
Fees: $15
http://www.boulevardmagazine.org/partners.html
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Minotaur Books’ First Crime Novel Competition
One entry per author. Works should be approximately 60,000 words. Murder or another serious crime should be at the heart of the story.
Prizes: Possible publication and advance on royalties of $10,000
Deadline: Request entry form by November 13, 2010
Fees: None
http://us.macmillan.com/Content.aspx?publisher=minotaurbooks&id=4933
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Fourteenth Annual Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Contest
Entries must be unpublished and strictly 5,000 words or less. There are no formatting restrictions.
Prizes: 1st: $1,000; 2nd: $500; 3rd: $250; 7 honorable mentions
Deadline: October 1, 2010
Fees: $15
http://www.all-story.com/contests.cgi
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2010 Doug Fir Fiction Award
Submit your short story of up to 5,000 words, relating to a sense of place or the natural world, interpreted as broadly or narrowly as you wish.
Prizes: 1st – $1000 and publication in The Bear Deluxe Magazine.
Deadline: September 8, 2010
Fees: $15
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The 13th Annual Short Fiction Contest from Inkwell Journal
You may submit up to 3 previously unpublished stories. There is a 5,000 word limit.
Prizes: $1500 and publication
Deadline: October 30, 2010
Fees: $15 per story
http://www.inkwelljournal.org/competitions.htm
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Nonfiction/Essay
Memoirs Ink Writing Contest
Submit your personal essays, memoirs, or stories that are based on autobiographical experiences. The narrative must be in first person. Entries should be less than 3,000 words.
Prizes: 1st: $1000; 2nd: $500; 3rd: $250
Deadline: August 31, 2010
Fees: $15
http://www.memoirsink.com/writingcontestguidelines/
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Literal Latté Essay Awards
Submit unpublished personal essays. 8,000 words max. All topics are accepted.
Prizes: 1st – $1000, 2nd – $300, 3rd – $200
Deadline: September 15, 2010
Fees: $10 for one entry. $15 for two.
http://www.literal-latte.com/contests/#essay_awards
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Hunger Mountain Creative Nonfiction Prize
You may submit one piece of creative nonfiction, not to exceed 10,000 words.
Prizes: 1st – $1000 and publication. Two honorable mentions will receive $100 each.
Deadline: September 10, 2010
Fees: $20
http://www.hungermtn.org/hunger-mountain-creative-nonfiction-prize/
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The Pedestrian’s Quarterly Essay Contest
Submit a familiar essay on the subject of a particular game, sport, or other activity in which one plays. Entries should contain a maximum 5000 words
Prizes: $500 and publication
Deadline: September 15, 2010
Fees: None
http://thepedestrian.org/quarterly-essay-contest
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Poetry
The Patricia Bibby First Book Award from Tebot Bach, Inc.
Entries should consist of 50–84 pages of original poetry. The competition is open to all poets who have not committed to publishing collections of poetry of 36 poems or more in editions of over 400 copies.
Prizes: $1,000 and book publication
Deadline: October 31, 2010
Fees: $25
http://www.tebotbach.org/tebot_ad.html
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Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press Poetry Award – 2010
Submit 10-20 pages of original poetry not already published as a collection, and by one author. No more than one poem should be present per page.
Prizes: $1000 and publication
Deadline: August 31, 2010
Fees: $20
http://home.earthlink.net/~astoundingbeautyruffianpress/id1.html
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2010 Many Mountains Moving Press Poetry Book Prize
Submit 50-100 pages of poetry. Simultaneous submissions are allowed and previously published works may be submitted under certain guidelines.
Prizes: $1000 and publication
Deadline: August 14, 2010
Fees: $25
http://mmminc.org/html/2010contests.htm
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2011 Swenson Award Competition
Submitted collections must be original poetry in English and consist of 50 to 100 pages. There are no restrictions on form or subject.
Prizes: $1000, publication and royalties
Deadline: September 30, 2010
Fees: $25
http://www.usu.edu/usupress/poetry_award/
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The 2010 Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize from Bona Fide Books
Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript of between 48 and 100 pages.
Prizes: $500, publication and 10 copies plus a reading at Lake Tahoe
Deadline: August 31, 2010
Fees: $20
http://www.bonafidebooks.com/contests/
F.R.E.E. help for authors (and “wannabe” authors)
July 20, 2010 by Mary Anne
Filed under WriteSuccess Resources
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Let me ask you a question…
Have you ever looked at successful authors and entrepreneurs
like Michael Gerber, Marci Shimoff, Peggy McColl,
Loral Langemeier, Arielle Ford and Michael Port with a
mixture of admiration and envy….wondering what in the
world they did to become such successful authors… and
how you can to?
I certainly have – and today I’ve got great news for you!
Christine Kloser and Lynne Klippel are allowing me to
invite you to their newest program completely for FREE!
“Successful Author Secrets: Navigating The Course
from Aspiring Author to Best-Seller and Beyond”
It’s a ground- breaking program that walks you through the
crucial 9 steps to becoming a successful author… even if
you haven’t written a word of your book yet!
I CAN’T believe they are giving you this at completely no-cost!
As soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to share it with you.
And get this… in the program, 21 successful authors will tell you
the truth about what it took for them to become successful.
There’s never been anything done like this in the publishing
industry. And, it’s about time!
Successful Author Secrets is literally a road map for becoming
a successful author… and entrepreneur!
It starts August 2nd and you can participate for FREE!
Get started now, go to:
–> http://budurl.com/lylpevent
The lineup of speakers is a who’s who of the best and
brightest in the non-fiction book world!
So, if you have dreamed of writing a book, are in the middle
of writing one, or have a book completed that is not doing
as well as you like, you’ve got to check out this incredible
program!
Grab your free ticket and join the fun!
–> http://budurl.com/lylpevent
Here’s to your writing success,
Mary Anne
P.S. Want to learn how one author sold millions of copies
of his self-published book and another author successfully
wrote 14 critically acclaimed and best-selling books?
Then, grab your free ticket and join us!
–>http://budurl.com/lylpevent
Monday Miscellany for July 19, 2010
July 19, 2010 by Mary Anne
Filed under Writing Contest News
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Hello:
It’s actually Monday evening as I post this, which means those of you who subscribe to this site won’t get the post until Tuesday…bet you were wondering where this week’s Monday Misc was, right? Right??
Actually, on some days, I am loath to open my own email. Not that I don’t enjoy the invitations to view family photos, the email newsletters and the blog post feeds I’ve subscribed to, the announcements of upcoming webinars and telesminars, the ads from my favorite retailers and even the occasional forwarded joke or amusing Youtube link. But sometimes, when I go from having 32 to 116 unread messages overnight, I find that I simply don’t have the oomph to consume it all. I feel like I’m running in virtual quicksand.
I’m not sure what this unending onslaught of written communications will have on the writing profession overall. My first thought is that we’re needed now more than ever. On the other hand, we’re also challenged to make our words stand out, target our specific audiences and bring more value to what we write more than ever before if we want to succeed.
What do you think it all means–this frenetic Web 2.0, social media, texting world we now live in? Is this a time of boon or bust for writers?
On to this week’s list of writing contests. Here’s to your writing success.
Mary Anne
Multiple Categories
Grandmother Earth XVII National Writing Awards
Published and unpublished work will be accepted. Work may be written on any subject. Poetry entries limited to 50 lines. Prose entries limited to 2,000 words.
Prizes: Poetry Prizes: $150, $50, $35, $25. Prose Prizes: $150, $50, $25. Additional Prizes: $50, $25, $15
Deadline: August 1, 2010
Fees: $10 for 1-3 entries and $2 for each additional entry. Includes a copy of Grandmother Earth .XVII
http://www.grandmotherearth.org/Grandmother_Earth_National_Writers_Contest.html
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Bananagrams® Writing Contest
Writers must use all seven words from the 21-letter Bananagrams® grid displayed on the site. Prose are limited to 1,400 words; poems up to 21 lines.
Prizes: 1st – $200, 2nd – $50, 2 honorable mentions. Prizes are per category & all winners receive publication.
Deadline: September 30, 2010
Fees: $7 per story, $20 for 3
http://www.newportreview.org/?contests.html
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Black Warrior Review’s Sixth-Ever Fiction & Poetry Contests & the First-Ever Nonfiction Contest
Short story & nonfiction word limit is 7,500. No limitations on poetry entries.
Prizes: Winners in each genre will receive $1,000 and publication.
Deadline: September 1, 2010
Fees: $15 per short story, non-fiction or group of 3 poems. Includes one-year subscription
http://www.bwr.ua.edu/index.html
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Ducts Writing Contest
Flash fiction word limit is 500. The word limit for personal narrative, fiction and open-genre is 2,000.
Prizes: Grand Prize – $400. Places 2-4 receive $50 each.
Deadline: September 1, 2010
Fees: $15
http://www.ducts.org/content/editors-note-25/
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Fiction
Short Story Book’s Short Story Writing Contest
There is no particular theme as such, you are free to frame any kind of short story you wish. The prominent categories for writing are Short Children, Love, Horror, Mystery or Fiction Stories.
Prizes: 1st – $100, 2nd – $50
Deadline: August 1-10, 2010
Fees: None
http://www.shortstorybook.net/short-story-contest-august-2010/
___
2010 Doug Fir Fiction Award
Submit your short story of up to 5,000 words, relating to a sense of place or the natural world, interpreted as broadly or narrowly as you wish.
Prizes: 1st – $1000 and publication in The Bear Deluxe Magazine.
Deadline: September 8, 2010
Fees: $15
___
2010 Second Annual Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction
Submit your previously unpublished works of fiction up to 8,000 words. To be eligible, the authors must reside in the United States.
Prizes: $2000 and travel expenses to an awards dinner in Philadelphia.
Deadline: August 4, 2010
Fees: $10
http://www.philadelphiastories.org/2010-second-annual-marguerite-mcglinn-prize-fiction
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2010 H.E. Bates Short Story Competition
Submit a short story on the subject of your choice. Word count should not exceed 2000 words.
Prizes: 1st – £150, 2nd – £100, 3rd – £50, Best story from an author under 18 years old – £50
Deadline: October 4, 2010
Fees: £4 for each story, £1 for each story by an Under 18 writer.
http://www.hebatescompetition.org.uk/
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Nonfiction/Essay
Road Junky Travel Writing Contest
Submit a country travel guide. A list of countries has been provided on the website.
Prizes: 1st – $1000 and publication. 20 runner ups – $100
Deadline: August 31, 2010
Fees: None
___
Literal Latté Essay Awards
Submit unpublished personal essays. 8,000 words max. All topics.
Prizes: 1st – $1000, 2nd – $300, 3rd – $200
Deadline: September 15, 2010
Fees: $10 for one entry. $15 for two.
http://www.literal-latte.com/contests/#essay_awards
___
Hunger Mountain Creative Nonfiction Prize
Submit one piece of creative nonfiction, not to exceed 10,000 words.
Prizes: 1st – $1000 and publication. Two honorable mentions receive $100 each.
Deadline: September 10, 2010
Fees: $20
http://www.hungermtn.org/hunger-mountain-creative-nonfiction-prize/
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Scriptwriting/Screenwriting
The Tennessee Williams 2011 One-Act Play Contest
Plays should run no more than one hour in length. Cast of characters must be small, and it is suggested that characters range in age from approximately 20 through 40 years old.
Prizes: Grand Prize – $1,500, Staged reading at the 2011 Festival, Full production at the 2012 Festival, VIP All-Access Festival pass for 2011 and 2012 ($1,000 value), Publication in Bayou. Top 10 Finalists – Names will appear on website. Panel pass ($60 value) to attend the 2011 Festival.
Deadline: November 1, 2010
Fees: $25
http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/index.php?topic=contests
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Poetry
RockSaw Press’ Blue Skunk Poetry Series Contest
Submissions of poetry manuscripts should be less than 24 pages.
Prizes: 1st: $100 and 20 copies of chapbook
Deadline: August 31, 2010
Fees: $7
http://rocksawpress.com/submissions.html
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Paumanok Poetry Award
There are no restrictions on style or subject matter. You may submit 3-5 poems (no more than 10 pages).
Prizes: 1st – $1500 and expenses for a reading. Two Second Prizes – $750 and expenses for a reading
Deadline: September 15, 2010
Fees: $25
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Cyclamens and Swords Publishing’s Third Annual Poetry Contest
This is an open contest for poetry of any style or theme. Poems not to exceed 30 lines length.
Prizes: 1st – $300, 2nd – $100, 3rd – $50. Winners plus seven honorable mentions receive publication.
Deadline: November 30, 2010
Fees: $5 (NIS20) for one poem, $10 (NIS40) for three poems, $15 (NIS60) for six poems.
http://www.cyclamensandswords.com/contest.php
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Tufts Poetry Awards
The work submitted must be a book published between September 1, 2009 and September 1, 2010. Manuscripts, CDs, and chapbooks are not accepted.
Prizes: $100,000 for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and $10,000 for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award.
Deadline: September 15, 2010
Fees: None
